Get to know your colleagues a little bit better. Our “questions for…” travels around the globe from one colleague to another. Every colleague will answer the same questions. 3 questions for… Alecia Oosthuizen Tell us about your work environment. What does it look like? And what are your responsibilities at Royal Smit & Zoon? I work at R&D Wet-End in the Netherlands, where I am a product development engineer for the fat liquor department. Most of my time spent is at the Amersfoort laboratory where I work on new product development and continual improvement on current products. My role includes results analysis and interpretation. I also spend some time in Weesp as products will go for leather applications and evaluations. The plant and QC Weesp, for product upscaling of products and implementation of solutions is also an important part of my function. Royal Smit & Zoon is driven by a purpose. To make the leather value chain environmentally & socially sustainable. What is your purpose? What gives you energy in your job? I enjoy working in an environment which is driven by motivated individuals to achieve the goals at hand. The vision at Royal Smit and Zoon is clear and it’s great to be part of a team which has a focus in providing for the generations to come. In my role I strive to deliver the required expectations from stakeholders on time and in full while investigating various options to solutions with focusing on sustainable options. Alecia Oosthuizen Product Development Engineer At Royal Smit & Zoon, we love leather. What is your favorite leather item? My favorite item is a pair of “vellies”. It has a bit of history about it as well, the Dutch settlers who arrived in South Africa in the 17th Century are believed to be the first to make Velskoene based on the traditional Khoisan footwear. A strong suede or leather shoe or boot, the footwear was later embedded into the Afrikaaner culture when Velskoene were used for the Great Trek. Today it is still a popular item and worn by all. I’ve had this pair for 7 years now…. and it is still going strong! Who are you going to pass the baton to? Jack Fan Guanshui Back to globe stories
