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volume 2 | no. 3 | December 2012

"In 1996, after completing

my secondary education, I

was working as a receptionist/

switchboard operator at the yacht

propeller manufacturer, Federal,

which was subsequently taken

over by Van Voorden. During

quiet times I would slip on an

overall and give the workers in

production a helping hand. I still

do. On busy days I help the guys

out. I hate sitting around doing

nothing."

A fresh wind"In 2000 I joined the planning

and work preparation department.

A HELPING HANDIn August 2012 Natascha was asked to take over at the helm of the grinding and repair shops of Van Voorden. She took advantage of the

opportunity and today she truly feels in her element.

Natascha van Brenk, 40 years old

Manager Operations at Van Voorden Maritime

Married to Hans

That's also a fun job. You learn

everything there is to know about

the process and all the people.

So in that sense I had no doubts

about accepting my new position.

I knew everyone and they knew

me. My management style is

informal, I believe in working as

a close-knit team. And yet I do

like having 'my own operation'.

I like being able to set my own

priorities and implement my own

improvements. And I am being

given this opportunity. You can

really feel that there's a fresh wind

blowing through the company, a

new management style, and that's

a good thing. I trust that it will be

plain sailing from here on for Van

Voorden."

Passionate about technology"Yes, I like technology and the

'manufacturing industry'. I also

enjoy walking around the foundry,

smelling the sand and the metal.

Isn't it amazing that we manu-

facture such great products in

the Netherlands? But let's face it,

I was never the kind of girl who

played with dolls. I was always

messing about. And I don't rely

on my husband to put up fixtures

or to install a computer or DVD

Several times a year Andustry

news highlights important projects

and developments within the

Andus Group. Although we are

proud of our achievements, we

now and then like to focus on the

people who get the job done. They

are the driving force behind Andus

Group and we commend them for

this. And that is why we have dedi-

GIRLPOWERcated this entire newsletter to our

employees. More specifically to a

group of employees! We decided to

add the subheading, 'Girl Power',

to this Andustry news because in

this issue we would like to put all

the women in Andus Group in the

spotlight. Every day they hold their

ground in a challenging working

environment that is still very much

perceived as male. And we appre-

ciate this! Unfortunately we cannot

interview all the ‘Andus women’,

and we had to limit ourselves to a

small selection for this newsletter.

Technology continues to be a man's

world but the many women in our

company - who hold a wide range

of positions within Andus Group

- also contribute their fair share of

player. I always try to do it myself

first."

power, knowledge and, it's fair to

say, charm.

I wish everyone happy holidays and

all the best for 2013!

Tom van Rijn

Chairman of the Board

TEMPORARILY FOREVER?

FIGURES TELL A STORY

Four years ago Lucia Berkesi was seconded to the Netherlands from

the company's former sister company in Slovakia. She did not really

enjoy the prospect at first because it meant leaving her family and

friends behind. But she took the challenge and she was interested in

giving it a try for a year.

After her Bachelor's degree in Accountancy and her specialisation as a Tax Advisor Helena managed the accounts of a publisher for over 12

years. She then joined an accountancy firm, where she refreshed her tax knowledge before moving to Gouda Vuurvast Belgium. Accounts are

her passion, besides her family, of course... and Latin and Ballroom dancing.

Lucia Berkesi, 30 years old

Engineer at Lengkeek Staalbouw

Helena De Leeuw, 46 years old

Head of Financial Administration & HR at Gouda Vuurvast Belgium

Married to Frank

Two children (13 and 15 years old)

"Well, I keep on saying... I'll

stay another year. Funny, isn't it,

because I really enjoy working at

Lengkeek and I now have a perma-

nent contract. But I still miss my

family and friends a lot, which is

"Yes, I really love getting to the

bottom of financial matters and

putting things in order. This job

gives me every opportunity to do

so. Partly because we do everything

in house, from the payroll admi-

nistration to filing tax returns.

In addition to this, we have some

overseas assignments from time

to time. Then you really have to

closely adhere to all the European

directives. So I regularly check

all kinds of codes to understand

the rules and differences among

countries. And then I combine the

theory and practice in practicable

procedures. Because I always like a

bit of a challenge."

Figures have a story to tell“The fact that I work for the

company as an 'administrator'

why I tend to think in periods of

one year. I am looking forward

to the holidays. Because I will

be going home for Christmas to

Slovakia and I know that my mum

will make me pasta with Bryndza.

