Doing it the Packit way

by Pieter Zwaard

Pieter Zwaard
Pieter Zwaard
Senior Purchaser

Table of Contents

  • Employee Spotlight

The employee who moved

Pieter calls his career a special story. And it is, because how many people do you know who moved to the other side of the country with their employer? It must be a very nice organization!

Traveling in miniature

Pieter started in 2013 as an intern at the former ITH Complast in Andelst. He says: “As a graduation assignment, I set up the ISO quality system here. I was able to stay and in 2014 I officially joined the company. Many of my friends went traveling at that time. Looking for the unknown, pushing boundaries… that sort of thing. I fancied that too. Adventure beckoned, but instead of a trip abroad, I went from East to West Netherlands. A great challenge for me, but within the familiar framework of a very nice company.”

From intern to Senior Purchaser

Pieter also started working on quality at the new location and from that role he worked in various departments. “Logistics, inventory management and purchasing. This way I got to know the company and the trade even better, but I also discovered what I found most interesting, namely purchasing. And I’m still here now, as a Senior.”

Pieter Zwaard, bar

Growing together

“From Junior to Senior”, Pieter continues his story with a laugh. “I think that’s so beautiful in retrospect. I have grown, but I have also experienced the growth of Packit. Our turnover has increased tenfold and we now work with three times as many people as when I first started. Packit is an ambitious company and this creates a nice dynamic. It is never boring here, there is always room for new ideas and opportunities for growth. You can make it as exciting as you want. You get that freedom here.”

Traveling in the big leagues

In his role as purchaser, Pieter now travels all over the world. “Things have turned out well with that traveling after all! I go to Asia twice a year and visit various European factories in between. During these trips, we collect market information and look for new, innovative products and materials, manufacturers and suppliers. Incidentally, the trend is that we are increasingly sourcing our products from Europe, partly with a view to shorter supply chains and high standards.”
Canton Fair, China
“From intern to Senior Purchaser – and even moved to the other side of the country. Packit not only gave me a job, but an adventure and all the space to grow.”

Great employer

Despite the growth, according to Pieter you still experience the small-scale family business at Packit. “The atmosphere is informal and it is a flat organization. Colleagues are easily approachable and new employees in particular get the opportunity to ask questions. In my opinion, that also contributes to growth: people feel comfortable and therefore acquire knowledge and expertise more quickly. If applicants ask what makes working here so much fun, I use my own story as an example. Otherwise you wouldn’t move to the other side of the Netherlands and keep it up for more than 11 years.”

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