CHOOSE
A DIFFERENT TERRITORY
Based at EMR Netherlands’ busy Rotterdam facility, Project Manager Marietje Bosma has quickly emerged as a much-respected member of her team since joining directly from university in September 2023.
“I am EMR Netherlands’ first dedicated project manager – until now everyone was expected to run projects on the side of their everyday role, but I am able to fully focus on the projects I manage, which is a real advantage,” she says.
The nature of her role means everyday can be different for Marietje – from analysing the performance of each process within the yard to the procurement of new hardware:
“My role – and my background – mean I can spend the time analysing data and specifications to make sure what we bring in fits our needs exactly.” she says.
Marietje is at the very beginning of her career but her studies – which included two Masters degrees – have enabled her to hit the ground running at EMR.
“I simultaneously studied for a Masters in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA, as I have always been interested in solving very difficult engineering challenges - but also how to apply this in a business setting,” she says.
For this reason, Marietje has been particularly impressed by the ‘hands-on mentality’ that she sees within EMR’s company culture.
“I spent a long time learning about the theory behind complex systems and technologies. As EMR is very focused on the operations side of things, I can take what I’ve studied and now just get on with it in practice.”
Though this is changing fast, Marietje – a young woman working in the operations side of a yard – is still something of a rarity in the industry.
“To begin with I think some colleagues were surprised to see a woman working in this role, but very quickly I was able to show that I had the right skills and experience. This helped me build a connection with the whole team – I was very proud of that.”
Marietje hopes and expects to see a significant rise in the number of young women joining the industry over the next few years and says those leaving university should look beyond “the names they know” when job hunting:
“Most people won’t know very much about the metal recycling industry but it’s fast-growing, seeing huge transformation and it’s very exciting to be a part of,” she says.
The opportunity to work in an industry that has sustainability at its core is one of the things which immediately attracted Marietje to EMR.
“When I was studying, I did a number of projects with online retailers and saw the huge amount of waste created in these industries. Metals are fantastic because they can be recycled again and again and, by developing and improving circular supply chains for this material, we can have an extremely positive impact on our environment.”
As Marietje looks towards a career that will continue for decades to come, she is excited by the prospect of further change in the recycling industry:
“There’s going to be a huge range of technical developments and regulatory change that will transform the industry. For example, the use of data will help us separate material more efficiently and more accurately than ever before.”
And, thanks to her studies – and the knowledge and experiences she has already built up at EMR – her focus on data-driven decision making will allow her to help influence and improve this sustainable transition:
“It’s exciting to know that, by working for a market-leader such as EMR, we will be part of a team that will improve the whole industry for the next generation and beyond.”
Read about other people who make EMR a great place to work, learn about our culture and values, or see our latest vacancies.
