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Martijn joined Strukton nineteen years ago fresh out of school. He was so pleased with his work that today Martijn Muilwijk (41) is still working at Strukton. He has since advanced to become Project Leader at Strukton Infratechnieken.
‘After my studies at the Institute of Technology (HTS), I applied at Strukton through a secondment firm. The company’s mentality appealed to me, as did the projects Strukton was involved in. When I joined the company, I began with a carpenter traineeship. I wore a carpenter’s tool belt, went to a construction site and helped build the formwork for the Betuwe freight line [“Betuweroute”] across the Netherlands. After that, I ended up at Strukton Infratechnieken: compressing, grinding and jacking. Since that time, I have been involved in many projects: inserting the Noorderbrug bridge near Maastricht, inserting two decks for the Rijswijk-Delft project, replacing the supports at the Kleinpolderplein junction, strut work and jacking for the Noord-Zuid metro line in Amsterdam, jacking up the De Haar Castle, replacing a culvert below the railway tracks near Waddinxveen and numerous other projects.’
When I joined the company, I began with a carpenter traineeship. I wore a carpenter's tool belt, went to a construction site and helped build the formwork for the Betuwe freight line.
‘The thing I enjoy most about my work is the engineering. Compressing, grinding and jacking are particular specialisms. The work itself, for example, inserting a viaduct, can sometimes be preceded with six and even twelve months of preparation. You have to make sure that everything has been thought out in detail, down to the nuts and bolts, because during the weekend itself you can’t just go out and get a few things here and there. I primarily work from the office for my work, but for large projects and implementation weekends I also work outside. For example, during the insertion of the Noorderbrug I also spent a shift operating the machinery. I try to get out on a regular basis as a matter of course, so that I stay effectively involved in the projects.’
‘It’s now been almost twenty years that I am working at Strukton and I am still very happy here. This is to a large extent due to my colleagues. We are committed to each other. This is very evident during a major implementation weekend for a railway project. The railway line is then put out of service for a weekend, so that we can do our work. But the train has to be running again on Monday morning at 5 a.m., so we work under a great deal of pressure. We truly do this all together: everyone puts their shoulders to the wheel and we do not leave each other in a lurch.’