It was the end of an era for Molycop Australia last December, when veteran Lindsay Reid, who has been instrumental in the business’ rail division, hung up his hat as general manager.
With world-class manufacturing plants in Newcastle, NSW, and Perth, WA , Molycop Australia has made a name for itself producing and supplying grinding media, fasteners, bolts, rail wheels and axles, track wheels and gear blanks.
The parent organisation – whose origins lie in the steel industry – is the largest grinding media company in the world. Committed to continuous improvement, the latest technology and sustainability, the business continues to shape the Australian mining, rail and manufacturing industries with forward-thinking solutions and lasting partnerships.
For the past 20 years, Lindsay Reid
has been a key leader in the rail division of
the Australian operation. He has led it through its expansion phase, with the development of heavy-haul rail wheels and axles and passenger car wheels to international standards.
But he’s been with the company much longer than that: his career spans 45 years, an impressive time span that began with an apprentice fitter machinist.
Reid spoke to Rail Express about his time at the company, his achievements and how he sees the future for the company.
“When I came out of my apprenticeship, I was put on staff straight away,” Reid said.
“I worked in all different areas of production and in the rail department, moving on up to the superintendent level of the product manufacturing divisions.
“About 30 years ago, I got into the sales and marketing side of things, and then became general manager.”
Reid said his departure had been imminent for the past 18 months, after the company restructured some of its sales and marketing division roles.
“At the time of leaving it just felt right, and I was confident that the business was in good hands,” he said.
Indeed, that was Reid’s biggest concern.
“I wanted to make sure that the future of the business was safe, and that all the good work put in over the years was not going to turn out to be nothing,” he said.
“We have a very good team. I’ve always
been very focused on developing the capability of the people. The reason our business is still in existence is not just because of the machines that make things, it’s because of the people that are there.
“Our customers trust the people and they trust the business. I’ve always pushed the mantra of quality, performance and delivery, and of looking after customers.
“If you do all those things right and you have good people doing it, then you end up with a very good business.”
Reid said the rail division had a good, committed group of customers that really supported the business.
“We continue to make the same quality products that we’ve always made,” he said.
But while the rail industry is healthy, Reid said there was much room for improvement when it came to supporting local manufacturers.
“Keeping Australian manufacturing healthy and alive has always been a pretty tough job, and continues to be,” he said.
“Government support of local industry is waning in this country. Government needs to stop bowing to other countries and put the appropriate measures in to protect the Australian industry without being preferential.
“We are getting increased support from some of the state governments on local content, which has a positive effect on building the trains themselves, but also for some of the components, which of course are what we produce.
“As I leave, I’m happy that the business is still operating as an Australian manufacturer, which is very much a rarity.
“There’s not that many heavy manufacturing businesses like us still operating in Australia.
“As long as we continue to make a good product and give customers no problems, and the performance is solid and we do the fundamentals right, we’ll continue to prosper.”
Reid complimented the effort that staff had put in over his tenure, which helped put Molycop products on the map.
“Our success hasn’t just happened by chance,” he said.
“There’s a lot of work that’s gone into doing that with a lot of the products that we’ve made and developed over the years – for example, the high hardness micro alloy products, the rail wheels that are used in the Pilbara.
“Many products used in other parts of the world were developed and pioneered in our steel plant in Australia, and many are now industry benchmarks.”
Looking to the future, Reid said the steel industry is going through a massive period of change, particularly on the environmental front.
“One of the biggest challenges for steel manufacturing in Australia in the next 10 to 20 years is from an environment point of view. Making steel is a very energy-rich process.
“If you’re using integrated steel and using coal and iron ore, it’s not very green-friendly. But steel is one product that’s very difficult to substitute, so they have to find solutions for that.”
So where to now for Reid? The golf course beckons, and taking the caravan around the country with his wife is also on the cards, as is spending more time with the grandchildren.
But while you can take the man out of the rail industry, it’s not easy to take the industry out of the man. Reid will continue to make his presence felt on various industry groups and committees, which will only benefit from his experience.
“I’ve had a long involvement in rail, with industry groups such as the Australasian Railway Association and the International Wheel Set Committee, which fosters growth in railway wheel and axle materials,” he said.
“I’m also part of a couple of volunteer groups that I’ve had sideline involvement with, including a few rail societies and those sorts of things, which I’ll have more time for now.”
Reid has been replaced by Sharon Champness, who also has a long history with Molycop.
“I was working for OneSteel in 2007 when the group acquired the Comsteel business. I was also part of the acquisition team when OneSteel bought the overseas Molycop businesses in 2010,” Champness said.
“Over the past 10 years, I have worked in different industries, but I have been back at Molycop for the last two. Prior to stepping into the general manager role, I was managing the HR, safety and environment function for Molycop Australia.”
Champness said she was delighted to lead such a customer-focused and committed business with a long tradition within the rail industry in Australia.
“Because I enjoy delivering great outcomes for customers, leading people and managing change, this role is a very good fit for me,” she said.
“I have worked in many different functions across diverse industries in my career. The rail industry is a dynamic and essential sector for Australia. It is a key part of our daily commute, trade across the country and the growth of the Australian economy. It is great to be part of this industry.”
Champness echoed Reid’s goals for the future.
“We are proud that our world-class Comsteel products are manufactured in Australia,” she said.
“Our ambition is to keep innovating our production and supply chain processes in partnership with our customers to further grow our responsiveness, speed and exacting quality standards.
“Lindsay Reid is well-known within our business for his strong focus on mentoring and developing others. These are also strengths for me and areas that I will see his legacy continue.”
The post People power Molycop’s strength appeared first on Rail Express.
