Passion for asphalt
Ballast Nedam is not a family business as such, but it does employ people who are related to each other. Take the brothers Roel (right) and Michiel (left) van Wijk. They are both asphalt machine operators and helped each other find a job at Ballast Nedam Infra Regionaal.
Roel: ‘When I was young, I didn't know what I wanted to be. First I worked through an employment agency and then for a contractor, gaining experience in road maintenance and working with asphalt.’
Michiel: ‘I've done different kinds of work, including as a gardener and a paver. But I was looking for more of a challenge. More than five years ago, Roel tipped me off about a vacancy at Ballast Nedam. I got to join them for a day. That went really well and I was hired. Then, more than a year ago, I told Roel about a vacancy. Since then, we’ve been working for the same company and in the same profession.’
Roel: ‘Asphalt machine operator is a great profession. With a regular team of eight, we travel all over the country. One day we work in Limburg, the next day in Amsterdam. As a team, we’re really in sync. The screed man, the roller operator, the finishers, the sprayer, the asphalt spreader, the site supervisor and us – everyone has their own responsibility. But we do it together. Whether it's kilometres of motorway, a roundabout or a farmyard: together we ensure that we lay a nice layer of asphalt.’
Roel: ‘Asphalt machine operator is a great profession. With a regular team of eight, we travel all over the country. One day we work in Limburg, the next day in Amsterdam. As a team, we’re really in sync. The screed man, the roller operator, the finishers, the sprayer, the asphalt spreader, the site supervisor and us – everyone has their own responsibility. But we do it together. Whether it's kilometres of motorway, a roundabout or a farmyard: together we ensure that we lay a nice layer of asphalt.’
Michiel: ‘I'm in a different team from Roel. But sometimes two teams are needed. Then suddenly we’re driving next to each other with our asphalt machines. That is of course a lot of fun. And useful. Because he has been doing this work longer than I have. So he gives me all kinds of useful tips, for example about the best way to go from three to six metres wide. But it is also a tough profession. We often work nights and weekends. And we have to deal with high temperatures. The asphalt itself is 160 degrees. If you add another thirty degrees on top of that in summer, it gets pretty hot.’
Roel: ‘Fortunately, the fun aspects win out. When I leave home, I know two things: I work with great colleagues who I can have a lot of laughs with, and we do a great job. When you’re told at the end of the day that you’ve done a great job, you drive home with a good feeling.’
Michiel: ‘I'm still fairly young, but I think I'll continue to do this until I retire. Once you've smelled asphalt and have made great things with it – with your colleagues and all those machines – you don't really want anything else.’
Roel: ‘Fortunately, the fun aspects win out. When I leave home, I know two things: I work with great colleagues who I can have a lot of laughs with, and we do a great job. When you’re told at the end of the day that you’ve done a great job, you drive home with a good feeling.’
Michiel: ‘I'm still fairly young, but I think I'll continue to do this until I retire. Once you've smelled asphalt and have made great things with it – with your colleagues and all those machines – you don't really want anything else.’
Are you also interested in working at Ballast Nedam?
At Ballast Nedam, you can develop and become a little better every day. In the Netherlands and abroad. Together with our colleagues, we are committed to a future-proof living environment. Will you join our team to contribute to this?
