The Vetipak site in Zeewolde is home to our successful long-term partnership with Bakker Logistics, part of the STEF group. It’s also where we work for Dynamic Products Factory, which develops creative products for the retail sector. We recently ensured that a multitude of party items in 3,300 displays reached their destinations with a well-known German retail chain. We joined forces to run the whole process from A to Z for D.P. Factory.
Mother of Vetipak says goodbye
Hard worker, booster of good atmosphere and friend to everyone: Jeanne van Schadewijk was all of it for fifteen years. Always in for fun, and never afraid to offer her colleagues a listening ear or her shoulder. Until today, because Jeanne, mother of Vetipak, is going to enjoy her well-deserved retirement.
“When I worked for Vetipak through an accountancy firm, Arno asked me to join,” says Jeanne about her start at our company. “I told him I wouldn't do it because I visited to a lot of different companies, and I really liked that. But it turned out just a little bit different ... ”
Jeannes career at Vetipak
Jeanne couldn’t get Vetipak out of her mind. The atmosphere was always good at Vetipak: without "complaining", the team worked extremely hard. “There was a bit of an informal village mentality, which made I had a click with the company,” remembers the resident of Nistelrode. "I was already fifty years old, but decided to take a gamble: I gave Arno my yes-word."
Jeanne started in the accounting department in 2005. And gradually some HR tasks were added to her job. Eventually she ended up at the HR department, went back to Finance for a while, and not much later became an HR assistant again. “Working with people and being there for them: that's really my thing”, she summarizes her greatest strength.
Mother Jeanne
After a difficult start, in which Jeanne and Vetipak had to get used to each other, she became the link between management and the workplace. She noticed absolutely everything. And when she saw that someone was not feeling well, she picked it up too. This made her a counselor for many colleagues.
“I often said: come here, Jeanne will arrange it for you,” she says. “I was actually a kind of mother to many colleagues. I had time for everyone until half past four. Always. “Then I was happy to go home as well.”
“But when you are so deeply concerned with people, it is impossible to let go of all the troubles when you close the door. Jeanne: “I have shed a tear sometimes. And even lay awake at night. But if it became too much, I could always contact Arno. ”
‘Yoohoo, she’s back’
Over the years, Jeanne has seen Vetipak grow: from a factory with 40 employees to a company with several sites, two hundred people on the payroll and sometimes as many as four hundred and fifty temporary workers. Logically it became a bit more businesslike. But Jeanne herself did not change a bit.
"I am who I am and I do what I do,” she says with her characteristic smile. "Yes, I 'chat' a lot."
“I am who I am and I do what I do,” she says with her characteristic smile. "Yes, I 'chat' a lot. When I go to get coffee, I get the comment: I would like hót coffee, Jeanne. And I am a energetic person. In the morning I come in and I shout: yoohoo, she's back! And then I get started. I just love to boost the spirit a bit. ”
When asked, Jeanne thinks colleagues will also call her curious. She counteracts all possible statements about that quality in advance. “I just show a lot of interest. That's something else, haha! ”
Appreciation
Freedom, collegiality and a good atmosphere (in dutch: cosiness): according to Jeanne, these are the three words that describe her years at Vetipak. “I felt very much appreciated and respected, so I dared to take full freedom”, she begins her explanation.
“For me, collegiality means: being there for each other. And we succeeded. That made my job. I will never forget the pleasant cooperation with Hans (Hans Joore HR Manager). The roles were well divided: he did the office tasks and I did the factory floor tasks. Perfect, because, for example, writing policy is nothing for me. ”
“Still, the evenings at the Landweerstraat remain the best. Then I took the lead in the polonaise. ”
Polonaise
And then there are the Vetipak parties that should definitely not be missing in the list of highlights. Jeanne remembers several. With for example self-buried buckets for a game of farmers golf (hitting a football with a wooden clog on a stick and trying to swing it into the buckets) and trucks of sand for a beach volleyball court in the parking area.
“Still, the evenings at the Landweerstraat remain the best: in the loading dock with mainly 'a lot' of eating and 'a lot' of drinking. Then I take the lead in the polonaise. But ... of course we cleaned up ourselves together the next day. I always brought something tasty with me for after clean up: sausage rolls typical for our area for example. ”
Jeanne has barely known lows. But when she has to mention something, she doesn't even think about herself. “I find the corona period really annoying, because people lose their unbiased spontaneity,” she says with a serious tone. "That is worse than the previous financial crisis."
Touring with the camper
For the past two years, Jeanne has been able to work towards her farewell. And got used to more leisure time. Nathalie joined the HR department; She gradually took over tasks. According to the mother of Vetipak, her successor is ready for it.
“The book is closing for me,” she concludes. “I turned off my computer together with some colleagues, because I didn't want to do it alone. Whether they can still call? No, it’s over now.’’
“I am going to play a lot of tennis,” she concludes. “And enjoy the grandchildren. Mine are of course the sweetest in the world! In addition, I hope that my husband Cor and I can often go touring with our camper. Just leave when we want and fully enjoy our freedom! ”
