16 December 2024

Last year, we shared our highlights of 2023, which turned out to be a great success. Therefore, we are happy to share our highlights again this year! A quick review with, of course, some inside information.

Team RIS Rubber

This year, RIS Rubber’s team has expanded again! A total of 10 new colleagues have joined. Extra special is that two former colleagues have returned to RIS Rubber. Both were welcomed with open arms. In addition, two more new colleagues will start in January 2025.

Since 2024, RIS has been an officially recognised training company. This year, two college and three MBO students immediately started work in different departments. To recruit new colleagues, we organised a job fair in Urk for the first time this year. This turned out to be a great success! We are very happy that Cees is now part of our team thanks to this job fair.

There was also something to celebrate this year: three colleagues celebrated anniversaries! Jan and Gabrielle both celebrated 12.5 years of service, and Edgar even reached his 30th anniversary. Congratulations! We are proud of the loyalty of our colleagues.

There were also developments aimed at the well-being of our employees. In April, a voluntary Preventive Medical Examination was offered, analysing both physical and mental health. And from September, every new colleague will receive an onboarding pack, packaged in a cool, recycled blue RIS bag, complete with a RIS thermos bottle and key cord.

Investment in the factory hall

In 2024, we also invested heavily in the factory hall. We kicked off the year with the opening of our new, larger paint shop, obviously celebrated with a small party. Shortly afterwards, new overhead cranes were installed in the middle yard, making the production of large bottom doors considerably more efficient.

A less visible but sustainable improvement was made at the end of the year: all lighting at RIS Rubber has now been completely replaced by LED. With this, we have become another step greener.

We also worked hard to install a new, large press – the biggest we currently have. It was a monster job, but the result is impressive! New plans are already in place for 2025: there will be a 1400 mm square press and we will focus on automating labour-intensive processes. More on this later!

Quality, Environment, Safety & Health (QESH)

Within our QESH department, important milestones were achieved in 2024. We are proud to have achieved level 3 on the CSR performance ladder, proof of our commitment to a more sustainable world. Less waste, more reuse and attention to people and the environment are our focus.

In addition, we achieved certification to ISO 45001:2018 this year, demonstrating that our operations are focused on safety and reducing the risk of accidents. We also received re-certifications for ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015.

At the last minute of the year, we introduced an improved waste separation system. With five colours of waste drums, we now distinguish between residual waste, rubber, paper/cardboard, plastic and (packaging) film.

Sponsorship 2024

RIS Rubber was also active as a sponsor in 2024. As (main) sponsor of the Jazz Festival, s.v. Enkhuizen and carnival association the Haringhoppers, our name was again prominent in Enkhuizen. In Lelystad, we are a loyal sponsor of the neighbourhood concierges and the BKL gala.

We also support sports associations, such as tennis and football clubs, and young talent in football and motorbike racing. Of course, the four-day walking event in IJsselmuiden was once again a feature this year.

In addition, with the help of colleagues, we collected a wonderful amount for Stichting Alzheimer Nederland, and supported Alpe d’HuZes. RIS Rubber enjoys contributing to a better world!

Company parties and treats

2024 was full of parties and treats! We kicked off the year with our traditional bowling night in February. This was followed by the pre-summer barbecue and the Great Party of RIS, with an activity on the moors and a dinner buffet. In November, we repeated the bowling evening, and closed the year with a festive Christmas lunch, all in the style of Ugly Christmas Sweater Day.

In addition to all the celebrations, treats were often enjoyed during working hours. There are also strong traditions when it comes to treats, such as the fresh Hollandse Nieuwe at the start of the season. And to celebrate the 1,000 followers on LinkedIn, a real ice cream truck arrived! We couldn’t skip Croquette Day 2024 either, of course, after the success of 2023. In between, there were the requisite birthdays, often treating people to a sausage roll or cream roll. And when a bet was lost between this and that one, fish pies from our colleague Henk often came along.

The holidays were not forgotten: from chocolate Easter bunnies and a well-filled Sinterklaas package (with poem) to a generous Christmas package. It was another festive year at RIS Rubber!

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