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During the world’s biggest wine trade fair, Boels takes care of one of the most impressive glass service operations. For four days, between 1.2 and 1.5 million glasses are rinsed and return sparkling clean to the ProWein exhibition stands. We spoke to three Boels employees who each had specific responsibilities within this complex service chain.
As operational manager at the ProWein Trade Fair, Boels trainee Youri Gijzen is responsible for managing the four hundred staff active at this internationally leading event in Düsseldorf, Germany. A huge challenge where he pushed his limits right on the first day. “I’m actually someone who likes working more in the background, and now I had to get the team motivated and excited. Looking back, a role I passed with flying colours. I felt strengthened not only by the expertise I brought to the project, but also by the team spirit.”
The commitment that the young professionals showed during ProWein makes this truly a team effort. Youri’s colleagues, Kyera Krul and Dré Hermans, who worked as hall leader and plant manager respectively, confirm that sentiment. “Running this mega project successfully is only achieved if you can count on each other. The great thing about the ProWein team is that colleagues from every part of the Boels organisation pull together. It felt like one big family with one mission”, says 25-year-old Kyera.
One Boels
Dré Hermans – who has the most to do with the event world in his regular job at Boels as Key Account Manager for Boels Events – adds: “If we didn’t have the ‘One Boels’ concept, where all Boels departments and specials play key roles in the project, there is absolutely no way we could have offered service at this level. The very top of international wine trade relies on us. Every year, we go the extra mile in taking our services to a higher level. Our guiding principles to achieve this are the quality of service, acting in solutions, and our proactive cooperation with customers. Above all, we and our customers benefit from the transition to digitisation that further enhances the ease of doing business with us.”
Proactive collaboration
For Youri, this was the second project as a Boels trainee. The 24-year-old business economist is still discovering everything that Boels has to offer. “It’s really fantastic to experience first-hand how versatile we are as Boels. Just think of all the glassware, units, power supply and the log-in and log-out system from IQ-Pass that Boels provide to run this project. The knowledge and expertise of our specialist departments is enormous. Everyone shares ideas and comes up with efficient and cost-saving solutions. This has allowed us to provide an even better service.”
Managing the show
For Kyera, who is Learning & Development Programme Manager at Boels, this was her first time leading such a large team. Having graduated from hotel school, she felt completely in her element at the trade fair in her role as hall leader, especially since most of her team were hotel school students. In the beginning, she thought the work was a little bit too slow. So it was decided to combine a number of halls and Kyera finally got the hustle and bustle she had prepared herself for.
“The biggest challenge was keeping all the balls in the air. Managing, adjusting, motivating, troubleshooting, speaking with customers, and checking on my team to make sure they also had their breaks. That last one was probably the hardest. I had a super motivated group with me, and I had to slow them down more than get them moving.”
In one of the three rinsing stations, also known as plants, Dré Hermans was in charge of operations. “I was well briefed beforehand and knew what to expect. It helps enormously to keep a helicopter view because you’re constantly shifting gears for 16 hours a day. After 500 phone calls, I stopped counting.” According to Dré, listening to and empathising with your staff and customers is the key to success.
”How can I help them perform at their best? That’s the question I often also ask myself in my daily work. If I can do that, the rest will take care of itself and all I have to monitor the process.”
It all comes down to motivated staff
After 13 earlier editions of ProWein, Boels has learnt quite a few lessons. One of them is making sure that four hundred staff who are working their tails off stay motivated. “That’s really one of our main priorities. This time, we even had the luxury of our own portable kitchen, including kitchen staff. The delicious soup and meals definitely added to the atmosphere. But also the way we interacted with each other as a team contributes”, Youri explains.
Dré underlines this point. “You treat your people the way you want to be treated yourself. By taking that as a starting point, you can achieve so much.”
Kyera nods in agreement. “We’re all here with one goal: to run a successful exhibition for our customers. You can only do that if you get everyone on the same page ‘organically’ by making clear agreements.
Culture difference
Dré’s plant was responsible for the halls where exhibitors served wines from the ‘rest of the world’. From Georgia to China and Slovenia to Chile.
“All these cultures have a different perception of what good service means. When are the expectations reached that someone has been assisted well?” For Dré, keeping all these cultures happy was the biggest challenge. “We’ve had nothing but rave feedback, with many exhibitors personally coming to the hall leaders and runners to thank them. That says something about these cultures, too, and nice to hear.”
Wrapping up and looking ahead
One week after the ProWein Trade Fair, Youri is still busy wrapping things up. “Whether I’m tired? Not anymore. But after at least 30,000 steps every day, it somehow does start to take its toll”, he says with a chuckle. “But this is the reason why I became a trainee at Boels. To push my own limits, challenge myself and to continue growing. For me, ProWein means everything a successful traineeship should consist of.”
Youri will face an even bigger challenge next year when he moves from operational manager to having final responsibility. “And I’m very excited to take on that challenge with our team, especially after all the positive feedback from our customers. Together, we managed to raise the bar again this year, but the ‘wine glass’ is still only half full as far as we are concerned!
