Friends and Fact Friday

Friends and Fact Friday

This is a weekly column in which employee stories and Diffutherm facts are shared with you.
Hopefully this way you will get a good picture of Diffutherm as a company, but also a good picture of all our toppers within Diffutherm!

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This week we speak in the Friends & Fact Friday with our graduation intern from Sales & Marketing Pim Paridan.

You just started as a graduation intern at Diffutherm, how did you come to Diffutherm?

Jens the previous graduation intern at the Sales & Marketing department is a friend of mine and I knew he had an internship here. In addition, I often drive past Diffutherm and I always wondered what they actually did within that company. I then contacted Diffutherm by phone. First I got in touch with the reception and they referred me to Arjan. And since then things have started rolling and I can do my graduation internship for Diffutherm.

This first contact started a long time ago. I've had to do school assignments for Diffutherm before. At the time I had already indicated that I would soon also be graduating and that Diffutherm might be the right place for this.

From school there were of course a number of criteria that had to be met, such as a minimum of 50 FTE, no company in the hospitality or retail sector and some degree of structure within a company. Diffutherm certainly meets that requirement.

During my graduation internship I will deal with an issue regarding Sales Excellence. Sales Excellence is a continuous improvement process, in which the goal of a sales organization is to achieve optimal customer intimacy, stay ahead of the competition and thus achieve healthy turnover growth within a changing market. My graduation assignment is divided into three parts. The first part consists of a research question in which an implementation plan is written. The second part is the execution and steering of the actual implementation and the third part consists of an evaluation of the entire process.

What makes your internship so much fun?

Of course I haven't been doing an internship at Diffutherm for very long, but so far I really like it. The Sales & Marketing department is very nice and I have nice colleagues who always want to help me and are all very friendly.

What I really like is the many responsibilities that I get. That I already have the responsibility for workshops that are held and that everyone is very dedicated to it. I also like that I have room to grow and that I am involved in many things.

So far everything is going very well and I'm having my way here. I am therefore looking forward to the near future.

If you could swap jobs with one person within Diffutherm, who would it be?

Of course I don't know everyone and everything within Diffutherm yet, but if I would like to trade with someone, I think it would be with Arjan (Sales manager).

I would really like to experience how busy he is and see all the responsibilities he carries with him. I think it would be great fun to manage different branches and have a lot of responsibilities in this way.

What would you have liked to do if you hadn't started working at Diffutherm?

If I had not done an internship at Diffutherm, I would have just looked elsewhere for my internship. I didn't know exactly where I would have ended up. I am open to everything as I had no experience in anything. I was therefore open to any company that was actually open to an intern.

It is important to me that it is a great company, with nice and enthusiastic people and that I would be treated in the right way.

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This week we speak in the Friends & Fact Friday with two of our colleagues from the Back Office department; Team lead Celine Smolenaers and back office employee Wendy Gooskens.

You have been working for Diffutherm for a long time, how did you start here?

Wendy: I came in in September 2019 through an employment agency as a temporary worker as someone else was ill for a long time. In the end it went so well from both sides and that's why I got several contracts and eventually a permanent contract. I am very happy that I am currently working at Diffutherm in the Back office department.

Celine: I also started within Diffutherm through an employment agency. This was in November 2018. I also started as a temporary replacement at Diffutherm because someone had dropped out. I started as an employee in the forwarding department. Eventually the other employee came back from leave and my contract was actually going to expire, however everyone I worked with was very happy with how I performed my work that another suitable position was found for me. I was able to start in the Back Office department as an administrative assistant.

In January 2021 I was asked to fulfill the team lead function at the back office. I am of course very happy with this. Also a bit proud that I was able to make a career within Diffutherm so quickly. During my transition from back office employee to back office team lead, I was very well guided by Edith. At the time, she held the position of Manager Sales & Operations, Planning. I really liked the transition between these two functions, partly because I was very well received by everyone within the team. Of course I knew the team very well because I had been part of it for a long time. Our team is very close, Wendy agrees.

What makes your job so much fun?

