Working at Expandable – Bart is involved in the product from a(xle) to z
Bart van Lieshout (36) started working as a mechanic at Expandable, at the end of last year. He was looking for a new challenge and found it at Expandable. As someone who started his career as a spray painter, he has now been an assembler for a few years. He is happy to tell you how this came about, and what it is like to work at Expandable.
A cool product
Originally I am a spray painter, but three and a half years ago I started working at VDL Containersystemen as a hydraulic mechanic. It was something different, but then, I was ready for something new. When my duties changed there, I lost the challenge in my job.
It was my current colleague Franck Lambert, who I also worked with at VDL, who pointed me to Expandable. I had never heard of it, but he had made the switch a few months before me and was very enthusiastic. From the first moment I walked in I knew how special this company really was, and how cool it is that such products are made right here in the Kempen. An Expandable is a really cool product!
Well attuned to each other
The work I do is extremely varied. I am no longer a mechanic who specialises in hydraulics, but I deal with the complete picture of our products. From axles to cabling and everything in between; building a container or trailer from a to z is really neat. Think of pneumatics, hydraulics, drilling and grinding. Accuracy down to the millimetre! The challenge, therefore, is to do it as precisely as possible.
I work here in a small team led by Tim. The advantage of this is that I know who my direct colleagues are, what I can do for them and what they can do for me. This way, we try to align the work with who is good at what, if at all possible. As a small compact team, we are well attuned to each other. I work with great colleagues and the day goes by really fast. This is also favourable to the mutual atmosphere!
The satisfaction of your job
The nice thing about working at Expandable is that you actually see what you do. A container or trailer starts out as a bare frame, but my colleagues and I put it all together. I have been working here for about three months now, but I have already seen a few containers and trailers from start to finish. I get satisfaction from my work because I see what I make. And I work in a pleasant and well-coordinated team. That is different from working for a large company; at least here they see you. At Expandable, I can really do what I like!
