“It never occurred to me that a fence can be good for animal wellbeing.”

“I am now dealing with pig housing equipment for the first time in my career,” says Harold Hagelaars (45). “I have never worked with pigs before.” Coming from the metal industry and equipped with mechanical engineering training, Harold now works as a project manager at Vereijken Hooijer BV.

Meet our new project manager

“It’s not that strange when you think about it,” he adds. “The stable layout at Vereijken is made of metal, and I have always worked with different production techniques of steel and metals. When I saw on LinkedIn that they were looking for a project manager, I got in touch straight away.”

Farrowing pens contain a lot of steel

“Vereijken is continuously improving its products and it is helpful to know how steel is produced and what the application possibilities are. Our farrowing pens, for example, contain a lot of steel that also moves mechanically. It’s a good idea to introduce some structure.”

Smart moving floor

“I have the opportunity here to come up with systems that reduce piglet mortality. One example is the smart Vari Plus lift floor. It had never occurred to me how a fence can be good for animal wellbeing. This makes things even more interesting for me. I always used to work in the metal supply sector and with other firms’ products, whereas here I get to work with our own products.”

3D drawings

Harold is currently working with the team to standardise all products and improve quality control by drawing everything in 3D. At the same time, they must try to keep the selling price at the same level. It’s quite a challenge. “I would love to be able to develop and think of something on my own in the future. Something that has added value for pig farming.”