I feel most at home when I’m on site

It was no surprise when Guilherme enrolled in Industrial Engineering. ‘As a boy, I always liked tinkering with technical components. That really set the tone for the rest of my life.’ And Guilherme quickly started tinkering on a professional level. ‘I got the opportunity to work as a shift manager on the premises of one of my teachers’ customers. He also worked as a consultant for an aerospace company with facilities in Portugal. I took on this challenge and immediately led a maintenance team of fifteen members per shift. We worked on machines that were built in the fifties, and even the forties. Quite specific stuff.’

From highway to runway

After working with rather old-fashioned machinery, Guilherme switched to working on cutting edge technology. He got involved in the development of a national grid of charging stations for electrical vehicles in Portugal. ‘This really was the best time to be involved in electro mobility. The startup phase in which the technology was still developing at a very fast pace.’

The project also turned out to be vulnerable: after a change of government, the new Portuguese parliament cut the funding for the charging grid project. Guilherme was forced to look for a next challenge. He found it in Angola, where he worked on one of four new regional airports. Civil works on the airport buildings and infrastructure were supervised by the Angolan government. Guilherme and his colleagues worked on the installation of all possible technical systems, such as CCTV, baggage handling, screening solutions, control systems for the doors and the fire detection system. ‘As a 25-year-old guy I took off and stepped into a completely different world. I had to discover a new way of living, while working as a site manager with a mostly local crew. And I loved it.’

I loved stepping into a completely different world
Guilherme performed well in Central Africa. He earned a promotion to the role of project manager, back in Portugal. Or so it should have been. Guilherme found out that the site manager role suited him much better. ‘I spent two years mostly behind my desk in Lisbon and quickly missed being on site for projects. I love seeing the results of my work in the real world.’

New company, new challenge

Just when Guilherme realized it was time for a new chapter in his career, a friend told him about TMC. ‘He talked about TMC’s way of thinking and of looking at work and at people. About how you are your own boss, set your own challenges and take control of your own career – and your life. We had this conversation during a wedding on a Saturday. On Wednesday, I met with my Business Manager and on Thursday I signed my new contract at TMC. So, in one week, my life took a drastic turn.’

A decision that Guilherme hasn’t regretted one moment since. ‘Everything my friend told me turned out to be true. I decide what projects I want to do. I can develop my ideas from the ground up and create new business driven solutions. Now that is a real good challenge. It’s like a dream come true. In the beginning I thought that there must be some catch, but I now know there is not. This company is really good for someone like me.’

One-man show

Guilherme was hired by TMC Spain to focus on Latin America, where he has run several successful projects since. He works as a TMC employeneur for Vanderlande, a Dutch company in handling systems that are used in logistics, postal services, and airports. ‘I basically run a one-man operation here in Latin America. TMC says: ‘just go and come back with results’. How I achieve these results is entirely up to me. So far, both Vanderlande and the customers I have worked for, like Amazon and its Latin American equivalent Mercado Libre, are happy with the way I am performing.’

I feel more at home on site than at home
And Guilherme is happy too. Where he used to think that after five years at the same company it would be time for a change, Guilherme does not feel that way about TMC. Maybe that’s because he spends most of his time away from home. ‘I love to travel. And I love my job. It may sound strange, but I feel more at home when I’m on site than I do at home.’

Bright future at TMC

Currently, Guilherme is on site at the new international terminal of Buenos Aires airport. His tenth Vanderlande project. He has been living in the Argentinian capital for three years now and only visits TMC Spain’s headquarters when he is on holiday in Europe.

Still, Guilherme feels strongly connected to TMC. ‘As I said before: I’m living the dream at TMC. I really don’t see any reason to change. I’m looking forward to staying involved with the company. And I feel that it’s time to step up my game. I have something in mind that I want to set up within TMC. I still have to discuss it with my business manager, so I cannot elaborate too much on it yet. But let’s say that, even though my one-man show really suits me well, I also really like working in teams. And I would like to help TMC develop. I have dreams for my own future and that of TMC.’