In this new Q&A-style website article series, we’ll be sitting down with real life Clayton Glass employees and finding out all about their history with the company, from the early days to where they are now, as well as exploring the aspects of the job they find rewarding. Next up is Gavin Reid, our esteemed colleague who works in the role of Shift Manager at our Blackburn facility…

NOTE: The photos in this piece were taken prior to the introduction of bump caps across all six of our sites.

Q: What has your journey with Clayton Glass been like?

A: “I started at the Blackburn site in 2005 when I was 25 years old. I’d actually hopped between multiple jobs before I started here and initially I wasn’t sure about working in a glass factory, but after a little while I started to enjoy it. I would think ‘oh actually that looks quite interesting’ and get trained up and do different jobs. Eventually it just clicked and I’ve been here ever since!”

“The first role I remember doing was on the Arrisser and Wash, but from there I learned essentially all the roles on the shop floor, the production line, the toughening plant, the cutting tables, everything. I have worked my way up through all these roles to become Shift Manager.”

Q: What do you enjoy about your role?

A: “It is hard work, but I enjoy the responsibility. I enjoy the interaction with the team. As well I’ve always been a ‘targets-focused’ person, so in my role I find that having targets keeps me motivated, it makes success easy to define and I get a sense of achievement from that.”

“I get satisfaction too from helping people develop in their roles. When a new starter first comes in sometimes they can be hard work, but then they turn out to be a really decent worker and member of the team, I would look at that and think ‘I’ve done a good job there'”.

Q: Why should people work for Clayton Glass?

A: “I think for someone who is disciplined and hard-working, there are many roles available so the work can be varied if you want it to be. There are also progression opportunities, look at me I started out on the Arrisser and Glass Wash and have worked my way up to Shift Manager.

“The number one quality a worker needs at Clayton Glass is the ability to listen and take on board information. As long as you do that and work hard, you can go far.”

Q: How would you define the Clayton difference?

A: “We work honestly here, if something is missing we let them know, if something needs to be said we say it. We have competent people doing good jobs to ensure we don’t disappoint the customer, and we work hard to make sure the units are high quality.”

“We work as a team and support each other to make sure everything runs smoothly.”