Kwinten Snijders Blok

‘Every improvement in the production process makes an impact for a better world’

Operations manager Kwinten Snijders Blok (27) is responsible for the realisation of bio-resins, plant pots and semi-finished products. He is also involved in the production of final products at partners. Continuously delivering a good quality product is what it’s all about every day.

‘An important part of my work involves achieving quality and output,’ Kwinten says. ‘In the first place: what is the desired quality of a product? How do we measure quality and how do we record it? But also: what can we do to continuously improve quality? What investments are needed for this?’ To answer all these questions, Kwinten has a lot of contact with various production partners, but of course also with Plantics’ R&D teams.

Working for a better world
In one of those R&D teams, Kwinten started his career at Plantics. After a brief interlude as project manager, he quickly grew into his current position. This fits perfectly with his education in chemical engineering and technical business. ‘In this position, I really feel the impact I can have. By making improvements in daily production, you immediately make a difference. This ensures that we are one step further in replacing fossil-based raw materials with waste material from plants. Working at Plantics is really about our future,’ Kwinten observes. ‘In everything we do, you just feel that together we are working to create a better world.’

One family of bio-resins, many applications
‘When I applied for a job at Plantics, I already noticed that we use many different techniques to make various products. That’s what I really like about working at Plantics. We use one family of bio-resins for so many different applications. That diversity also means that not many days are the same. Besides the meetings I have, I am regularly on the floor of the factories where our semi-finished and finished products are made. Moreover, the lab remains a place I enjoy visiting, even though I no longer have an R&D function. To new colleagues I would like to say: spend enough time in our lab, especially in the beginning. That’s where you really get to know all the details of our product.’ Kwinten explains that Friday afternoons in the lab are used for experimentation. ‘Do you have an idea that doesn’t fit within one of the existing projects? Then go into the lab on Friday afternoon to try it out!’

100% plant-based
Many companies say they make biobased products, but often it is a combination of biobased and fossil-based raw materials. ‘Our product is really 100% biobased. I find it very motivating to be able to work with that. That also brings challenges, because the raw materials we use are therefore never completely identical. And of course we do want to deliver a consistent quality of end product. This makes my work very dynamic. I constantly switch between research and operations: we keep thinking about how we can do things even better. And because we work together with so many different disciplines in this company, we succeed. Together, we are smarter than alone.’

Growing together
‘I am just very proud to be able to contribute to the maturing of the start-up that Plantics used to be. We continue to grow, in terms of size, portfolio and quality of products’. The working atmosphere at Plantics is very open and positive, says Kwinten. ‘You get a lot of freedom and independence to carry out your tasks, which I like. Plantics is really a great employer to start your career. It is very educational because you experience all facets of our plant-based chemistry and industry up close. And yet you interact with a big playing field. Moreover, many young people work here, but there is also a lot of knowledge available from real seniors in the field. Fantastic right?’