Chemring Defence Employee Profiles

Keith Hazzledine

Health, Safety & Environmental Officer

"Prior to joining Chemring in 2001, I had worked as a Television Repair Engineer at a local company, before joining Plessey Telecommunications Beeston (electronics) and Toyota car manufacturing at Burnaston Derby.

I had been involved for over twenty two years in manufacturing within two very large organisations. I joined Chemring as a Supervisor looking forward to the challenge of working within the defence industry.

Chemring were an unknown company to me but I soon discovered friendly people who were willing to pass their knowledge on so that I could adapt my own skills. I was promoted to Production Technician and then into the technical area where my primary role was within investigations.

I now work in the Health Safety and Environmental office which enables me to make a real difference to our employees’ welfare through understanding their needs and problems in safety related issues and being able to change things.

The role is wide ranging and varied from inductions and investigations to the disposal of explosives which keeps me on my toes!

Chemring have encouraged me to progress and add to my skills and qualifications through training and support. The company is expanding rapidly and I believe there are many exciting opportunities ahead for us all."

Aaron Chell

Manufacturing Team Leader

"I started working at Chemring Defence UK (CDUK) July 7th 2008; I had previously been employed at Toyota manufacturing UK for approx 7 years. Originally I applied for the job of manufacturing team leader but was told that due to lack of experience I wouldn’t be considered but would I apply for the job of manufacturing inspector. After reading the job description and researching the Chemring group I could not wait to apply.

After being in the post of inspector for just over 6 months I was given the chance to run my own section within production, at first I was nervous because the role of team leader was new to me! One thing I quickly learnt is that CDUK as a company is very keen to develop people, “don’t be afraid to ask” is something that I was told over and over and is now something that I impress onto my operatives. There is a fantastic atmosphere at CDUK and people are always willing to help.

My duties include, the day to day running of my section insuring that my products are built to the highest quality, are built safely and that they are delivered on time.

Chemring Defence have given me the opportunity to study towards a six sigma green belt and I’ve been part of a six sigma team which introduced a new, smarter way of working and the results have been fantastic.

The best part of my job is the positive feedback I get from my operatives, knowing that they are happy and feel safe in this working environment gives me a great deal of satisfaction. I’m a great believer in trying to get the best from everyone, taking time to learn about them and understanding what motivates them.

There are too many positives to list about working at CDUK but everyday is a challenge, exciting and rewarding and I know from experience that not a lot of jobs offer that!"

Sara Moss

Manufacturing Operator

I started working for CDUK back in September 2003. I previously worked for a health and beauty firm called Savers from 2001 up to 2003.

My job at CDUK is a Manufacturing Operator within the Packing Department. On this section we bag/pack products and keep them stored until the last journey to the customer. I also print onto the products before they are packed if they require any text, consisting of the colour of smoke/flare inside, date and manufacture and the identification of the product. This part of the job allows me to be involved and increase my awareness of the quality side of things as I have to check that the print on the packaging is correct.

I’m also part of the Health and Safety committee which allows me to raise any issues that I or the packing department has regards to health & safety within our working environment.

Ultimately, I would like to further my knowledge within the Company and work towards gaining a career.

Robert Reynolds

Technical Services Team Leader

"I joined the company (then PW Defence) in February 2005 as Manufacturing Design Technician, with my main responsibility being the creation and maintenance of product bills of materials (BoMs). Before this, I worked as a Development Engineer at a Point of Sale design consultancy in Leicester. In 2003 I finished a four year university course; gaining a 2:1 BSc Honours degree in Product Design at the University of Derby.

In November 2007 I took on the role of Technical Services Team Leader. My main responsibilities include co-ordinating the Technical Services team and prioritising workload, ensuring that all technical documentation is produced in line with current product design and controlled by document configuration management, overseeing the company change control process and ensuring changes are implemented correctly, ensuring that the support that Technical Services provides to other CDU departments is maintained at a high standard and providing support to the Engineering & Technology Manager. I am also looking at a number of Technical Services processes and looking at ways in which these can be streamlined to improve output, whilst ensuring compliance with Chemring business management processes.

With the rapid growth that Chemring Defence has seen recently, it is a very challenging – yet equally rewarding company to be part of, with a very promising future ahead."