The recurring column ‘A word from an MME employee’ says it all; in this section: we place one of our employees in the spotlights! In this way you will get a glimpse behind the scenes of MME Group.This time, Tim Noorlander is in the spotlight. Tim joined MME Group in 2007 as a Junior NDT Technician at our main office in Ridderkerk.
Meet Tim Noorlander
Tim tells: “My name is Tim Noorlander, 48 years old, married, and father of two wonderful daughters. Before joining MME Group, I served four years as a sailor in the Royal Dutch Navy.”. After that, I spent a year at Customs, where I completed the full training to become a C-officer. I then worked for five years as an environmental lab technician at RPS Group, conducting visual inspections and clearance measurements during asbestos removals. I was also deployed as an expert during large-scale incidents, such as delineating asbestos-contaminated zones after major fires.
In 2007, I decided to change course. Through a staffing agency, I ended up at MME Group and found what I had been searching for all along: the common thread in my career.”
From Junior NDT Technician to NDT Instructor
“I started at MME Group as a Junior NDT Technician. After an internal training program, I earned my first certifications within a year (MT2, PT2, UT1 and CI5A radiation safety) and gained experience in various disciplines, including Radiography (RT).
From that moment, I knew: this is the world I was looking for. Camaraderie, passionate professionals, and great colleagues who work here with heart and soul. Many of them have marine or military backgrounds, just like me. People who were looking for a new challenge and a more independent way of working. You definitely find that at MME Group as an NDT technician.
Eventually, I chose to specialize in Ultrasonic Testing. Initially, I worked on various field assignments and later on I promoted to NDT Project Supervisor.”
Projects
“One of the most remarkable projects was at Royal IHC in Krimpen aan den IJssel, where I was part of a team responsible for the Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) of nine pipe-laying vessels for Sapura Kencana and Subsea 7. I literally saw the ships being ‘born’ from the first block at the keel-laying ceremony to the launch, outfitting at IHC and the RDM yard and final delivery. It almost felt like a Discovery Channel documentary.
In 2017, I was asked to join the Technical Department to help setting up the Advanced NDT department. There, I experienced the most extraordinary project of my career. In collaboration with DCN Diving, I worked with a colleague on a job in Tokyo Bay, Japan, repairing an oil pipeline at 40 meters depth. The pipeline had been damaged by the anchor of a drifting oil tanker during a typhoon.
The repair and NDT were carried out by divers in a dry working environment created on the seabed a so-called ‘habitat’. The actual project lasted four weeks, preceded by several months of preparation. We designed and built two umbilicals (each 150 meters long) with cables for Ultrasonic and TOFD testing, validated them in the Netherlands, and executed the inspection on the seabed in Tokyo. We were in direct contact with the inspection divers from the hyperbaric control center on a large crane vessel.”
A brief departure and return to MME Group
In 2020, I made a brief detour to BASF in Antwerp, where I was responsible for setting up a TOFD / Phased Array branch within the Advanced NDT department and being part of the quality department. In this role, this time as a client, I reconnected with MME Group and was eventually offered the opportunity to return as an NDT Instructor.
It immediately felt like coming home something the family-owned company is truly known for. An organization with an open atmosphere, low thresholds and where you can walk into anyone’s office if needed.
What makes you enjoy your work every day?
“What I love about my current role as an NDT Instructor/Trainer is that I get to refresh or teach knowledge to colleagues and clients, and help launch the careers of new Junior NDT Technicians, people who, like I once did, are taking a leap into the world of Non-Destructive Testing. This way, I can pass on my passion and experience to the next generation.
Sometimes I even become a kind of father figure to young guys who, like I once was, are still searching for direction in their careers or personal lives.
The world of Non-Destructive Testing is unknown to many. You often stumble into it by chance. It’s a world full of challenges, diversity and extremes: from inspecting a simple steel plate to testing the loop of a rollercoaster, the Brienenoord Bridge or an offshore platform in the North Sea or the Gulf of Mexico. And before you know it, you’re working 40 meters underwater in Tokyo Bay.”
Curious about our current job openings at MME Group?
Check our career section. For questions, Please contact one of our recruiters via 0180-487755 or jobs@mme-group.com.