Niek - Service caller

service caller; a new challenge for our colleague Niek.

Today we would like to introduce our colleague Niek to you. Not new at Omori, but a whole new role and challenge for him as a service caller. Niek started at Selo in 2014 as a service engineer, moved up to a software engineer in 2019 and has been part of the service team as a service caller/planner since September 2022.

You have experienced considerable growth within Omori Europe, how did you experience this?
“Difficult, quite difficult. During the Selo time I was in the field as a service technician and mainly did the electrical faults with the occasional maintenance job in between. And that’s what I preferred to do; in the car on time in the morning to a customer with a problem. Then I was there until the problem was solved and I went home with a satisfied feeling. Every day a different challenge, every day a different customer; that was my biggest motivation!
When Selo and Omori divorced, I asked myself ‘what do I really want’. Stay with Omori and tinker with the packaging machines or go to Hengelo with Selo and delve into the cutters and the wolves? The various branches in which Omori is active, in combination with the technology of the packaging machines, were the deciding factor for me. Looking back now, I am very happy with this decision.”

“I wanted something different, but not somewhere else”

Why did you make the switch to Automation & Control?
“The dark side of being a service technician is that you are away a lot and irregularly. Malfunctions come in and have to be resolved the next day, or even the same day. After I had a house of my own and a very sweet girlfriend (now a wife), life will be a bit different. And I wanted something different, but not somewhere else. I like it very much at Omori; I have nice colleagues, there is a nice working atmosphere and I feel at home here. I don’t want to lose that. In recent years I had already been working on software, also a bit more project-based. And since there were a number of complex Leepack projects in the pipeline and there was a lot of pressure in the A&C department, I was able to contribute to this team”.

Although you really liked this, you are now going to do something else. Was this a very conscious choice of yours?
“I was already a bit in doubt, because I missed the service. As a software engineer you mainly sit behind your laptop in the office, you spend weeks on one project and you have little contact with the customer. When I was asked if I wanted to use my knowledge as a service caller/planner, I didn’t have to think about it for 5 minutes and tackled this challenge with both hands. Because I know both the company and the machines well, I am able to offer our customers the support they are looking for”.

When you look back at the past 8 years, what are you most proud of?
The answer to this takes a while, because as a real down-to-earth Twente resident you don’t easily indicate what you are good at… Fortunately, there is then an engaging story.
“The chances and opportunities I’ve always had here. I came here as green as grass, a level 3 mechatronics technician with no software knowledge and very shy. What I am most proud of now is my personal development. My motto is ‘don’t stand still and just try’. What has given me a lot of confidence is the support I have received in my time as a service technician. Certainly in the beginning things occasionally went wrong, but the response from the service manager (if it happened once, it really isn’t a problem) and the unconditional support has brought me where I am now. That has given me the confidence that my attitude of “if I don’t try, I’m sure I can’t” has brought me where I am today.

The solidarity among colleagues ensures that we always get the job done

In your view, what characterizes a good atmosphere within the team and the organization and how important is this for you?
When I look at the service team, it is mainly that everyone is there for each other. And I also notice this in the company. Even when things are less fun, the solidarity among colleagues ensures that we all put our shoulders to the wheel to get the job done. And at the end of the day it always works out. And that is very important to me.

Which activities give you the most energy? What really makes you happy?
That is, after all, solving problems/malfunctions at a customer. And this runs like a thread through my career at Omori. Whether it is a mechanical or electrical failure in the machine or a software bug. When it ultimately results in a satisfied customer, I go home happy.