Helen Cassar started working for Alpha as an Assembly Technician, and after working in a variety of roles throughout the business, is now leading a team at our new division, Alpha Integrated Solutions. Helen tells us about her time at Alpha so far and a day in her new team.
“I started working for Alpha as an Assembly Technician in September 2019 and immediately loved the fast-paced nature of the role. At that time, I was working in one of our dedicated assembly areas focused on one particular customer, assembling the various components that had come through each stage of the production process, and fitting them to the upmost quality, ready to be packaged and delivered.
When the pandemic hit, I was unfortunately furloughed for a couple of months, like much of the rest of the industry and country at that time. I was so glad when I could get back to work, and it didn’t take me long to get settled in as we were busier than ever supporting our customers by supplying much needed products. One of the most popular items was hand sanitiser units, that we made for a number of large brands. I was working specifically on hand sanitiser units for a global beverage company, and there was such a nice atmosphere in the team, knowing that the products we were making were helping to keep so many people safe. Although the work was incredibly fast-paced, it really did feel like we were a part of something bigger; plus, the busier the better for me!
In the last few months, I progressed to lead the team in the production of other hand sanitiser units for large supermarket chains. More recently, I’ve been given the responsibility of leading a team at our new division, Alpha Integrated Solutions where I’ve played an integral part in setting up the new site ready for the assembly of many different customer products. It’s so exciting to see it up and running.
I get to work for 5.45 in the morning and start the day off with a nice cup of coffee . My team consists of four other colleagues, who are all brilliant! We take a look at the work on for that day, and we have a morning meeting to assign tasks and make sure we’re are all working as a team.
After that I get to work; I work alongside the guys in the morning and early afternoon. I like to make sure they have everything they need, such as enough tools for the job that day.
At the moment we are working on a recurring order for one of our long-standing customers. When you work on a large order like this, you learn so much about each company and really invest in making their products the best they can be.
I like to be on the shop floor and getting stuck in with all the manual work, which could be using the pallet truck to move work around or getting products ready for despatch.
Every day is different for me now at the Integrated Solutions division. I face lots of different unexpected challenges on a day-to-day basis, which is great for me physically and mentally. And it’ll be really exciting to see how this important part of Alpha Manufacturing grows over the coming months.”
