At Semco Maritime, diversity is a key word for the entire organization. Here, the corporate language is English, and as much as 50 per cent of the approximately 1,900 employees have a cultural background other than Danish.
One of them is 27-year-old Ionut Plamadeala, who was employed as Senior Project Buyer in the spring of 2022. Right from the start, he got the experience of being given lots of responsibility and wide interface across the organization.
– Many different people with very different educational backgrounds work here. In my job, I work together with both engineers, designers and economists. And people from all over the world – including Italy, Great Britain, Poland, Norway and Romania, says Ionut, who himself grew up in Moldova.
Headed towards the world’s happiest people
After high school, however, he pulled up his tent poles so to say and moved to Copenhagen in 2014 to study a bachelor’s degree in International Sales & Marketing.
– Many of my friends went to Germany or the Netherlands to study, but I had heard that the world’s happiest people lived in Denmark, so I wanted to experience that, Ionut smiles, when we catch him over lunch in the canteen at Semco Maritime’s international headquarters in Esbjerg.
What on Earth do you want to do in Esbjerg?
During his years of studies, however, several of his fellow students began to move away from the capital. So when Ionut was offered a job with a transport company in Esbjerg in 2018, he decided to grap the opportunity – and ended up continuing his studies in Esbjerg.
– Actually, both my family and friends were against it. What did I want there? In Denmark, several people told me that Esbjerg was a boring fishing town. And I must admit that in the first years the city was very quiet after 17 o’clock. But it really has changed. It has become a more diverse city because of the city’s many international companies, says the newcomer, who today is a frequent user of Esbjerg’s many offers:
– For example, now we have more restaurants and cafes to choose from here, and if you love sports as I do, there are countless opportunities and a fantastic nature for this. I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything by living in Esbjerg, Ionut points out, and he mentions one advantage in particular by moving west:
– Your money buys you a lot more here. Now, I’m at an age where I’m starting to consider settling down. And here I can in fact buy a nice house for the amount which a small apartment would cost in the outskirts of Copenhagen. I can live a different life here,” he reckons.
You can easily move around between departments and try something new. So, I can easily picture myself here for many years to come.
Ionut Plamadeala
Senior Project Buyer, Semco Maritime
Flat corporate structure and open-minded culture
In his everyday work, Ionut specificly appreciates the open-minded culture that characterizes the company in addition to exciting tasks and development potential.
– It is a very flat and inclusive organization, and it is clearly my impression that everyone is very open-minded and available. It’s easy to send an email or approach people at their desks, if I have a question regarding a project, explains the buyer, who also benefits from the social environment outside working hours:
– There are many events where you can meet your colleagues from other departments and teams. In addition to the annual summer party, for example, a joint concert experience with the department is planned soon – and we also play football and padel together. It’s not only work all the time, he smiles.