Bart Kersschot and Catarina Tojal new MPS coordinators Belgium from 1 February 2023
Bart and Catarina are the owners of BedrijfsKracht, a consultancy firm for the green sector. With passion for the green profession and great respect for green entrepreneurs, BedrijfsKracht connects the right partners in the chain within the green sector.
Bart trained as a bio-engineer and took additional courses in management and process optimisation, after which he has spent the past twenty years building up a broad knowledge and expertise in the green sector within Europe.
Catarina studied biology and gained many years of experience in research and production of ornamental plants and tropical agricultural crops. In recent years, she was also active as a prevention advisor and supported several ornamental growers in certification.
From now on, they will be the contacts in Belgium for all questions and comments regarding MPS. So if you have any questions and/or remarks about any of the MPS standards or other MPS-related matters, please do not hesitate to contact Bart at b.kersschot@my-mps.com or +32 471 84 31 91 or Catarina at c.tojal@my-mps.com or +32 479 29 64 36.
Inge Schalke new coordinator Netherlands
Inge Schalke will be the new Netherlands coordinator from 1 February 2023. Her name will ring a bell with some members, as Inge has been working for MPS Service & Support for the past two years.
Having grown up as a true grower’s daughter, ornamental horticulture is in Inge’s blood. It is therefore not surprising that she worked in various commercial positions at Royal FloraHolland for almost 13 years. Here, she even won the ‘most customer-friendly and collegial colleague’ award in 2009. After two years of Service & Support, Inge thought it was time for a new step in her career and made the switch to Coordinator Netherlands. So from now on, you can also bump into her at trade fairs and meetings, where you can ask all your questions or just have a chat.
“I’m really looking forward to it, working outside of the office, visiting the growers a lot and in this way spreading the word even more about what the added value of the MPS Group can be for them,” says Inge.
You can contact Inge at i.schalke@my-mps.com or +31 6 22 73 48 98.
Over 30 years ago, my journey at MPS began after I saw an advertisement in the newspaper. After the birth of my daughter, I was looking to return to work and joined the data entry department. At the time, all data was still entered manually from paper forms. Since then, I have seen the organisation grow and change, and I have grown along with it.Today, I work in the Service & Support department. No two days are the same: one day I help a customer with questions about record-keeping, the next I help them understand requirements from the auction or the UO. It is precisely this variety and the personal contact with customers that make my work interesting every day.
In 2008, I joined MPS through a recruitment agency as a secretary. I then held various positions within MPS and MPS-ECAS, including roles in the Service & Support team and as a planner. In 2018, I left the organisation for a while, but in 2023 I returned to MPS-ECAS as a back-office employee. The people are simply too much fun and the world of ornamental horticulture is so innovative that it kept drawing me back. Shortly afterwards, I started working at MPS as Coordinator Netherlands.
During the final year of my Environmental Sciences degree, I joined MPS for an internship. The internship worked out so well for both sides that I was able to stay afterwards. It felt like a natural next step, because I immediately felt at home here and was given the opportunity to continue developing myself.My work is very varied. I work on different projects and products, carry out research and analyses and contribute to practical solutions. I also manage various systems, support customers with complex technical questions and work with external parties. It is precisely this combination that makes my work interesting and ensures that no two weeks are the same.
I first joined MPS through a friend who worked in MPS’s student team. I continued working here while studying Commercial Economics, and at the end of my studies, in 2004, MPS asked if I wanted to join the organisation permanently. It seemed like a great opportunity, and more than twenty years later, I am still here.No two days are the same, and that is exactly what makes my work so enjoyable. A large part of my week consists of project meetings and translating needs from within the organisation into practical solutions. Thursday afternoon is a regular fixture, which I set aside with a colleague to make MPS 1% better every week. For example, we experiment with AI, build prototypes, improve processes or develop new ideas. The goal is always to work smarter and create more value for colleagues, customers and the organisation.