Piet van der Plas
His position didn’t exist yet when he started working here. “That’s typical of Bulsink: not thinking inside the box, but based on what customers need.” Meet Project Developer Piet van der Plas.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
“My name is Piet van der Plas; born and raised in Rosmalen, where I still live today. I have a girlfriend and three children. And since last year I have a new role at Bulsink, which is Project Developer.”
“I’m what you call the ‘Burgundian type’, I love cooking and am interested in other cultures. I also like heading out, to go hiking or to discover new things. And I enjoy doing odd jobs, working with my hands.”
The whole atmosphere, how Bulsink interacts with customers, the sense of hospitality. I'd never seen that before at a building company.
How did you end up working at Bulsink? And why did you choose Bulsink at the time?
“About 12 years ago, I was working for a competitor and still knew Bulsink from that period. They had approached me before to see if I was interested, and last year they asked again. So I went for an interview and the moment I walked through the front door, I’d made up my mind.”
“Why? The whole atmosphere, how Bulsink interacts with customers, the sense of hospitality. I’d never seen that before at a building company. What also helped me decide was the growth Bulsink was going through. It has become a real market leader in retail. In addition, the expansion into the hospitality market. We have a nice, broad customer base.”
What do you do as Project Developer?
“As Project Developer, I divide my time between commerce and engineering; I’m basically the link between the commercial department and operations. A customer request comes to me through the Account Manager. This can be a fully drawn up plan, but quite often it’s ‘Here’s a picture. How can I make it work for me?’ After hearing that one question, you need to ask many more questions to help the customer properly.”
“The position didn’t exist yet when I started working here. It was created by mutual agreement. That’s typical of Bulsink: not thinking inside the box, but based on what customers need. Together with our commercial team, I take the time and sit down with customers to translate their ideas into workable specifications. In terms of installation. In terms of finishing. In terms of budget.”
“The great thing is that Bulsink gives me the freedom to use the entire organisation to help customers. Calculators, work planners, project managers. Together, we look at areas where we can work smarter or differently, in order to build a better or more cost-effective product.”
By asking the right questions up front and bringing the ideas and budgets closer together, we can put customers on the right track quicker.
Bulsink uses B.U.I.L.D. as its core values: Brand-conscious, Ultra-fast, Inspiring, Leading and Determined. Or in other words: brand-conscious, ultra-fast, inspiring, leading and determined. Can you pick out one or two core values and explain what they mean to you?
“Definitely speed. That’s the essence of my job. By asking the right questions up front and bringing the ideas and budgets closer together, we can put customers on the right track quicker.”
“If you go the traditional route, building a shop can take as long as a year. Hiring an architect, setting them up with consultants, drawing up the specs, the designing, speaking with market participants. We have the ability to bundle all those things together and bring a process that usually takes a year down to a few months.”