Profile Herman de Jong, Development Engineer

One person who has a strong personal commitment to the Heavy division - which specialises in bulk material handling in heavy industry - is 24-year-old development engineer Herman de Jong, a member of the R&D team for weighfeeder technology. The mechanical engineering graduate first became acquainted with Schenck Process during a student placement. Having heard about the company from a friend, and since he hadn't decided at this point in his studies which field he wanted to specialise in, he took the opportunity to get his first hands-on experience of R&D.

"I liked the fact that at Schenck Process, we students were included in all aspects of development work," the Dutch-born engineer recalls. For example, he was able to observe the development process for a new conveyor belt feeder and expand his knowledge of fluid mechanics. After spending several weeks on placement, Herman went back to university for a year. He subsequently wrote his dissertation at Schenck Process, and it was while undertaking this project that he realised he wanted to work for Schenck Process after he graduated. His line manager was very happy with the idea, and in August 2006, the newly qualified mechanical engineer joined the company as a development engineer based in Darmstadt.

As Herman was already so familiar with the R&D department he didn't need to complete the normal induction phase. However, like all new employees he was assigned a mentor who provided planned, systematic support during the first weeks and months. Herman's mentor was his direct colleague, as the development department works in teams of two, allowing newcomers to learn from more experienced colleagues. Herman is still working on the project he joined in 2006 when he first came to Schenck Process: a multifunctional weighfeeder for a large bulk material manufacturer. "I've been involved from the first team meetings, where we discussed how to design a made-to-measure system like this, to the first drawings and the current component design phase," he says.

He is currently collaborating with a colleague on a project for another area of the company for which a patent application is already in the pipeline.

Source: CRF Deutschland GmbH & Co KG. You will find the full profile for Schenck Process GmbH here. All other results of the study can be found in "Top-Arbeitgeber für Ingenieure 2008" (Top Employers for Engineers 2008), published by W. Bertelsmann Verlag.

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