Every now and again at ReAgent, we like to create a blog where we shine the spotlight on our staff. As Investors in People, we continue to recognise the hard work and dedication from all of our employees every day.
In this blog, we would like to introduce Bob Hughes, a long-serving employee at ReAgent.
In this post:
What is your job title?
I’m a Laboratory Technician.
How did you first begin working at ReAgent?
I joined ReAgent on 2nd February 1998, at 0800 hours!
My previous jobs were mainly laboratory jobs. Prior to coming to ReAgent, I worked for Ineos Chlor (ICI) in the labs there. I think I was the right person for the job at ReAgent because I had all the necessary experience- I’d done a lot of technical laboratory work before and I had all the qualifications that they wanted for the job.
I’ve worked with chemicals all my life, so it was a good role for me to go into.
What does a typical day at ReAgent entail?
A typical day at ReAgent starts at half past 8 in the morning. I come in and find out what jobs there are for me to do and carry out my work for the day.
It involves making products, testing them and shipping them out when they’re all ready to go. Certain jobs require a lot of strict testing; it varies a lot between products.
We finish at 10 to 5 in the evening.
Which Health & Safety rules do you follow on a daily basis?
Which Health & Safety rules do you follow on a daily basis?You have to make sure you’re using all the protective gear when you’re working with chemicals. Lots of chemicals are corrosive or toxic so you have to be very careful.
The protective gear is PPE – Personal Protective Equipment, which the company supplies – gloves, glasses, face shields. We wear a yellow hi-vis jacket so we can be easily identified within the workplace, so we don’t get run over by a forklift truck!
What are the legalities you have to deal with in the production of chemicals?
We have to make sure we put the correct labels on the products. It’s important that we apply the correct safety labels as well, to explain whether the substance is corrosive, toxic or flammable.
When we’re testing the materials, we have to make sure that the tests are within the specifications that are laid out, before we can confirm that it’s finished.
We do all of this as quality control and safety measures.
What’s your favourite thing about working at ReAgent?
It’s a very friendly and flexible company to work for. I’ve been here a long time –over 16 years now! – so I think that says it all, really.
How has ReAgent grown or developed since you’ve worked here?
Massively. When I came here, it was only a very small company and it’s expanded immensely since I joined. I’ve been here over 16 years, so I think I’m well qualified to say that.
Since I’ve been here we’ve built another unit. The work we take on has expanded so much that we had to have the new unit built to increase the amount of space we have. The amount of products that we’re producing has multiplied greatly over the years and we’ve been taking on lots of new products as well.
We have lots of new customers and new staff coming in. The future’s looking very positive and it’s quite exciting.
