Rob van Leeuwen has been working for Akerboom Yacht Equipment for five years now. As a project engineer he is part of the Composite Engineers Team that assembles new yachts at the yard. “I also help think about how we can fit the yacht equipment in as well as possible, taking into account our client's wishes and the space available on the yacht.”

Equipment on a yacht refers to things like hatches, platforms, cranes, gangways and boarding ladders and entire propeller shaft installations. But what is the job of a project engineer? “From the designer at the shipyard, we receive the shape of the yacht digitally. With our 3D program we can see within which dimensions and weight limits we have to work. The moment we have that overview complete, we put it into a joint 3D model and our colleagues from other disciplines can also see where our products are placed. That way they can work around it, and, where necessary, we can also adjust to make everything fit as well as possible.”

“Everything we make has to be as thin, light and small as possible, but at the same time of the highest quality.”

But you're not quite there yet, says Rob: “The customer always wants as much space as possible for himself and as little as possible for the technology. So everything we make has to be as thin, light and small as possible, but at the same time of the highest quality. The constant challenge is to fit a working product into the smallest possible space. And of course you also have to deal with waterproofing and products that have to be corrosion resistant because they come into frequent contact with seawater. All in all, it's quite a puzzle, but a very nice one.”

“That's what I like best about this work,” says Rob. “Everything you do and think about has an effect on the end result. You see the product from the moment you're engineering until it's finished and sailing away. To me, that's the most beautiful and enjoyable thing about working in a manufacturing company like Feadship.”