It’s goodbye from Benny, Carlo, Danny, Dominique and Theo “Once you’ve worked at Luyten, you don’t want to work anywhere else”

Warning: working at Luyten may have consequences. Positive ones. Just ask Benny, Carlo, Danny, Dominique and Theo. They’ve reached retirement age and had to say their goodbyes. “More than once, our deadline was ‘yesterday’, so to speak”, they say. “But that didn’t outweigh all the positives. We really enjoyed working at Luyten.”

With a state of service stretching back 41 years, Danny Jacobs (62, from Halen) holds the longevity record among the batch of five fresh retirees. Danny’s first job was in the workshop. After that, he took to the road, finally finishing his long career as project manager. “My career path proves this company offers opportunities to those who want to grow”, Danny says. “I had to take on the project manager position for medical reasons, because I was no longer able to do the physical work. It was the perfect solution. I did sometimes regret no longer being able to do the on-site installations, though; I have very fond memories of those jobs. Especially so for the assignments abroad, which would typically last an entire week. In my 41 years on the job, there have been very few days when I wasn’t happy to come into work. That’s because this company took good care of me. For me, Luyten was the ideal employer.”

Carlo Moons (62, from Schulen) is of exactly the same opinion. Unlike Danny, Carlo spent his entire career in the workshop, and he loved it there. “Everything was always done as it should,” says Carlo. “I’ve worked in a few other places, and things were a lot less professional there. Of course, this is an industry with tight deadlines. Usually, our work had to be done ‘yesterday’, so to speak (laughs). But that was just part of the job. It certainly didn’t outweigh all the positives.”

Everyone’s friendly

“I’ve been everywhere,” says Dominique Vandevoort (68, from Diest), who’s been on the road as an installer for more than 20 years. “In Belgium and abroad: France, Switzerland, Austria, England, Scotland… We even went to Saint-Tropezonce. On occasion, we had to work through the night to meet a deadline, but I didn’t mind that at all. I have great memories of the time we fitted out the shops of the Hackett clothing brand. Why? Because those shops were so beautiful (muses). Good times! Once you’ve worked at Luyten, you don’t want to work anywhere else, simply becauseeveryone’s always friendly, there’s always a nice vibe. And if you have an issue, they’re always ready to help.”

Benny Put (61, from Lummen) spent seven years in the studio. “Just about everything we made was special,” Benny recalls. “That’s what made my job special too. It meant I got to work with materials that I’d never heard of before. I also remember that time we had to make an eye-catcher for a hotel: that was an interesting challenge. What I loved about working at Luyten was the variety. No two days were the same. And I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s the best place I’ve ever worked. That’s because I was so well surrounded by colleagues, each with their own responsibility. When something needed measuring, for example, there would be a colleague who had that particular job. I didn’t have to worry about it. That allowed me to concentrate fully on my own specific task.”

The whole place flooded

Theo Tielens (64, from Koersel) worked for Luyten for 26 years. He wraps up the reminiscing with a few funny anecdotes. “I mainly made interior doors,” he says. “If necessary, I would sometimes help to install them, but my real job was back in the workshop. When I retired, I had mixed feelings. Ideally, I would’ve liked to continue working for a few more yearsat Luyten, because it was such fun. The atmosphere was always great and the managers were always people you could talk to. On the other hand, my back was giving me trouble, so I had to quit. But I’ll always cherish the memories. Like that time we were working at a bar in Beringen. Half an hour before its grand opening, a colleague accidentally drilled through a heating pipe: the whole place flooded (laughs). That was hilarious – even if we didn’t really think so at the time. Anyway, we solved the problem and at the opening, nobody noticed anything of what had happened just half an hour before. We had a similar issue in Lanaken. At the back of the bar, we were still scrubbing the dance floor even while the first visitors were coming in via the front door. The waiters were already pouring champagne as we slipped out via the back, just in time (laughs). No one ever saw us. This is just to say: Luyten has excellent staff, who won’t rest until everything is okay.”

Op de foto van links naar rechts: Carlo Moons, Dominique Vandevoort, Danny Jacobs, Theo Tielens, Benny Put