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Louis Kroucamp on Mercury’s winning culture and making it happen on leading edge projects across Europe
“Looking back, you do feel a sense of pride for achieving your goals, and that wouldn’t have been possible without Mercury.”
For Louis Kroucamp, who was born and raised in South Africa, moving to Europe was a long held dream he had since his youth. The EHS Business Unit Lead had always wanted to travel and expand his worldview while making progress in the construction industry but came to a standstill early in his career, saying that he “didn’t know how I was going to make it happen.” A self-described rugby fanatic, Louis started as a steel worker before undertaking a diploma and transitioning into a role in EHS, influenced by “how important safety is on site, and how close to home the implications of unsafe working practices can be” which he learned while working in South Africa’s mining and petroleum industries, dealing with high-risk permits.
Making It Happen
Like many others, Louis came to somewhat of a career crossroads during the pandemic. “I had worked my way up to the position of safety manager for a chemicals company, but there was a voice in the back of my head that never stopped about finally giving Europe a go, and it was a sense of it being now or never.” Louis explains, “I knew that there were bigger, exciting projects to play a part on in Europe. I felt that I had more potential to tap into, so I started researching different projects, roles, and companies in Europe.”
This is how Louis first came to hear about Mercury. “It can be hard to get to know a company from afar, but even before I started the job, I had an inkling that Mercury’s values as a company and my own really aligned.” What stood out to Louis was that “Mercury has that reverence for safety, which I’m very passionate about, and they also really value the development of their people- they understand their employees are a crucial component to their success.”
Crafting a winning culture
Fast forward to April 2021, Louis had undergone successful interviews with Mercury, and he and his family were packing up their lives in South Africa to move to Paris where he had secured a role as an EHS Lead on a fast-paced data centre project in the French capital. “I was leaving behind everything I’d known, uprooting my family to a new continent and felt a certain amount of pressure for it to work out, but I must say that Mercury made the process seamless.” Louis describes the support he received as being “indicative of the wider culture at Mercury.” “It’s rare these days to feel like your employer has your back but when I joined, the team made me feel very supported, and that gives you the confidence to put your best foot forward and realise your full potential.”
He notes that the assistance he received “made the world of difference, my family and I were taken care of so well. When moving countries, the logistics can be complicated, but Mercury was second to none in finding us accommodation and ensuring that things went smoothly.” When he arrived on site, Louis was paired with a buddy who helped ensure his transition to his new job – and life in France more broadly – was going well and he notes that the culture on site is “infectious, everyone is working as a team towards the same goal, and you feel united.”
Realising your potential
The company’s dedication to their people can be seen “on multiple levels”, Louis attests. “On site everyone is working towards delivering a best in class, leading edge project and we want to deliver the vision of our clients, with everyone getting home safely at the end of every day.” He notes that equally, Mercury “is as dedicated to their employee’s development, and push you to realise your ambitions.”
This rang true for Louis, when in late 2022 he was appointed EHS Business Unit Lead for Mercury’s Data Centre and Building Services Division, playing an integral role in driving the company’s defining Work Safe, Home Safe culture across Europe. “In the last two and a half years I’ve totally transformed my career. I had always wanted to travel and experience the diversity of cultures that Europe had to offer, and now I’m working on some of the most innovative data centre projects in France, Germany, Spain, and Belgium, alongside an outstanding global team, which has just been the most incredible experience. I’m constantly meeting new people and learning with them,” noting that the main overarching goal is to always uphold the company’s impeccable EHS standards, regardless of the country. When asked what the highlight of his journey at Mercury has been so far, Louis is quick to answer that “realising that dream of getting to travel while doing something I’m passionate about, that’s been very special for me.”
At Mercury, we commit to delivering premium results for our partners every time, with a relentless dedication which earns trust, security, and assurance. To make it happen, we enable our people, like Louis, to reach their full potential and realise their vision for themselves.
CAREERS AT MERCURY
We believe that to achieve incredible things you must invest in your people. We recruit and train staff from apprentices to qualified engineers, a policy that has kept many of them with Mercury since the company’s earliest days.
Mercury is committed to promoting learning and career development. We provide assistance for employees pursuing a variety of courses in keeping with Mercury’s strategic objectives.
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