Meet the people behind Stafier | Anna Hazi

She was born and raised in Hungary, but she has completely settled in over the past twelve years. She speaks excellent Dutch, bought a house in Didam recently and comes to work by bike almost every day. And especially the latter is, of course, typically Dutch. Anna Hazi has been working at Stafier since 2011 and recently started her new position as work planner. Read her story here.

It has been more than twelve years since Anna set foot on Dutch soil. Her Hungarian uncle had been living in Amsterdam for years and Anna decided – with the prospect of better employment opportunities – to also embark on the Dutch adventure. “My relationship at the time had just ended, so I had little to lose”, Anna looks back. “So Amsterdam became my next destination.”

On to the East

She speaks German quite well, but Anna soon found out this was not really of much use to her in Amsterdam. “Besides Dutch, English is really the language they speak there. But I happened to know that a former colleague from Hungary also worked in the Netherlands, to be precise: at Stafier. It’s through her that I ended up in the eastern part of the country.”

Robot

Anna moved to Zevenaar and started a new position as a production employee in Stafier’s Solar Department. “It was very nice work to do!”, Anna says. “In Hungary I worked in a car factory, where I did quality control. Real assembly line work. Every minute the same car passed by, where I had to perform the same action. I really felt like a robot there. In production here it’s totally different! You are behind a different machine every time, and in between you are assembling or packaging something. Because we make everything customer here, you continuously work with different products. So, there’s so much more variety.”

The Dutch language

Anna was not one for sitting on her hands anyway, because in her early years at Stafier she took several language courses to master the Dutch language. “I had moved to a foreign country and I did not speak or read their language. So sometimes I would walk through the supermarket or drive my car, but I had no idea what was on the signs. But I think it’s very important to communicate with my colleagues and other Dutch people, so I soon decided to take a language course. Because I already speak German, learning Dutch wasn’t too hard for me”, Anna explains. “Luckily, the Dutch language does not have complicated grammatical cases, although things do go wrong with ‘de’ or ‘het’ sometimes.”

Love on the production floor

For years, Anna enjoyed working in our Solar department, where she made new friends and found her new love. “My current boyfriend also worked as a production employee at Stafier at the time. He no longer works there, but we are still together” says Anna. “Yes, I had a great time there.”

From production to the office

In 2022, Anna was offered the opportunity to grow into being a work planner. “A new challenge and quite an exciting step, but I wanted to try it anyway.” So Anna exchanged the production floor for an office and started working on technical drawings and calculations. “I also help in the engineering department. There I prepare drawings for production, adjust existing drawings and draw control and welding jigs to help the production process.”

It’s an extensive function that’s not always easy. “I still have a lot to learn, but I am grateful that Stafier has given me this opportunity. Luckily, colleagues are very patient with me and want to teach me everything. So, that’s very nice.”

Lots of appreciation

“Here, I feel very valued as an employee anyway”, Anna explains. “Sometimes it’s about the little things. For example, we are spoiled with fresh soup once a month, fresh fruit is delivered here every week and we receive a nice gift at Christmas. And I can always go to someone if I want to talk about something and they will really listen to me. My colleagues are very nice and the atmosphere is very good. Yes, I can wholeheartedly recommend Stafier as an employer!”

Family visit

The born Hungarian therefore doesn’t see herself returning to Hungary in the short term. “Never say never, but I do feel completely integrated in the Netherlands. I just bought a house for a reason. My parents, twin brother and older sister still live in Hungary, but I visit them at least once a year. And next summer, my whole family will be coming to the Netherlands, so luckily I still see them regularly.”

It’s clear that Anna is completely feeling at home with Stafier and in the Netherlands!
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