Tim
"If you want to progress your career at VDL, anything is possible, but you are the one who holds the key that unlocks your ambitions!" Project manager Tim Meeles is living proof of that. He started as a trainee at VDL ETG Technology & Development in December 2018, after completing his studies in Industrial and Applied Mathematics. Despite having a different background from most VDL ETG colleagues, his knack for maths and his econometrics background proved to be an excellent match. Tim has worked at several locations within VDL ETG and feels completely at home in his current position as a project manager in California, USA.
Describe your role in 3 words
"Dynamic, global, customer-oriented."
What do you enjoy about your work?
"As we sometimes say here: 'If it's easy, we don't like it'. That is something that is reflected in an even more specific way in my job. My current projects extend across three continents. I have customers in the United States, the design team is based in Europe, and the production side of projects takes place in Singapore. The time difference can be a bit of an issue at times. Working abroad also brings out other sides in me. There are far fewer distractions here and that can be a nice experience sometimes. I read books on topics including philosophy and have the time to do lots of other things besides. I've been looking forward to this since I started working at VDL. In between my primary tasks, I also devote my energy to the national YVE committee, appear at various conferences on behalf of VDL ETG, direct my efforts towards increasing the visibility of ETG among mathematics students, and continue to look for new opportunities and challenges for ETG in the western USA. So I've certainly got plenty of interesting and varied work to do!"
What has been the highlight of your career?
"For me, one of the highlights was delivering the first product to a customer at VDL ETG Almelo. We worked as a team, each with our own role and area of responsibility, and together we successfully delivered what the customer expected. That was a great achievement, especially because from a technical perspective, it was a very complex project that posed a number of challenges in terms of both parts manufacturing and assembly."
What has your career at VDL ETG been like so far?
"As a trainee at VDL ETG, I worked at different locations and in a variety of roles, including at ETG T&D, ETG Switzerland, and ETG Almelo. I also gained experience in design, data analysis, and sales. These different positions provided me with an insight into the processes taking place at our production sites. Nowadays, I am working as a project manager for VDL ETG in the United States, where I was sent in 2021. I am part of a small team that works closely with the customer. I enjoy my work here immensely and am grateful for having the chance to pursue this opportunity, after telling my manager I wanted to gain experience working in a foreign country."
What advice would you give someone planning to apply for a job at VDL ETG?
"Be yourself and decide for yourself whether the people you are talking to are a good fit for you. VDL ETG is a company with a flat structure, where the door is always open, but only if you actively want to take a step inside."