At Aalberts advanced mechatronics, we work in a demanding industry that requires us to constantly get the most out of our processes. To do this, we need people who love to get the most out of themselves. One employee who embodies this is Justin Soemoredjo, Cleanroom Supervisor at Lamers.
hooked from the start
Justin studied accounting and took an accounting job after he graduated, but quickly realized it wasn’t for him. His father was working as an engineer at a semiconductor manufacturer in Nijmegen and suggested that Justin give that company a try. After spending a day in their cleanroom, he was hooked. “I liked the environment, the process, all the technical stuff,” he says.
After steadily growing as an operator there, Justin made a switch to working in a cleanroom at a pharma company. While he did like it and quickly became a leader there, he didn’t see a clear path forward with them and wanted more. A friend from his football
team who had worked at Lamers suggested he give it a shot. He did a one day tryout, loved it, and within two days they made him a job offer.
However, that same day the pharma company made him an offer as well. “I had mixed feelings and didn’t know what to do – keep my current job or try a new challenge at Lamers?” Justin says. “I took my girlfriend out for a fancy dinner and we talked about the situation. She told me, ‘I think you already know what you should do.’ I quit and started here straight away.”
off to a running start
Justin started as a junior measuring technician in the measurement group. He picked things up quickly and was given special projects to push him further. When Lamers started reorganizing and implementing supervisors on the shop floor, Justin decided to go for it. “I was officially the first supervisor at Lamers,” he says.
He initially supervised the preparation group and helped successfully carry out some complex projects, such as setting up a whole new cleanroom. Eventually the opportunity came up to help the supervisors in his old group make improvements to their process. “That went so well that I’m now here officially – back at my old group and having a lot of fun,” Justin says.
getting better at managing growth
That’s not to say things are easy now. “We have a high demand for our products and our customers keep asking for more,” Justin says. “We’ve been working hard to put our people where their strengths are, but what else can you do when everybody is in the right spot? I’m enjoying helping my colleagues develop their strengths and finding new ways to improve our processes.”
Justin is confident that Lamers will succeed. “I see the company adapting to the situation,” he says. “We’re hiring a lot, training a lot, and implementing better ways of working, including making a big change to our current process. We’re changing in a good way and getting better at managing our growth.”
new opportunities to develop
The ever-changing environment suits Justin well. “My girlfriend tells me when she sees that I’m too comfortable – at my job and also at home – and she tries to take me out of my comfort zone,” he says. “When I have a new challenge I get the best results and feel full of energy. Lamers has always given me opportunities to develop myself and they keep on challenging me.”
“My goal is to work with my team to have our new process in place within a year,” he continues. “Maybe by then I’ll be feeling too comfortable again and needing to try something new. My director and manager told me that if I want to change things up the
company will find something for me. They also told me that they’re proud of me and give me full trust. I’m very thankful for that.”
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