Alet and working at Willpro

We had an interview with Alet about her journey at Willpro. 

Can you briefly introduce yourself?
Hi, my name is Alet, I’m 43 years old, and I live in beautiful Elim. I’ve been working at Willpro for about 3 years as a CNC miller. My daily tasks involve milling various metal products. I didn’t do any formal education for this role, and I don’t have any diplomas. I’ve learned everything internally, I’m more of a hands-on person. 

I hear you thinking: how does CNC milling work?
When a program is written, I send it via the Edgecam software on the computer. I then send it to the machine via the iPad, where the workpiece is processed. I can check the setup of the order on the iPad, such as how to position the clamps in the machine. Then, I use a probe to set the X, Y, and Z zero points of the product. After that, I check whether all necessary tools are already in the machine. If not, I look them up or assemble them. Once I’ve made the first product, I measure all dimensions using a drawing. If necessary, I adjust the measurements in the program or in the tool table. 

How did you end up here?
I don’t have Facebook myself, but a friend sent me the job vacancy. I then wrote an application letter and was invited for an interview. After that, I got to spend a day on-site to get a feel for the work and the atmosphere. 

Where did you work before?
Before this, I worked for 11 years in a technical company that mainly produced control panels for machines. Over 20 years ago, I also worked in a metal factory as a CNC turner. Technology and metal have always attracted me, as you can see. 

How is it going now, and what are your goals at Willpro?
At the moment, I can manage quite well. I’m becoming more independent and need to ask the guys less and less. My goal is to keep improving in this role. Another goal within the company is to become more of an all-rounder. I’ve just started with grinding on the CNC grinding machines we also have. I attended an evening course in Hengelo (3 lessons): the basic grinding course. In the future, I definitely want to focus more on grinding. We also have a saw/warehouse hall, so who knows, I might get involved there too. Even the measuring machine we have sometimes calls out to me. There’s never a dull moment here; there are plenty of challenges. 

What does Willpro mean to you?
TEAM SPIRIT. It doesn’t matter who or what I ask, everyone at work is willing to help. That’s very important to me. When we have a team outing, it’s always relaxed and a lot of fun together. I can be myself here. Working as a woman in this company is absolutely fine. If a product is too heavy for me, we use magnets on the hoist. If we encounter any issues, we come up with solutions to make things easier for ourselves. 

All in all, working here is great, very approachable, and I hope to continue working here for many years to come. 

Well, Alet, we hope the same at Willpro!