Bénédicte Ferrand, 30, M.Sc. Chemical Engineering. She Joined NNE Pharmaplan in France in 2005 as a Process Engineer in the Process Pharma Department. Now she works as Conceptual Design Manager in the Programme Management Department.   

“NNE Pharmaplan has only been on the French market since 2004, but we have already gained a strong foothold within the pharmaceutical and biotech area. Presently employing 35 people we are a rather small unit, but fast reacting and flexible. Being a very young team it goes without saying that we do not have all the competences in house. But with the expert and specialist assistance from our Danish colleagues at NNE Pharmaplan headquarters we are still able to offer our customers the full package. Standing on each others shoulders makes us stronger and more competitive. 

My job situation has developed quite a lot. Starting out as a Process Engineer in a project team, I became a Project Manager myself after only one year on different kinds of process related projects. Recently I was appointed Project Manager of conceptual design and basic design for refurbishment of a production unit for a big French pharmaceutical company.  

At the moment I am part of an international team working for a French company who plans to start pharma production in India. NNE Pharmaplan in France has teamed up with our offices in Denmark, Germany and India. It is a great advantage for the clients that they can get the same kind of service anywhere in the world. For us as employees, work is much more exciting. It opens up new opportunities to know that I can contribute to any project in the world.  The NNE Pharmaplan integration has made our world bigger.

We work in open space facilities, which I really like even though it may be quite noisy. It is a fine way to share knowledge and collaborate as a team. As a helpful tool in the international collaboration, we often have video conferences with colleagues from other parts of the world. It is much more dynamic and fun to meet people face to face.

The NNE Pharmaplan way of management is very open and employee friendly. I discuss my personal and professional development plan with my boss and set new objectives for my career. To this end I have attended several training courses in Denmark to get more acquainted with the Project Manager role and our well assorted tool box.   

We are a fast growing company, but try to grow with respect for the individual while making sure that all employees are well integrated in the team. It is very important not only to attract new candidates, but also to b able to retain our existing staff. In order to become more performance oriented and develop NNE Pharmaplan in France, we have launched an internal project to define our values and improve employee integration and development. I am in charge of a separate internal communication project to make sure that all employees have the necessary information to do a good job. We want all employees to become good ambassadors for NNE Pharmaplan.