The Faces Behind Spikker Specials | Berrie van Engeland

The familiar face of the inside sales team

Berrie van Engeland has often searched for what was, for her, the ideal job. Until she joined Spikker Specials—and never left. She explains why, after 24 years, she still enjoys working at Spikker Specials so much. Read along!

“I’ve always needed a certain challenge in my work. After a number of years at a company, it often became monotonous and I’d start looking for something else,” Berrie admits honestly. “I started my career at 17 at the municipality, where I worked in the Civil Affairs department, but adventure was calling—so after a few years I went to Canada to work as an au pair. When I returned after a year, I subsequently worked at a housing association, sat at the reception desk at a paper factory, then started at a company that imported bodywarmers and duvets from China, and after that I went to work at a metal wholesaler. So, very diverse.”

Handwritten letter

After working at that last company for a number of years, it was a former colleague who persuaded Berrie to apply at Spikker Specials. “I even had to send a handwritten application letter, which was then checked by a handwriting specialist to determine my character traits. So they knew what they were getting into,” Berrie says with a laugh.

Candy store

Berrie immediately felt at home. “There was an immediate good connection with the people here. And when I walked through the production area, I was completely impressed. I already knew the metal world, but here it felt like a candy store. Everything ran like a well-oiled machine and it all looked so neat and clean.”

More responsibility

Inside sales began to take shape with Berrie, with more and more tasks and responsibility. “That was the challenge I was looking for. And that challenge is still there.” Within the team, Berrie uses her experience to make sure everything is arranged. And if it isn’t, then she’ll make sure it is.

Personal

And so Berrie—despite not having planned it beforehand—has been completely in her element for 24 years now. “At Spikker Specials, you get the space to set things up yourself or change things. I started with entering orders and preparing quotations, but over the years I’ve gradually done more and more. Even now, I sometimes come across things I don’t do very often. That’s also because circumstances from outside change. We constantly have to adapt to that. It’s not for nothing that we often say ‘never a dull moment’. And the connection here with colleagues is good too. It’s a men’s world, but the type that’s: rough around the edges, heart of gold. People let each other be, and as a family business we’re there for one another when it’s needed.”

On to 25 years

In November, Berrie can retire. But she doesn’t want to hear of stopping just yet. That, too, is open for discussion at Spikker Specials. “Sitting behind the geraniums is not for me. I want to stay active, although I will work fewer hours. How long do I think I’ll keep going? In any case, I definitely want to reach my 25-year employment milestone by the end of next year. It would be great if, by then, a new colleague has been found who is then fully trained in.”

Did Berrie’s story make you enthusiastic and—just like her—do you also dislike routine? Then take a look at the vacancy currently open. Maybe you’ll be her successor!