What is your role at TOMRA?
Currently I’m a Project Manager. In that role I’m responsible for the (further) development of the TOMRA 5B. Before that I was Application Engineer.
Why did you decide to work for TOMRA?
After graduating from the TU/e I wanted to do something where I could really apply my knowledge and see the impact in practice instead of only focusing on the theory. TOMRA Food gave me that chance in the role of Application Engineer with a nice balance between theory and practice. The position of TOMRA Food as a technological market leader and the short lines between people in the organization were also very important for me.
What does your average work day look like?
My day always starts with a half an hour bike ride to the office to wake me up.
Then there are usually a number of meetings with all different departments within TOMRA: Status updates on ongoing engineering projects, roadmap discussions with product management, questions from sales or service on specific customer projects etc. Next to that I set-up and maintain the planning for different projects and on a more technical level work with the development teams for instance in concept definitions or reviews.
At the end of the day I can clear my head again bypassing all the traffic jams on my bike.
What's the best thing about your job?
Being involved in almost every aspect of the development of the machines. On the one hand, from a technical point, this means understanding the design and how everything comes together. On the other hand, getting to know everybody from all the departments involved and working with all those different people with different backgrounds.
What's the skill you'd most like to have?
I would very much like to learn Spanish but haven’t found the time yet.
What are you passionate about professionally or personally?
Travelling. I want to see as much of the world as possible. All the different cultures and natural phenomena never cease to amaze me.
What's your favourite holiday destination?
I cannot commit to a single destination because there are so many great places in the world. But of all the different places I’ve visited Vietnam (the food, nature and rich culture) and Namibia (extreme landscapes and wildlife) would be my top 2.
What's your greatest business achievement?
The redesign of the lower frame of the TOMRA 5B where we managed to significantly improve the design in terms of sanitation, stability and ease of use. Of course, most of the credit there should go to the engineering team.
Want to work with Joris? Check out the great opportunities on our careers page.
What's your greatest personal achievement?
I’m proud to be part of a very loyal group of friends. Knowing that whatever happens you have a group of people you can always rely on is very valuable to me.
What did you eat for lunch?
Grilled cheese and a home-made salad with zucchini, eggplant, fresh herbs and pasta.
