Every day is a race against the clock in the fabrication hall, but that’s no problem for him. Edward van Galen has been the face of BMN for over ten years, where, as the operations manager, he happily ensures the daily operations and growth of the company.
Edward studied mechanical engineering at the technical school (MTS) and worked for many years as a service technician for a machinery company. When he had children, he chose to stay closer to home and became a workshop supervisor. Later in his career, he became an operations manager, but due to circumstances within the company, he had to look for a new job. Edward searched for work nearby and applied at Gpi. He explains: “I applied for the position of forklift driver at Gpi. I called one of the owners but was told that I was overqualified for the position. It didn’t matter to me; I just wanted to work. Then it turned out they were also looking for an operations manager for BMN, so it fit perfectly.”
Background of BMN
BMN’s origins are rooted in Gpi Tanks. Initially, Gpi Tanks had its own pickling facility for the post-treatment of stainless steel parts and tanks. Later, a separate company was established for this purpose within the Gpi Group: BMN, Beitserij Midden Nederland (Central Netherlands Pickling Facility). The idea was that BMN would mainly work for Gpi, but in practice, the company works 75% for external clients, handling the pre- and post-treatment of stainless steel and aluminum, such as pickling, grinding, and polishing.
Face of the Company
With enthusiasm and success, Edward dedicates himself daily to ensuring the smooth operation of the pickling facility. In his role as operations manager at BMN, Edward handles everything from A to Z, including preparing quotes, processing orders, ordering materials, managing invoicing, and visiting clients. He also recently oversaw the renovation and refurbishment of the facility. Edward is constantly focused on improving the company. He shares: “I strive to elevate the company in every aspect. For instance, ensuring products leave our facility in better condition, are better packaged, and that we work as efficiently as possible. When we acquire new customers, I personally visit them to introduce ourselves and explain what we can offer. Our revenue is now five times higher than when I started over ten years ago. We also see that once customers come to us, they almost always stay. That’s a huge compliment to our work.”
Challenge
After ten years, every day brings something new for Edward: “Every day is a new challenge. The biggest challenge is managing our available space creatively. By 3:00 PM, everything must be in the pickling hall for processing, and after that, the hall is closed until the next morning. Then everything is rinsed off and must be moved out to make room for the next load. Everything also needs to be picked up on time by the customer since we don’t have a storage facility. So, it’s essentially always a race against the clock.”
Working at BMN
Edward finds BMN a great place to work: “I enjoy it immensely and look forward to going to work every day. We take on every project—sometimes very large, but also very small tasks. The drive of the management, which I also share, is to keep growing with the company. The team atmosphere is good, and we all get along well. There’s little turnover in our team, which is also a good sign.”
Future
Edward hopes to further expand BMN’s success in the coming years: “There are plans to expand our facility, which would give us more storage capacity. That would allow us to work more flexibly and increase our capacity. I see it as a challenge to make BMN even more successful in the coming years.”
