Reach truck driver Daniel reaches for the sky at Bridgestone Zeebrugge

1,5 months ago reach truck driver Daniel Vasiliu started working with the number one tire company Bridgestone in Zeebrugge. He found his dream job thanks to Let’s Work International, our specialised divison that recruits people in Romania and Moldavia for Belgian companies.

13 reachers and counting …

Office Manager Loredana of Let’s Work International: “Since september 2018 we recruit experienced reach truck drivers for Bridgestone. Our reachers work with a complex type of reach truck at Bridgestone and the warehouse system consists of mobile metal racks instead of wooden pallets. That calls for a high level of skill and concentration. Over the last year 7 Let’s Work-reachers got a fixed contract and today 3 Romanian and 3 Polish reachers are working on a temporary contract. Next week we’re testing 3 more people.”

Daniel found his dream job on Facebook

Daniel: “I saw the vacancy at Bridgestone in a Facebook add and decided to apply. I have worked as a reacher for three years in Italy and wanted to give Belgium a try. So I called Let’s Work International and before I knew it I moved into a Let’s Work-appartment and started my training at Bridgestone. Let’s Work helped me out with my paper work and even provided me with a car to drive to work.” Loredana: “When new reachers start at Bridgestone, Daniel and his coworkers will be able to carpool together.”

Organisation is key in Belgium and Bridgestone

I’ve only been living in Belgium for a short time, but what I really like is how well organised life and work are here: people are disciplined, traffic is safe and companies are very professional. Bridgestone has a high level of organisation. After my interview and test I got two weeks of intensive training: on the reacher, the depot, the docking station, the warehouse management system and the safety rules.

“When I’m focussed and working with my reach truck I feel really good.”

I work in a two shift-system: one week I work from 6 to 14 hours, the next week I work from 14 till 22 hours. My colleagues are very friendly and helpful. I hope I can work here for a long time, so I want to learn Dutch. In two months I hope to bring my girlfriend to Belgium. She’s finishing her education to become a nurse, so maybe Let’s Work can find a suitable job for her as well.

A day in the life of Daniel

Before my shift I go to my team leader and she explains my job for the day: import, export, transfer, ... Bridgestone has very clear expectations and the targets are achievable: if you focus on your job and execute it with the right attention the workload is not stresfull. There’s also a nice task variety: uploading tires, bringing tires to the warehouse, taking tires to the loading dock, … We handle all types and sizes of tires in Zeebrugge.

What you need to know about Bridgestone

Tire giant Bridgestone has 180 factories worldwide and produces tires for cars, 4x4’s, motors, pick-up trucks, buses, jeeps and agricultural vehicles. CEO Patrick Kivits: “Our plant in Zeebrugge is the main distribution centre for Europe. Safety is a top priority for us and we invest in intensive on the job training. That way we have reduced accidents to a minimum. Our warehouse system demands accuracy and concentration from our reachers, because we stack up to 12 levels.”

Wanna work as a reacher?

Reach for the sky and apply with Let’s Work International.
Call Loredana now at +32 (0)51 74 43 06 or mail international@letswork.be.