New Perspectives / Charlotte
As a little girl, she wasn’t immediately impressed by the family business. What a mess, Charlotte Roodenburg thought when she walked around the factory building at Huisman, with steel lying all over the place. Since then, this feeling has been replaced by a thorough fascination for Huisman’s huge and innovative installations. As a contact for Huisman clients worldwide, she always looks ahead.
“In times of transition, Huisman quickly adapts and comes up with new solutions. That is why we are ahead of the competition.”
Charlotte Roodenburg, Manager New Build Sales Team
Charlotte, what does your role entail exactly?
“I’m a Sales Manager. My job, therefore, mainly focuses on the preliminary stage: sales. I sit down with clients to discuss their wishes and requirements. Which specific solution do they need from us? As soon as that is clear, we ensure that it is made at Huisman. ”
Are you always successful in that?
“Well, when we make a promise to a client, you can count on us to do everything possible to ensure they get a product in perfect working order. Irrespective of how complex the installation may be. As for sales, you do have to be able to rely on the organisation and colleagues that follow up after the sales stage. After all, they are the ones that design and build the equipment. Fortunately we can depend on each other as colleagues.”
Which competencies are needed in your role?
“In my sales function I am the eyes and ears of the company and must be able to act fast. This is a time of huge changes, climate change, new energy sources, bigger wind turbines, tighter schedules and we need to anticipate on all these aspects. In this transition you see that Huisman thinks and develops proactively, leaving the competition behind. Furthermore, patience is a virtue, as the process hardly ever goes exactly according to plan.”
What do you hear and see at the moment?
“A huge demand for wind cranes. Apart from what our clients want, it is also important to keep a sharp eye on ourselves as a company. What will be next? What is our view on the future? You see, our products are of high quality and last a very long time. This means that at some point everyone has what he wants. What happens then? For that reason, it is a good thing to look ahead, and discover new markets. We want to work proactively instead of reactively.”
Meaning?
“Well, just think of something completely different, like developing solutions to issues in our society. Extinguishing forest fires or fighting a pandemic. Together with our team of smart colleagues we want to make a positive impact on the world.”
And within the energy transition?
“I’m hoping for a break-through in geothermics, a reliable way to reduce energy needs. We are not there yet. The biggest problem for the near future is not so much the generation of sustainable energy, but rather its large-scale storage. A challenge for which we are already designing and developing solutions.”
Do you also want to make an impact and be part of a global team of innovators? View our vacancies.
More 'New Perspectives'
Read more or watch the video about the perspective of:
- Arnold van der Linde, Tender & Concept Engeering
- Cees van Veluw, Product Manager Cranes
- Korneel van der Meer, Product Manager
- Robin van Boven, Principal Engineer
- William Walhout, Mechanical Engineer