The first four Kolmer months of managing director Martijn Stoffelsen

Aiming for operational optimisation

Martijn Stoffelsen has been the managing director of Kolmer since 1 January of this year. What does he think of his first few months at Kolmer? What strikes him, what is he proud of and what will he be tackling?

“The first few months were exciting, more than anything else”, Martijn Stoffelsen laughs. “This is a technical environment with a lot of professionals with a passion for engines and that’s wonderful to see for an a-technical person like me! The first days in particular, I spent a lot of time on the work floor. I shadowed everyone and looked at what they did. People enthusiastically told me what they were doing, they were full of passion. Now I understand more about the production process and it’s easier for me to qualify things. And what’s so valuable and a good thing is that because I’m a-technical, I can ask silly questions. I look at things through my glasses and view things differently. The members of the board team are a perfect match, everyone has his own focus area.”

Fast services and customisation

The new director also joined account managers on their visits to customers. “Just as important, of course”, he says. “I really took this opportunity to ask customers what they think of Kolmer, good points, points for improvement, what can we do to help them, etc.? I understand they mainly want a fast service and customisation based on specific wishes. That’s good to hear because that’s one of our strengths, we offer added value thanks to our speed and flexibility. The one area where we do depend on our suppliers is the fact that speed is the key. We continue to focus on this.”

Optimisation

“It’s also important to go along with technical developments and the energy requirements imposed by the government”, Martijn Stoffelsen continues. “And to continue to innovate. We have the most modern engines that comply with all requirements but we also have older models that are still being used in the shipping industry. We have to stock parts for both of them. The challenge in that respect mainly lies in logistics, something we aim to streamline further. We’re also working on operational optimisation, we want to modernise and digitalise more, but we’ll only do that if it really benefits the customer, it’s something we’re very strict of. We don’t want too many fixed protocols, we want to remain flexible.”

Our own course

“What I’m proud of? I’m proud of the fact that regionally, Kolmer is known as an excellent company that people like to work for. And of the fact that international businesses know where to find us when they need an electric motor. I’m also proud of the fact that Kolmer manages to survive in a sector that is full of price busters. Kolmer follows its own course and I want to hold on to that. This is something we do together. Our mission and vision, for instance, are determined not just by the board and management but by all members of staff. It means the business really is “ours” and it makes it easier to hold each other to account when something does turn out differently in practice. It makes us a fully-fledged team, we can all be proud of what we achieve together. If everyone at Kolmer knows what we represent, it makes it easier for the members of staff to take initiatives that are in line with our business philosophy. We’re definitely open to it!”

New top coating

“For now, I’ll mainly focus on finding a connection, internally and externally, and on optimisation within Kolmer”, Martijn Stoffelsen continues. “It’s a wonderful challenge and I’m happy to accept it. This way, I can contribute to the continued growth of our business. The new top coating we’re developing, for instance. We hope it will protect our engines even better against aggressive external influences such as salt and acid, so that they will last even longer. We’re currently having the coating tested externally in terms of safety and durability because naturally, we want to be able to guarantee that our engines enjoy excellent protection for at least five years. We’re aiming to start applying the coating after the summer. Another wonderful step towards the future. On to the next level!”