The Mansholt family is a household name in North Groningen. For generations they have been growing seed potatoes, grain, beets and onions in their fields.
Jochum Mansholt is the youngest member of the Mansholt family and took over the company from his father a few years ago. What he also took over is the attention paid to a safe working environment for their employees. Jochum has invested heavily in a dust extraction installation for the potato sorting machine, an electric sweeper and an electric forklift truck, to minimize the nuisance caused by dust. And that is why Jochum Mansholt has been nominated as a safety hero.
“Sometimes people ask if we work, it’s that clean.”
Jochum shows us the shed where the potatoes are sorted. “Do you see this soil surrounding the potato? This remains around the potato when the potato is harvested and protects the skin of the potato from damage. But when the soil dries up, it forms a very fine dust, which contains quartz, which can cause cancer and dust lungs. This dust is released during sorting. ”
Then father Mansholt joins the conversation. “In some potato sheds in the area, you cannot see a thing in the winter when the potatoes are sorted, so much dust is in the air. That stuff is so nice, you hardly notice it when you inhale. It only appears in your handkerchief at home in the evening. ”
Jochum: “That’s why we immediately invested in dust extraction when we bought a new sorting machine. And the difference with before is enormous. Sometimes people come to see us and they ask if they are working, it is that clean with us. And if the machine is off for even half an hour because of a malfunction, the boys in the shed already start to complain. ”
The electric forklift was also a success. Mansholt senior: “We got an electric forklift truck on trial and soon the boys only picked up the electric one. Not only does it emit no diesel smoke, it also produces less dust, because it does not have a fan to cool the engine and thereby generate a lot of dust. ” In order to be able to remove the dust that does settle on the floor, they have also invested in a sweeper vacuum.
“Our people feel like going to work every day”
Thanks to all these innovations, Jochum won the Good Practices Competition last year as part of the European campaign on safe working with hazardous substances. “Not everyone understands that we have won that prize. They say, isn’t it quite normal to have an electric forklift truck and a vacuum sweeper? But they are significant investments. You need a forklift truck anyway, but such a sweeper and the extraction installation together cost almost a ton and you don’t earn anything extra. But you just have to make sure that your staff can do their job with a safe feeling and provide them with the means to do so. So even if they want other PPE such as gloves, earplugs or work shoes, you have to offer them. ”
Father Mansholt: “The nice thing is, our people feel like going to work every day, because it is not dusty and dirty here. They also help with that themselves. In the morning they start by themselves with the sweeper to clean the shed before we start. ”
The tip that father and son Mansholt have for others is to invest in safety immediately when making new investments. Jochum: “When you buy a new sorting machine, build a dust extraction around it. It is already a lot of money, so this is also possible. ” His father adds: “If you think about it, you shouldn’t want to make these kinds of investments last, but include them throughout the package and just do it. We took that step then and it was a lot of money, but we are still happy with it every day. ”
