Marco van Dijk

Background

About Marco van Dijk

I have been working in research & development since the 1990s. I have grown up in this specialization for the first 18 years of my career at Unilever Vlaardingen where I performed many different functions. Within R&D there are many different areas like research (e.g, raw material science), development (designing products), upscaling (capability testing like pilot plant) or supporting functions like appraisal and analytical science. For me this was quite an interesting journey, finding out what suited me most. Product development with the emphasis to the pilot plant/factory is the most pleasant working environment where I feel most at home (design => deploy). Within this period at Unilever, I also have gained a lot of experience with the different quality systems, procedures and project management. After Unilever I have been working for two other multinationals; DSM Delft (factory process of penicillin) and CSM (Goes) within the world of “bakery ingredients and finished products” for the R&D center of sweet ingredients. After this period, I was looking for other challenges to develop myself, so I accepted a position with direct line management responsibilities within the R&D center for food supplements & medical devices at Royal Herkel (Zeewolde). This was the first mid-size company I have been working for with all elements under one roof (single site) which showed a lot of benefits in terms of project execution. Next working period was at “NewForrest” (Wijk bij Duurstede) the finger food (snacks) specialist within the Netherlands with own brands like Kwekkeboom oven & air fryer, Buitenhuis (OOH) and Yumz (custom made/industry). Next to our own brands we execute projects for well-known Dutch retailers (private labels) and the food industry. Developing new vegan products and changing batter/crumb-based coating to increase performance e.g, during deep frying. After a short but nice period at Celavita (part of McCain) in Wezep working at potatoes recipes in the chilled market the opportunity came across to move abroad for my next (international) job within the food industry in Riyadh (KSA). Quite a jump but I took the challenge to gain more international experience and explore other cultures. I still feel privileged to carry out my work within R&D at different food companies adding value with my experience and learning from my new colleagues/environment!