What makes VBA such an attractive place to work?
We were recently able to take some nice group photos of some of our colleagues. It was also the perfect opportunity to bend their ear and ask them: “How did you come to work at VB-Airsuspension and what makes VBA such an attractive place to work?”
Some colleagues come from other positions, others have just completed their education and so on...in other words, there are many (unique) roads leading to VB-Airsuspension!
We are always curious to hear the personal stories of our colleagues and proud that we can share them with everyone. To find out about the experiences of our colleagues, read more now ...
The path to VB-Airsuspension
We asked our colleagues how they came to work for our organisation, what makes VB-Airsuspension such an attractive place to work and what else they would like to do at VBA. It is interesting to see how diverse people's backgrounds are. Everyone has followed their own unique path before becoming part of our organisation. Everyone has their own area of expertise and their own story, and we are proud of this.
Dani Georges Zodeh | Area Sales Manager Eastern Europe
"After working as a Mechanical Engineer at the Porsche Service Centre in Abu Dhabi for ten years, I decided to do another university course in 2015. I chose an “International Master of Business Administration (MBA)" at HAN International School of Business in Arnhem. I wanted to acquire a strong combination of technical and commercial knowledge.
Working at VBA is always a challenge. Every year brings new ambitions, goals, customers and learning opportunities. My VBA colleagues are generally great, and I enjoy the time I spend with them.
Growth at VBA is an ongoing process. Attracting new customers, increasing sales and improving customer satisfaction are ongoing challenges that we tackle all the time. As a member of the Works Council, I also have the opportunity to actively participate in our company's development."
Gerda Wopereis | Production Operative
"In March 2020, I joined the Production department of VB-Airsuspension. I was introduced to the organisation at the Varsseveldse Industriële Vereniging (VIV) open days, which VIV organises every five years to give affiliated companies the opportunity to present themselves. I encountered VBA there and the work certainly appealed to me. I wrote my application letter almost immediately afterwards. I still enjoy my job after four years. I really like the variety, and VB-Airsuspension gives me that opportunity."
Sander Dusseldorp | General Sales & Marketing Manager
"Right after my studies, I worked as a salesperson at the 'Auto Palace’ Opel dealership in Doetinchem for two years. One morning during a sales meeting, I received a call from Peter Prins, who was the CFO of VB-Airsuspension at the time. I couldn't pick up the phone and I didn't have number recognition. Peter left a voicemail. At the end of my meeting, I listened to the voicemail, but due to the poor connection, I couldn't understand much, so I asked a couple of colleagues to listen in as well. It thought it might be a customer.
Unfortunately, I was unable to return the call, but a few days later I received another call at home. I was asked if I would be interested in coming in for a chat, as they were looking for an internal salesperson. Given the difficulties in the car industry, the fact that I had to work weekends (when all my friends went out on the town) and that I wanted to do something in the market for company cars, this prompted me to go to the interview. I had gained some experience with air suspension in my Opel days, when I sold two Opel Movanos with four-corner air suspension (the first in the VB era) to Regiotaxi. With this in mind, I had a chat with Eric Bruil and Iginio Voorhorst. During the interview, Iginio made it very clear that VBA did not have an external sales department and it wasn't planning on creating one in the future. Despite this, I still took the job... and the rest is history.
Many people regularly ask me why I’m still working for VBA after more than 19 years. There's no one reason for this; in fact, there are several. For me, one reason is the challenges: new vehicles, new customers and new markets, but also our own growth, which is an organisational challenge. Another important reason for me is the fact that we are a relatively flat organisation with many great colleagues. The contact between people is good, the people are friendly, and it always makes me feel validated when I take my customers on a company tour and everyone offers a warm hello. Our customers always notice this, too! And where else in the Achterhoek region would you find an automotive company with global operations?!
I have enjoyed working for VBA for 19 years, and I want to keep contributing to the organisation's further development. It's about connecting people – both internally and externally – and discovering new markets."
Ruben Veltkamp | Junior Test Engineer
"I got in touch with VBA when I was looking for an internship for my 'Automotive Engineering' degree. I liked the internship, the colleagues and the atmosphere at VBA so much that I based my graduation project on my internship at VBA. My internship and graduation project were unique for my training programme at Fontys University of Applied Sciences and for VBA. I was able to do this because VB-Airsuspension offers internships at a high level. I’ve worked here for two years now with great satisfaction.
No two days are ever the same! I go from computer calculations to building prototypes, testing components on special testing equipment, driving vehicles on public roads and – the icing on the cake – testing vehicles' limits on test tracks in Germany and Belgium.
Our extensive work with shock absorbers is a specific area of expertise within the testing team. I would like to continue to do this to improve our vehicle adjustments and new product development even more."
Jan-Willem Lindeman | Senior Product Development Engineer
"After my national service, I registered with temping agency Start (of the Dutch employment office) and started working as a technical designer for Timmerije in Neede. I drew various injection moulding matrices the 'old' way: with a pencil on a drawing board with a parallel bar, then using ink pens to write over everything on tracing paper.
