Paul Barrass, Ricardo Zappia & Ignance Difilippo (Maintenance)

With 19 national manufacturing sites ‘spread’ (no pun intended) across six states in Australia, we naturally have a bit of equipment to maintain to ensure smooth production of quality products. This is where our magic maintenance team comes into the picture and play a key role in our success.

Paul Barrass – Maintenance Manager, shares how the fastest learning curve of his career, was the most valuable experience possible

Initially I was attracted to the Bega Group because it is an Australian owned business with a good reputation. Overtime I’ve come to understand that what keeps me here day to day (like so many team members) is the people that I get to work with. When I think about the business if I had to come up with three words to describe it, I’d say proud, determined, and resourceful. There’s an underlying commitment by many here to make an Australian business successful. When I think about the culture there is a lot of willingness to help each other out and when I think about previous employers the Bega Group feels different because recognition is a high priority within the business and therefore, hard work will always be noticed.

I’ve been with the company for two years and joined as a Maintenance Manager. In general, in this space, I think many people would be surprised by how many manufacturing sites sit under the Bega Group and the positive impact that this has on the many communities that benefit from this. I lead a team of 25 people whose objective is to maintain and improve asset performance as well as supporting improved Safety and Quality outcomes at our site. Maintenance activities can range from janitorial, caretaker, manual maintenance work, carpentry, painting, and plumbing. At more senior levels maintenance can include things like a higher degree of troubleshooting and more complex maintenance such as machine installation or replacement and electrical work.

When I think about my role, what has surprised me the most is the broad range of skills required to be effective in the role. Day to day I’m required to coach and mentor others, ensure that I’m organised, be process focused, build strong relationships with internal and external customers, and always strive for continuous improvement. There’s a strong commitment within the Bega Group’s Assets team to work together to continuously improve our people, processes and skills and having a chance to visit other sites to learn and grow with others is something that I really enjoy.

When I think back on my time so far at the Bega Group the most exciting project that I’ve had a chance to work on was building a whole new team from scratch. This was the fastest learning curve of my career, and although incredibly difficult at the time, was the most valuable experience I could have had. For other individuals out there considering a trade or specialism of this nature for their career my best advice is to be patient. The rewards are highly satisfying when they come along, but it takes time to build the knowledge and experience needed to make good decisions in this space. For those particularly interested in a career here, I’d encourage them to touch base with others working within the Bega Group in the area that you’re interested in. A good business sells itself when it comes to attracting good people and if you are keen to be part of an Australian Business striving for success, building something for other generations to follow, then the Bega Group could be the place for you.

Ricardo Zappia – Maintenance Manager, talks to his role and how fulfilling it is day-to-day

I originally joined the Bega Group 14 months ago at the Wetherill Park site as an Asset Care Planner, and then had the opportunity to move into my current role being Maintenance Manager. In this role I run the maintenance department for the site which involves a few things day to day. I think what surprised me the most about working in this space or specialism is actually how fulfilling the work is at the end of the day. No two days are the same really and this is down to the variety of responsibilities in my role. I’m involved in leading others, work scheduling and allocation, troubleshooting and diagnosing repairs for highly complex equipment and systems that we have at the site, building operational systems, site maintenance and of course aspects related to the Bega Group’s Health, Safety and Environment procedures. The key skills I feel in my role would be technical knowledge, communication and problem solving – these are all very important things to have.

For me the Bega Group differs from other places I’ve worked, as the culture here is much more friendly and involving, with the environment feeling incredibly welcoming. I’d describe the business as committed, caring and proud and the best part is the people that I get to work with. I like having an impact on the business by continuing to do good work every day and the support I receive to do this is what keeps me here day to day.

If I had to pick one company tradition or event that is my favourite, I’d say the B-Valued award winners’ celebration. It is great to show off the people who are going above and beyond in the business, and seeing how happy it makes them to be rewarded!

Ignace Difilippo – Maintenance Technician who has been with the Bega Group 28 years, chats to what it’s like working there and shares some tips for those looking to get into the space

It is the work environment that keeps me at the Bega Group day to day, it is a very sociable place to work and it’s also great to connect and go out with work mates in an environment that’s different to work. When I think about our purpose “Creating Great Food for a Better Future”, to me this means the Bega Group is securing our working future by ensuring diversity in the products that we make, and something that many people might not know is that we produce plant-based products too. In three words I’d describe the Bega Group as diverse and engaged with a strong focus on safety. I started as a contractor where my main focus was to look after carton machines and this was back in 1991, would you believe it! I then became an employee in a maintenance technician role and in total
I’ve been with the business 28 years!

As a maintenance technician I look after all of the equipment that processes, packages, and stores both milk and milk flavours. What has surprised me the most about the area that I work in, and the business is the continual introduction of different products. Skill wise I feel the most important ones in my role day to day are diagnostic and trade related. There is a lot of process improvement aspects to the role and problem solving needed and this helps me to support the implementation of the asset care strategy for the site where I work.

For someone looking to get into this area as a career I’d suggest that they consider doing post trade courses such as pneumatics hydraulics and ‘b class’ electrical, this will really help assist in diagnosis and repair of equipment associated with what you’d find in the manufacturing industry. For those considering joining the Bega Group, I’d say that it is a great place to work and is a business where there is a big focus on people.

Want to discover if the Bega Group is the place to expand your career in the manufacturing space or broader areas?

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