Henk Kramer

Who is Henk Kramer?

I am an avid runner and cyclist. When I was younger, I participated in sport a lot, from which I took a break during my student years to enjoy student life. When I picked up running again after my studies, it turned out I was still quite handy, with a personal best of 31 min. 20 sec. for the 10k and 2 hours 33 min for the marathon. Injuries eventually forced me to give up competitive running, but I then turned to cycling which has become my greatest hobby. Lately, even this has taken a back seat with the arrival of my first child, a baby girl born in September last year. Fatherhood has brought new focus areas.

How and when did you end up at Cadmatic?

I did my graduation project through Cadmatic while starting as a junior sales and marketing officer. That worked out well, so I have stayed on.

What is your current position and what are your most important tasks?

My current role is Senior Sales Manager for Information Management and Planning products. This is a new role since the beginning of this year that allows me to really focus on Information Management (IM) products and the new addition to our product portfolio – Production Planning.

What are the most challenging aspects of your work?

Keeping up with the rapidly changing needs of customers and the vast differences in ways of working. This requires both a good process-analytical skills and technical knowledge to consult, rather than just sell a product.

What do you like most about your work?

The fact that it challenges me, and that no day is the same. My colleagues and customers are from different countries and cultures. This combines to make every day unique and interesting.

You recently signed a significant contract with Seaspan from Canada. Why is it important and how do you see the cooperation with them developing?

It is significant on several fronts. Firstly, because Cadmatic was selected after very thorough testing and comparison, and benchmarking with all our competitors. For Seaspan, the priorities were clear: They wanted to have a future-proof and production-ready solution without any surprises, as they have a government project spanning 12 years ahead of them. That we were chosen speaks volumes, we are definitely able to support such a shipyard in such a difficult and complex project. In this project, it is also unique that we have teamed up with our mother company Elomatic. They are consulting with and advising the yard on how to improve efficiency. This partnership has worked out well for all three parties.

What do you see as the greatest digitalization and digital transformation trends in the Marine Industry from your perspective?

Although many people have been talking about “Digital Twins” for years now, it is really becoming a reality now. We see more and more yards that want to integrate cross-department information streams. Using the 3D model as the central point for a digital twin has become realistic too. With Cadmatic, we are aiming at this trend with our Information Management portfolio, and we are trying to keep up or even stay ahead of these shifts in the industry. This means, for example, that AR and VR are by default included in our design and IM products. AI projects are under investigation and we continuously research UX. At the same time, we strive to keep everything as lightweight as possible to allow the globally distributed sharing of information from central hubs (cloud) with remote locations.

Watch the Information Management webinar presented by Henk Kramer. 

What stands out for you personally in Cadmatic's data-driven shipbuilding concept?  

A key thing for me in data-driven shipbuilding is that with our IM products, we have created the missing link in the production chain. We have developed a product that really enables customers to leapfrog in efficiency from a one-way stream of information from office to shop floor, to a central, real-time, visual two-way communication tool. We have managed to lower boundaries between departments and make information available in a fast, visual and easy-to-manage way, even though the need for information is vastly different for each user group.

PS: Since this article was published, Henk has started a new position as Business Development Director at Cadmatic.