Rob Wanders
Rob was born in 1952 in Valkkoog, near Schagen. When he was seven, the family moved to IJmuiden, after his father started working at Hoogovens. The transition from rural life to an industrial town was significant, his wife recalls. IJmuiden eventually became his home.
In the early 1970s, Rob himself began working at Hoogovens. What started as temporary work became a career of more than forty years. He worked in the cold rolling mill and later in technical maintenance. A practical man, a technician — someone who recognised faults and believed they should be addressed, even if that meant shutting down an installation.
A resident reflects on the ambivalent legacy of Hoogovens: a good employer and source of income, but also a factory whose pollution was visible in everyday life.
Learning did not come easily. Rob had dyslexia, though it was only recognised later. Still, alongside his work, he returned to school. Gradually, he obtained his qualifications. According to his wife, this gave him more confidence and recognition at work. In technical maintenance, he found his place.
She speaks about the company with mixed feelings. It provided stability and a good income. At the same time, over the years she saw the black deposits on windows and other traces in the environment. When they lived in Alkmaar for a period, the windows remained clean.
Rob took early retirement in 2016. A few years later, he became ill and passed away in early 2025.
His wife speaks of grief without embellishment. It is not only sorrow for what is gone, she says, but also gratitude for what was.
The portrait below of Rob was used on his funeral card. Even the printer could not bring himself to discard the proof print.
“You see his whole life in that look,” she says.