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The ultimate employeneurship: Danny launched his own start-up within TMC

30-year old Danny Hameeteman is the perfect example of a true employeneur. He is fascinated with robotics and has been operating under the banner of TMC for about six years now. In the meantime, he has already put his stamp on several great projects. When the born employeneur got wind that the government was looking for a special reconnaissance robot, he wasted no time. Danny gathered his TMC troops and presented ‘Throwabot’ to the Ministry of Defense roughly a year later. Clients regularly approach him with an offer of employment. Yet every time he chooses to stay with TMC. Why do you ask? This brilliant mind explains it all to you in detail.

Different industries

“Right after completing my Systems & Control degree I started at TMC,” says Danny. “What primarily appealed to me during my job search was the entrepreneurial character of TMC. The fact that TMC puts a lot of focus on personal development also drew me in. I’m a part of the mechatronics business cell. Over the past six years I have completed four different projects in a variety of fields. From automotive to the high-tech sector and from mechanical engineering to the academic world. It’s great to have been introduced to four totally different industries. I like to take my experiences and expertise from one project on to the next and it is valuable for me to learn from them. Although TMC is my employer, I’ve never felt like an ‘external person’ among the clients. I’m always welcomed with open arms and instantly included in the team. At the moment, I’m working as a robotics engineer at the Eindhoven University of Technology. My task is to put the robotic systems devised by the academics into practice.”

Second nature

“What makes me a true employeneur?” Hameeteman asks himself out loud. “To be honest, I’m not consciously working at being a ‘employeneur’. Maybe that is exactly the power of being an employeneur at TMC. Employeneurship just comes as second nature to me. I suppose my independence and my proactive attitude make me a good employeneur. I am also someone who wants to be at the helm of his own career and my employer stands behind that completely. I make full use of the opportunities that TMC has to offer when it comes to self-development. For example I often take part in the pizza sessions organized by TMC as part of the Entrepreneurial Lab. During these sessions, technical professionals are given the freedom to develop their own ideas and exchange knowledge with colleagues. The nice thing is that you get out of the bubble of your own business cell for a while and get to meet people from other cells with the same interests. In the lab, I initiated a project of my own, which led to a start-up that I am a co-founder of.”

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Group of young graduates sets up production unit in Senegal

Senegal produces between 100,000 and 150,000 tons of mangoes a year. Unfortunately, only 45% of these mangoes are consumed and the rest gets wasted due to saturation of the local market, fruit flies and shortcomings in the infrastructure. To combat this waste, Laura Govaert started her company Ofrutti, which produces dried mangoes, two years ago. Production has recently been scaled up, which also reduces unemployment, especially among women in Senegal. A project group from the Young Graduate Program helped Ofrutti with this challenge.

Curious about the whole story?

Throwabot

“Let me explain what the project has entailed: In 2018, I read on the website of the Ministry of Defense that the government was looking for a special reconnaissance robot. This instantly triggered my interest. During a pizza session, I got some colleagues excited about developing that robot with me. And successfully at that. In 2019, we presented the first prototypes of ‘Throwabot’ to the Defense innovation center. The device is intended to increase the safety of military personnel during operations in and around buildings. The concept is that the Throwabot first explores a situation in and around a building before people are sent in. From a distance, the driver can see and hear what the robot is observing. This project led me and my colleagues to set up the start-up Sita Robotics. We are working hard from this base to bring Throwabot to the market.”

Full of conviction

“I have always dreamed of setting up a successful start-up myself. That’s something you get all the freedom you need for in the Entrepreneurial Lab. Project Throwabot is a great way to stay true to myself thanks to the combination of technology, entrepreneurship and personal growth. I am constantly inspired by my colleagues in the lab. We also meet with the mechatronics team once every quarter to catch up and hear from each other about what we are working on. All this makes me feel very involved in TMC. That is the real reason why I choose to stay with TMC every time a customer makes me an interesting offer!

Want to know more? Please reach out:

Loes Cortenbach

Marketing & Communications Officer, Netherlands

Tel: +31 (0)6 229 852 63

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