Technological innovations, flexibility and room for personal input: for Jair van Drunen (44), draftsman and work planner, these are reasons to feel like a fish in water at Euro Manchetten & Compensatoren. “I prefer to come up with new products, which I improve as I go. It is my job to make sure something is put on paper, but production has to make it. I am actually in the service of production,” says Jair.
The passionate draftsman and work planner has a creative, innovative mind. Studied mechanical engineering and successfully completed various additional steel and construction studies. In addition to his official function, Jair, who lives in Kaatsheuvel, also temporarily fulfils the role of production supervisor, a role that makes him look at colleagues on the production floor with admiration: “Stitching woven, textile air distribution hoses is such a special technique that not everyone can do it. The same applies to high-frequency welding.”
Curious, creative mind
Jair has been working at Euro Manchetten & Compensatoren for over seven years now. He has seen numerous projects pass by, each unique in its own way. One project in particular has stuck with him, as it was accompanied by a rapid personal development, from which he still benefits today: “It was a large international project for air distribution hoses with quite complicated shapes, breeches with four splits. I first had to master a CAD software package, for modeling 3D drawings and mechanical 3D drawings, in order to be able to draw the hoses at all”, says Jair.
He looks back with a smile on the project where his inquisitive, creative mind was fully utilised. “The pressure was also much higher than normal. It concerned a customer in Canada and in case of an error everything would have to be shipped back to the Netherlands. Not ideal for a project with multiple hoses of 20 meters with a diameter of 1.20 meters. Fortunately that turned out not to be necessary!”
Special issues
But current projects also make Jair's heart beat faster. For example, Euro Manchetten & Compensatoren supplies air distribution hoses for pop-up tents for corona test lanes of the GGD and Jair develops a nozzle with the help of a 3D printer, which seamlessly connects to its own production. It is the innovative spirit of the company, the in-house presence of certain techniques and the open mindset, which means that more and more people are finding the company for help with special issues.
“Sometimes we create something completely different from what we normally do. We designed a special coupling piece between a truck cab and a trailer, making it a camper according to law”, says Jair proudly. He sees the flexible attitude of the company as one of the core values where Euro Manchetten & Compensatoren makes the difference: “There are few companies that can deliver per piece, while a defective cuff can cost a company thousands of euros per minute. It sometimes happens that a customer sends a taxi to pick up a new, custom-made cuff urgently.”
Orphanage
You wouldn't say that the life of this cheerful Kaatsheuvelnaar, married and father of a daughter, had a sad start. Although he has a 'preference for mashed potatoes with bacon', his roots lie in faraway Indonesia. Roots that will probably remain a mystery forever. “When I was a few months old, I was adopted from an orphanage. Together with my Dutch adoptive mother, I returned to Indonesia in 1995, but the orphanage had been replaced by an office complex.”
Jair turned to the makers of the TV program for help Spoorloos, who after thorough research came to a dead end. An episode that was never broadcast due to the limited amount of information gathered. Jair: “In the 70s and 80s, there was baby trafficking in Indonesia, and I could very well be a victim of that. My adoption papers are not 100 percent correct, the names listed cannot be traced. For example, I am supposed to have an Indonesian mother and Taiwanese father, but a DNA test shows that my ethnic origin is not partly Taiwanese, but rather Filipino. It is a shame, but fortunately I have never had the idea that I was missing out on something.”
Tapping into new markets
Jair expresses the same gratitude to Euro Manchetten & Compensatoren, where he is provided with the necessary tools regarding technological innovations and personal development. He is optimistic about the future of the company. “We will continue to develop products, grow in the market and tap into new markets. Many sectors are still unknown territory for Euro Manchetten & Compensatoren, while our products are suitable for different markets.”