{"id":21412,"date":"2024-03-21T08:49:51","date_gmt":"2024-03-20T22:49:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railexpress.com.au\/?p=115691"},"modified":"2024-03-21T08:49:51","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T22:49:51","slug":"people-power-molycops-strength","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=21412","title":{"rendered":"People power Molycop\u2019s strength"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Champness and Reid take a closer look at the Molycop wheels. Image\/Molycop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was the end of an era for Molycop Australia<\/a> last December, when veteran Lindsay Reid, who has been instrumental in the business\u2019 rail division, hung up his hat as general manager.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The parent organisation \u2013 whose origins lie in the steel industry \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

For the past 20 years, Lindsay Reid
\nhas been a key leader in the rail division of
\nthe 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.<\/p>\n

But he\u2019s been with the company much longer than that: his career spans 45 years, an impressive time span that began with an apprentice fitter machinist.<\/p>\n

Reid spoke to Rail Express<\/i> about his time at the company, his achievements and how he sees the future for the company.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I came out of my apprenticeship, I was put on staff straight away,\u201d Reid said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI worked in all different areas of production and in the rail department, moving on up to the superintendent level of the product manufacturing divisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout 30 years ago, I got into the sales and marketing side of things, and then became general manager.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reid said his departure had been imminent for the past 18 months, after the company restructured some of its sales and marketing division roles.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time of leaving it just felt right, and I was confident that the business was in good hands,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Indeed, that was Reid\u2019s biggest concern. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a very good team. I\u2019ve always
\nbeen 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\u2019s because of the people that are there.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur customers trust the people and they trust the business. I\u2019ve always pushed the mantra of quality, performance and delivery, and of looking after customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you do all those things right and you have good people doing it, then you end up with a very good business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reid said the rail division had a good, committed group of customers that really supported the business.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe continue to make the same quality products that we\u2019ve always made,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But while the rail industry is healthy, Reid said there was much room for improvement when it came to supporting local manufacturers.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeeping Australian manufacturing healthy and alive has always been a pretty tough job, and continues to be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGovernment 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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\u00a0produce.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs I leave, I\u2019m happy that the business is still operating as an Australian manufacturer, which is very much a rarity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not that many heavy manufacturing businesses like us still operating in Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs 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\u2019ll continue to prosper.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reid complimented the effort that staff had put in over his tenure, which helped put Molycop products on the map.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur success hasn\u2019t just happened by chance,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of work that\u2019s gone into doing that with a lot of the products that we\u2019ve made and developed over the years \u2013 for example, the high hardness micro alloy products, the rail wheels that are used in the Pilbara.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany products used in other parts of the world were developed and pioneered in our steel plant in Australia, and many are now industry benchmarks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking to the future, Reid said the steel industry is going through a massive period of change, particularly on the environmental front.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re using integrated steel and using coal and iron ore, it\u2019s not very green-friendly. But steel is one product that\u2019s very difficult to substitute, so they have to find solutions for\u00a0that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

But while you can take the man out of the rail industry, it\u2019s 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\u00a0experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve 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,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m also part of a couple of volunteer groups that I\u2019ve had sideline involvement with, including a few rail societies and those sorts of things, which I\u2019ll have more time for now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reid has been replaced by Sharon Champness, who also has a long history with\u00a0Molycop.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d Champness said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOver 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.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Champness said she was delighted to lead such a customer-focused and committed business with a long tradition within the rail industry in Australia.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I enjoy delivering great outcomes for customers, leading people and managing change, this role is a very good fit for me,\u201d she\u00a0said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u00a0 <\/span>trade across the country and the growth of the Australian economy. It is great to be part of this industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Champness echoed Reid\u2019s goals for the\u00a0future.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are proud that our world-class Comsteel products are manufactured in Australia,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur 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\u00a0standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cLindsay 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post People power Molycop\u2019s strength<\/a> appeared first on Rail Express<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was the end of an era for Molycop Australia last December, when veteran Lindsay Reid, who has been instrumental \u2026 <\/p>\n

The post People power Molycop\u2019s strength<\/a> appeared first on Rail Express<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":1,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[163],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rail-industry-news-australia-new-zealand"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21412"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21412\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21413,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21412\/revisions\/21413"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}