“Personal matchmaking is the key to creating a well-balanced project team.” Over five posts, our specialists share trends and developments for 2026. This week, Sandra Guns, Director of Development & NPI at Hittech Multin, discusses the potential of cross-cultural team-building.
Almost exactly a year ago, we interviewed Sandra about her first year at Hittech Group, and she said the following: “What interests me particularly is that, as part of Hittech Group’s development centre, we collaborate with all our sister companies. We have much to offer in the field of mechatronic development, DfX and new product introductions.”
Today, we ask her whether and how she managed to bring developers together across personal, international, and cultural borders.
Sandra: “I can’t believe I’ve been with Hittech for two years already. Time has flown, but we’ve made significant progress. For example, the production of critical mechatronic modules at our Malaysian plant, previously produced exclusively in the Netherlands, is now also carried out there. This demonstrates the potential of working together within the Hittech Group, even outside Europe. It enables us to support customers throughout the entire product lifecycle. There has also been significant growth in collaboration between the Dutch and German teams. Two of the Hittech Multin engineers are temporarily supporting a project at Hittech Prontor GmbH to exchange knowledge.”
How do you get engineers to truly connect?
Sandra Guns: “The key lies in how you create your teams. Effective matchmaking requires me to know our companies, meet engineers in person, and integrate young talent into the team. Young talent brings curiosity and an unstoppable urge to explore, and they challenge the group’s established values. If the mix is right, the team will flourish. You will see that it will create a flywheel effect.”
