‘I started with Rousselot in September 2018 as an engineer and was appointed Manager of the Pilot Plant in December ‘22. What I like most about the job is that I get to interact with people and technology on a global scale, helping the one to help the other. And it’s always about making a difference in the real world.’
Arne Goes was born and raised in Bruges. He loves reading – he owns a sizeable comic book library – as well as music and food. And he’s a whizz at Ultimate Frisbee: he played for Belgium at World Championship level and for four years was the president of Belgium’s largest club in this sport, Gentle Ultimate. Arne studied chemistry and polymer chemistry in Ghent, and became a chemistry engineer with a focus on biotechnology. He worked at AgroSavfe, now Biotalys, Inc., on crop protection. After five years, he moved to Rousselot.
Application leads process
‘From a young age, I was always interested in the applicability of science and the processes behind it, than in science for science’s sake. It’s about outcomes, about making a difference. My colleague @Tim de Lange manages our Global Application Center – but at the Pilot Plant we also have to stay close, because the application is what goes to the customer. We need that interaction with application as much as with the process and technology inside our plants, because the application is leading when it comes to process and technology.
Meet Arne’s colleague Tim de Lange, Manager of our Global Application Center
In my role at the Pilot Plant it helps that I am more generalist than specialist. I like to know how things work, how they interact, and how they can be made to impact things for the better. I’m a chemical engineer, but I like to explore other fields too. I enjoy talking to lots of different people, reading, attending conferences and machine exhibitions – whether they’re demonstrating equipment for beer brewing, pharmaceuticals, food or anything else. An insight from another field may hold the key to a problem we’re dealing with, or may unlock an unexpected opportunity.
Curiosity is vital
‘Rousselot is a company where curiosity is nourished. We try stuff. It might work, it might not. Dealing with a material like gelatin, you have to have that open-mindedness. Gelatin is a very unusual molecule: it’s gluey, sticky, neither liquid nor solid. A lot of suppliers don’t necessarily think about the implications of this in relation to their machinery. This is often a challenge when we’re testing a new technology or new process steps. And that’s just one example of how knowledge and incessant experimenting and innovating can make the difference.