Rob has been welding for seventeen years. He started out in steel, then moved into stainless steel machine construction, and has now been working in equipment manufacturing at Titan for a year and a half.
“I wanted to work on larger projects, do more X-ray welding* and work with different types of materials,” he says. “That was something new for me.”
He got that opportunity right away. Together with Frans, who has been in the trade for over forty years, he started on a titanium project.
“Titanium requires precision,” Rob explains. “It has to be clean, properly degreased and completely free of oxygen. Otherwise, you see it immediately.”
Frans has built up a wealth of experience in equipment construction over the past forty years. His first introduction to titanium came when he was 23.
He joined Titan after meeting owner Robert van Voorst. “The company was close by and I was drawn to the special materials they work with.”
At Titan, Frans trains apprentices and colleagues. He also performs fit up checks and inspects weld edges before any welding can take place, giving the final approval to proceed.
Rob and Frans both say it: standing still is not an option. New materials and new methods, that’s how an organization grows.
At Titan, we don’t just design and build pipes, we create complete installations. The mix of different materials, process technology, knowledge sharing and scale makes our work unique.
It only works if everyone is involved, from the drawing table to the workshop floor.
Finding and training good people is just as important. Frans laughs: “You explain something to a trainee and then you hear, ‘I’ve never heard of that before!’”
He knows that experience takes time to build. “Before someone becomes truly all-round, you’re five to ten years down the road.”
Not all the work at Titan is heavy or complex. “We also have thin-walled projects ranging from three to ten millimeters,” says Frans. “There’s plenty of challenge in that, but it’s more accessible to start with.”
That variety allows everyone to grow. And it keeps the work interesting.
Frans and Rob agree that working at Titan requires a certain mindset.
“You have to be eager to learn, take initiative and set the bar high,” says Rob.
Frans adds, “You have to want to do it perfectly. If you don’t, it shows right away.”
Those who want to learn get opportunities here. Those who take them, make a difference.