Wendy: What makes my job so much fun is all the variety that my job has and also the many customer contact that we have within the job. No day at the Back Office is the same. It is very nice and nice that you can build a relationship with the customer because you also have your own customer division. Many customers are genuinely interested, also in your personal life. It's nice that, in addition to asking about their own orders, customers also ask how your weekend was.

In addition, we get the opportunity, through our position, to learn everything about the company, all processes, etc. This is because we are in contact with all departments within Diffutherm. In this way we learn a lot and we can carry out our work in the right way.

Finally, we must of course not forget that the relationship between colleagues is very good. Which makes working with each other very pleasant on a daily basis.

What is your proudest moment within Diffutherm?

Wendy: I am not so much proud of one particular moment within Diffutherm, but I am proud of how I have developed myself over the years. How much I have grown in the past two years. I also like it when I hear this internally from, for example, my team lead or manager. I didn't realize this in the beginning, but when I heard about it from my supervisor, I realized it myself. I can say that I have grown in many areas and I am very proud of that.

Celine: I am most proud of the appointment as team lead Back Office. In addition, I was also able to fulfill the function as an ad interm expedition for a while. This was also a very instructive time, especially because I also started in the expedition department.

In addition, I think we can also be proud of the implementation of SAP, which we did just under two years ago. That we managed this implementation with the whole team. In the beginning, I was really thrown in at the deep end with this project. I only had 4 months of experience in the department and did not always look at it with the same confidence in the beginning. The fact that we were all able to bring the project to a nice end, I can really look back on that with a smile and I'm a bit proud of that.

If you could swap jobs with one person within Diffutherm, who would it be?

Wendy: I wouldn't necessarily want to trade with someone within Diffutherm, but I would like to be more involved with all the products we produce. In this way I would gain more knowledge of the products and I would also be able to apply this even better in my current position.

Celine: I think I would like to switch with Rob (Operational Manager). I notice that in my current position I am becoming more and more interested in all operational matters and the production process. I would like to see the entire organization, how the entire process works exactly. I would like to be involved in the optimization of the production process. For these reasons I would like to exchange a day with Rob.

What would you have liked to do if you hadn't started working at Diffutherm?

Wendy: I've always been very interested in psychology. During my studies I followed a minor in this field. I don't know if I would actually want to work in it on a daily basis, but it sure seems like a lot of fun to work in it for a while.

Celine: If I hadn't worked at Diffutherm I think I would have gone into brokerage, I would probably have worked at my father's company. This of course also because I followed the Real Estate study. Diffutherm is actually the factor that makes me not work in this, the nice team, the nice work, etc.

Let's just have a nice vacancy in your team. What would you like to say to your new future colleague?

We mainly think that we are a very close team and that it is also important that the new colleague knows this and considers this important. The new colleague will enter in a warm bath. In any case, we hope to open that up.

In addition, we are a team that always wants to help and support each other if necessary. The new colleague must be the type that fits in here. We work both in a team and independently, but if you are really a person who is very independent, then this may not fit well within the team. A real team player is a must! We are a hardworking team, but we also like to do fun things together every now and then.

If you want to know more about Diffutherm or the function, you are always welcome for a cup of coffee or a conversation. Everyone is open to an open conversation, you don't have to be afraid of that.

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This week we speak in the Friends & Fact Friday with one of our Production Planners, Jeroen Pennarts.

You have been working for Diffutherm for a long time, how did you start here?

Halfway through 1997 I switched from the then parent company DPCC (eg Exachem) to Diffutherm. Due to the earlier acquisition of Dekalin from Hanau and the integration within Diffutherm, the need for a buyer increased. Frank Janssens, then director, asked me to take the step. The contract was officially converted in January 1998. So next year I will be 25 years at Diffutherm. So, together with a number of colleagues, I have a long history behind me.

What makes your job so much fun?

As a strategic buyer, I really enjoy purchasing the variety of raw materials and packaging materials, but later also purchasing services (outsourcing, transport, cleaning, etc.). As a result, I have many contacts within the company as well as with external providers. It is never boring within Diffutherm, to fulfill this task.

