Extrusion International 5-2023

66 Extrusion International 5/2023 CORONA TREATMENT – INTERVIEW In the Spotlight Nick Coombes speaks with Thomas Eskildsen, who is Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Quality Manager at Vetaphone A/S in Denmark and finds out what it’s like behind the scenes of a technology leader. Nick Coombes: Tell us about your background? T homas Eskildsen: I was born here in Kolding and grew up just outside the city. As a teenager I intended to go on and study biology but through my par- ents and their friends and colleagues I’d always had a connectionwith themetal working industry – and to this day the distinct smell of machining metal and welding has a deep-down appeal and brings back happy memories. Coombes: How did your early career pan out? Eskildsen: After my apprenticeship in CNC machining, I had a mix of jobs like training apprentices and new col- leagues, and programming. The com - pany I was working for had started a ‘LEAN’ project and I got involved in dif- ferent aspects of that process. At the same time, I started attending evening classes for management and project management. My days ended up be- ing mostly about LEAN work. Coombes: How did that progress? Eskildsen: I helped set up a new pro- duction line, and when that was done, I was offered a similar task at a differ- ent company and ended up working within the composite industry for just under a year. After that, I took on the challenge of implementing an ISO 9001 quality system at a metal working factory. I was in charge of the project and was responsible for the quality sys- tem once it has been approved. Coombes: How did you come to join Vetaphone? Eskildsen: I was living about 10 min- utes on foot away from Vetaphone, and my workplace was a 1-hour drive away, so when I saw there was an opening for a Production Manager at the company, I applied. I have a friend who worked for Veta- phone at that time, so I had some in - sight into the company and its culture, which resulted in me having coffee with Frank (Eisby CEO) one evening af- ter work. During the interview process the job changed character and ended up being a position as QualityManager. Coombes: When did you start and what was it like? Eskildsen: On the 1st of May 2017, just in time to be part of moving the whole administration into our show- room. This involved rearranging pro- duction while we renovated the entire factory building and trying hard not to be a disruptive influence – or at least as little as possible. I must say that the ap- proach that all my new colleagues took to the turmoil cemented my impres- sion that Vetaphone has a very special ‘can do’ culture. Coombes: What do you like about working for the company? Eskildsen: Mostly, I like the Informal and flat management structure we have here. We can communicate ef- fectively across functions and depart- ments, and there are good opportu - nities for taking on a diverse array of tasks. In my six years here, we have been growing continually and my re- sponsibilities have changed according- ly. The ongoing development of our or- ganisation and products means there is never a dull moment. We are very agile, and decisions are made not only by the Directors but to a large degree by the Management Team, with valuable in - put from our solid base of experienced and dedicated work colleagues. Coombes: What is your job function now, and what are the challenges? Eskildsen: I’m the COO and Quality Manager responsible for production and the performance of the Qual- ity system. I have a great team around me, and we are constantly pushing to develop the organisation and increase our output. Over the last couple of years, we have battled the same global supply crisis/issues as everyone else in our line of business, and we still ex - perience problems from time to time today. We have increased our stock of standard items and placed orders on a long horizon with our suppliers. The biggest challenges we face now are having sufficient production capacity, and the long lead times on non-stan- dard components. Coombes: How do you assess the current state of the market? Eskildsen: Sourcing-wise, it’s much better than last year. With regard to orders, different regions react in their own way to local or global trends, but we are seeing a steady influx of new orders. What is really encouraging is the increase in demand for wide web systems coming through the pipeline, especially systems with high complexity that end up in our special project port- folio. Coombes: Looking ahead, what are your ambitions for the future? Eskildsen: First of all, I intend to fin - ish my Diploma of Leadership over the coming winter. Both the compa- ny and the industry are very different now to when I started in 2017, and I’m looking forward to seeing the next stages of our development. We have ambitious goals for growth, a great team and a solid foundation both financially and culturally, so I think the future of Vetaphone will be very interesting to be part of. Nick Coombes The Publicity Studio, The Coach House Vetaphone A/S Fabriksvej 11, 6000 Kolding, Denmark www.vetaphone.com Thomas is Chief Operating Officer and Quality Manager at Vetaphone