Actually Ruud Vertommen owes to the Dutch military that he works with Distrelec Schuricht in technical consulting today. For during his military service he was stationed in Germany, where he got acquainted with his present wife. She initially followed him to the Netherlands, but then after eleven years they moved back again to Germany. „Actually we had planned to stay only for five years“, remembers Ruud Vertommen, „but then everything had fit perfectly, my wife had felt well, and so it just became eleven years.“ Until that point in time Ruud Vertommen had already acquired a number of professional experiences. Already in the course of his vocational technical diploma among other jobs he worked with in the Philips development labs for frequency converters. „That was then an alien concept for me“, he admits. Today he supports customers in the field of automation, and time and time again he comes into contact with frequency converters. „It´s really a funny experience to come into contact with these components again“, says Ruud Vertommen. This task had been followed by further practical experiences at the Technical University, where he was tasked with inductances and transformers. And then he was drafted for said military service that has changed the life of Ruud Vertommen probably more than many other military recruits can claim to have experienced.
Family reunion
There were three good reasons for the relocation to Germany, as Ruud Vertommen recalls: „My parents in law wanted to have a successor for their farm, my wife was pregnant, and it was easy for me to leave my company at that time.“ The transition was really seamless: On September 30th Ruud Vertommen still worked in the Netherlands, and October 1st was his first day of work at Distrelec Schuricht in Bremen. And what was thought to be a first step into the German labor market has become a permanent solution for Rudd Vertommen. „It has pleased me so much, that I am still her“, he shortly summarizes his experiences.
A wide variety of topics
Since 1998 Ruud Vertommen together with a number of colleagues provides advice and support to the customers of Distrelec Schuricht in technical questions - but also to the staff of the own company. In doing so the bandwidth of questions covers all stages of sales. And there are indeed questions about products that are not even in the program yet. „At times we are surprised by customers asking for something new, where we are not really well versed. This indicates that we have to refinish our knowledge a bit.“ In most cases though, Ruud Vertommen and his colleagues are able to help immediately. For the sake of clarity each colleague is in charge of certain topics. At that Ruud Vertommen took power supplies, measuring instruments and semiconductors. Surprisingly the last segment is least labor-intensive: „In most cases the questions posed here are not so difficult to answer“, explains Ruud Vertommen. „Frequently they only ask for an alternative component“. The biggest number of requests he receives in the power supply and the measurement engineering sector - and here it may become difficult once in a while. „We have an enormous bandwidth of customers“, so Ruud Vertommen. „The wide range includes everything from the layman to the scientist, from the one-mancompany to the major international corporation - and correspondingly differ the questions that are posed.“ But in Ruud Vertommen´s view it is not at all critical, to find the right answer, but much more to give the right amount of answer. „A scientist often is satisfied with a yes or no, whereas a layman needs more information. On the other hand you must not overwhelm him and get him completely filled up.“ This is the art of the technical consultant: to know, what the customer really needs. „I can assess very well, what a customer ultimately wants, even if he only says three words“, explains Ruud Vertommen.
Telephone preferred
The inquiries reach Ruud Vertommen through a number of different media: via e-mail or telephone, but still via letter or fax, too. Normally the answer is given via phone or e-mail, whereby Rudd Vertommen prefers the contact by telephone. „You can better perceive what the customer exactly wants,“ he explains his preference for the telephone. „And the information exchange is considerably easier.“ Ruud Vertommen and his colleagues are also in charge ofthe technical complaints. If a customer for instance has problems with the installation or configuration of a product, the technical consultants search for a solution - if necessary also together with the manufacturer. In average Ruud Vertommen handles around 25 inquiries per day. And sometimes there are phenomena he cannot explain, too. „There are days when all customers want to know something about a certain product, that´s really conspicuous. And then there comes e.g. the time of power supplies or of measuring instruments. If there is no customer inquiry Ruud Vertommen also takes care of data processing and data maintenance.
Customer contact and troubleshooting
According to Ruud Vertommen, to be a good technical consultant you must predominantly possess a broad technical knowledge. Moreover you must be able to think analytically and - above all - to think fast, too. „At times you must investigate at different information sources during the conversation with the customer“, Ruud Vertommen describes his work. „And you must first of all be able to correctly assess the customer: What exactly does he want, and how fast does he need the answer?“ And that is exactly what Ruud Vertommen likes about his work: „It´s the contact with customers as well as with the manufacturers, and it´s the troubleshooting“, he explains. „If the customer has a certain question and you can answer it with your own knowledge, that really is fun.“ It is less interesting, though, he thinks, when the same questions are repeated continually. But also here Ruud Vertommen is a professional: „You must take care that the customer does not become aware of this. Since for him this is an important question and he needs an answer.“ And naturally there are new questions all over again, since hardly any other sector is subject to so many changes like electronics. Ruud Vertommen knows this not only since he works with Distrelec Schuricht.“I have witnessed the beginnings of the personal computer, and it was very exciting“, he remembers. „But today the changes take place at an increasingly faster rate, the lifetime becomes shorter and shorter. Due to this, consulting is not always easy.“ This requires above all that the 54 year old always stays up-to-date with new developments. His most important sources of information besides professional journals are the manufacturers who carry out in-depth trainings for the consultants.
More technology to come
Even when Ruud Vertommen in his spare time likes to go into his small forest with the chainsaw, to renovate his house or to play badminton, electronics is still always in his mind. Thus for instance he just recently connected his heating system tothe biogas plant of a neighbor. With a control unit he built himself he can now use the heat at a reasonable price. „My gas-fired central heating is only still there as a backup if the district heating breaks down“, he says. Of course he bought the necessary components from his employer. „I thought some time about it and threw dice, how to solve it best, and it worked out“, he reports with pride. It almost goes without saying, that his next big project has also something to do with technology. „I had always been interested in technology, already as a child“, Ruud Vertommen remembers. And to satisfy his curiosity how things actually work, he intends to go into more detail about physics. But this plan must probably wait until after his working life, since in the moment he is needed to help the customers of Distrelec Schuricht solve their problems.
