EMMA IS Koen Geuskens

However, he has been a familiar face at our organisation for some time. In fact, before Koen officially joined the company, he was an intern. During his graduate studies, he focused on sustainability, which included materials research. An interesting theme, which he builds on in his current role. 

"For my graduate internship, I researched the sustainability of safety shoes," Koen explains. "My goal was to design a safety shoe with half the CO2 emissions of the standard model. So I started looking for alternative materials and designed a new model. Something that perfectly suited my degree in 'Industrial Product Design'. The outcome? By looking creatively at sustainability and recycling, it is actually possible to reduce CO2!"

Materials Library
The materials research Koen conducted for his graduate internship is extremely valuable to EMMA. "EMMA really needs a materials library. That's why they offered me a job as a Junior Product Developer: I have all the knowledge and information thanks to my internship assignment." In his new role, Koen is responsible for setting up the materials library. "There's 2 parts to it," he explains. "On the one hand digital: I am working on a large database of all the materials EMMA uses or might use in the future, and adding the technical properties of the materials. On the other hand, I also shape the physical materials library. I bring all the materials in so we can see and feel them. That's handy for our development department, but we also use it as a kind of showroom for visitors. That way, they can see what we are working on!" 

"I bring all the materials in so we can see and feel them. That's handy for our development department, but we also use it as a kind of showroom for visitors".

Diverse work
As a Junior Product Developer, Koen is not just busy with materials. He provides support to the lead designers, contributes to new designs and is also working on a new proposal for 'Safety for Everyone'. "I will be revamping our offering in semi-orthopaedic adjustments and the related service. It's precisely the diverse work that made me say "yes" to EMMA's offer immediately. We were always told in school that we would only design products in the future, but what I do now is much more varied. And of course, the fact that EMMA is within cycling distance of my hometown of Landgraaf is also a nice bonus!" 

More time for hobbies
The fact that Koen now has a permanent job at EMMA also has private benefits for him. "When I was a student, I had a side job on Saturdays. That meant I only had evenings through the week and Sundays for hobbies. One evening a week I volunteer at Jong Nederland, leading about 25 girls aged 10/11. The other nights I can often be found at the gym. Because my weekends are now completely free, I've got more time for the other sports I love. I like the challenge of mountain biking, trail running and bouldering. I also enjoy hiking with my girlfriend; I'm a real outdoorsman and love adventure!"