Interview with Neil Eccles | Plant Manager Duynie Wrexham

Please, tell me about your role at Duynie

‘Since 2022, I have worked at Duynie. Before Duynie, I held multiple roles in operations, supply chain and engineering. Most of my career I worked in the steel industry. I liked my job in the steel industry, but I had to travel a lot. The Wrexham factory is close to my home and that’s why I applied for the job in Wrexham initially.´

What do you like about your job at Duynie?

‘The best way to describe my job is taking the responsibility for people's welfare, development, opportunities and working environment. The role at Duynie attracted me because it allows me to use my experience to implement impactful changes in the factory. I lead in the classic drivers of safety, quality, cost and delivery at Duynie. By setting these standards, my colleagues and I can succeed and deliver on outcomes. I like being part of developing a world-class facility at Wrexham.´

‘It motivates me to see colleagues under my charge develop themselves and succeed in their endeavours. I already developed myself during my career and the focus tends to move from developing myself to developing others. However developing is still a two-way-street, I still learn a lot from younger colleagues. If you're listening to what they have to say, you can really be enriched by that engagement.’

‘If you're listening to what they have to say, you can really be enriched by that engagement.’

What is your proudest personal and team achievement?

‘I am proud that we have assembled a team in Wrexham working together on continuous and significant improvements, achieving record-breaking results while establishing standards to secure these gains. We have set routines that we perform to achieve daily management. For example we implemented multi-functional daily huddles with the team, facilitating the creation and processing of thousands of observations and improvement suggestions annually.’

´Furthermore I am also proud on the capacity improvement we have made. When I arrived there was the initiative to increase the production. Duynie already invested in equipment but it was not operational at the right level. We went through the process of understanding of how to use the installations better.´

Why do you think a close team is essential for achievements?

‘I believe effective communication and collaborative work on agreed goals at all levels are crucial. It prevents wasted effort and supports practical problem-solving as a team. Our team works in day and night shifts; what we want to avoid is that there is no cooperation between the teams. We also want to set a working structure without killing creativity. We aim to encourage our colleagues to contribute new ideas and engage them in enhancing our processes.´

´We aim to encourage our colleagues to contribute new ideas and engage them in enhancing our processes.´

What would you like to achieve as a team in the future?

´There are still things to improve and I believe our job is a continuous process, but our aim for this plant is to become an example of world-class manufacturing in action, driven by a generative team culture, in line with our strategic plans.´

How do you cooperate with colleagues at other locations?

‘I feel significant involvement from our colleagues and Duynie as a company. We meet with the other plant managers to improve and help each other. Previous year I also participated at the Duynie Journey, which is a journey to meet with new all colleagues and to understand what other parts of the business do.’

Who or what inspires you during your daily activities?

‘The continuous improvement community inspires me, especially methodologies like lean, six sigma, and the theory of constraints. Staying updated and sharing and learning from others in these areas motivate me to aim for the best we can be.’