the people behind Kersten coating technology: Bjorn Kok

“The work remains challenging. You have to stay focused to do everything right. But a good result is satisfying.”

At 22 years old, Bjorn Kok is one of the youngest dippers on the floor. How did this ambitious boy grew from being a forklift driver to becoming a dipper within two years? Well, he’s more than happy to tell you all about it.

Catch them young

Björn has been working at Kersten coating technology since 2019. After he quit his school, he started working for us as a forklift driver. “I was trained as a construction bench fitter, but that was not the right fit for me. The training I actually wanted to do was cancelled because there was not enough interest. Luckily I got a forklift certificate and lifting certificate from my former employer. Soon after, I started working at Kersten coating technology as a forklift driver.”

Assistant dipper

Full of enthusiasm, this ambitious boy tells how he became a dipper within two years. “I was given the opportunity by Kersten coating technology to work as an assistant dipper. Of course I didn’t miss that opportunity,” Bjorn begins his story. “As a forklift driver I sometimes watched the dippers from the side. So when I was asked to work as an assistant dipper, I didn’t have to think twice.”

“As an assistant dipper, you do the preparatory work for the dipper. Such as grinding, weighing, inspecting and priming pipe parts. After the dipping, you hang the dipped parts away and support the dipper,” Björn says. “You always do this work together with someone. It’s pretty tough work, partly because of the big heavy parts and hot furnaces that heat up to 360 degrees.”

Lots of challenge

“As an assistant dipper I gained valuable experience. So when a dipper vacancy became available, I was ready,” Bjorn said. “In this position you have to stay focused. After all, you do everything at the same time: operating the crane, setting the oven, grabbing the pipes, checking the dipped product and much more.”

“It’s important to team up with your direct colleague, otherwise things will go wrong. You can’t talk to each other when you’re dipping. The assistant dipper has to understand what the dipper wants at a glance. Luckily, I can really depend on my team.”

Exciting projects

“What I like most are the projects where you have to experiment. For example, when the product consists of two different materials that each need a different degree of heat, but have to be coated at the same time,” the young dipper explains. “In this case, it was a spiral that was made partly of steel and partly of bronze. That does take some puzzling. You also have to have the right knowledge to do it right. It’s one of the most fun projects I’ve worked on, though, because it was so different.”

Always focused

If you think Bjorn loses his focus after a long day at work, you’re wrong. In his spare time, he likes to be with his girlfriend, but he also into airsoft. And for that you definitely need good focus. “With airsoft, you reenact military situations with a large group of people on a large, dense terrain. The weapons are real, but the ammunition is not. I have a machine gun that I shoot with. I do this twice a month. Again, you have to work well together for the best result, which I think is cool.”

Family feeling

“At Kersten coating technology you still have that authentic family feeling within a rapidly growing company. I really like that. There is a good working atmosphere and my colleagues are great.. I have had so many opportunities to grow. It’s nice that you just get trained internally, that suits me.”

What are Bjorn’s ambitions in the future? “Well, first I want to dip for a few more years and gain even more experience. After that, I would like to become a manager at Kersten coating technology.”