“Containers, barrels, pallets – everything that moves around the plant passes through our hands.” That's how Bülent sums up his job. He is team leader of logistics at the Wesseling site, Germany. Loading and unloading containers and pallets: His team has numerous tasks.
Bülent himself, who leads a team of 20, is responsible in particular for administrative matters. “But I'm not afraid to lend a hand myself at times”, he says. “I hop up on the forklift to help with loading.” His former boss once said of him that he was like a fireman: “Bülent is always deployed where there is need, where someone is missing.” Everyone appreciates his active support: “I am there for the colleagues – and they for me.” The average age is low: Most are between their mid-20s and early 40s. Everyone knows they can count on Bülent’s experience. “I grew up in Wesseling,” he says. His beginnings are in Kalscheuren, at that time still with Degussa, a specialty chemicals company and predecessor of the current Röhm. But since 2000 he has been working in Wesseling.
Bülent started out as an industrial mechanic specializing in mechanical engineering. He learned to be a logistics specialist at night school and then attended master school. “I’ve gained a lot of knowledge.” What gives him the greatest pleasure? “Using this knowledge in day-to-day business.” There are often tricky cases where his team has to call on a lot of expertise. Feedstocks for the plants must, of course, be handled exactly as prescribed: “Is it hazardous material or not?
“Through flat hierarchies and short decision-making paths, we work faster and more effectively.”
His biggest challenge, however, had nothing to do with dangerous goods status but with skill: For CyPlus, a Röhm Group company that manufactures products for precious metal mining, machine parts had to be transported to a solving station abroad. The crux of the matter: All machine parts had to fit into a single so-called 40-foot container, i.e. a container twelve meters long and accordingly still be secured for sea transport. Bülent’s team, supported by CyPlus operations team, assembled and packed the parts. “The loading alone took almost a day.”
Getting products safely on the road: “This is our everyday life,” says Bülent. The prerequisite for this is the good cooperation with three Röhm business units that produce at the Wesseling site: “The interaction between my team and the operations works great.” That's also due to the size of the team: “We have flat hierarchies, short decision-making paths. The companies can contact me directly. So we work faster, more effectively, more smoothly.” The more goods moved, the better. To relax after a hard day at work, Bülent took up a new hobby two years ago: Motorcycling. Whether it’s warm or cold outside: “I throw on my clothes and head out to freedom.” His destination is often the nearby Eifel region. “I can really switch off there.” When he's not enjoying the breeze on his motorcycle, Bülent prefers to spend his free time with his wife and two daughters.