Plant Manager Ruben Hartkamp
Ruben Hartkamp (35) worked for exactly 1 year as Plant Manager at Bakker Goedhart in Emmeloord on 1 January 2025. He previously worked in herbs, spices and packaging, and returned to the food industry with this job. “Bread is an honest product and Goedhart immediately hit it off. It's a great company, with a flat organization, short lines of communication and an impressive production process.”
Efficient production and teamwork under pressure
In Emmeloord, we work with two large bread lines and two small bread lines. The big bread lines each produce around 2,000 breads per hour, while one of the small bread lines — equipped for hamburger rolls, for example — operates with an impressive capacity of 36,000 buns per hour. After the bread has been baked, all lines continue to the packing department, where everything is packaged according to the customer's wishes. Some breads remain uncut, while others are cut and packaged by us. Everything then ends up in our warehouse, where each store has its own LED screen to place a customized order every day.
Production runs until around 1 a.m. during the day, after which 30 trucks hit the road to deliver fresh bread before 7 a.m. “That daily pressure makes work fun,” says Ruben. “It doesn't matter how we do it, we do it. And when necessary, people keep working longer — that mentality is great.” Of course, things also go wrong sometimes, such as a mistake in the swords or problems with packing. “But we always solve it together. Our delivery performance is 99.8% and I'm proud of that.”
Working with and for people
As plant manager, Ruben is responsible for almost everything in the bakery, except administrative and commercial matters. In addition, his strength lies in leadership. “You work with people. Providing structure and leading make the difference. When everyone knows where they stand, work will be better and more enjoyable.”
“My goal was to transform the management team into a real team. With clear structures, roles and a focus on continuous improvement.” Under his leadership, a professionalization has been made in the use of KPIs and LEAN methods. “We've set up internal improvement teams and are working on smarter and more efficient processes, such as reducing waste and optimizing man-hours.”
Future plans and favorites
His pride? “The management team and team leaders are now real teams. That is the basis and that gives energy, both for me and for my colleagues. For example, we eat dinner with our MT every day at the table with hot bread from the bakery. That's nice and delicious.” His favorite sandwich? “The Lodewijkers Bol van Poiesz.”
In the coming years, Ruben wants to further use the plant's capacity and successfully roll out the continuous improvement pilot. “Emmeloord is a healthy plant, but there is always room to get better. I'm really enjoying it and looking forward to the coming years.”