Sjors van Ruiten leads Praxis Automation Technology to world top in maritime technology in 40 years
Published on 1 February 2024
Driving force
Florina van Ruiten-David is proud of her husband’s successes. Since the 1990s, he has been the driving force behind the Dutch company that specializes in navigation, ship automation and electric propulsion. Florina: “We design and produce everything independently. We’ve made this into an effi cient process at Praxis Automation. We have a broad product range, are constantly innovating and have a fantastic team of 150 colleagues. In addition to our head offi ce in Leiderdorp, we have three locations in China, Singapore and Vietnam. Sjors has built all that up in 40 years.” The owner himself thinks all the fuss about his 40th anniversary is over the top. But, according to his wife, that assessment does not do justice to his many years of hard work. This is the reason for this – a joint interview about what drives Sjors van Ruiten, the results the company has achieved and his dreams for the future.
TechCraft-Strategic Duo
The pair are a mix of technical skill, craftsmanship and strategic thinking: Sjors as a creative innovator, Florina as the driving force in the background. “When I started here, we had 25 employees. Now there are 95 colleagues in the Netherlands, and around 55 in Asia,” she says. “Our company has grown organically. The software engineers in Vietnam and Singapore work closely with the draftsmen and project engineers in the Netherlands. We can easily do our work remotely.”