This month we talk to Bruce Jones, who after almost 30 years as a canmaker has branched out.
Bruce Jones has accumulated a valuable amount of experience in the beverage can industry since he started at Crown’s (which was then CarnaudMetalbox) Botcherby (UK) plant in the early 1990s. He later moved to Saudi Arabia to work at the large NAFCEL end-making plant at Jeddah for 12 years, and then to the Rexam end plant at Waterford in Ireland. In 2014, he was invited to join Aujan Industries, based in Dubai, as general manager of its beverage can plant in Kaveh, Iran, eventually becoming director for strategic projects. Earlier this year, he created OEE Container Technology with the full support of Aujan, enabling him to complete the installation of a second high-speed line at Kaveh. OEE offers value-added engineering and management services to the can and end-making sectors, with a focus on introducing methodologies that help raise people skills, while improving manufacturing efficiency and overall equipment effectiveness. OEE now employs a team of highly skilled UK-based engineers who work with canmakers across world.
What are your day-to-day activities and responsibilities?
I take a ‘hands-on’ approach to running OEE, which ranges from on-site working with the project team or walking customers through process improvements. Occasionally, I still deliver training to plant teams. What is the most enjoyable part of your job? I get a real buzz out of making things better and challenging the norms to achieve improvements. I really enjoy setting strategies that overcome obstacles and maximise the opportunities for raising operational efficiency.
What was your first job in canmaking?
My career started as a shift production mechanic with CarnaudMetalbox’s plant near Carlisle Botcherby in the UK.
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Committed, open and direct (almost too direct at times!).
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given, and who was it from?
I have been offered lots of good advice over the years from some fantastic people. However, I try to live by two abiding principles: ‘be prepared’ (the Scout’s motto); and ‘speak with data’— Crown Packaging’s approach to world class performance.
What would be the title of your autobiography and why?
`No Regrets’. Any negatives I have encountered quickly became positives. I have also been fortunate in marrying Sue, someone who has been very supportive of my career—wherever it has taken me. We have two fantastic daughters of whom we are both immensely proud.
What do you do for fun?
Some people may find this a little sad, but I have great fun every day, whether it be at work or at home. I always enjoy spending time at home with the family. I also enjoy a bit of DIY and find gardening incredibly therapeutic.
What’s your favourite holiday destination and why?
Thailand. Sue and I visited the country for the first time around five years ago. It is quite simply one of the most relaxing yet crazy places in the world.
What is your favourite music?
I like Ska, which always takes me back to my youth (and because it doesn’t involve dance moves!).
What is your favourite meal?
Fish and chips — eaten at Carlisle in the UK, of course.
What vehicle do you drive and why?
A BMW X5. It’s practical, reliable, and smooth to drive. However, I did have a VW Golf ’11’ until recently; almost a two-litre racing car and by far the most fun `hot hatch’ on the road.
What’s your favourite canned product?
Clearly, having spent so much time in the Middle East, it’s an ice-cold canned beer from the fridge. Guinness Surge in the smaller pubs at home is a lifesaver. Oh, and a certain brand of baked beans, which travel everywhere with me!
What developments do you see happening in the industry over the next five years?
Beverage and food cans becoming an even more integral part of brand images; further developments in resealable beverage cans, whether through lighter bottle cans or alternative ends; and a move away from using plastics and laminates to aluminium in all forms of packaging.