'Is it 16.5 years already? Time flies!' Eelco Toma is surprised himself, but recently he was with ENTER for no less than 16.5 years. "When I started, the company only consisted of a few people. Now there are many more. But the personal approach, that has never changed."
Currently, Eelco is working at a large company within Brainport on several projects. One such project concerns the waferhandler, which is part of a larger system that produces wafers for the semiconductor industry. The module works perfectly because of the high-tech produced components and the accompanying software. And that software, that's Eelco's job. Work that he likes very much. "And besides that, I think the working atmosphere here is a big plus. People work togehter a lot and well and I am really in a very nice team. Once a month there is a get-together, where you see the other teams as well." The lines are short anyway within the company where he is now. "That's nice, because you can immediately spar with your project manager and don't have to wait forever."
Interesting project
And Eelco has plenty of comparison material, because in the 16.5 years of ENTER he gained experience at several high-tech companies, varying in size. "That's one of the advantages of secondment," he says. "Even though I actually had absolutely no interest in secondment when ENTER's founder Roland Poesen approached me." However, Eelco already knew ENTER by name and decided to talk to Roland anyway. "And he convinced me with the offer of a very interesting project in my field. Even though that project was a long drive away from where I live. Besides, ENTER's small scale really appealed to me. That has changed now, but the approach has remained the same."
He didn't regret it, but the long distance between living and working did start to break him down at one point. He discussed this with Roland and soon a solution came in the form of a new project with his old employer. "That openness to discuss what you do and don't want and what you do and don't look for in a project is still there. That has always been the case with Roland, but I also have the same bond with Perjan, who is now my manager. ENTER has grown enormously in recent years, but the personal approach has never changed. That's not only in the conversations you have with each other, but also the effort put in in other areas, such as the social gatherings with colleagues working on other projects and the space you get to develop yourself both professionally and personally."