Back to Alewijnse: The story of Sven Zwartkruis
Automation Engineer Sven has joined Alewijnse for the second time. He started in 2016 and made a move to another company in 2019. When he received a call in 2021 asking if he would like to come over for a coffee, he immediately responded.
"The colleagues in my department and the content of my work were always nice. I really enjoyed working here at the time, so I was immediately open to talking to Alewijnse again," says Sven, who has been back for over a year now.
Before joining Alewijnse, Sven studied electrical engineering at the HAN in Arnhem. Although he says he didn't get much out of automation, Sven was triggered to look for work in this field during his studies.
"During my time at the HAN I did a minor on automation. I soon found out that this was my thing. Immediately after graduating, I came to work for Alewijnse. I met someone at a birthday party who was doing the traineeship at Alewijnse. He introduced me to a colleague, and I got an interview."
We were curious as to what it was that made Sven want to get an interview with Alewijnse so quickly the second time round.
At Alewijnse, you are involved in major projects right from the start; I had a taste of that during my first period at Alewijnse. Things were very different at the company I started working for afterwards. There the projects remained smaller, which didn't suit me very well. Then the team leader of engineering approached me and asked if I would like to meet for a cup of coffee, and I said yes.
Sven Zwartkruis, Automation Engineer
"It's always good to take a look somewhere else. Then you can see what it's like in another company. Still, I immediately felt happy to be back in my department. Very quickly it felt like home again. Colleagues and customers soon knew where to find me and I went with the positive flow. So about two years after I left, I was back in the same department, doing the same job, with the same great colleagues."
As an Automation Engineer, Sven works both in the office and at the customer's site. This means that he sometimes goes abroad to help customers. He really enjoys the variety.
The different aspects of my work, partly ad hoc (with service jobs) and partly on long-term projects, that is what makes my job fun.
Sven Zwartkruis, Automation Engineer
"I personally enjoy customer contact, both internal and external problem solving. I also like the variety of working in the office and on location. I really wouldn't be happy if I worked full-time at the office or full-time on location. That variety ensures that I enjoy my work.
Occasionally, Sven goes abroad for weeks at a time to do a service job. This year, for example, he has been away for more than five weeks.
"Yes, that's quite a lot. Normally I spend about one and a half months a year abroad on service jobs. Fortunately, most service jobs are fun. You are really busy working on location, commissioning the systems. For me, that is the icing on the cake. You often go abroad with a few colleagues, then you have dinner together in the evening. That is quite nice too. Sometimes you have to go out on your own, which is less fun of course, but the job remains great."
The weeks abroad are occasional for Sven, but what does an average week look like for an Automation Engineer?
"The nice thing about my job is, that sometimes in the morning I still have no idea what kind of questions will come my way that day, or where I'll be going in the near future."
I spend most of my time working on the automation and implementation of our Alarm, Monitoring and Control System (AMCS). This is mainly for new build projects. In addition, there are the service jobs.
Sven Zwartkruis, Automation Engineer
"Many service requests are submitted via the shared mailbox. This is where customer questions are assigned to the various service engineers. When I see a question come in for me, I usually call first to get more background information. Then I try to help the customer the best I can. Sometimes you can solve the problem with a call or an e-mail, but sometimes you spend hours puzzling to find the problem. That contact with the customer is very important."
So Sven works on both new build projects and service jobs. What is the biggest difference between long-term projects and service?
"The work on new-build projects is done by the automation team. It's a young and fun team, where everyone helps each other and everyone is happy to help. The cooperation is an important part of the work and makes it more fun for me. You really feel part of the team.
In the service team, the work is very different, where your knowledge and experience is key. You are asked to do a job, because you are the expert who can solve the problem. The combination of my work in automation and going out for service jobs is what I like best," says Sven.
This variety is great for Sven, but some people don't like it. That is why Sven advises you to think carefully about what you want and what makes you feel good.
We have it all at Alewijnse, but you have to know what you like first. If you haven't quite figured it out yet, fortunately you get the chance to investigate what fits you best.
Sven Zwartkruis, Automation Engineer
"In that case, too, Alewijnse is a really good company to work for, because you soon get to work on major projects. That's the advantage of this international company, it's all there and everyone works on the big picture."
Has Sven's story made you curious about working at Alewijnse and would you like to be part of the family soon? Check out our vacancies here or send an open application.
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