Working together for sustainability

Sustainability is also playing an increasing role in facilities management. Good partners are indispensable in this respect. So says Mariska Berghorst, Facility Manager at Veco Precision. Based on her initiative, the company made the switch to Nedlin Industry in early 2023. “I was looking for a true discussion partner. I found one in Nedlin.”

The parts made by Veco Precision in Eerbeek are everywhere, such as in industrial printheads, in coffee machines and in respirators. The company is a global leader in a technique called ‘electroforming’. With this, Veco Precision builds parts atom by atom. Thus, it achieves a precision of 1 to 2 microns, 1 to 2 thousandths of a millimetre.

The chemicals needed for the production process must be handled responsibly. In early 2023, Veco Precision therefore began a project to further regulate the strict separation between the workplace and the environment, including in terms of company clothing. This further ensures that the chemicals used stay in the workplace, and do not end up in the environment. Around the same time, the manufacturer switched to Nedlin Industry.

Partner

Facilities manager Mariska Berghorst initiated the switch. “I knew Nedlin from my previous employer. There, I experienced a very satisfactory partnership with the laundry. With Veco Precision, another supplier had been engaged, which I was not entirely satisfied with. I did not want a supplier, but a true discussion partner. Someone who helps come up with innovations and changes. Who looks for solutions together, even when things aren’t going great.” 

Moreover, she says, sustainability is also playing an increasing role in the facilities world. The steps Nedlin is taking in terms of sustainability, constantly innovating and looking for ways to do things even better, are things she incorporates into her choices as facility manager. “We think it is important to be affiliated with partners who take the environment into account.” 

Unique

Veco Precision itself is also making strides, for example by using lower temperatures and investing in the building, e.g. with solar panels and insulation. Customers are also fully engaged in sustainability, partly driven by laws and regulations. “From that point of view, we don’t have to worry about sustainability because we are fairly unique in our kind. But we think it’s important to properly consider that.” 

Soon, therefore, Mariska started talking to Nedlin. “Contractually, we had to wait for the right moment, but I had been in touch with Bart Gort, New Business Development Manager at Nedlin, for some time. He has been with us many times to prepare the switch. Together with our safety department, Bart looked at exactly what was needed. How much clothing is there? How many clothes are in circulation every day? And how much stock is needed?”

Strictly hygienic

Since the start of the project that even more strictly regulates the separation between workplace and environment, employees take off their private clothes at the beginning of the working day and put on a clean set of work clothes. They put away their shoes, step through the transfer bench to the work side and put on their work shoes. Before each break, they wash their hands, throw their work clothes in the laundry and go through the process in reverse, only to grab a new set of clothes from the closet after the break. At the end of the working day, the last clothes go into the laundry.

To minimise the chance of error, Mariska reviewed the design for the changing rooms at Nedlin. “For some employees, the new procedure really took some getting used to. That’s why we definitely wanted to know the best way to handle laundry bags, for example, or how big the storage compartments should be.”

Switching silently

At least three sets of clothing per day are now required for each employee - a number that Veco Precision did not previously employ. “We reordered more clothes even before the switch, so those garments were already in stock.” During the switch, the new clothes were deployed immediately and those already in circulation were chipped. This allowed Veco Precision to use the entire clothing package immediately after the switch.

Was Mariska dreading the switch? “No, not at all. I had and have so much confidence in Nedlin, the contacts are so warm, that I never thought for a moment that things would not work out.” Due to careful preparation, employees were not affected by the introduction of the new laundry either. In fact: “Nobody noticed anything about the switch. It really has been a silent one for employees.''

What employees do take away are the steps Nedlin is taking in sustainability. Mariska: “We show internally that the laundry has made good strides in innovation. And we show that we are all in it together. That sense of togetherness is much appreciated by employees.”