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Separated by just one year in age, both still living in Arnemuiden and both have been working for Damen Naval for over thirty years. However, there are also plenty of differences between the two brothers Arjan and Jacco de Nooijer, as they have always sought their own career path at the Royal Schelde and later Damen Naval.
When he was twelve years old, a festive christening of a ship at the Royal Schelde shipyard made such an impression on Arjan de Nooijer (now 51) that he didn’t have to think long about his career choice: he wanted to work at the Royal Schelde and wear a white boiler suit. “My uncle worked for the Schelde and invited us to a christening. I don’t remember exactly which ship it was, but it was an S-frigate; a big ship. It was quite an event and all the men walked around in their white overalls. It made a huge impression on me and it stuck in my head that I wanted to do that too,” says Arjan.
Assistant Foreman Arjan de Nooijer knew at the age of twelve that he wanted to work in shipbuilding.
“After secondary school I saw an advertisement in the newspaper for the company training college. Back then, you had to cut out the ad with an application form, fill it in and send it off. It was all fairly accessible. From the various courses available, I chose the one for shipbuilding metalworker and I got my own white overall.”
In his early years, Arjan worked mainly on hull construction and ‘structurals’, although, as time went by, more and more tasks and responsibilities were added. He is now Assistant Foreman Structurals & Outfitter and has worked on many different ships. Most recently, he helped to solve the last remaining problems on board the just-delivered ASRV Nuyina.
Jacco de Nooijer (50) is only a year younger than his older brother and followed in his footsteps to the company training college in 1990. “After the LTS you start looking around a bit. I knew that De Schelde was a good company, because several family members worked there, so the decision was quickly made. I worked for twenty years as a production welder, mainly in finishing.”
Although knee injuries eventually brought the end of his career as a welder, Jacco was able to transfer duties to the Support Team. “I started with the three SIGMAs for Morocco and did that job until the completion of the last PKR. I took care of all sorts of things: requesting supplies from the warehouse, ordering wood, providing meals for the overtime workers and keeping the records. It was fun work, especially because in this function I was still working together with my colleagues from Production.”
As things became quieter in Production, Jacco temporarily took up work in the Project Office and in 2016 he made the permanent switch from the Vlissingen-Oost to the Vlissingen ‘city’ site, where he became Material Coordinator and was closely involved in arranging the materials and parts for the Nuyina. “I pass on all the necessary items to Purchasing and keep an eye on delivery times. If a delivery is delayed, I discuss the options with the yard and engineering,” Jacco says. “When I put on my white overall, I never thought I would end up behind a computer. But the transition has been very easy. The nice thing about this work is the atmosphere in the department and the fact that you come into contact with different disciplines. I am not sitting in a chair from seven to four, but I have contact with the engineering and purchasing departments, with my former colleagues in the warehouse and also with colleagues at Damen Galați.”
Jacco de Nooijer made the switch from Production to the company's head office as a Material Coordinator.
The brothers have occasionally worked on the same project; but always in different phases. “Arjan is really into shipbuilding and is involved in section building. As a welder, I was involved in completely different things,” Jacco explains. “But we did ride our bikes together to work and back to Arnemuiden every day. I never found it annoying to work with my brother. Not even in the beginning when people mistook me for Arjan. That happened at nursery school too.” Arjan adds: “I liked it that Jacco came to work here too. It creates a bond to work for the same employer.”
A lot has changed in the past 32 years: various reorganisations, hectic times on the yard and moments of worrying silence. “It is now a very different company from the one we used to work for. Back then, there were 4,000 employees and people’s skills were not so broad. If you were good at making propellers, that was what you did,” says Arjan. “Nowadays, there are fewer people, so the work is more diverse. That makes it more interesting.”
“The best part of this work is when we all work together to achieve a good result and you really see the ship grow." Arjan de Nooijer
And after more than three decades, the brothers still haven’t tired of their work. “My childhood dream has come true,” says Arjan. “I still think it’s very worthwhile work, otherwise I wouldn’t have lasted 32 years. Of course we also make very special ships. I think the Nuyina is our finest project, but unfortunately she didn’t stay in Vlissingen for very long. The first four SIGMAs for Indonesia were completely built right here and that’s even better.”
The brothers agree that they would both like it if another ship were built entirely in Vlissingen. “And then complete with traditional christening and everything,” says Arjan. “The best part of this work is when we all work together to achieve a good result and you really see the ship grow. You do a project like that together and if things are not going well, you all put your backs into it and work in shifts to make sure you meet the deadlines. But I don’t know whether that will happen in Vlissingen. The capacity, the knowledge and the will are certainly there. In the meantime, we are looking forward to the MLU of the Johan de Witt; that will be a great project.”
Jacco concludes: “We are busy with the CSS and are also already working on the ASWF, the replacement for the M-frigates, so for the time being I can go on for a few years.”