Later, in 1985, the employment office informed me about a job as a technical designer at De Achterhoek technical drawing agency in Lichtenvoorde. I was hired and I made infrastructural drawings for telephone and electricity cables and gas and water pipelines. The agency also seconded me to other companies in the area. For example, I worked for Isem Doetinchem (now part of Hosokawa Micron) as a designer and draughtsman on the development of special mixer installations for the pharmaceutical industry. Later, I was seconded to Nijhuis Slachttechniek. I returned to where I had started my working life, but now I was working in the drawing room. I developed several slaughterhouse facilities there.
In February 1986, I received a phone call from the former director of Isem Doetinchem. He told me that he had started an engineering firm and that I could join him as a designer and draughtsman if I was interested. I said yes, because he also told me he wanted to train me in computer drawing. This is when my life as a CAD designer and draughtsman began. I learned a lot at WE-Engineering and I am still grateful to the former director for this opportunity. I learned CAD drawing on an ME-10, a Hewlett-Packard software application. This is a 2D drawing application (more high end and straightforward than AutoCad, which I also used). Later I used ME-30, a 3D drawing application from the same vendor. After that, I also familiarised myself with SolidWorks '89. I spent a lot of time at the WE-Engineering office (co-)constructing various machines. Some of these were for Hosokawa Doetinchem: mixers for the big boys in the industry, such as Douwe Egberts (to make Decafé, decaf coffee in mixer installations that were 10 m high). I also drew parts for an automated indoor car park in Zwolle. You could park your car in a lift, which then put your car somewhere in the building for you. I also helped to design and develop various amusement park and fairground attractions for the agency, including Discovery Mountain at Disneyland Paris. WE-Engineering also seconded me to companies in Gelderland and Twente, which meant that I again ended up at Nijhuis Slachttechniek, which had also started using ME-10 at the time. I also helped to develop a machine that made small plugs for mobile phones for Texas Instruments in Almelo. I liked working with micrometre precision. At Lagerwey in Barneveld, I worked on the development of the nacelle of a new type of wind turbine for more than two and a half years. The nacelle is the bit at the top of the tower to which all the generating components and blades are attached. I accompanied the entire process there from development to production (partly), pre-assembly and finally construction at the 'de Punt' site in Noordoostpolder.
It is now home to the highest work of art in the Netherlands (89 m): the wind turbine is painted in the colours of the surrounding area, which includes the IJsselmeer and flower fields. I have also done some other projects in mechanical engineering and air suspension, first at AJV in Hengevelde (now Dunlop) and then at VB-Techniek in Varsseveld (autumn 2004 to May 2005).
After working as a temp for WE-Engineering for some time, I was permanently hired by VB-Techniek, now VB-Airsuspension, in May 2005. The CFO at the time, Peter Prins, asked me to join the company at the request of Iginio Voorhorst and Eric Bruil. I actually said yes to the job offer right away, partly because of the excellent terms of employment.
I have worked here for 19 years as of 1 May 2005. I’m still happy that I made that change. It's a great, dynamic company and I love helping to develop the different types of suspension in 3D and 2D drawings in SolidWorks. I have worked on VB-FullAir, VB-SemiAir and VB-CoilSpring suspension systems for vans (for couriers, etc.), ambulances, wheelchair transport and motorhomes. They are also used for smaller car transporters and adapted cars that can be driven from a wheelchair. A very special project I was involved in was an 'autonomous people mover', a driverless vehicle that takes people from parking spaces to stations, airports and offices.
I know I can continue to work here for another three years until I retire. My team leader has already asked me if I could occasionally still help out as an advisor and resource centre after that. I'm seriously considering this arranagement to be available as and when necessary. So perhaps I'll still be roaming the VB-Airsuspension buildings after 2027..."
Luiza Stepien | Lean Specialist
"I worked at Philips Lighting in Winterswijk for 23 years. When the company closed down, some of my former Philips Lighting colleagues who were already working for VB-Airsuspension introduced me. At my previous employer, I started out as an Assembly Worker, before working as a Quality Controller and Lean Officer. In recent years, I have also worked as a team leader alongside my role within the Lean team.
I'm very happy at VB-Airsuspension. First and foremost, there is the work atmosphere, which all colleagues create together. The resources you have available to do your job well and the flexibility are also very good."
Douwe ten Have | Production & Logistics Planner
"In August 2021, I completed my education and I decided to continue my holiday job for a few months until I knew what I wanted to do exactly. After a while, I felt it was time to find a job that was in line with my training. I browsed the internet and soon found a vacancy at VB-Airsuspension. The more I found out about VBA, the more enthusiastic I became about the company.
It was exactly what I was looking for: a company that makes its own products. Things moved fast after that and my first day at work was on 7 May 2022.
VBA gives you plenty of room to contribute your own ideas and give your opinion. People like to help each other and are keen to explain how and why we do something. My colleagues make sure I can be myself, something that is very important to me. We know what we have in common, and we complement each other well. We are always up for a joke and have a great laugh together. I like going for after-work drinks. The nice thing is that you get to chat to colleagues you don't see or talk to every day. We often talk about things other than work there.
Right now, I’m in the perfect position. I’m still learning and that’s very important to me. I talk to a lot of people from different departments, so I see far more than just my own workplace. If I had to think of something different to do at VBA, I would like to work with the products. I have always been very interested in them right from the start."
