Sören Mattheyssen
Production Manager, belgium
What is your current role? How long have you worked for Monument?
I first started my career with Monument Kallo in 2009, and I was a Production
Engineer for five years. Since then, I’ve held several roles at BASF and DOW, before
recently finding my way back to Monument in early January 2022. Now, as the
Production Manager, I analyze our overnight production activity and make adjustments
to address any issues. I’m also part of the improvement (MOC) team, and we’re responsible
for reviewing the tasks of all our operations people and ensuring they have everything they
need to do their jobs safely and effectively.
The thing I really love about Monument is the investment we are making in growth. We’re highly focused on optimizing our processes, and team members are encouraged to bring our own ideas to leadership. A lot has changed over the years, so right now, I’m focused on setting short-term goals for myself and continuing to learn in order to do the best I can in my role and to prepare for what the future brings.
What is your favorite part of what you do?
I love that we’re a small company with a family atmosphere — it’s why I returned to Monument! Working for Nations is very different because it’s much more structured and formal, but here, we have a very agile, eager, and dynamic team. Every day, we’re working together to solve problems and enhance our existing processes in terms of energy efficiency and quality, while reducing our energy consumption. This team aspect is very important to me.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
My wife, Marit, and I have two boys, Miel (7) and Warre (4) and a girl, Marte (1.5) — so I don’t really have a lot of spare time! The boys are very active so our weekends always involve trying to wear them out with sports like soccer. They also participate in “scouts,” or Jeugdbeweging in Dutch, which is a youth organization with weekly activities for kids; they get to play games, build camps, and get dirty. The whole family loves to be outside, so we’ll often go for walks or look for new places to eat together. I also brew beer with a good friend of mine. It started with a small set up in our house, but the more you get into it, the bigger and better your equipment gets. We now have a 150m semi-automatic brewer installed. We brew a lot of IPAs and Imperial Stouts but add our own little twist by experimenting with fruits and spices. Right now, it’s all just for fun, but we’re looking into getting a permit so we can share our beers with others.
What is the most surprising thing about you?
I owned an indoor Padel Club. Padel is a racquet sport similar to a mix between squash and tennis. During the pandemic, it was the only indoor sport allowed since it was non-contact, so it became very popular in Belgium. There was a shortage of courts at the time, so my friend and I decided to purchase this huge barn, demolish the whole thing, and rebuild it with four courts, a bar, and dressing rooms. We recently sold it to a large developer. It was a major project, but overall, it was really fun!