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Senior Site Manager

Katrien Melkenbeke
Katrien Melkenbeke
A virtually impossible request? We make it happen!

Walking on site. It’s great! As a site manager I have always had a lot of freedom in doing my job. Only since the last couple of years I sometimes come to the office for a day, mainly to do some administrative work or to consult with the people of our internal departments. Yet I always look forward to the rush of a new project. The adrenaline you feel is indescribable.

By being on site often, I stay in touch with my colleagues who are working there every day. That’s something they really appreciate. Moreover, because of the office work I also stay in touch with the people in the office. After 13 years I can rely on an enormous network within the company. For each problem I can immediately call someone for advice. In the meantime, many of them have even become good friends.

A close team
As a civil works manager you get the opportunity to work on various challenging projects. For example, a water purification plant is very industrial, while a retirement home requires a more compact structure. Whatever challenge we encounter, we always find a solution.

I will never forget the construction of the Schuman metro station. With a team of different contractors, we were working underground in the centre of Brussels. Despite the complexity of the site, we managed to establish a very constructive cooperation with our different subcontractors as well as with the client. During the last six months, we all worked fervently towards the delivery. Two days before the deadline, the attacks in Brussels took place... During that period, we really felt how strong we were as a team. And after all these years we still are. Every year, we try to meet up on the date of delivery.

Jan De Nul mentality
As a proud employee, I like to propagate the typical Jan De Nul mentality. What if we get an almost impossible question and others shy away? We go for it! The sky is not the limit. When I see the building in the end, I’m always very satisfied. We did it again!