A  lot happened in that one hour last week… From the founding of Hazemeyers Fabriek voor Signaalapparaten in 1922 to the introduction of the Thales Top 100, and from a quiz to joining forces to reduce the our global plastic problem: the digital kick- off of our 100th anniversary was definitely a success!

 

The start of 100 years of Thales in the Netherlands!

The online kick-off was the official kick-off of our anniversary year – and was therefore full of fun surprises. A musical kick-off by our own CEO, for example, followed by an explanation of our foundation, including engineering highlights. Colleague Janneke and science journalist and physicist Diederik Jekel (also known from Wie is de Mol) then walked us through the program together with Gerben and various guests, paying attention to colleague and DJ Martijn was ready to announce the upcoming Thales Top 100: it will take place on the 21st and 22nd of April. A radio show from and by colleagues. We also honoured colleague Jan, who has been working for Thales for no less than 48 years - the longest time in the company - and we raised the anniversary flag at all our Dutch locations. Special congratulations came from Patrice Cain, chairman and CEO of Thales and Arie-Jan de Waard, director of the Defence Materiel Organisation. Finally, a virtual toast to our anniversary was held with all employees.

 

Operation Plastic

Our anniversary year offers new opportunities to work with our supplies, customers and knowledge institutions to show what we can, apart from safety, both visible and invisible, can contribute to our society. That is why we would like to join forces with the entire Thales team and our network to tackle a worldwide problem: plastic!

Whether you're walking in the park or cruising on a naval frigate – this is a problem we all face, but it’s also relatively easy to help contribute to a solution. How exactly? Let us know! Colleague Sijtse already inspired how he has made ‘zero plastic waste’ a way of life, and how he and his wife will raise awareness of this issue through a four month bicycle trip to Istanbul and Morocco. Colleague Eric was also unstoppable with his engineering insights regarding the challenges of the plastic in our oceans.

 

Do you have great solutions for the plastic problem? Would you like to join Eric in thinking up solutions for ocean plastic? Or do you want to clear away plastic on the beach with your team for a day? Or would you like to share some insightful tips for processing recycled plastic into new resources within Thales itself, such as our green SIM cards? All ideas are very welcome. Need inspiration? Check this website regularly, where we publish the various initiatives, among other things. Do you already have a good suggestion? E-mail this to 100years@nl.thalesgroup.com.