Welcome to our family

I always talk about who we are, almost never about what we do. That is because I love people more than I love machines.

At Niverplast we do not have managers, management or group leaders. There is no hierarchy. There is mutual respect for each other. And whoever you are, your contribution is appreciated. Is this an adventure? Perhaps. On the other hand, the concept is as old as the world. It is the concept of Jesus. He is my biggest source of inspiration. I have thoroughly studied Jesus and try to implement his lessons on a daily basis. He let people take initiative in the knowledge that things could go wrong. But he did not mind, because this is the only way great things can be achieved.

Ricardo Semmler on my side

For years I received criticism from people who felt that management was necessary for a big company as Niverplast. I never doubted for a moment. And I have Ricardo Semmler on my side. His model, Semco, was invented in a company of 5,000 employees. Five thousand! When I read his book I thought: now I finally found someone who proves that people do not need a boss. But you have to really believe in it - money cannot be your motivation. If you only do this for your own gain, you better not do it all. If you do this to make the world a little bit better, then you definitely must do it.

"There is mutual respect for each other. And whoever you are, your contribution is appreciated"

Welcome to the Niverplast family

Fun fact: my ambition was never to have a company with many employees. I even thought that our amazing culture had everything to do with our size. For a long time I was the only one who did not want to grow. But we did grow - and considerable too - and our culture has not changed. In a way we have maybe lost our youthfulness, but we received wisdom and maturity in return. I now know you cannot possess culture - it is something that you must propagate. I am sure that even with 500 employees we would still be the same Niverplast family. And if we keep behaving like a family - the kind of family in which family members care about each other - I am a very happy and proud man.

Article written by Gerrit Jan Nieuwenhuis