Dean Israel – Production Manager, Swansea

Dean started working with us in February 1995, in the lead department in the old factory in Swansea. Dean is a qualified plumber and gas engineer by trade and was not planning to stay with the company, but within a year an opportunity for Dean to progress to Head of the maintenance department became available and Dean decided to stay!  He was responsible for all the maintenance of the machinery and glass washers.

In 1999, Dean was promoted to afternoon shift foreman at our site in Swansea, a job which he enjoyed before being promoted to Shift Manager on the afternoon shift.

Finally in 2020 , Dean was promoted to his current position of Factory Manager.

 

What changes have you seen in the Company in recent years.

I have seen a lot of changes in the company, but all positive, employees feel more valued and there are more opportunities for employees who are keen to study and progress in the company. The company has  just rebranded  to Press Glass and this again is very positive for us as we have become part of an international global company. I am  also looking forward to moving to our new site at Port Talbot and having the opportunity to work with state-of-the-art machinery in a brand-new factory.

What are your greatest opportunities/challenges  in the workplace?

I am always looking for opportunities to improve all the time and this brings challenges and change for employees. I am lucky to have a strong team around me who I can rely on to help me implement and communicate any changes to our employees so that they are aware of what is happening.

What is happening at Swansea to reduce our CO2 emissions and to reduce and recycle our waste.

We are continuously looking at new sustainable processes in the production area to achieve the company’s goal of reducing our C02 footprint. Our engineering department has altered the lines and made modifications to them to reduce our energy consumption. As mentioned in a previous newsletter we recycle our cullet glass and have set up a Bulker where our clean cullet glass is put, and this is collected by Saint Gobain and reused in the manufacture of new float glass.

 What about life outside of Glass Systems

I own a tourer caravan and have travelled around the UK and to the South of France on a few occasions, I have also been  treasurer of the West Wales Caravan Club since 2005. I am a member of the Village Gym and enjoy keeping fit and running on the treadmill.

I became a ‘police special’ in 2003 and have only just finished after serving for 20 years. I was involved in murder investigations and  helicopter chases and many more interesting cases.

My main love is my motorbikes, I own a GSZ-5 1000-GT

I have also restored a RD350 LC 1981 and was storing it in my front room, but I had to move it out last Christmas  – it was the bike or me!!