Geha and Laverman decided to work together in August 2013. Did that lead to the intended success? Did the collaboration of former 'rival colleagues' lead to murder and mayhem? Does the collaboration have weaknesses? Theo van Schie, employed by Geha since 1980 and today the sympathetic CEO - say just general manager - of Geha Laverman not only gave an honest answer, but also came up with a blunder from the past.
| Belgian blunder
o the lining of coal hopper in Dunkirk harbour, so-called breaker plates had to be fitted with a welded-on stud (bolt ed.). The breaker plates turned out to come loose very quickly and were carried along among the coal in the hopper stream. This in turn led to damage in the rest of the distribution process. Needless to say, this was noticed immediately and two of our employees left for Belgium for the weekend to find the cause of the error within 48 hours and repair everything. By early Monday morning, the hopper was up and running again. The cause of this blunder was to be found in the incorrect amperage with which the studs were welded to the plates. That error was retrospectively traced to a misprint in the welding specification! |
'It was and is certainly not easy to get two companies with different cultures to work together and we are not there yet. Nevertheless, it all went faster than expected and it has meanwhile produced a lot of good things so you can really speak of a success,' says Theo van Schie.
'Going out together with your former colleague and it goes extremely well! Our representatives are not juniors but seasoned specialists. For customers, this means an enormous amount of know-how, knowing for sure that you will get all the attention you need and will be helped well and quickly. Our customers hardly notice that Geha and Laverman are no longer competitors and I actually have the feeling that customers have taken our partnership to heart.
The fact that our sales force has become so extensive that we can often be at the customer's premises within an hour, both in the Netherlands and in Belgium, is a real improvement'.
'Our supply programme is extensive and still growing, so much so that we can actually supply all wear products. Mostly from stock but also on-demand, which is where we are particularly strong; we know how to handle our own Hardox like no other.
Geha used to be exclusively a manufacturer, we made and delivered to wholesalers and not directly to end-users. Now we get enquiries straight from the market.
Because you have everything in house, you think in terms of solutions, which can be with the product, but also with delivery time and price. Our customers know that, and as a result we have built up a long-standing relationship with many of our customers.
Customers of Geha Laverman realise only too well that it is very specialised work. Steel, especially wear steel, is unwieldy, naturally heavy and difficult to machine.
Theo van Schie: 'A lot can go wrong. We carefully recorded every processing procedure for a reason. If I am honest, I admit that we did blunder at times (see box Belgian Blunder)But in the end, the result was that the relationship afterwards was better than ever before.'
Theo has worked at Geha for 35 years (ed. since 2013 so Geha Laverman), it was his first employer and it looks like it will also be his last. After 35 years, I am still enjoying myself. And despite the interesting offers I have received, I have never been tempted to switch. Never regretted it for a moment either.' , said Theo.
Theo is a metallurgist at heart, a hard worker, but also one who sees the 'fun' of the job. He is often present on the shop floor to see what is going on. Definitely not an ironworker who only thinks and acts in hard numbers. It looks like that is not going to change; no matter how big Geha Laverman will grow!
Theo van Schie has an answer ready for any question call 0651322367 and feel free to ask.
