Emre Kaya, site director at Organik Kimya in Rotterdam, has received the 10th Plant Manager of the Year Award. He accepted the prize at the Deltavisie conference on 8 June in Spijkenisse.
Organik Kimya, a Turkish firm, needed time to adjust to the local business culture after establishing a plant in the Netherlands ten years ago. But since then, the company has made great strides and is now a competitor for recognition as the best in its class.
“As a business, we focus on sustainable growth and sound organization,” said Kaya. “We invest in human talent and safety. We do everything we can to ensure that our employees are happy with the organization. That is my goal and my passion. I want to show that businesses in Rotterdam port can grow, and can grow in a way that prioritizes safety and satisfied employees.” As the award winner, Kaya has the next twelve months to make the point.
Runners-up Henk Veldink, site manager at Hexion in Pernis, and Roelof van Wijk, site director at Avebe in Foxhol, said they were honored to have been nominated for the award.
Veldink stressed that it had not been a solo effort, but that the entire Hexion site had helped make improvements. He said that making the added value of measures explicit had been key to getting people on board. Van Wijk said the atmosphere at the Avebe site had benefited greatly from improved relations not only among employees, but also with the community of Foxhol.
The Plant Manager of the Year Award is organized by the Petrochem platform, VNCI and Votob in cooperation with Deltalinqs and Havenbedrijf Rotterdam. In their words, the award “benefits the image of the Dutch processing industries through recognition of the efforts and achievements of plant managers.”
