From sustainable fuels to hydrogen and CO₂ storage: new investment projects for the industrial transition are emerging everywhere. But whether those plans become reality depends not only on technology, but also on the people who implement them.

Thomas Wester, Group Director Sales at STAR Specialists, sees this every day. STAR delivers more than 2,500 specialists to the largest industrial projects in the Netherlands and Western Europe. “We do everything we can to support our clients and be a reliable supplier so that their projects are successful.”

STAR is involved in nearly all major projects in the Dutch process industry. “At Neste in Rotterdam, we are supplying dozens of people for the expansion of the SAF plant,” says Wester.

“At Gasunie and the Porthos project, we are supplying engineers, construction managers, and safety experts. At Yara Europe, we are supporting the entire CCS project in Sluiskil.”

Project location Porthos, Rotterdam

STAR also plays a role in Rotterdam, where Advario is preparing a large new installation. ‘And we have many excellent specialists at Shell Holland Hydrogen 2. At VTTI, we provide support for the ammonia import terminal and the cracker. We also supply many skilled specialists to Dow.’

Thomas understands why the demand for external specialists continues to grow.

“An asset owner needs a partner who delivers, understands the project environment, and shares responsibility.

STAR is not just involved in the project, but forms a strategic partner of it. We help steer the process, think ahead, and continuously strengthen the team. Our collaboration is built on shared ownership, a focus on results, and a joint drive to continuously improve. Our goal is to be the most reliable partner that always delivers, so that our customers can focus on their core business and don’t have to worry about this part of the process.”

Strategic partner

STAR is today the largest project staffing agency in the process industry. “That’s because we are partners. We have been working with around thirty large industrial companies over the past ten to twenty years. We do everything we can to really get to know their organization, their way of working, their pace. The better we understand the client, the better we can support them with the best specialists.”

STAR works across a broad spectrum. “In the engineering phase, we supply process, mechanical, electrical, and civil engineers. During the construction phase, we supply construction managers, supervisors, and quality and safety experts. And in the commissioning phase, we supply technicians and commissioning engineers.”

This diversity makes talent development possible. “Specialists who gain experience with electrolyzers at Shell are later deployed at Air Liquide on their hydrogen project on the Maasvlakte. In this way, expertise grows from project to project.”

Thomas has noticed that the relationship with clients is increasingly shifting towards strategic partnership.

“The complexity of projects is increasing. It helps when a partner not only provides capacity, but also contributes ideas about planning, safety, quality, and staffing.”

Clients are also increasingly seeing STAR as an executive partner. “They want us to take on entire subsets of tasks: inspections, quantity surveying, safety supervision, because we have a great deal of specialized knowledge. That sets us apart from a traditional recruitment agency. We ensure that the right people are there and that our specialists can thrive. That is the human factor.”

What do we do?

Delivering today what tomorrow demands. Since 2001, STAR has been connecting the best specialists to the most challenging projects and clients.