What is your proudest moment within Diffutherm?

My proudest moment within Diffutherm was that I was the driving force behind the temporary accommodation of the ADDAPT company from Helmond, within Diffutherm. Together with a number of colleagues from various departments, we then ensured that their production was up and running again within a week and a half, using our infrastructure. The ADDAPT factory was completely burned down. 

If you could swap jobs with one person within Diffutherm, who would it be?

Of course I like my own job the most. Now there will probably be something that you did not expect, but the position of operator, lab employee or something in logistics also seems nice to me. I will of course have to gain or have the necessary knowledge for that.

From 2016 to mid-2018 I managed operational purchasing, forwarding and logistics.

What would you have liked to do if you hadn't started working at Diffutherm?

I would have liked to do something where you can turn your hobby into work. Race car driver, not because of Max, or guitarist in a band.

Let's just have a nice vacancy in your team. What would you like to say to your new future colleague?

You will enter a varied job, in which you can further develop your commercial knowledge. You have to feel at home in the game between internal and external and be able to withstand stress from time to time.

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This week we speak in the Friends & Fact Friday with one of our Production Planners, Jochem Verberk.

What makes your job so much fun?

Every day is different within Diffutherm. This is also the case as Production Planner. The main activities are the same every day, but you have to deal with different things, machines and people every day. As a production planner, you are in close contact with your colleagues, as there is continuous consultation with other departments. As a spider in the web, you form an important link between the Production, Purchasing, Sales and Logistics departments. In addition, you all work together to achieve the same goal, which is to ensure that the customer receives his products on time. Every day is a new challenge with all kinds of good and less good things.

What is your proudest moment within Diffutherm?

I actually have 2. One of my proudest moments was when I was employed for 25 years. The reception I had then, together with the appreciation from colleagues and the MT, was really very special. But what I am also proud of is how we started 30 years ago. We have all experienced such growth, with the entire team, in small steps. Incidentally, the machine park is now also very different from when we started in Bergeijk: we now have all product types and machines together in one large hall. If you look at where we come from and see where I am now, I am certainly proud of that. 

If you could swap jobs with one person within Diffutherm, who would it be?

With nobody actually. If I had to do something else within Diffutherm, a different position, I would prefer to go back to production and continue as an operator again. Nice to work behind the machine, which I have been doing here for a very long time. Last holiday I even spent an afternoon behind a machine!

What would you have liked to do if you hadn't started working at Diffutherm?

Professional footballer! That's what I always wanted to be when I was little. And then at PSV of course, because that is really my club! 

Let's just have a nice vacancy in your team. What would you like to say to your new future colleague?

That it is a challenging job for someone who likes to work hard, but who is also very friendly and can withstand pressure a bit.

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This week we speak in the Friends & Fact Friday with one of our Production Team Leaders, Ferdinand van Leeuwen.

What does your day look like?

My days are never the same, every day is different. People may not think that when they hear what I do, but it's true. Every day I face new challenges and that's what makes my job so much fun. As production team leader, I work in shifts just like the operators. This means I work the morning shift one week and the evening shift the next.

• Ensure that the operators can work in the production hall. So ensuring the realization of the qualitative and quantitative output objectives within the production department;
• Monitor the progress of the production processes and provide solutions for disruptions and occurring problems;
• Consulting with other departments, both in production and in the office. As a production team leader you will have to deal with all departments within Diffutherm. You are the link between production and office employees;
• As a manager, you ensure a motivated, competent and committed team. Think of communicating, coaching, planning, managing absenteeism, managing the performance and development of the team.

What would you like to say to your new future colleague?

I would like to say that Diffutherm is a great employer to work for. Diffutherm gives you the opportunity to develop yourself and take new professional steps.

Within my position I experience a lot of challenge, variety and I have a lot of social contacts because I have a lot to do with colleagues from my own and other departments.

I have experienced the growth process that I have gone through within Diffutherm as very positive and I would certainly recommend it to other people.