Colleagues sharing their stories with passion

Cees Guyt

At 86, Kees Guyt is Heemskerk Flowers' oldest employee, celebrating 25 years with the company. After a maritime career, he found a new passion in transporting auction products and delivering orders, driven by a strong work ethic and a family-like atmosphere.

At the age of 86, Kees Guyt is our oldest colleague. Last month he celebrated 25 years of employment at Heemskerk Flowers; a festive reason for an interview! The fact that he is still at work at this age surprises many people. But if Kees has any say in the matter, he’ll carry on working for at least the next few years. We talked to him about his work and what motivates him to keep working at his age.

Kees isn’t interested in sitting around

Kees joined Heemskerk Flowers at the age of 60. Before that, he always worked on ships. First as a seaman, then as bosun and finally as first mate. In this job he saw a lot of the world. An 84-hour working week was normal for him. In peak years he was away from home for as much as 7 months, returning for only 18 days. And even then, he was called upon for small jobs in between. So he was a hard worker! When he retired from working at sea at the age of 60, he quickly realised that sitting around was not for him. He started looking for a job, and soon ended up at Heemskerk Flowers.

His work at Heemskerk Flowers

Kees’ Journey

From G3 Building to Auction Box

When Kees started, we were still located in the old G3 building on the Flora site in Rijnsburg. There he made sure that all products bought at auction in Rijnsburg reached our location as soon as possible. He did this together with Gert Jan den Heyer. 'Together we made sure there was always somebody there. We alternated during the week and took turns on holidays. We were in sync. Without saying a word, we both knew what to do when another consignment came in. That was very enjoyable work,' said Kees. 'When we moved to our current premises which are separate from the auction, I continued to work at the auction from a box. I still work there on Thursdays now.

Keeping Things Moving

Transport, Delivery & Prep

All incoming products are transported between the auction and our building. That's not very far, and is done with two tractor units. Alongside making sure that the products are transported quickly, I also personally deliver our auction customers’ orders with a tractor. These are customers based at the Flora site. At the end of the day I clean the box for my colleagues who work the next day. And I make sure the tractors are recharged.'

A wonderful company

Kees thinks Heemskerk Flowers is a wonderful company. 'It’s a family business and you can really tell. They are very involved and ask how you’re doing. A great example is when my son passed away. A number of colleagues as well as Roos Heemskerk from the board came to the funeral. I really appreciated that. And it's also extremely sociable.' So Kees is still very happy and would like to carry on for a few more years.

Colleagues sharing their stories with passion

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