What's a cow's perspective on a roof?

‘Have you ever wondered how a cow sees a roof, or what he thinks of his cowshed? No, neither did I. Until I started working at Eternit and found out there are lots of companies involved in the comfort of cows and other livestock’.

‘Let’s us pretend that we are cows. Every day you are there in your spacious shed, with a lot of space to move around and a dozen other cows. In some cases, you can even decide when you want to be milked, food and drinks are never far away. When Spring is on its way, you get to go outside, run around the paddock. Being a cow that’s the best day of the year. For a farmer on the other hand, these beautiful days can also cause problems, because cows suffer from heat stress when it gets too warm. With a temperature above 24 and high humidity a cow can suffer from the heat and will start to eat less, drink more and rests more too. Heat stress is therefore not just a nuisance for the cow but also for the farmer. A cow suffering from heat stress produces less milk and an optimized shed climate is therefore very important.’

‘Being one of the largest producers in fiber cement corrugated sheets for the agricultural sector the prevention of heat stress is an important subject for Eternit. The solution developed by Eternit? It is actually quite simple: vertical air vents across the whole roof. With the Ecolor Vento roof the corrugated sheets have been laid in a way that leaves small vertical vents. The vents take care of the needed ventilation in the shed. The cow is happy and so is the farmer, less cows get ill and the milk production is not decreasing!’

‘The roof with air vents is not some kinds of exciting high-tech solutions, it is a solution that addresses the user’s wishes: the cow. For a farmer that is the most important thing in the end, a healthy and happy cow. For me it is what makes Eternit such a wonderful company. With all their products they look at the final user of the product: the farmer and his or her animals, the products are carefully adjusted towards their needs. What I’m doing here? All digital marketing: how do we increase online attention with our target groups for these specific products? It’s a great challenge, in a company that has to get used to being ‘online’, but is offering a lot of space to discover that online market!

‘The adventure of having my first ‘grown-up job’ as I call it, has only just started. At Eternit I will work the coming year to discover the digital world and present the company online. After a couple of side strays, I graduated in a field that I really like: Marketing Communication. Connecting people with wonderful products, products that have been marketed because of a special reason and that have a story to tell. Ascending People has made the right choice in introducing be to Eternit, I think it’s a really interesting company.

Ten years ago, I came to Enschede to enrol in the Art academy. But sometimes things don’t go as planned and it turns out that other alternative road can lead you to a goal that hadn’t crossed your mind before. Now, ten years later, I couldn’t imagine myself ever leaving Twente. I might leave Enschede, for a small farm somewhere. With a job that gives me energy every day and where I can make a contribution to my environment. Whether that job will be at Eternit, I don’t know, but there is still a lot to discover here. With so many companies in the area, a new adventure is probably never too far away!

Maaike Molenmaker