Daniël de Zeeuw Mechanical Engineering Architect

“As an architect, I draw up specifications together with the client and translate these into a design that is then qualified. Collaboration with colleagues, the client and specialists from various disciplines is crucial in this. My work is therefore super dynamic, educational and above all very enjoyable. Also because we really have to zoom in on details. Every project is different and offers new challenges. I often work on complex problems and projects where the solution is not immediately obvious. Sometimes this means that we have to develop new technology or do research to make the project a success. Typical VDL: high-tech is central to everything we do.”
 

A strong can-do mentality

“The collaboration within VDL is something that motivates me every time. My colleagues have different backgrounds with a lot of knowledge and experience in their field. A broad team comes together for every project to look at the situation from different angles. This gives me the feeling that we all contribute to the advancement of technology. As a result, we continue to innovate. Innovation sometimes also means taking risks. You can have great ideas in advance, but you can't always estimate with certainty whether it will work as intended. This sometimes only comes to light during the test phase. That is why collaboration with the production department is essential. Fortunately, there is a strong can-do mentality at VDL. Instead of being slowed down by potential problems, we look for solutions. That makes me very driven.”
 

Fundamental research

“The technology we are involved with is very complex. Sometimes we have to experiment and that is quite exciting. Nevertheless, we dare to take new steps and we are always prepared to help each other. There is a strong sense of shared responsibility for the technological developments that we implement. This also makes VDL distinguish itself nationally and internationally in the efficiency of developing high-tech products. Our time-to-market is exceptionally short, which gives us a competitive advantage. In addition, we work closely with various knowledge institutes. For example, I am currently working with a university on a major project. We are conducting research into improving the adhesion of an adhesive system for a material that is widely used in the high-tech industry. I think it is really cool to contribute to that. The project that I am most proud of is improving the production process of a magnetic bed for a state-of-the-art position module. Together with my team, I was involved in the research into the robot and the adhesive with which this robot assembles magnetic beds. The changes that we implemented as a result of that research were enormously successful. The robot is now running like a train. The fact that I contributed to that development is something that I look back on with great pride.”