In conversation with Toon van der Wulp, Managing Partner of WFS PRO, about the High-Tech Machinery industry.
Toon van der Wulp, together with Maurice Taks, founded WFS PRO in 2016. He has been active in the recruitment sector for more than 30 years and has actually always worked in the recruitment/secondment sector for highly educated technical personnel.
High-Tech Machinery, what does that actually mean?
It is hard to think of an industry as diverse as High-Tech Machinery. Within this industry is all about utilizing advanced technologies; or in other words, developing technology at the highest level. Whether you shine the spotlight on segments such as semiconductors, food or other exciting industries, one thing is certain: this dynamic and innovative environment is brimming with opportunity.
It is a broad industry that revolves around everything that has to do with producing and making machines and products. “High-Tech Machinery is a catch-all term. Many people immediately think of organizations such as ASML and Philips, but we [WFS PRO] are very active in the supply chain of such large parties,” says Toon. “For example, CoreDux, one of our clients, is a supplier to ASML. They make, among other things, piping systems specifically for ASML machines. Large organizations such as ASML receive various components from the supply chain, pour their 'sauce' over them and bring them together into one machine.”
Working within High-Tech Machinery
As Toon explained earlier, WFS PRO has clients in the supply chain (suppliers), but also end customers of the supply chain. Some of our clients in High-Tech Machinery are CoreDux, ASML, Summox, Damen Naval, GEA, Pal-V, Sam XL, Avion, NTS, Prodrive, and more. Within High-Tech Machinery you should mainly think of functions within the disciplines Engineering, System Integration and Manufacturing.
WFS PRO stands for the flexible deployment of knowledge and talent within various industries. “Specialists who work at ASML in high-tech mechanical engineering, for example, can also work in an environment such as Damen Naval in the Marine & Offshore. A frigate is also a high-tech machine in principle, only one that lies in the water and sails,” Toon explains further.
Curious about what else we do? Check out our High-Tech Machinery vacancies!
Developments in the industry
Toon shares the developments that he now mainly sees in the industry, based on his years of knowledge and experience. “In the production environment, you see more and more automation and robotization, more and more companies are working on this”, according to Toon, this development is partly due to the shortages on the labor market. “The production sector used to be based on manual work. Now more and more companies are fully engaged in mechanizing, automating and ultimately robotizing this manual work. So you really see a development in the manufacturing industry”.
This development is partly due to shortages on the labour market, but also to the need to increase efficiency and improve the production process. Toon talks about the impact of this development on the industry: “Such a development naturally has a great impact on an entire organisation. How are you going to engineer? How is that supply chain structured? How do you deal with your stocks? How do you deal with it if you can suddenly increase your production because you create more production capacity? Your suppliers also have to participate in that process”. Due to this automation and robotisation, fewer people are needed to perform more work.
According to Toon, this does not mean that all work will disappear: “Work is changing, as a result of robotization and automation. That does not mean that all those people will no longer have work, but in the meantime they will have to be retrained as a different type of employee, with different skills. Companies will have to deal with that, because it is really a change”. Yet many organizations underestimate the change to an automated work environment: “What you see in the market is that many companies see it coming, but postpone it. Ultimately, they cannot avoid it”.
This development has a particular impact on the manufacturing industry: “We need to develop different skills and abilities. If you have been doing the same thing for ten years and you suddenly have to learn something different because your environment is changing… yes, that of course has quite an impact. People need to be included in that, which is perfectly possible, but people need to be open to it”. Of course, such an automation and robotization process is not done in one day. Companies cannot automate everything from one day to the next, that is not a realistic picture. “Of course, it all takes time and during the process the 'shop' remains open, so you still need normal production. Only there comes a time when you start to phase that out and more and more is automated”.
Importance of High-Tech Machinery Industry
In High-Tech Machinery, automation and robotization of the labor market play a major role, but what else is the importance of this industry? “In the Netherlands, we find it important that we have a knowledge economy and that we can export knowledge to other countries, so to speak. As a country, it is important to have these kinds of companies; where you develop knowledge, where you are constantly working on developing and gaining knowledge, where you can make a difference worldwide.” Toon gives ASML as an example; they make a product that cannot be made so well anywhere else in the world.
“High-Tech Machinery and the developments within this industry are essential for the development of knowledge and the prosperity of the Netherlands”.
