observe out how cultivation managing director Amelien and tone managing director Katrijn keep all the clump in the line , make at Microflor .
Progressing into a Book of Job with a raft of responsibilityKatrijn and Amelien form a tandem . you could experience it decent away . A wink here and a tap on the berm there . Even though , strictly verbalize , they do n’t work in the same department . Katrijn Derde ( 30 ) has been the tone director for both the laboratory and the greenhouses for almost a yr . Amelien Lybaert ( 28 ) is the internet site ’s cultivation manager . In fact , they perform such a encompassing range of functions that it almost seems like they keep the whole of Microflor going by themselves . But first , let ’s go back to the source .
How did you end up working for Microflor?Katrijn : “ I ’ve been wreak at Microflor for about two and a half years . First as a quality director for the laboratory , but then the nursery were added about a twelvemonth ago . Before Microflor , I worked as a quality adviser in the food for thought industry . A completely different sector , in other word . In the food sphere , you work on quality because it ’s involve by police or by a credentials trunk . At Microflor , I felt an intrinsic motivation to push the quality gamey and higher . That ’s why this void appealed to me so much . We desire to supply the full possible product , not just something that ’s ‘ respectable enough ’ . I ’m a qualified bio - railroad engineer ( agronomist ) and the field of botany has always charm me . The chance to do something with it professionally made me take the leap . ”
Amelien : “ I start out as an assistant on the cultivation squad five years ago . Around two year ago , this position germinate into the role of polish handler for the breeding section . Since September 2021 , I have also been refinement director for the production side of things . As a life scientific discipline graduate in horticulture , this office suits me perfectly . I always knew I ’d end up working with plant life . In the past , you would often find me in the vegetable garden with my father helping him to turn the best tomato . I have now shifted this passion to the Phalaenopsis , Helleborus and Gloxinia . ”
Tell us more about your positionKatrijn : “ I monitor the tone of all the crop . My occupation is establish on two authoritative pillar : on the one deal , proactively anticipating thing that could go wrong and , on the other , react instantly if something does go wrong . Anticipation is the most important affair , of course , but we are working with a living intersection and so you may never have everything under control . Minor deviance often come up . To prevent these as much as potential , I have set up a turn of projects to identify the big hazard . For representative , how can we standardize and safeguard our laboratory processes , from growing media to thinning and climate ? After all , each plant life must take in exactly the right amount of nutrients .
Amelien : “ I am responsible for the culture of our Phalaenopsis , Helleborus and Gloxinia variety . The nurture cognitive process involves very different aspects to the finishing process . On both sites , I primarily focus on the clime in which they grow . I supervise the controls in the greenhouse , the water lineament and the fertilisation . Together with Katrijn , I set up test for these aspect and also work on safeguarding these processes . We work together quite a lot because I also check the calibre of incoming materials and departing products . If I notice a deflection , I will immediately get Katrijn affect . ”
squad training for top performance“You in reality keep the whole of Microflor move all by yourself , ” state Katrijn with a wink . And when you hear the two women sing about their jobs , it does indeed seem as if they are hightail it a department single - handedly . Which they strenuously abnegate . The timbre they deliver today is the result of teamwork . Collaboration is the key . Are there any projects that they have go through with their squad which they are peculiarly lofty of ?
Katrijn : “ The projects I make on only deliver long - term results . If you dribble out tests to amend the quality , the works course needs prison term to develop . So it takes a while before you see the outcome and know whether the plan has deliver the goods . It ’s a little too early to be pat myself on the back at the moment . ( she laughs ) But what I say earlier about deal more structurally with feedback , this is an area in which we have made good progress . We now also provide clients with feedback more rapidly so they eff we take their ill or comment seriously and are working on it . We also convey proactively if we can describe a problem with a planned rescue . ”
Amelien : “ I also feel that five months is too forgetful a period to compliment myself . Together with my team , however , we have made great pace in terms of root timbre and plant vitality . For example , we have optimize our watering regimes and fine - tuned our fertilisation . With good results , as we can derive from the counts and scores when the plants leave for the clients . We also endeavor to apply as few chemical pesticide as potential . The guest does n’t really point out this view because the end product remain the same , but in the communicating to the end consumer this does give the guest an reward because they increasingly carry that . ”
“ We ’ve been achieving a very mellow MPS score for years , ” bring Katrijn . “ Sustainability is a decisive factor and we accomplish an A+ . ” Or in Amelien ’s Christian Bible : “ In fact , we pull out out all the plosive speech sound every day to render elite athlete . ”
No two day are the sameA skillful metaphor . But so as to play fun at the gamey level , you postulate to be in top condition yourself . So how do they do that ? What brings them the most satisfaction ?
Katrijn : “ I can never promise utterly what my working daytime will expect like . That ’s what makes the line so interesting for me . You ’re work with living things . This means that even a small deviance in the unconscious process can have major import . All the parameter interact with each other : clear , temperature , growing average or substratum … Mapping these variations properly , and valuate how we should correct any deviations , is an important part of my job . Your plant may be ready a week to begin with than anticipated , for good example . But every bit , something could go wrong at the end of the journey . You need to be in a constant country of high-pitched alarum . That makes the job exciting . I admit , sometimes that does make it stressful too . But you know you ’re not alone . We ’re constantly keeping each other fail , if necessary with a piece of chocolate . ” ( she express mirth )
Amelien : “ What Katrijn articulate is quite right . From time to time , it can be passably challenging to keep all the testis in the air . It never contain , either . As a cultivation team , we also turn at the weekend . In the summertime , we will be upgrading our cogeneration organization so I ’m gestate a pretty vivid full point then . luckily , everyone will be capable to take a break in turn and other colleague will step in to keep everything on track . ”
Growing smiles over a game of padelThe conversation continues . Katrijn and Amelien are living trial impression of the new Microflor baseline : Growing smiles since 1986 . They feel perfectly at home here and the atmosphere in the work is also an plus , they say . For example , they all take on a plot of padel every week or end up on a terrace somewhere relish a few potable . “ I can see myself stay here for quite a while , ” they both say in unison . That ’s what you get with tandems .
