Joe Farrugia
British expat in the Utrecht / Amsterdam area
Experienced in both commercial and technical roles
Tel: +31 610 816589mail@joefarrugia.comwww.joefarrugia.comBritish expat in the Utrecht / Amsterdam area
Experienced in both commercial and technical roles
Tel: +31 610 816589mail@joefarrugia.comwww.joefarrugia.comI am currently working as a Project Manager at Kvadrat on a temporary basis in Amsterdam. Kvadrat is a large Danish manufacturer of textile materials, who also produce Rugs, Curtains, Furniture Upholstery, and Acoustic Panels.
Responsibilities include assisting Architects and Interior Designers in both the commercial and residential space, taking site measurements for wall acoustic panels, making and amending price-quotations, updating CRM sales opportunities in Microsoft Dynamics, issuing invoices, producing production drawings in AutoCAD, and liaising with their Logistics and Production department.
Most notably, I was involved in several projects accross the Benelux, such as BNG Bank in Den Haag, The Apple Headoffice in Amsterdam, and the new Deutschebank building in Luxembourg, to ensure delivery of beautiful acoustic panels to their respective office spaces.
In 2024, I joined iGuzzini Illuminazione S.p.A, covering both Sales support and Back-office. For reference, iGuzzini is a major Italian lighting manufacturer based in the city of Recanati, although I was based in their Amsterdam office as I was responsible for The Netherlands.
Leveraging my prior experience in the facade industry, I was responsible for assisting Architects, Interior Designers, and Lighting Designers with their respective lighting projects. This would also involve creating and updating the CRM sales opportunities in Microsoft Dynamics, making and amending price-quotations, liaising with Logistics and Production in Italy, issuing invoices, and monitoring the sales forecast from our subsidiary.
Most notable lighting projects I was involved with include the Fenix museum in Rotterdam, The Dutch National Bank in Amsterdam, The Stedelijk Museum, and the A-Pier extension at Schiphol airport.
During my time at Schüco, I was responsible for managing their product portfolio of facades, doors and windows that were being sold in the Benelux region. This included market research to compare price-point, technical specifications, and design qualities against the competition, and to assess how new market innovations could be suitably incoorporated.
I also used SAP Concur to analyse the sales figures per product, to better understand market performance, and produce a clear roadmap forecast.
In 2021, after moving to The Netherlands from Germany, I worked at De Groot en Visser as a facade project planner. This was largely facilitated through my prior experience at CAD-PLAN, as De Groot en Visser were already using CAD-PLAN software in their workflow, and had already fostered a good relationship with their team.
I was responsible for overseeing several large facade projects in The Netherlands, most notably the Galaxy Tower in Utrecht. Responsibilities involved planning of production drawings in AutoCAD, and updating the Revit BIM model to check for structural clashes. Production drawings would then be sent to purchasing, where they would be ordered through their suppliers (including Schüco, who we were already working closely with).
In 2020, after I finished my studies in England, I began a remote working position for CAD-PLAN, who are a German software company based in Frankfurt. This also enabled me to leave the UK, and begin a new chapter living in Germany for a while, something that proved particularly challenging for a 22 year old post graduate during the middle of Covid travel ban.
In the role itself, I was responsible for setting up Teams meetings with various companies, engineering offices, and technical institutions, to demonstrate and showcase the full featureset of their Athena and Apollon software. After each training module, I would also be available to answer all questions, and assist with workflow integration, so the client could use the software to it's fullest potential during their projects.
To give some more insight, Athena is a plugin for AutoCAD that optimises the planning of sheetmetal structures, curtainwall facades, windows and doors. Apollon works similarly, but with a stronger integration with 3D Revit files (IFC)
As part of my role at CAD-PLAN, I also worked with Nyhus & Eiker as a junior facade planner. This involved the use of AutoCAD, Revit, and the proprietary BIM software developed by CAD-PLAN, to produce detailed material lists. This would then be ordered and produced with a facade system manufacturer such as Schüco.
Whilst I was studying, I also worked at ADM Glass LTD, who are a small glass partitioning company in my hometown in England. My role was an administrative position, answering the phone and replying to emails. However, I was also responsible for processing order forms, producing Autocad production drawings for their simple track and mullion systems, and ordering acoustic glass from their glass distributor.
Qualifications
Useful Skills
Experienced in both technical and commercial sales roles
Knowledgeable with CRM systems, such as Microsoft Dynamics and SAP Concur
Organised and pro-active approach towards managing sales opportunities
Speaks Dutch to a B2 level
Pro knowledge of Autocad, Revit, and other BIM platforms
For some insight, about 10 years ago I set myself a goal: to leave my comfortable home in England, travel, to live in a different European country, learn the local language there, to build a career, to make a good quality of life for myself, and adapt a different way of living
Here I am today, living in Utrecht, speaking a good level of Dutch, and working temporarily as a Project Manager in Amsterdam.
Other things I enjoy include Italian cooking (recently learnt how to make fresh Farfallle), interesting discussions about history, good coffee, race cycling, and city breaks on the weekends. Additionally, I also sometimes volunteer at a stichting; a cafe in utrecht helping young people, I have participated in several running events, and I am also member of a classic car club in Hilversum.