René van Delft

René van Delft is proud of how he contributes to a smooth-running, automated production process and daily cooperation with his colleagues.

René van Delft, better known as ‘production hall manager’, ensures every day that all Beekenkamp Plants’ starting material, or young plants, are ready on time and go into the right trucks. As Internal Logistics Coordinator at Beekenkamp Plants Ornamentals, none of his days are the same.

It has been 12 years since René joined Beekenkamp Plants. René came in as an All-round Employee Operations. A chique job title according to René, as he ‘just helped’ wherever it was needed. Automation became increasingly important and machine after machine was purchased. He controlled these machines and made sure the process went smoothly. A fun and challenging job where you have to be able to switch quickly, typical René! When the vacancy of Internal Logistics Coordinator became available, he decided to take the job and grow within the company. René has never regretted his choice for a moment!

On a daily basis, René is the central point for many colleagues within Beekenkamp Group. For example, he is in contact with his colleagues in the Transport Department. ‘We need each other almost every day to be able to switch quickly. It often happens that something changes in the transport, such as the number of trolleys or the time a driver comes by’, says René enthusiastically. The international aspect of his job has also fun challenges. ‘Drivers come from all over Europe to pick up the starting material at Beekenkamp Plants. Besides communication skills, it often comes down to communicating with ‘hands and feet’, because there are drivers who don’t speak English or Dutch.’

Colleagues from Customer Service also contact René every week with questions about the starting material. For instance, he sometimes gets 70 calls in a day! Because René informs the Customers Service colleagues about the situation in the production hall, customers are approached quickly, lines of communication are short and everyone remains satisfied.

Development

‘Beekenkamp Plants definitely does not stand still and it is fun to witness the developments of recent years,’ says René. ‘When I started at Beekenkamp Plants there were no machines, now there are nine and a large part of the production process is fully automated! That shows that Beekenkamp Plants continues to develop and of course you can grow in this yourself as I have done!’

René’s goal? Making sure every day we can do more with fewer people! He looks for the right balance between automated work and working with people. René is also a people person, he finds it important that all employees are satisfied by giving them different tasks in a day.

Staff Association

For the first 10 years René worked at Beekenkamp Plants, he was not a member of the Staff Association. No one from Production was a member and René did not felt it to join. In recent years, the team has changed and René has a good connection with his colleagues. Meanwhile, they signed up for the Staff Association and René’s opinion of it has turned 180 degrees. Smiling, René says: ‘It’s really fun! Many different activities are organized, such as a cooking workshop, go-karting, pub quiz and, of course, the annual party. And it’s good for the group feeling within the company. Especially the rafting on the North Sea earlier this year, man we had a lot of fun there’.

Who would René like to swap days with? Marketing! ‘I always see the ladies in marketing busy with all kinds of things. Fairs, events, packing catalogues, making videos; I like that diversity too. They work in a nice team and have contact with many different departments, just like me’.