“I followed my brother’s footsteps when I spent a year with a Bolivian family after high school. As soon as I get the chance to travel to Latin America for business, I’ll be sure to pay them a visit.” Maarten Hawinkel, trader trainee at Ferromac might just be doing that this Spring.

“Coronavirus. Trump’s love-war with China. Everything has an impact on our business. Understanding that impact and knowing how to deal with it, is what drives me most. That and learning from doing and from experienced colleagues is awesome. And you also know you’ll be traveling too. This is not a telephone or email business. It’s all about connecting in person. Persuasiveness.”

The I in Impact

“I didn’t make a single dime for the company just yet. But I know that I’ll be having an impact real soon. A lot more than any other person my age at Coca-Cola might have. You learn about geopolitical dynamics, negotiating, structuring your day, setting priorities, making decisions, working fast. And having fun while you’re at it. We all share the same drive and passion. Yet we’re all different.”

“Why did I join Ferromac? The job description really checked all the boxes. It’s as simple as that. I wasn’t really interested in the steel niche at first. But then I read an email from this friend of mine that triggered me. I called them and they said they didn’t do summer jobs. Months later, they contacted me to tell me about this traineeship. I was sold.”

“The steel business might be a man’s world generally speaking. But at Ferromac, it’s different. You’re one of the team. Man or woman, it makes no difference.” Zoë De Schutter, now a junior steel trader for the African market, started her Ferromac career as a trader trainee in 2018.

“One thing we all have in common at Ferromac is our love for international business. I always loved traveling. In my master years I spent six months in Hong Kong with Erasmus. And now with Ferromac you really get to go places and explore. You’re not just sending emails to Beijing or making phone calls to Lagos.”

“I remember my first trip to Western Africa very well. Me and my senior trader, first stop: Burkina Faso. Not quite your palm beach island. It was exciting and stressful at the same time. Especially for a young inexperienced girl in a country and culture you never met before. It was such a cool experience! And a threshold you have to cross.”

“This is no environment for shy people. It takes guts to get the job done. You’re facing deadlines all the time and need to make decisions fast. You also need to be able to be on your own. When you’re traveling for instance. That comes with a team who really look after you. We even have a dark room for power naps. And you can take up to three off-days a year. This is not your average environment, no.”

Jasper Verleyen | FX Trader

Having experience in working in large enterprises with a strict vertical hierarchy, it was quite a culture shock and took some time to adapt to Ferromac’s corporate culture.

Basically you are given the keys of the car and you are in the driving seat from day one. This allows you to organize your work like you feel fitting but you are also responsible for any dents and scratches caused along the way. In other jobs I would often get frustrated how bad decision making would lead to mediocre results and stressful work situations. Ferromac gave me the chance to take responsibility and put my money where my mouth is. “Own it” is something Bart would say to me.

The world we live in is moving faster everyday.  There are so many moving parts that make it quintessential to make long term plans and use long term projections based on solid and reliable data.  I provide our management with credible scenarios of what is happening and going to happen in markets. How can a rate decision from a central bank impact our company and currency exposure? I firmly believe that if you make a solid planning and you stick to it that will always deliver the best results. It is also the only way you can actually make money in financial markets without emotions getting the better of you.

The thing I appreciate most about Ferromac is the flexibility that works in two ways. You give a lot but you get a lot back. It motivates me to go the extra mile when needed. A great example is the coach our management hired for us. Once a week we do a high intensity work out together and to be honest I am the best shape I have ever been. It helps me to get trough difficult times and especially keep my head up. That is for me the main difference between Ferromac and any other workplace I have been. Being here makes me strive to not be complacent, to work on being a better person and try things I would have never thought possible.