Friends help build Marcelissen’s future
As specialist for food processing machinery for potatoes, beets, carrots and other root vegetables, Marcelissen delivers technical and qualitative solutions that contribute to a better world. About a year ago Daan and Ivo joined our team at Marcelissen and ever since have been assigned as Mechatronics Engineers to further optimize machines such as the optical sorter. Moreover, to see how the optical sorter can be used for other root vegetables besides (un)peeled potatoes.
At Marcelissen, Daan and Ivo are allowed to start from scratch with innovative plans and to innovate existing machines with new technologies. A very exciting assignment for engineers just starting their careers. We are proud they are already achieving great results.
Good friends since university
Daan and Ivo share a hobby, and that is playing the guitar. “I’m in a band with two good friends and a singer. Together we play a lot of covers and we have a lot of fun doing it. It is heavy music, like Metallica, but I like it”, says Daan. Ivo used to play in a band with the same music style. He traded music for the football field, where he can be found every Sunday.
From studying together to working together
Daan & Ivo both studied Mechatronics in Venlo. They became good friends during their studies. That they would afterwards work together for a company was pure coincidence. “It just so happened that we both applied at Marcelissen. An engineer left Marcelissen and they had a very challenging assignment. I -Ivo- had a job interview but immediately said that I did not want to do it alone. Fortunately, Daan had also applied, and I had to laugh when I heard that he was also invited for an interview. Together they got to work at Marcelissen as Mechatronics Engineers. Daan with the focus on electronics and Ivo with the focus on cameras.
Continuous learning and cooperation are highly valued at Marcelissen
When Daan and Ivo started at Marcelissen, everything was still new to them. “The Mechatronics course is very broad, so you learn the basics about many subjects. It is only now that we are really getting into things. Marcelissen gives us the opportunity to learn by executing assignments. This way, we can apply the knowledge we have acquired at university and gain a lot of new knowledge. Logically, the foundation of knowledge we built at university is important for the practice. It gives us the basis to optimise our machines and production lines while on the go we see what works best.” Safe to say that Daan and Ivo are in a continuous learning process in which they are developing well.
Groundbreaking results?
The two have been working at Marcelissen for one year now and have already made several changes in the company in the field of Mechatronics. In the past year, Ivo has focused on the Optical Sorter. “I have been looking closely at the operation of the machine. This process alone always takes a while. But now I know exactly what the machine can do and how it works. I am already looking at the next step! Can we process other tuber vegetables besides potatoes with the optical sorter? This development would really be groundbreaking in the market providing new opportunities.” In the first months, Daan found it difficult to make a good electrical description of a machine. “However, now that I have done it several times, I know what I’m doing. I receive the electrical drawing and check whether all the components are there. And then, if it finally works, I look at the machine with pride. For me, those are beautiful moments.”
Ivo contributed to the renewal of the Optical Sorter.
What is the next step?
Daan and Ivo would like to share their knowledge more and more with their colleagues. “The next few years we can still develop plenty of things at Marcelissen. I believe together we can undertake a lot of steps to further improve machines and production lines for customers. This way, we contribute to Marcelissen’s mission to acknowledge the responsibly of the food processing industry and to make it more efficient to contribute to the growth and blossoming of life on earth.
In addition, Daan has the personal drive to further develop himself, within the company, towards the software side. He is determined to learn more about the field of software. Especially concerning entire processing lines. “With processing lines, you are dealing with something that has not been developed before. That is exactly what I find fun and exciting.”
Building the future of Marcelissen together
“Working at Marcelissen is also so much fun because we have a lot of freedom to plan our own work. We do not do well staying behind a desk all day. In addition, in a family business like Marcelissen, you can take on different roles. Here, we can walk into the factory and directly test what we do. It would be great if in the near future we can build a large Research & Development department where we can test everything. Then we can make even more progress for Marcelissen and of course for our clients.”
To be continued!
