After graduating he started out as a self-employed light and sound technician, so Calvin Horn really knows his way in the world of parties and events. And not just professionally, but as a reveler too he has covered some ground. His love of hardstyle began when he was young with Intents in Oisterwijk (at the time with a modest 5000 strong public), very quickly he was at 12 to 15 events a year. Decibel, Qlimax, Hardbass, Qbase, Fusion, Outrageous… he was spoon-fed on 150 bpm. The arrival of his son has tempered his passion for the moment, but his expertise is blossoming as never before, because Coreworks’ new work planner/draftsman is involved in every event that Coreworks takes on. The problems that are thrown his way are great fun to ponder, what more could you want?! Erhm… drawing the design for the mainstage for Defqon, that would be really cool!
Rens Beekman broke two cervical vertebrae in an accident, but he made a complete recovery, in no time at all. So now he can justifiably claim to be a diehard, even if he has his guardian angel working overtime. He had his heart set on becoming an archaeologist as a child, because digging around in the sandpit was the best fun ever – ‘you never know what you will find!’ Rens ended up in catering (independent chef) and the events business (head of logistics) in stage building. He is a hard worker and full of team spirit. He has been a member of Waterscouting Stella Maris in Geldrop since the age of seven, where he is now a leader and member of staff. Just as with Coreworks the emphasis is on solidarity: you see each other every day, you grow as a group. So Rens is a dab hand with canoes, Lelievlets and Leukotheas. But he doesn’t shy away from a beer with his friends on the deck of a motor yacht either.
This guy from Groningen used to work in the building trade, but traded all that for the world of festivals. Because he likes making beautiful things, working on great locations and being surrounded by wonderful people. Erik Stouwdam took to Coreworks like a fish to water! Erecting awesome structures and enjoying the immediate results, together with his colleagues: a perfect mix of young heroes and veterans. As a stage builder, he likes to sink his teeth into the most complicated projects: mainstages with constructional drawings you need your wits about you to comprehend. As a festival visitor, too, he likes XXL decors: Dominator, Defqon, Mysteryland… the bigger spectacle, the more fun! Future prognoses? Erik believes that festival stages will probably not get much higher, but wider and certainly deeper, with special extensions, visual highlights, all sorts of surprises for the audience. We can’t wait.
Born and bred near to the Rabbithole (Bergharen), Wout Nillesen was spoon-fed on rock ’n roll. Dreaming of a career as an F16-pilot he ended up in defense and was posted to Iraq, of all places. Once he had returned home safely he decided to study, and then the toughest technical college course he could find: civil engineering ‘just to see if I could do it’. He could! He opted to specialize in Construction and Technology, but unfortunately, he graduated just as the construction industry was, due to the recession, at its lowest ebbs. Many years of travelling followed (Switzerland, Mallorca) and working in catering, all the time unaware that Coreworks was searching high and low for a good engineer… At last in 2018 their paths crossed and since then Wout has been able to unleash his talents on a thousand and one challenging scaffolding structures. And luckily, he hasn’t lost his knack for it.
“There’s only one of me” is Luuk Vissers’ motto, and that is so true. He quit his ministry of defense training and signed up for the event business. And although building stages is a whole lot different from defending the country, he does not regret the switch: every day is different, the atmosphere is open and friendly, and it feels great to make something together that thousands of people enjoy. With the first festival season under his belt he has gained a lot of experience. ‘When you start out, you get to try things out at Coreworks; your mates at work always give you the opportunity to experience things for yourself.’ Solving issues is the best part of the job: ‘In reality things are always that little bit different from on paper. How do you sort that on the spot?’ Welcome aboard, Luuk.
Hardly out of International Event Music & Entertainment Studies (IEMES) and already a project manager at Coreworks, that’s more than promising. He was actually personally scouted for this post by Giel Vissers, former fellow villager and leader at Jong Nederland. Where else we know Mark Welten from? For twelve years, he starred as bass player of the Eindhoven punk rock band The 101’s, with which he toured Europe several times and brought out the CD Counterbalance, produced in the USA by the legendary Sam Pura. So rockability will certainly not be an issue. At Coreworks he made his debut on the colossal stage for New Horizons. Pretty impressive it was too!
Little Vic came to us for a holiday job as a little sprog* three years ago, only to overtake his uncle Victor in height and width in no time at all. It is difficult to imagine the wharf without him now. Little Vic is a true all-rounder. His jobs are very diverse: racing around on a forklift truck, hitting the road for a job, taking care of extra deliveries, loading and unloading trucks, sawing stage sheeting and most of all: keeping a clear head in high-season turmoil. What he likes so much is the true team spirit and the great atmosphere within the crew. Good people, hard work, grabbing a beer afterwards and joking around, fantastic! Who knows, he might still get back to his studies international event music & entertainment, but there is more than one road to Rome. And this is a pretty nice way of getting there.
*his own words
He doesn’t go to many festivals himself, and he doesn’t really listen to music much either…and still, Superior Koen is project leader for some of Coreworks’ most beautiful festival projects! He prefers to join the foreign missions; projects that trigger his improvisational talent (Boomtown), challenge his inventiveness (Glastonbury), or his talent to communicate flawlessly with a crew that does not understand a word of English (Daydream Mexico), let alone Dutch. The secret of his success: making sure you get enough rest and not burning the candle at both ends. A background in mechanical engineering does of course help, but the skills he has gained on his many trips abroad are priceless. The kind of practical wisdom that no course can teach you.
