MEET THE FAMILY | Tim van Gastel

Who is Tim?

32 years old, born and raised in Breda and happy with Joëlle for 5 years now.

I love working, but also having fun! I love barbecuing and good food. I like to be among people, having a bite to eat and a drink with friends.

I like to travel and love nice, fast cars. Anything that goes fast is really cool to me, whether you're hanging on a banana behind a boat or sitting in a fast car.

I love skiing, besides that I love adventure and relaxing in due time. My best trip so far has been South Africa.

If we can do it all again soon, I would love to go to Bali and ride a dirt bike over the beaches there and then spend a week washing the mud off us in a luxury resort.

A work trip in China also impressed me a lot. The trip started in Hong Kong, then into the interior. I also found the factories there very impressive. Privately, I would like to go back there again.

How did you end up at Hanko?

After several language internships abroad, I ended up at Hanko through my father Marijn.

I am a practical rather than a theoretical guy and at Hanko I had the chance to go through all facets: warehouse, purchasing and sales. The latter is really in the genes and appeals to me the most! Being allowed to score and realise a project with a customer gives me a 'kick'.

I started at Hanko in March 2009, when Hanko mainly focused on sheet metal and fasteners. A short time later, another well-known family member was added to the Hanko Family: my "uncle" Hans van Gastel. Under his leadership, we further expanded the Hanko range to include insulation.

I learned a lot from this; I was trained "on the job" by him and Harralt, so to speak.

What is your role at Hanko?

I am a real jack-of-all-trades, but I focus on sales and am also the operational manager.

What makes the work so fun for you?

The diversity of what I do each day is very great and I really enjoy it. I also find the close relationship with customers very pleasant and important! Finding and developing new products and testing them together with the customer on the shop floor is also very cool to do. I also think looking for improvements in products is very fun and important.

Where does your strength lie?

Involvement: I like to listen to the customer's needs in order to create something beautiful together.

In addition, I am flexible, have a heart for the business and love challenges: problems are there to be solved.

What does the Hanko Family mean to you?

A lot! My colleagues practically feel like family (and some really are, of course), we are always there for each other and also have a lot of fun together. It's very important that you can take pleasure in your work.

What does Dedication for Insulation mean to you?

'No' is not an option, even on weekends we are ready. Being committed to the customer, standing behind your products. Nothing must come to a standstill, the "factory" must keep running.