Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe)
Brought up with Hitachi… Peter and Stef van der Staaij
Not only are we taking a look back at the company as part of our 50th anniversary celebrations, but also at the people who have made Hitachi what it is today. True craftsmanship is passed down from generation to generation… This is also the case with Hitachi.
We spoke to the van de Staaij family, a father and son duo, who have shared their passion for Hitachi throughout the years.
Peter van der Staaij
As a child, Peter sometimes went to the workshop with his father at the weekend. Thus began his career at HCME. In 1990, during his school holidays, Peter started holiday work at the service workshop in Oosterhout. After his work at the service workshop, he started working on the mini excavators as a holiday job. But in 1995 he officially entered the service of the warehouse. He is currently still working at HCME, and since 2006 he is responsible for Mining Sales within Central; South; and Eastern Europe. As a result, he travels extensively to various work projects to generate sales in these markets together with HCME’s dealer network.
He notices that a lot has changed in construction and the world around it over the years. “This process will always continue, especially if you look at the effect that new emission legislation has on the design of the machines.” There are always challenges, Peter points out, but that is what makes his work so interesting. However, Peter likes it best when he can work with the machine itself, “the product as it is and as a Hitachi should be”
Stef van der Staaij
In 1972 Stef was hired by Willen Luijten and started as a mechanic, both in the workshop and in the field. Now Stef has been retired for 12 years. Stef has been almost everywhere in the world, except Australia, because of his work at Hitachi. Due to various projects abroad, he was often in a new location for long periods of time so that machines could be built.
Stef found it very special to experience the growth of the company. He came to work at Hitachi as only the sixth employee, and over the years marvelled at how the company has changed each decade. He is still very proud of that, he tells us. Peter agrees with his father on this. Where Peter started with seven people in the warehouse, there are now at least 70 people working.
“That thing that goes pssht”
When father and son are asked if they have also worked together, they say “yes” at the same time. When Stef left the field, he also started working in the warehouse. Here he supervised the sale of parts within the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, specifically for cranes and pile drivers. The men then worked together for at least a year.
This was a very instructive period for Peter, he says. Mainly because his father had so much experience about how a machine works and where each part is located. Customers often came up with a specific part they needed and instead of finding it at the push of a button, the gentlemen had to enter the books with article numbers. For example, Stef tells us the fun story about that time a customer called because he needed a specific attachment for “that thing that goes pssht”. “Well, then you just have to know what he needs” says Stef with a laugh. And Stef also knew exactly what the customer in question meant with this: it was the air conditioner.
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