Spotlight On: Jason Smith, Senior Production Engineer and Product Owner (Bin Lifts)

Jason Smith, Senior Production Engineer and Product Owner (Bin Lifts) at Terberg Matec UK

1. Hi Jason, good to speak with you. Thank you for agreeing to take part in this month’s spotlight. Could you tell us how long you’ve been at Terberg Matec UK and what your role is?

Thank you, good to be able to contribute. I’ve been with Terberg Matec UK for eight years now, a milestone I reached just last month. I am a Senior Production Engineer within the business, as well as the Product Owner for bin lifts in the UK.

2. How would you describe your role in three words?

I work across almost every department within the business, particularly when at Warwick, so I would say my role is collaborative, innovative, and driven.

3. What are some of your key responsibilities? 

My role is incredibly broad and varied. Predominantly, as a Senior Production Engineer, I’m involved in contributing to our manufacturing processes, the setup and development of production areas, as well as process and production implementation as a whole. As Product Owner for bin lifts, I’m involved with development and quality, among many other aspects of the business. A big focus for me in recent times has been establishing a new production area for bin lift operations within our new Unit at Warwick. This has involved the complete setup of the area from the ground-up, as well as building a quickly expanding team. This initiative moves specific bin lift installation operations from our Warrington site to Warwick, improving operational efficiency, reducing environmental impact, and delivering a high-quality product to our customers.

4. What did you do before becoming a Senior Production Engineer and Product Owner?

Prior to Terberg Matec UK, I worked for a company that specialised in dust and fume extraction across various roles. This included installation, design, sales, contracts – you name it. However, for several reasons it wasn’t the right fit for me. I soon joined Terberg Matec UK on the shop floor as a Workshop Engineer which I did for two years before an opportunity came along for me to become a Technical Engineer within the service department. One of the business’ longstanding technical experts was leaving, so I took on a new challenge. I was very much thrown in the deep end with the role, which ended up being a phenomenal learning curve for me. I was dealing with technical queries across all departments, external customers, and supporting Field Service Engineers out on jobs. After nearly three years, I took my next step as a Project Engineer where I would support product, development, special vehicle installations, field-based trials, and projects.

5. Why did you decide to join Terberg Matec UK and what makes you want to stay? 

My brother actually did his apprenticeship at Terberg Matec UK, so I already knew a lot of the people he worked with and established a few relationships with these colleagues. When he left to go travelling in the February of 2018, I joined in the April. I’ve continued to strengthen these relationships and build many new ones across the whole business since then. The sheer size of Dennis Eagle and Terberg Matec UK means the organisation is able to offer multiple benefits and development opportunities. I’ve progressed a lot over the years and the diversity of my responsibilities throughout that time have kept me interested and engaged.

6. What is your favourite thing about working at Terberg Matec UK? 

Honestly, it’s the variety. There are always new challenges to overcome, new projects to get involved in, and a constant line-up of opportunities that both engage and reward you.

7. What is your proudest achievement so far?  

My proudest achievement has been setting up our new workshop in Warwick. I had a significant hand in taking this from an empty shell to a fully functioning operation turning over a high output of vehicles. Now our customers can enjoy an improved experience as we continue to reduce the lead times on bin lift installation as well as further our drive for better sustainability across the business.

8. Do you have any specific goals or ambitions for the future of your role? 

I’d really like to continue to push the areas we’ve been working on forward; driving greater efficiencies, improving our processes, and expanding our operations. I’m very much looking forward to seeing how the recent investment into our Warrington operation will evolve over the next five years, helping our business truly live up to its full potential. Looking ahead to the next 12 months, there are several exciting projects on the cards.

9.  Final question: who are you outside of work?  

I’m pretty much always on-the-go when it comes to work – it’s always on my mind. Because I can’t sit still, any spare time I do have I spend either doing some D.I.Y. or fixing up cars. Most importantly, I value all the family time I can get with my wife and two young children. More recently, I’ve taken to fishing around where I’m based in Cheshire, which gives me a nice and rare chance to switch off from the world for a while.