I graduated in 1996 from Wageningen University in the Netherlands with a degree in Bioprocess Engineering.
1996
I started my career in 1996 as a Researcher at the Food Extrusion group of the Agrotechnological Research Institute (the Netherlands).
Here I worked on product development projects based on extrusion technology for a many clients in both the food and feed industry.
1998
This was followed in 1998 by a role as Scientist Food Production at Danone Research (the Netherlands).
My main focus here was on applying extrusion technology to produce novel infant and specialised nutritional products as well as ingredients for these.
2003
In 2003 I joined the Aquaculture Research Centre (ARC) of Skretting in Stavanger (Norway) as a Researcher Feed Processing and Technology.
Skretting is a global leader in innovative and sustainable aqua feeds with production facilities in 18 countries on five continents.
Extrusion is – besides pelleting – a core technology in many aqua feed products.
My main accomplishments in this position were the implementation of improved aqua feed production processes and new aqua feed products as well as supporting the full-scale manufacturing plants to improve their day-to-day operations.
2008
From 2008 to the end of 2021 I headed the Feed Production R&D department at Skretting managing an international team of 12 Researchers and Process Engineers.
In this role I developed and executed an R&D portfolio for extruded and pelleted fish and shrimp feeds including the production processes related to this.
During these years I have been part of the global R&D management team, the global innovation team as well as the global production team.
In addition, I managed a continuous optimisation program for all Skretting aqua feed plants worldwide producing over 2 million tons of feed annually from hatching to harvest for more than 60 species.
At the same time, I was also responsible for creating new business opportunities outside the traditional aqua feeds.
These new business opportunities were for example related to protein production through fermentation and the development of cellular nutrition know-how for the production of cultured meat (lab-grown meat).
2022
In early 2022 I started my own business providing consultancy services and expert advice in aqua feed process and production technology.
Publications
You can find an overview of scientific publications where I am a (co-)author at Researchgate.