5 questions for a technical purchaser at Van Raam - Video

1. Can you introduce yourself?

"I am Robert van Hal. I have been working for Van Raam as a buyer since December 2012. I take care of almost all purchases from China and Taiwan. Together with our purchasing team, we ensure that all materials needed in the production and assembly process are purchased."

2. What makes it interesting to work at Van Raam?

"There are actually several things. Colleagues, a great company to work for. Everyone is very willing to help each other. Especially now you have problems with the availability of parts. Everyone thinks along, everyone wants to think along. When I look at my own work, it's very dynamic at the moment.

Of course, the long delivery times are sometimes difficult. But to be able to solve it all the time, that's a big challenge. As I said, my package consists mainly of purchasing from Asia, China and Taiwan. Travelling there, meeting the people, looking at factories."

3. What is a common prejudice about your work?

"Maybe we can easily arrange everything from the computer. And very often people say 'but then you jus have to buy a bit more'. Look, you grow and whether you order 100 or 200, it takes half a minute on the computer. But in practice, of course, it is extremely difficult to continuously ensure that the numbers we want also come in.

I think the prejudice may be that the work should be relatively easy or that you can easily increase numbers, but there is a lot behind it that makes it difficult."

4. What is your most memorable Van Raam-moment?

"I don't know if that is only one. It's several moments. I thought the opening party was really great. But also when we were at the Eurobike. I think that was two years ago when we won the prize with the Chat rickshaw. Of course, those are really great moments. And then there are all the Van Raam parties, which are always nice."

5. What is your favorite Van Raam bike?

"At the moment I say the Easy Rider 3, there are some new technologies in it. For the first time there is a hydroformed tube in it. It is really a beautiful bike, I think the design is very nice. It is a bike for people from 15 to 85 years of age, they can cycle on it. It's very versatile and it rides very well. It just looks fantastic."