‘This feels like a family business’

Working together is built into how we work

Since Hemlock started in 2012 we have tried to create an environment where people feel at home, safe and involved. Because you don’t create remarkable interiors on your own.

In our workshop, craft and modern technology come together. Components are machined with precision and then built up into unique interiors by our joiners. At the same time our draughtsmen, work planners, project managers and fitters work together to take a design from paper to reality.

That collaboration runs through the entire company. From design and engineering to production, installation, handover and aftercare.

More than just colleagues

In the article our colleagues also describe what working at Hemlock is like for them.

Twin brothers Jan-Willem and Remco van Bemmel talk about the freedom and trust they are given, and about the pride they feel when something special has been made again at the end of the day.

Leon and Robin van der Zwet and Jeavan Mulder have their say too. They have worked at Hemlock for years and talk about the close-knit group of colleagues, the freedom to take responsibility themselves and the security Hemlock offers as an employer.

That may be even better to read back than anything we could say about Hemlock ourselves.

Room to learn

We don’t just want to preserve good craftsmanship, we want to pass it on. That is why young talent and experienced professionals deliberately work side by side at Hemlock.

Through our partnership with the Hout- en Meubileringscollege (HMC), among others, there are always students and interns working alongside us. They learn the trade from colleagues with years of experience, and bring new knowledge and a fresh perspective with them.

That development doesn’t stop once a course ends. We invest in training, education, coaching and opportunities to grow. From draughtsmen and work planners to machine operators, joiners and field fitters: we want to be a place where people can learn their trade and keep developing.

Craftsmanship and looking ahead

The article also covers how we look at the future. While craft remains the basis of what we do, we invest continuously in modern machinery, digitalisation and smarter processes.

Dominic Jahangier explains from his role in Business Transformation how we keep looking across every department for ways to support our people better and improve our processes further.

Because ultimately, innovation isn’t about technology alone for us. It is about our craftspeople being able to do their work better and better.

You build a company together

August perhaps sums it up best in the article: our colleagues are much more than just employees.

We want to know what is going on, help each other when that is needed and make beautiful things together. And when people stay with us for a long time, teach new colleagues the trade and look at their own work with pride, we know we are doing something right.

Hemlock may not be a family business on paper. But as far as we’re concerned, it’s allowed to feel like one.

Read the full article and our colleagues’ stories at INTO business Haarlemmermeer-Schiphol.