30/3/2023

A Conbit Journey - Aad Sonneveld

Being apart of Conbit isn’t just about being a number within the company and measured solely on the job you do and how you perform. Being a part of Conbit is being apart of a family that is proud of a culture that appreciates each employee for their individuality as much as their contribution to the smooth and successful operation of our company. A testament to this is our new Manager Engineering, Aad Sonneveld. He started his professional journey with Conbit and is still running strong these many years later.

Aad began his engineering journey as a student at Avans Hogeschool. In 2011, he had to search for his first internship as an engineering student. However, at the time, this posed a major challenge to all engineering students and professionals in the field as there was a crisis in the building sector where job certainty was in question and hiring came to stop. Nearing the end of his deadline to start an internship, Aad decided to reach out to Conbit and discuss an internship opportunity even though there were no internship vacancy available. A week later, Aad started his internship and immediately started working on various projects with the engineering team.

Working well with the team with a strong display of hard work and determination, Conbit decided to make Aad a job offer pending his graduation. This posed a challenge for him as students in the Netherlands were not allowed to do their graduation internship at the same company where they did their first internship. Nevertheless, this did not stop Aad as it was a golden opportunity especially in the time of the industry crisis. He then made the decision to write to his university directly requesting an exemption to the rule as it was a guaranteed job. Aad’s request was approved and allowed him to continue his journey with Conbit.

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A year and a half later, between his internship and graduation Aad was a part-time employee at Conbit working on projects and designs for our then-telecom market. While working part-time, he visited the sites of telecom towers to take pictures, make drawings, sketches, and made calculations for onshore and offshore solutions in preparation for other projects. Soon after, Aad began working as a structural engineer for Conbit as an authorized employee. The first project he tackled in the summer of 2012 was designing steel structures for a deck extension project on an offshore platform.

After six years as a structural engineer, Aad started searching for new and different opportunities within Conbit to challenge his skills and abilities. Upon discussions with his manager and other colleagues, Aad was promoted to the role of project engineer. He organized projects from start to finish and worked with various clients and partners, such as Exxon Mobil, PTTEP, CR Asia, Shell, Total, Chevron and many others. Following his passion for working with people, his duties soon expanded to managing, mentoring, and guiding the engineering interns that Conbit welcomes twice a year. He was extremely keen to contribute to the development of young engineers who were about to enter the engineering industry. With his impressive work ethic and enthusiasm, Aad was unknowingly being recognized for his leadership and managerial skills, which led him toward his next huge milestone.

“Before Aad became engineering manager he was my right hand in the engineering department. During his time as a project engineer, he reformed the project engineering and preparation process to make it more effective and sustainable. Aad has a hands-on mentality combined with the ability to empower people around him. This combination allows him to support his engineering team effectively on multiple complex projects at once. Aad is the right man in the right place and one of the pillars the success of Conbit is founded on.” – Bart Steerneman, Operations Director.

Recently with Conbit’s restructuring in management, it was decided that Aad was the perfect person to take on the role of Manager of Engineering. After stepping into his new role this past October, Aad is glad to be focusing more on the people aspect of his new position, while still being involved in a few projects. One such project is the SL900 truss series project. He is ecstatic to be able to interact and work with the various departments of Conbit. He admits that settling into his new role is still something he is actively working on but embraces the change and is always happy to receive and give constructive criticism.

With a never-give-up attitude, Aad maintains approachable to all who need his assistance. As a leader, he takes on each day remembering to “keep things fun” when supporting his team and guiding them through the latest projects. His current goal is to always make sure the level of the engineering department is at its optimum. With this said, he is still looking to expand his team by adding a few more enthusiastic and motivated engineers.

“Working within Conbit is a journey where you are free to find your own path and grow in which ever direction you can. Conbit encourages growth and development, so you are not limited to what you came here to do and are supported through the process.” – Aad Sonneveld, Manager Engineering.

If you are interested in joining Aad’s dynamic team of engineers, reach out to him now and you could be the next addition to his team.

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