Former Philips employees back at the old workplace for one morning
EINDHOVEN
Due to corona, a fixed group of retirees from the former TQ building of Philips had not seen each other for over a year and a half. Now that it was possible again, Sjef Corstiaans thought it would be nice to visit the old workplace.
Corstiaans had invited his former colleagues for a tour by Boudie Hoogedeure, responsible for promotion and acquisition at Geva Real Estate, the current owner of the former Philips site Strijp T. TQ now houses fifty companies that have outgrown the startup phase. "We are now completely full," he proudly explains. "The last lease contract was signed yesterday."
Before he updates the 26 visitors over a cup of coffee about the transition that the building TQ has undergone in the past six years, it is a warm reunion for them after a year and a half. Conversations start spontaneously and memories come up, even during the tour in and around the six-story building. Sometimes they have to be patient, as Hoogedeure does not miss the opportunity for a promotion. They hear that sustainability went hand in hand with respect for the history of the building during the redevelopment, and that a running track was set up in the area to promote the vitality of the users. They are also encouraged to bike to work. "I do notice that our large bike shed has disappeared," Corstiaans points out.
PIT
TQ employed around a thousand employees during the heyday of Philips in the 1980s. "And you also have to count 200 in Acht," says Wim Troost, at that time deputy director of the main industrial group PIT (Products for Industrial Applications). "We were active in business-to-business, not with consumer products." He and his colleague Nico Vrijenhoek mention the automation of mail sorting at PTT, while others talk about transformers for telephone exchanges. Troost and Vrijenhoek emphasize that TQ was the cradle of later successful companies such as ASML (chip machines), Fluke (measuring instruments), and FEI (electron microscopes).
"Philips provided a scholarship for our children, built houses, and supported sports and culture."
Wim Troost
Despite the mentioned respect, the retirees describe the building as 'unrecognizably changed', but also 'beautifully renovated'. Gerrie Kersten from the personnel department had to search for the main entrance, which turned out to be relocated. And where the entire sixth floor used to be arranged as a company restaurant for the management and cafeteria for others, people are now sitting in glass cubicles having meetings or working on their laptops.