From complaint to quality
Erik has been in his element at Euramax for fourteen years. Meanwhile he’s the Technical Solutions Manager. A position Erik summarises as: ‘I help improve quality and specifications of our products and processes. I do this together with suppliers, customers, and our own production team.’ Together with the Sales department, he charts customer needs, after which he translates these needs to the lab and production. The origin of that quest could sometimes be a complaint. ‘Complaints are never any fun. But I see them as an opportunity to take a step towards quality together with the customer. That way it can still give us satisfaction.’
‘What started as an idea on a beer mat is now a ready-to-go product.’
You need each other
Innovating is part of Erik’s nature. ‘Sometimes customers want to have something new developed and ask us to think along with them. This often results in beautiful innovations.’ As an example, Erik mentions the new, ultra-protective SuperiorCoat as an example: ‘Because scratches occur on the aluminium during production, caravan manufacturers often need to rework their vehicles. This is both time-consuming and expensive. From Euramax we started thinking about how we could solve that problem. Together with a supplier I was philosophizing about possible innovations. Wat started as an idea on a beer mat is now a ready-to-go product that’s available for all our customers.’ When spotting such improvement options, Erik benefits from the fact that he knows a lot about a lot of things and has the ability to connect the dots. The experience he gained when – duing his Chemical Techmology studies – he worked in production, also comes in handy: ‘That’s why I know that as an engineer, you can come up with so many ideas, but you need to get the people on the production line on board to achieve a good result. You really need each other to create something beautiful.’
Erik is on your side
From his role, Erik supports customers in their challenges. Sometimes he’s literally on their side. ‘If needed, I’m on a plane tomorrow. I regularly visit customers in the USA and Germany, but I’ve also travelled to other European countries and Dubai.’ Erik thinks that you don’t need to be physically present during every step, but definitely during the moments that matter. ‘At those moments, we are physically on your side. Customers appreciate this, it’s what sets us apart.’ According to Erik, another distinctive feature of Euramax is their close-knit team: ‘What has always kept me at Euramax are the amazing colleagues. Team spirit is very important here. We have an active staff association and organise all sorts of activities, from mountain biking to big company parties.’