QUALITY MANAGER NICKOLE HORIONS ON SETTING UP THE SOPREMA XPS PRODUCTION PLANT

Nickole Horions has been with SOPREMA for over twenty years. She originally interviewed for the job of Lab Technician in Grobbendonk, Belgium, but was then asked to take the role of Quality Manager. The experience she gained in that role proved especially useful when she moved to the XPS production plant in Tongeren, Belgium, which she helped set up. Nickole: “If you can handle the freedom you’re given at SOPREMA, there is no limit to what you can do.” TURNING GROBBENDONK INTO A WELL-RESPECTED R&D LAB When Nickole started out in Grobbendonk, she had no background in bitumen. But through research, conversations with suppliers and with the help of her R&D colleagues in Strasbourg (the only SOPREMA R&D lab at the time), she quickly found out all she needed to know. In the beginning, the Grobbendonk team was solely responsible for quality control, but after a year, they embarked upon a research program. Nickole: “We ended up becoming a well-respected research lab for roofing membranes within SOPREMA Northern Europe. When I started out, there was no digitisation and no quality system in place. I had to develop the latter from scratch, together with my colleagues. And that experience has been invaluable for my new position in Tongeren. Moreover, the blends produced in Grobbendonk are now on a par with the blends we produce in the lab, meaning that the parameters have been fully optimised.” STARTING UP THE NEW XPS PLANT IN TONGEREN Nickole feels very proud of what she and the rest of the team have achieved in Grobbendonk. “For SOPREMA Group, it was the first plant to start using Fluxoil and completely new polymers to replace the old recipe, which had become too expensive and threatened our competitive position. Today, still, that shift is saving us a lot of money. So, we really achieved important milestones in Grobbendonk. It made me feel ready for something new: setting up the XPS plant in Tongeren.” As the Quality Manager in our XPS factory, Nickole designed the quality system and is now working on process improvement and end-of-the-line production control. “Learning all about the extrusion process proved a challenge, and to get everything right concerning ATG and other certificates for the product. But I love improving production processes and doing tests with various parameters. I wouldn’t be happy working in a lab without a production behind it – the production process is what triggers me.” PERSONAL GROWTH AT SOPREMA Nickole feels rightly proud of her accomplishments over the last few years: “At SOPREMA, you get a lot of room to grow. When I look back on the chances I got and everything I have been able to achieve so far together with my colleagues … it’s simply amazing.”

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