Chemical Engineering with Energy Resource Engineering (MEng), Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, graduated in June 2005.
I’d never heard of LI until I started researching possible career paths in my final year at university. Once I started reading a bit more about what they manufacture, where they operate, and what their business is, I felt that they were a company that were going places; a dynamic, vibrant company who were looking to excel in their field, and one that I could align my aspirations to.
At my interview, I was happily surprised that I wasn’t seen by an agency, but by a number of senior managers instead. That confirmed to me that they really were a company that are dedicated to selecting the right people for the job. However, what really clinched it for me was the people culture. LI had the people orientated feel of a small firm but within a global business setting; a very rare combination, and one I felt I would be at home in.
Almost too many to mention but there are a few highlights. Being involved in a major site overhaul on my very first day is a fond memory for me. It really helped to crystallise a lot of the learning I’d gained at university at a very early stage in my career. The ability to crawl all over, both literally and metaphorically, an offline chemical plant is a ‘must have’ experience for all budding engineers, and it’s one that I thoroughly enjoyed at the time.
Designing a restriction orifice and getting it installed in a line on site in the first fortnight of my career is another experience I remember vividly. Designing things at university and then doing the same thing in the workplace where they exist in a tangible fashion are so different! One you pay ‘lip service’ to when you check the calculation, the other you can still see imprinted on your eyelids when you close them you give it so much attention! It is such a different feeling when you design something that gets installed for real, and it is something that will actually happen when you work at LI.
My trips overseas, and the first time I presented to hundreds of knowledgeable people at a hydrogen cyanide safety conference in the USA are all memorable. In general terms, working closely with a multi-disciplined team of highly intelligent, focused and driven people is one of the on-going experiences that I’m continuing to enjoy and learn lots from.
It’s given me loads of opportunities over the years! The main one has been the ability to gain a high level of accountability very quickly. Less than two years after having first started here I had the opportunity to take over the technical manager’s responsibility for a plant that produces ammonium sulphate salt; one of Cassel Works’ product plants. This was an exciting time, and one that’s not easy to achieve at other companies. From here I honed my skills at being a technical manager before again having the opportunity to further expand my remit by taking on our two hydrogen cyanide production plants. Being our highest hazard assets on site this was a serious level of accountability and was a brilliant challenge! Today, I’ve left behind my Cassel Works’ roots and am involved with the Alpha team (Alpha is LI’s new, patented technology for the production of MMA). Again, not knowing much about our Alpha technology prior to this assignment, I have had the chance to lead the process engineering effort on $50+million worth of capital projects planned for the Alpha 1 plant; another really exciting challenge, and one that has involved numerous trips overseas, which is always good!
A very enjoyable one! Working at Lucite International has been a lot of fun and a fulfilling experience. It can be very hectic at times, especially when you are aligned to a production area, but the atmosphere is vibrant and there is always something going on; a good place to work, with good people.
My wife and I are keen sports shooters so we regularly partake in small bore and full bore shooting at a number of the military ranges close by, as well as some skeet shooting at any one of the nearby clay pigeon ranges. The North East, with its location right on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors, is a great place to live if you like to sample country pursuits regularly!
In my (slightly) younger days (before the baby came along) eating out and hitting the pubs used to be one of our main hobbies. Again, with the North East being a semi-rural location, finding restaurants that serve top quality, local produce is easily done and there are lots of good pubs that stock ‘proper’ beer from the local breweries. Middlesbrough and Yarm are both good places for a night out, but with Newcastle and York nearby, a ‘big city’ night out is easy to achieve if you so desire!
In the short-term it is to get out to our Alpha 1 plant in Singapore for a few years. After that, who knows? A Senior Management position somewhere would be nice!
