On the first of July, it was 25 years ago that Jan Gielen started his career as a trainer and instructor on the CCO, the famous Mushroom School in Horst, The Netherlands.
During that period he was one of the first specialists in the field of climate computers, with already a lot of experience taken from his previous Fancom employment. A lot of his “students” will have learned the first principles of the first climate computers in the mushroom industry. After several reorganisations Gielen finds himself active as senior advisor and manager of C point. He has developed into the technical specialist in climate issues. Several new developments in this field have been initiated by him and are now common in the industry.
Privatisation Gielen has always been socially motivated, and the farewell to the old school farm and the colleagues has not been easy. Gielen: “It was inevitable, the privatisation had to take place. But to lose the school as a farm and the people wasn’t great. But, on the other hand, it has given me the possibility to become a lot more practical within the new organisation C point, doing trainings but also projects and solve problems on a farm level. Solving a problem for a farmer is very satisfying!” Gielen, 58, has become an authority in the field of energy and climate control in the mushroom industry. “There is no time to think about retirement. A number of very interesting and demanding projects are coming up, so for now it is full steam ahead.”
