Peter Rikken was chairman of the EPP until two years ago, a position he held for eight years. He has been associated with the EVP from Meilink in administrative roles for more than 12 years. Two company visits took place on Thursday, Oct. 12, including one to Meilink Schijndel, and several business sessions were scheduled for conference attendees on Friday, Oct. 13. For the company visit, Meilink in Schijndel received twice 60 invited guests. Visitors came from all over Europe as well as the U.S. and Canada, and Peter gave a presentation on the entire Meilink organization. Dennis Groesbeek, new director of Meilink Schijndel, specifically addressed Meilink and IPS and the special cooperation they have in the high-tech region of Eindhoven. This was followed by the extensive tour in six groups.
The importance of international bonding
Peter Rikken: "The wood processing industry in the Netherlands and in the rest of Europe operates in a somewhat fragmented manner and is not organized to the maximum extent. Especially for our common sustainability agenda, it is important to seek bonding and a higher degree of organization together and find it under the international umbrella of FEFPEB."
Optimized for lean
Prior to the company visit, Dennis Groesbeek together with Ruud Sweelssen, Lean manager within Meilink and all employees, carried out a drastic action in the production halls based on the lean principle 5S. The proud employees of Meilink Schijndel thus presented a tiptop establishment. The reactions of the visitors were particularly enthusiastic. They were impressed by the level of packaging design and production at Meilink Schijndel.
