“We lived in our bedroom”
John Rensen believed that as an employer you should take good care of your staff and it frustrated him that his employer did not do that. In a new incident where his employer had money for expensive garden tiles, but not for a necessary device for his employees, his wife Tiny encouraged him to start his own business. Both believed that it could be done differently. And to this day, that is what characterizes Rensen.
John and his wife Tiny started small. Really small. On May 1, 1983, a bedroom was converted into an office and John landed his first major customer with Unox. “In the beginning, when a customer was with John, I would call upstairs from the living room to give the impression that we were very busy,” laughs Tiny. Soon that was no longer necessary. More and more customers came forward and the bedroom became too small. The office moved to the garage and a section was added. That went well for a few years, until the company outgrew its jacket here too.
Micro alarm
In 1987, they built a new house with an office and a workshop. Time went on and John invented the micro detector. With this, he made a name for himself in control technology. He was the first to use the micro detector to remotely detect a problem, which allowed engineers to help customers more quickly and easily. It is not surprising that Rensen Regeltechniek grew considerably again. Once again, the house was taken over as an office, bit by bit. “A drawing table was placed in the living room and not much later an engraving machine,” says Tiny. “We even used our bathroom as a workplace and in the end we lived in our bedroom. That was the moment we thought that moving might not be a bad idea.” A new business premises was purchased and that is where Rensen is still located today.
They were years later and had quite a few employees by then. A lot had changed, but not their vision of how to treat staff. “I made buffets on special occasions, we celebrated Sinterklaas at our home, we arranged flowers for the partner when an employee worked extra on the weekend and the door was always open. The atmosphere had to feel good, I thought that was very important,” says Tiny. Rensen employees who worked with John and Tiny also say this. “They had no airs and were always very approachable,” says Monique, who has worked for Rensen for twenty-eight years. “If you came in while John was on the phone with someone, you couldn’t hear whether it was a mechanic or a director. He approached everyone in the same way.” Monique also has fond memories of Tiny. Like the soups that Tiny often prepared. “She was really someone who took care of the staff.”
Getting the best out of yourself
What John and Tiny also found important was that people were given opportunities to grow, just as they themselves had grown. “John had LTS and I had home economics school,” says Tiny. “We started with nothing, but look what we eventually built.” That is why John encouraged people to get the best out of themselves. “We also never said that something was impossible. You always have to just do it and try it first.” Tiny smiles, “but if a mechanic couldn’t solve a problem, John liked to get in the car and solve it himself. And he always succeeded,” she beams.
Unfortunately, John's body did not cooperate and they made the choice to transfer Rensen in 2000. Johan Bouman and their son Twan took over Rensen and let the company grow further. John and Tiny enjoyed a few more wonderful years until John passed away in 2005 at the age of 58. She still misses him. At the same time, she is proud of what they have achieved together. But it is also the other way around. Rensen is happy with John and Tiny who have laid the foundation for a wonderful company that continues to develop and grow. The secret of Rensen is not only taking good care of your staff, but also encouraging them to get the best out of themselves. That and of course simply delivering incredibly good products and services.
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