'I enjoy the scale and complexity of offshore installations'

Marcel has been working at Bakker Sliedrecht for more than 10 years and during that time he has seen his role as Proposal Manager change considerably. "When I started at Bakker Sliedrecht, the role was very much focused on defining the technical solution. Nowadays it is a lot broader because you are also responsible for the cost price calculations and guiding the proposal process," Marcel says.

He adds, "I really enjoy being involved in the full spectrum and being able to brainstorm about new ideas together with the customer. You are involved in thinking about and calculating new concepts. This puts you at the forefront of electrotechnical innovations in the maritime industry."

Thinking about sustainable solutions

One of the best examples of this is the Energy Storage Solution for complex offshore vessels. The first example of this was recently sold. "Since 2015, we have been thinking about these kinds of sustainable solutions with customers. And I think it's very cool to see that our engineers can now work on this."

Getting to know large part of company

Marcel studied electrical engineering and, after working for other employers, knew for sure that he wanted to work for a company where electrical engineering was the main activity. "I started a traineeship at Bakker Sliedrecht in 2012 in the Drives & Automation department. During one of my first jobs, we made a High Voltage Training Simulator for the well-known Willem Barentsz nautical school. Because this project required both electrical engineering, automation, installation engineering and high voltage knowledge, I quickly got to know much of the company."

Conversion of the Bokalift 2

As Proposal Manager, Marcel comes into contact with a huge variety of projects in the dredging and offshore industries. "The biggest proposal project I worked on was the conversion of the Bokalift 2, a drillship that was converted into a four thousand ton heavy lift vessel. This can now be used for the next few decades to build wind farms all over the world."

Largest, self-contained installations

The electrical installations of the offshore vessels on which Bakker Sliedrecht is working are among the largest, self-contained installations that exist. The total installed power here can be as much as fifty or sixty megawatts. "This brings unprecedented challenges and makes it a tremendously cool company to work for for someone who wants to develop in electrical engineering."