“I like to challenge myself”
Rutger started as a work preparer and grew into a project manager within a year — a role with a lot of responsibility. “Now you’re fully accountable for a project.” His time in the operations office taught him a lot. In his new role, he has plenty of freedom, which gives him energy but also pressure: “You have to deliver.” His experience as a freelancer comes in handy: “As a freelancer, you learn to deal with many different people in different companies. That helps me every day.”
Learning by doing
Rutger describes himself as calm and easygoing in his leadership style, but with a strong sense of the bigger picture. “I like to give people freedom, but I find it important to stay involved.” That’s why he spends a lot of time on the shop floor, feeling the technical side of things and answering questions directly from the team. That connection is crucial to him: “Sometimes a quick chat about the weekend is what makes a project succeed.” Rutger knows better than anyone that you don’t learn engineering behind a desk. “You learn it in practice — by walking up to a welder or fabricator and simply asking what you want to know. That’s the only way to manage projects properly.”
From generalist to specialist
While he was broadly deployable as a freelancer, Rutger now chooses to specialize at Titan. “You can’t know everything about engineering, so at some point you have to choose. For me, that’s equipment construction.”
Working at Titan: freedom and responsibility
What appeals to him about Titan? The atmosphere, the freedom, the people. “It’s very open here. No micromanagement, as long as things run smoothly. But you have to be able to handle that.”
Ownership comes naturally to Rutger: “I feel responsible for my work, and I see the same in my colleagues. We give each other space, but we take our work seriously.”
Why Titan?
“This is a company with potential. If you want to develop yourself, learn a lot, and take responsibility, this is the right place. You shouldn’t be afraid of variety or of putting in the extra effort sometimes. But if you’re ambitious, this is really a place where you can grow.”
