Long career in a constantly changing industry
COL Towers started work at Fletcher International in Dubbo in January 1989, just one month after it opened, but he was already a 10-year veteran on the knives before he began his 30-year stint at the Dubbo plant.
“I left school at 15 (Dubbo High) and started in the old council abattoirs here in Dubbo, learnt the trade there and in the early days we just moved around a lot because the job wasn’t consistent for 12 months,” Mr Towers said.
“You might have done six months and you went somewhere else to a different shed. You just worked around a lot, anything from Mudgee, Forbes, Blayney – I went up to Katherine (Northern Territory) for a season, it was awesome. It was good to travel and if you had a bit of skill with a knife you could always get a job (at) any town with an abattoirs. As a young bloke the Territory was a bit of an adventure – I met some good people, some characters.
“But the work wasn’t continuous, not like it is now. You might have done six or seven months then you might have had a couple of months off, might have done a bit of labouring or concreting or whatever, then you’d come back into it, so it was a bit seasonal,” he told Dubbo Photo News.
Mr Towers said he was glad to get that Mudgee work over the years but that it was tough having to drive early to get there, work all day, then jump back in the car only to have to do it all again the next day.
But it was during one of his Mudgee stints that he met the Fletcher family.
“I’d worked for Mr Fletcher in the Mudgee boning rooms he leased over there before he built Dubbo, and I thought he’s a stayer. Once you’d worked for him for a little while you knew he was here for the long haul,” Mr Towers said.
His career has progressed, starting out as a boner in the Dubbo plant then progressing through supervisory roles and Mr Towers is now the plant production manager.
He’s no longer on the knives but said he’s busier than ever, just in a different role.
He said the culture of internal workplace training at Fletchers is amazing and said he enjoys mentoring younger generations moving up.
“I pretty well overlook the boning rooms and the load-out side of it, so just basically make sure all the orders get done and make Col Towers believes one of the reasons for the long-term success of Fletcher’s Dubbo operation is the whole team’s willingness to adapt to change and test new ideas with staff at all levels. sure everything gets filled and the work gets done,” Mr Towers said.
“Someone asked me the other day if, after being at Fletchers for 30 years, doesn’t it get boring – but no way in the world, it’s a new challenge every day, it just keeps you thinking all the time.”
He said the only constant at the plant is that everything’s constantly changing.
“Everything’s always changing with the new orders we get so it’s even a challenge for me to come up with solutions to get a certain product out there by a certain time – the market’s just changing all the time,” Mr Towers said.
“You’ve got to be adaptable to survive and every time the sales guys come up with a different type of pitch, a different product, we’ve just got to get up there and make it happen,” pointing out that the sales staff, who all graduated from the floor, understand what can and can’t be done when designing new products.
“It’s really important because they know the reality and know how it’s got to be done, they’re in touch with the floor. They’re not just selling it, they’re up there with us and helping us develop new cuts and new orders,” Mr Towers said.
“You’re a mug if you don’t go and ask the bloke doing the job how to make it better, because he’s the bloke doing it every day.
He’s seen abattoirs shut down all across Australia and says it’s a testament to the Fletcher family that they’ve been able to adapt so many times and thrive in such a tough industry, where many competitor nations have very low wages and overheads compared to Australia.
“It’s amazing when you think about it, we’ve been through some big droughts and come out the other end and going strong, it’s really good and it’s because the guy who owns it is on the floor every day. That’s basically how it works, he’s got his hands right on the pulse,” Mr Towers said.
“I’m here to stay, this is my last meatworks, I enjoy working here, it’s good, it’s a pleasure.”