As a driver, he has clocked up many kilometers, crisscrossing Europe by truck. As Coreworks’ yard sheriff, Johan has also clocked up quite a few kilometers on his forklift truck, crisscrossing the warehouse. A great twist in his career, because Heroic Johan is a team player. Together with the yard chief (First Rate Giel indeed) he supervises the optimum performance of the yard. His practical insight, his accuracy and his nerves of steel ensure that all materials are in the right place, are loaded in the trucks in the correct order and are transported to the right location. Johan knows, whatever happens: the show must go on.
Spring 2014, Bjarne is working as a cook, runs into Victor, they start talking and the rest is history. For sure it took Bjarne some time to get used to the altitude, the physical challenge, the climbing, the being outside. But it didn’t take too long and he was off – onto creating something grand (The Flying DutchRotterdam!), that’s just a sample of how this Tarzan is now. And progressing toward Coreworks core team, makes it impossible to get this genie back into the bottle.
Old love never dies: Bart knows Coreworks – or rather founder Victor – forever. He worked twelve years with stage builder Gigant, at the same time that Victor was co-owner. Afterwards, Bart was for five years a freelancer for Coreworks. As a child he fabricated rabbit hutches and played with Lego Technics. Now Bart is in charge of planning, sales and customer management. His stage dream: build a stage for Guns N’ Roses in New Zealand. Axl, start knocking on Coreworks door!
Cheerful name, right! Suits him. In the world of music, lights, stages, and dance floors, Jack feels most at home. What drives him? It started early, his father is a contractor in Vught. Initially he worked as a tiler and maintenance technician. Working projects with his father. Yet Jack ended among other scaffolding – that of Coreworks. What pleases him is the diversity. One day he works on the 7th Sunday Festival in Erp (Noord-Brabant), the other day for a conference in Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht (Gelderland). What his boss doesn’t know: Jack would love to build a stage on the Dutch Antilles. Caribbean Disco.
The administrative heart of Coreworks. MBA plus courses payroll and financial administration. Dedication. Calm and in control: with an average heart rate of 72 bpm. That may rise to 180 bmp in festival season. Earlier, Marion worked in accountancy. But of course, Coreworks is 101 times more exciting. Building is also in her DNA. Father, brother, uncles: all in construction. Her favorite pastime: motorcross competitions and visiting festivals. But to sleep in a festival tent? Hell no.
He is the lithobius forficatus. In other words: the centipede. Earning his chops in construction. Recurring task on his to-do list: make test setups. Ben is confident building stages in both Den Bosch and Aruba, where in 2013 Willem-Alexander and Máxima danced on. Ben even has his own namesake: a Bennie(R) is a smart bar for attaching cloth or sail on a podium deck.
Michiel was in the distant gray past- a paver, in an orange past a TNT package employee, and in the multicolored present- he is the wharf manager. A man born with his sleeves rolled up. Doer, solver, go-getter. As a child he learned the tricks of the trade: his childhood home –a farm in Erp – is literally built from scratch. Michiel ensures the correct translation of drawings to the loading lists. His trademark: clean materials, orderly packed. If he were given free rein of festival organizations, Michiel would like to make more creative venues for rock and metal bands. His dream concert? Led Zeppelin and Pearl Jam. Location: his backyard. Big enough? The neighbors will get involved, says Michiel.
Studied Architecture at the Intermediate Technical School. Learned the art of technical drawing in auto-cad. Fifteen years he worked at stage builder Gigant. Then he made the switch to Coreworks. His love for staging is simple to explain: Dirk likes to party – there where it has been or is going to be fun. He coordinated the build of stages and grandstands for the visits of the Dutch King and Queen Willem-Alexander and Máxima on Aruba. His dream location for a stage- Table Mountain in South Africa.
In a former life a rabbit breeder and cook, today a Coreworks co-owner! He studied business administration. Driven. A Speedy Gonzales. Prefers a bit of grit. Doesn’t see himself working in a high rise office, or at the Tax office in glaring fluorescent light checking tax assessment forms. Guus prefers to pay the piper to party, because Guus loves life. Ultimate mission: to think along with the client and make something from scratch. Give him a patch of grass and a few tons of steel – you’ll see for yourself. He has a weakness for creating imposing main stages with a killer band. Play now!
Founder of Coreworks, co-owner with Bart and Guus since 2015. Victor is not afraid to roll up his sleeves and get dirty. He raises the bar high and takes it to the next level. Where others are left scratching their heads and reaching for an aspirin, Victors grabs every challenge. He has a penchant for network organizations, pioneers and old cars. Having transformed a former East German city bus into a rolling office for visiting festivals at home and abroad- His current mobile headquarters: a GMC camper. Of course- the door is always open.
COREPEOPLE
Corepeople spend quite a bit of time together, on the road, on location, up on scaffolding, sometimes in all weathers, sometimes even into the small hours of the morning… their stamina and technical skills are very important. But crucial is their talent for friendship and collaboration! Because they are key for our company.
Which is of course also true for the staff at the home front: office, drawing room and wharf. They prepare each project down to the last millimetre, see to it that all the customer’s wishes are met, that all calculations are correct, that the right materials are loaded. Here, too, there is maximum commitment, as well as a good atmosphere, we just won’t settle for less.
If you are looking for a job and you wonder what Coreworks can offer you, don’t hesitate to check the vacancies under Corenews. Open applications are always welcome too. Just send an email to Guus Lustenhouwer.