Twente’s forests and heathland are a necessity for Leida Lichtenberg from Nijverdal

This article is part of a series called “Twente Leeft!” (Twente Lives!). You can read personal stories here about living and working in Twente. Twente is a nice place to be, according to the talents we meet. The beautiful nature, space, and the down-to-earth mentality all characterise Twente. There are also plenty of career opportunities! Twente has many innovative, international and future-proof companies that are desperate for staff. Want to know what Twente has to offer? You can find Lars Zijlstra's story below.

Leida(41) has long since gotten used to the noise from Euromouldings’ production halls. She puts in her custom-made earplugs without even thinking about it when she enters the production halls, and they dangle from her shirt when she is in a quieter place. She does this dozens of times per day. She takes so many unnoticed steps in a day; it must be enviable for someone who struggles to reach the ‘prescribed’ 10,000. She spends five days a week walking through the factory to keep an eye on the quality of the plastic packaging. As a Quality Technician, it is her job to ensure that the packaging, which ultimately often contains lubricants, detergents or products from the food industry, is safe.

“This is where it all happens”, she says while pointing at some sort of glass cage. “We drop filled packaging from great heights, up to 2.85 metres. They are sometimes filled with just water, but they may also be filled with glycol depending on the customer’s demands: we can then test how the packaging holds up in freezing temperatures.” The machines are stopped if a jerry can or bottle breaks down, and the employees find out what the last ‘good’ packaging was. The machines are recalibrated, the bad packaging is crushed and reused, and the process begins again.

Leida has been working for Euromouldings since 2012. She started on the sticker line, where she made sure that the stickers on the packaging were straight, stayed in place and met other demands from customers.

Leida is from Nijverdal and once started her career as a groom for a great showjumper after studying Horse and Livestock farming at AOC De Groene Welle in Zwolle. “That was fantastic. I was abroad a lot for competitions, among other things. But the sponsor quit, which meant that there was no more money to pay me.” She had to move to Brabant at the time because of her job as a groom. “It was okay for my job, but I was happy to move back to Twente. The people there are very different. Everyone is ‘normal’ here; I don’t have the urge to hug strangers”, she says with a laugh. “If you were in a pub, and you met an acquaintance of the person you were with, they would say: ‘Oh hello, I don’t know you yet’ and immediately give you three kisses and a hug. I don’t like that. Twente suits me much better.”

She started working at Ola afterwards. Working with horses was a thing of the past for her because her knee did not allow it anymore. She found a job at Euromouldings a few years later, thanks to an acquaintance. “I feel completely at home here”, says Leida. “It’s still a bit of a man’s world, even though more and more women have started working here in the eight years I have been here. I quite like that. The jokes and the banter are just a bit more zestful. Working here is a lot of fun; even though we work hard, it is always possible to laugh. I also like the fact that Euromouldings allows you to take steps in your career, and you can also follow courses and trainings.”

Leida likes seeking out peace and quiet after work. “It is one of the reasons why I’m so happy to live here and would not want to live anywhere else: the forests and the heathland are a necessity for me.  I go there every day; it only takes me two minutes to get there from our house.” She is no longer allowed to ride horses, but she takes part in agility trainings with her dog Wicky, a cross between a border colly and a Barbado da Terceira. “We walk for at least an hour and a half every day, too. I am completely recharged when I come home again and ready for the next workday.”

Twente lives

Twente is the ideal place to live and work, according to the talents we meet. Want to know why? Read personal stories about living and making a career in Twente on twente.com/twente-leeft. Want to look for a job immediately? Then take a look at our extensive job site.