Alexander Davidse Production specialist

‘A ship is built by mutual effort’

"I have been working for Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding for a few months now. My friends know this too. If we are lying on the beach together and a naval ship sails by they call out: Alex, there goes one of your boats! And, fair's fair, you feel proud that you have contributed your part in the building of such a ship."

 

"Although I live in Vlissingen, I worked in a steel factory in the Rotterdam area for years. Nevertheless, DSNS appealed to me. As a company it is a household name, especially here in Vlissingen. When I applied I was offered a job as an engineer. However, that was not what I was looking for. I want to be involved in the execution of the process. A year later, that chance arose. At that point, my move to DSNS was settled within a week and I could get started as planning engineer."

 

State-of-the-art technology

 

"What makes DSNS such an appealing employer is the fact that they offer you the opportunity to work with state-of-the-art technology and techniques. For a technician like myself it doesn't get any better than that. A naval vessel has to keep up with modern technology. Nevertheless, that is not the only reason why I appreciate DSNS so much. It's also about the personal contact, internally and externally. Right now, I am working on two projects for the Moroccan navy. Because it is important that I can confer with my Moroccan contact persons, I will be starting a French class soon. I am very appreciative that my employer offers me these opportunities."

 

Careful consideration

 

"In the process industry, I used to work in maintenance and because of that I was used to getting started really quickly in case of a technical malfunction or a repair job. Here at DSNS we do a lot more in ways of preparation, we make sure everything is well planned before we get started. As planning engineer I am co-responsible for the bench-fitting department although I naturally work in close collaboration with my co-planning engineers. All in all, there are 20 of us working on this. The atmosphere at DSNS is very good. When you have just started here everything is new, naturally, but I was well received. I still have a lot to learn, but the great thing is you work in a team. Where one person has questions, the other has the answers and vice versa. Working on a ship with so many divisions and people is really quite extraordinary; we definitely build a ship together."

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