Joost van Haperen, young director wants (and must) to grow VDL TBP Electronics 'significantly'

When he enters the central hall, he looks around for orientation and then walks to the reception desk. 'Good morning. I'm Joost van Haperen. I'm here for my first day of work', he reports. 'Oh, hello, you're the new director!', is the receptionist's response. She calls Ton Plooy who has just entered the building in Dirksland. And he immediately comes down to personally greet his successor.

• 'I immediately sensed a lot of enthusiasm and curiosity.'
• 'Everyone realised that this was good for the future and therefore for TBP's employment.'
• 'We do not engage in forced shopping.'
• 'Now, within one group, we can intensify collaborations.'
• 'We want to grow significantly in the next three to five years.'

Smooth handover at 'actually the worst possible moment'

This is roughly how the first meeting between Plooy (71) and Van Haperen (35) went on January 4, 2021. At that time, Plooy had just ceased to be a managing director after his tbp electronics, just before Christmas, was taken over by VDL Groep. 'Who would be the new director? I didn't know that when we signed the contracts. A few days later I did hear Joost's bio received. Just like a photo, which I showed to our employees during a session that afternoon. So we knew what he looked like, but not much more. I was immediately happy that he is half my age. Because this company needed a fresh look, from a young person, without rigid habits.'

Read the full article in Link Magazine.