It is a nice, sharp sheep's cheese,

because I miss that as well. That

said, I have also discovered bitter-

ballen here. They are delicious!"

Above and under ground"When I graduated from secon-

dary school I knew that I wanted

to study something technical. I

chose ‘Underground civil engi-

neering’, or the design of all

types of underground structures,

for example for tunnels. After I

graduated I started to work as an

engineer designing industrial

buildings, because there are not

that many jobs in this specific

field. In practice the job is not that

is also important. At the accoun-

tancy firm I was responsible for

various types of administration,

but they didn't do much for me. It

was just a bunch of figures. Now

I understand the origin and the

background of the figures, which

has also cemented my commit-

ment. The figures once again tell

a story. The story of a great indu-

stry and a fine company."

Total relaxation"At times I am completely

engrossed in my job. I may discuss

the interpretation of legislation

at home, because my husband

also holds a financial position.

But we also know how to relax,

for example on the dance floor,

where I met my husband in 1988.

We went out dancing less when

the children were younger but

we started taking classes again

about six years ago. In October

we competed in our first contest

ballroom dancing and came in

third, so who knows where that

may lead us."

different. It's a great job."

Change in the pipeline?"Life in the Netherlands is not

so different from life in Slovakia.

Yes, the beers are much smaller

here, too small in fact. And I

really enjoy having so much water

around me. Although I do also

miss the Slovakian mountains.

The only mountains here are the

traffic interchanges. As you can

see: I like it a lot here, also the fact

that I work in a men's world. That

said, there were more girls than

boys in my year. So who knows,

there may be changes in the pipe-

line."

I DON'T LIKE IT WHEN THINGS SLOW DOWN

YOUR TALENT IS A GIFT, THE QUESTION IS HOW DO YOU USE IT?

Jeanette has been working as a secretary since 1978. In 1988 she joined HSM, which was called HCG

Staalbouw at the time, a subsidiary of HBG. She still enjoys working as an office manager and is responsible

for product location in the broadest sense of the word. Keyword: go get ‘em!

Kris started out in 1978 at BNG in Budel - the Andus Group's cradle - where she was literally the youngest employee. She had obtained a translator/

interpreter degree (English and Spanish) in Antwerp and wanted to start working. At the end of the Seventies, during the years of crisis, there were

very few jobs available, which is why she accepted a job as an administrative employee. Today she is part of the Andus Group board.

Jeanette Overvoorde, 52 years old

Office Manager at HSM

Married to Ruud

Two children (15 and 17 years old)

Kris Rooijakkers, 55 years old

Executive Secretary Andus Group

Married to Harry

One daughter (20 years old)

“Yes, I have a wide range of tasks.

I like, for example, being able

to arrange all kinds of things

for people, taking work off their

hands. It may be small things, like

making a photocopy or big things,

like organising an Open House. As

a result I have an incredibly varied

job. Every day is different. There

is always something that all of a

sudden needs to be done. Which

is fortunate for me, because I get

nervous when things slow down."

"Funny how things go. I always

did what had to be done. Always

went along with things and tried

to assess developments as much

as possible and to capitalise on

them. To use my talent and take

advantage of opportunities."

Amazing growth“When I had been working

at BNG for six months I was

appointed executive secretary and

head of the department at the

age of 22. It was hard to hold my

ground in this 'women's depart-

ment'. I prefer a men's organi-

sation, just doing what has to be

done, whether you are drawing

up an offer, recalculating things,

taking care of the payroll admi-

nistration or obtaining your very

first VCA certificate.

Company service“I like to think about how people,

colleagues or customers, would like

to have things done. And then I

try to do it just like that. The idea

is to respond to their needs. I don't

care whether I have to make phone

calls, organise the annual BBQ or

rent an apartment for one of our

customers. I am just interested in

providing a ‘good service’.”

A different side“No, things are different at home.

As a mother, I apply different

rules. I try to convey the opposite

message: learn to take care of

yourself. Because that is important

too. And now that we’re discussing

my private life: I like to play golf

and I make my own clothes. I even

obtained my cutter degree from the

Rotterdamse Snijschool. I really

Since Tom van Rijn took over

BNG I have been closely involved

in the establishment and growth

of Andus Group. As my job

expanded, my horizon broadened

and I grew along with the orga-

nisation. It has been an amazing

experience. Since a couple of

years I am a member of the

Andus board. As the Executive

Secretary I am involved in all

matters, but specifically in the

field of HR policy, quality, labour

and safety, communication and

corporate identity. We have an

amazing group of great manu-

facturing and service companies,

that perform well, also during

the crisis. This too is a matter

of using your assets and taking

advantage of opportunities.

