Discovering a passion for shipbuilding

For Coen Schimmel, shipbuilding has always been about more than technology. Throughout his career, he has wanted to understand how things work, how different teams contribute to a project and how an idea becomes a yacht. Today, Coen is a Product Manager at Damen Yachting, combining his technical background with his interest in the bigger picture. “I was interested in the whole vessel. I wanted to understand the bigger picture.”

Discovering a passion for shipbuilding

Coen grew up near the water and spent a lot of time sailing. His interest in ships started early, so when it was time to choose his education, shipbuilding felt like the right direction.“ I started studying shipbuilding when I was around fifteen. It felt right almost immediately.”

During his education, Coen learned practical skills such as welding and metalworking. He also gained experience in production before completing a bachelor’s degree in shipbuilding. That practical background still helps him today. “If you have built something yourself, it becomes much easier to understand how things work in practice.” After graduating, Coen started his career at Damen in Gorinchem as a structural engineer. He enjoyed the technical side of the role, but soon realised that he wanted to learn more than one specific part of a vessel.He wanted to see how everything connected.

Looking beyond one discipline

This interest led Coen to new opportunities within Damen. He moved into engineering project management and became involved in increasingly complex projects. As he gained experience, he discovered how much he enjoyed working with different teams and seeing how technical, commercial and operational perspectives come together. Over time, Coen realised that he was especially interested in the early stages of a project, when ideas begin to take shape and important decisions are made.

After almost ten years in Gorinchem, an opportunity at Damen Yachting in Vlissingen allowed him to take the next step.

The move also brought a personal change. Together with his wife and daughter, Coen moved to Zeeland. “We wanted our daughter to grow up in a village and were already thinking about moving. When this opportunity came along, it felt like the right moment.”

Both professionally and personally, it marked the start of a new chapter.

Turning ideas into reality

As Product Manager at Damen Yachting, Coen is still closely involved in supporting Sales. This allows him to use his technical knowledge at an early stage, when customer requests and ideas are being explored. When a customer has a specific request, Coen helps explore what is technically possible and what is needed to make it happen. He works closely with colleagues from Sales, Engineering, Operations and the teams building the yachts.

“I enjoy using my technical background to contribute at an early stage.”

Each team brings a different perspective. By working together from the start, they can develop solutions that are both ambitious and realistic. “You want to make sure that what we sell can actually be built.”

For Coen, bringing these different perspectives together is exactly what makes the work interesting.

Always more to discover

Looking back at his career so far, Coen has continued to build on the same strong foundation while discovering new sides of the business. “I really enjoy that dynamic. Your technical knowledge is valued, but at the same time you are involved in many different parts of the company.” From structural engineering to project management and his current role as Product Manager, each step has given him a broader view of shipbuilding.

 And for Coen, there is always more to discover.