With an ANWB phrasebook on a business trip

Let’s go back to 1999. Electrical technician Klaas Slagter (55) was working in light advertising at the Diepswal industrial park, but things weren’t going well between him and his boss. Through mutual connections, Jeroen Oosterhof and – back then – Gert Jan Brons heard about his ambitions and invited him for a conversation. “We clicked right away. There were only six of them at the time, and that includes the cleaner. They did everything themselves: drilling, sawing, visiting customers, and then starting the whole cycle over again.” Klaas joined what could still be called, without a hint of irony, the young guns of BOIKON, and he’s never looked back. “It felt like a warm bath, and it still does.”

Over the years, Klaas has become a jack-of-all-trades. “I’m involved in the Wiki and BOIKON Academy, still do assembly work, and handle maintenance for the building, machines, and other internal systems.” The Wiki has become something of a passion project, although its origins were quite practical. “In December 2021, I had surgery on my hand and couldn’t do assembly work for a while. This idea – like so many ideas – had been on the shelf for a long time, and that was the perfect moment to pick it up.”

“We’re trying to document all the knowledge within BOIKON so that every new technician understands how our philosophy works. If they don’t know something, they can immediately check our intranet. It’s still a work in progress and probably never truly finished, but we’ve made significant strides. In a way, it’s also a necessity: as the company has grown, you can’t discuss every component individually anymore. For example, we have a specific rule that, unless stated otherwise, we always use electro-galvanized bolts. No stainless steel. If that’s ever overlooked, we’re held accountable. These are growing pains you can’t avoid, but you have to do everything you can to address them.”

The process is now clear: if a technician can’t figure something out, they check the Wiki first, then ask their colleagues, and only if that doesn’t help, they turn to the engineer on duty. This relieves the staff and ensures everyone knows what to do. It’s one example of how BOIKON has evolved since its humble beginnings in a Groningen attic. Klaas has nothing but praise for the projects he’s seen over the years. “What we’ve built here makes me proud. And we stand behind what we create! Even if something doesn’t work right away, we solve it. We once had a project at Akzo Nobel in Hengelo that wasn’t going smoothly, and the pressure kept increasing. So, you put your heads together, check everything, and make sure it works. In the end, the problem turned out to be with a supplier who had repeatedly delivered faulty batches of chain sprockets. You learn something every time.”

“The tobacco industry is another example. It’s a sensitive topic, but as a small company from Leek, we can be proud of what we’ve accomplished. We’ve worked with big names from Germany, Hungary, and Poland, and we’ve grown a lot because of it. I still remember my first business trip abroad. It must have been 2002 or 2003, and we were approached by a cardboard manufacturer near London. We had to plan the entire trip ourselves, buy tickets, book hotels... It’s much better organized nowadays, but it was an experience. Or a trip to Germany, even though I didn’t speak a word of German. Jeroen said, ‘Just go to the ANWB and get one of those phrasebooks; you’ll be fine.’”

When asked what else has improved compared to the past, Klaas doesn’t have to think long. “Good tools. Every technician gets the equipment they need to work comfortably. Whether it’s hand tools or large machines, we work with the best materials here. When I look around at customers and partners: you really don’t see that everywhere.” He laughs. “We’re well taken care of.”