A humane workplace

Following a back injury, 35-year-old Kent Hougaard chose to change career and started training as an industrial technician at RIVAL. He likes both the work and his colleagues.

You have to listen to your back. Or, even better – be so good to it that it never says a thing. Kent Hougaard, for one, agrees with this philosophy. After working for a plastics manufacturer for 14 years, his back had had enough. “It was hard work, and we didn’t have many aids to assist us. We weren’t allowed to use what was there, because it took too long. There was no appreciation of the fact that the work was too heavy and required a lot of awkward lifting,” says Kent, a trained plastics maker who worked for 14 years for the same company before his back gave in.

Backache
In 1995, a pallet fell on his back and he was off work for a week. He is certain that this is when his back trouble started. His backache got worse and worse, and one day he woke up and was unable to get out of bed. He called in sick. The diagnosis: a slipped disc that could not be fixed surgically. It required physio, which thankfully helped.

Made redundant
“Just as things began to improve, I was made redundant. After 14 years. Thankfully, I’d been in contact with RIVAL through my old employer. I could sense the atmosphere at the factory was good, so I called Henrik Holvad and asked him if I could start a trial period to see whether I was suitable to work there.

He said yes, and six months later I felt so much better that I started training as an industrial technician. I was already a qualified plastics maker, so the training period only lasted three years as opposed to four,” explains Kent.

>> There's a great atmosphere here, and my colleagues are very helpful. If you have an off day, it’s difficult to keep feeling down – the rest of them will see to that! The corporate structure is flat and the work is very varied.<

God atmosphere
“I'm very happy with my apprenticeship, and I love the fact that I look forward to going to work every day. It’s completely different to my old workplace. The most difficult thing, in fact, was getting used to the idea that when someone praises you, they’re not doing it to mock you, they actually mean it! There's a great atmosphere here, and my colleagues are very helpful. If you have an off day, it’s difficult to keep feeling down – the rest of them will see to that! The corporate structure is flat and the work is very varied.” Kent explains that it is possible to work on the lathes and the milling machines, as well as at the more up-to-date CNC machines. He hopes to stay on at the end of his training period. In order to avoid a relapse, he goes to the gym three times a week.

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