A close-up on Australia with Joska Stroobach

When Joska began working at ICL in 1993, her living and working conditions were very different to those she has today. As an Area Sales Manager in the Benelux team in Europe, she visited growers and traders near Boskoop, a centrally-located town in the Netherlands, offering advice and expertise on behalf of ICL. After celebrating her twelve-and-a-half-year work anniversary in 2005, she and her husband decided it was time for a change. They moved half-way across the world to Australia, to enjoy the sunny continent for three years. Although she promised her parents she would be back in 3 years, she is still there now, 19 years later. Life in Australia was just too good to give up: “During my first three years, I always stayed in touch with ICL. In fact, not long after I arrived in Australia, I was approached by the manager there, who offered me a position. I wasn’t interested at that time because I wanted to build a social circle and not focus on work, but in 2009 I realized Australia was my long-term home and I took him up on his offer.” Joska began working as a part-time Regional Sales Manager, thereby becoming responsible for all of Western Australia.

“In the Netherlands growers plant in peat, but in Australia they use bark. Since bark continues to decompose while the plants are growing in it, it requires a completely different approach.”

Acclimating in a new climate

Although this role was similar to her previous position in the Netherlands, she found it quite challenging initially. “The seasons are reversed here, and the climate is very different. In Western Australia, temperatures can exceed 45 degrees Celsius in the summer, and we sometimes see no rain for seven months. My biggest worry was that I wasn’t familiar with the specific plants grown here, that sometimes have completely different needs in regards to fertilizers. Also, in the Netherlands, growers plant in peat, but in Australia, they use bark. Since bark continues to decompose while the plants are growing in it, it requires a completely different approach. You’re feeding not just the plants but also the media itself. These were all things I didn’t know when I moved here. I doubted whether I was suitable for the job and expressed these doubts to my manager at the time.” He reassured Joska that she shouldn’t worry, and eventually this new information would become intuitive.

The Dutch stay in touch!

This proved to be true, as the Australians found the Dutch horticulture expert quite fascinating: “I have a technical background and come from a country that is leading the way in horticulture, so I was relieved when the Australian growers seemed interested in connecting with me. The Netherlands is very advanced in developments and environmental regulations, and the Australians had a lot of respect for what I knew.” 

Joska also values her Dutch colleagues, and makes a point of meeting with them whenever she’s back visiting in Europe: “Having worked in the Netherlands for so long, I’ve built strong relationships with people there and regard some of those colleagues as real friends. Whenever I’m back, we always meet up and I can turn to them for tips and questions about trends. It’s so nice to have a direct line to them. My Australian colleagues and I benefit greatly from this.”

“The Netherlands is very advanced in developments and environmental regulations, and the Australians had a lot of respect for what I knew.”

Connecting across oceans

Reflecting on more differences between her time spent working for ICL in the Netherlands and in Australia, Joska mentions that communication between her and her colleagues now looks quite different: “I’m on a team with colleagues from Australia and New Zealand, covering a vast area, so when I start my day, Nicola from New Zealand is almost done with hers. The time difference between some areas can be up to five hours.” 

Another adjustment is the difference in lead time for products. “When I was still working in the Netherlands, I would wait 1 day for products to arrive from the ICL factory in Limburg. Now, it’s very different because the products I use still come from the same factory in the Netherlands, but have to cross the ocean in a shipping container. You can imagine this requires some planning, which I never had to think of before.” But planning is also a sign of progress for Joska: “I’ve gotten quite good at planning and that feels special, because it’s a reminder that I now live on the other side of the world!”