Happy to be busy"As far as I'm concerned this also

applies to my private life. That

is why I am the president of the

local Zonnebloemafdeling, where

we visit and organise events for

elderly people who are suffering

from social isolation with a group

of 30 volunteer hosts. I am also

the secretary of our local parish

council, because I believe that a

parish can play a socially valuable

role in a village. Call it commu-

nity solidarity. And because my

husband agrees with me and is

very closely involved in the local

concert band and football club

we have a busy private life too.

Fortunately, because I enjoy it

each and every day."

like making things. For myself, of

course, because that’s where the

service ends”, she concludes with

a smile.

"What a coincidence, right? But I

could never have imagined that I

would have ended up here. I had

no idea what I wanted to do. After

secondary school I went to work

for a retailer. I spent ten years in

retail, of which seven as a manager

at De Marskramer. Then I'd had it

with working every weekend and

I wanted to do something else. I

joined Gouda's Shipping depart-

ment in January 1999."

"I started out as a temp in the

Sales Department in 1996. "I'm

not afraid of the technical industry,

nor does the men's world bother

me. I like working with men, they

are more direct when it comes to

communicating. Afterwards they

admitted that they hadn't expected

that this 'girl in a dress' would last

in a production environment. Well,

I proved them wrong!"

Working together"Now I'm in charge of overseeing

all the orders. This means that

you need to ensure that the right

order is delivered on time, like

MORE EFFICIENCY AND A GOOD ATMOSPHERE

WORKING TOGETHER AND DIRECT COMMUNICATION

Diana's parents used to sail an inland shipping barge. She spent the first six years of her life on a ship. She subsequently went to live in Tolkamer.

The name of her street: Tasveld (the place where bricks are stacked). Was she destined to have the job of Manager Logistics at Gouda?

Anouk studied economics and linguistics at HES Rotterdam. She clearly had an international working environ-

ment in mind. And that's exactly what Gouda Refractories had to offer.

Diana van Neijenhof, 44 years old

Manager Logistics at Gouda Refractories

Anouk Raapis, 41 years old

Project Coordinator at Gouda Refractories

Lives with Matjeu

Diana van Neijenhof en Anouk Raapis

A tough transition“I did that job for about six years.

Then I spent a few years in the

order department and at Gouda

Projects. In 2010 they offered me

this position and to be honest I

didn't immediately accept the job.

It was so different, such a chal-

lenge... which is why I said yes

in the end. And I really like it! It

was tough in the beginning: after

four months two of my most expe-

rienced administrative employees

retired and I had to implement a

completely new ordering system.

I really was all on my own at the

time."

Moving forward"But it all worked out in the end.

I am really proud of the atmosp-

here in the department. We really

go that extra mile for each other.

And I am happy that road hauliers

a spider in its web. You can't do

this alone so I'm always working

with others. The sales and product

managers, the engineers, produc-

tion, the quality department,

forwarding, and our customers in

the Netherlands and abroad. I am

quite a perfectionist so it is safe to

say that I have a hectic but fun job

during busy periods.”

Looking across borders"I like to travel a lot. I suppose you

could say that's my international

drive. I like to explore new coun-

tries, new cultures. I like having

a broader outlook on the world.

Here at home I like to bike, have

dinner with friends, go to the

cinema. In a sense you explore

something too when watching a

film. I like to live consciously, to

think about things. Recently I took

a course, which focused on where

you are in your life and what you

want to achieve. A little like the

film, 'The Bucket List'. What did

I learn? Nothing new really: to go

out dancing a little more often, go

travelling with my mum and learn

to understand what's under the

hood of my car. I think it's useful

to know how certain things work."

say that waiting times have been

reduced and that everything is

more efficient. But I haven't fini-

shed yet! I want to improve our

service even more. By consulting

more with colleagues, having

tighter schedules and more effi-

ciency. I look forward to moving

to our new premises. We will have

more space there - a larger stac-

king space - so everything can be

arranged more logically."

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