Think Fencing’s Jack Fitzgerald is a big believer in building the leadership capacity and contribution of his staff. When accepting the organisation’s Excellence in Sustainability in Manufacturing award, sponsored by Viva Energy, at GMC’s recent 25th Anniversary Celebrations, Jack acknowledged his staff’s role in the company’s success.
Jack sponsored two of his staff to take part in GMC’s Leadership for Manufacturing Excellence program in 2022. In addition to developing skills to enable them to lead their teams, Ben Zappia and Lachlan O’Brien undertook workplace improvement projects encompassing a number of lean improvements across the manufacturing facility saving time and dollars, including a low cost system implementation that resulted in huge reduction in time to quote, down from 3 weeks to 30 minutes, with massive flow on impacts across the business.
Ben has recently been promoted to General Manager at Think Fencing. He told GMC that the Leadership for Manufacturing Excellence program had helped him to prioritise and break down projects in a creative and productive environment, with support of expert advice. Often, with so many great ideas the options for action can be overwhelming. He also honed his skills in leading teams through change.
Think Fencing is a leading innovator in PVC fencing and decking products used in domestic, commercial and sporting applications and has developed innovative technology that allows for the conversion of PVC scrap into high-quality products.
Photo: Ben Zappia from Think Fencing (right) with CMTP’s Riley Phillips and Leigh Gorwell, graduates of GMC’s 2022 Leadership for Manufacturing Excellence program