A British Gypsum employee who joined the company as an apprentice in 1983 is celebrating his promotion to plant manager.

Over the past 38 years, Philip Sant has built an impressive career, and has now taken on a new challenge as manager at the Kirkby Thore plant – the location where his career began all those years ago.

Philip remembers his first day well. He started working at Kirkby Thore as an apprentice mechanical engineer on July 11 1983, a month before his 16th birthday, after finishing secondary school in Dalston.

“I was one of the youngest in the school year. I was able to start early due to an exception,” he said.

For the first year of his apprenticeship, Philip divided his time between his local college and gaining practical experience at the plant. He was mentored by experts in a number of fields, sowing the seeds of what became a varied and rewarding career.

“Right from the word go, I was gaining the knowledge I needed to develop my skills,” he said. His first role after finishing his apprenticeship was as a fitter in the board plant. His enthusiasm for the industry and his dedication to always going the extra mile meant he rose through the ranks, always adding value and making each role his own.

Between 1987 and 2015, he progressed through a number of roles, including mine engineer, shift technical manager, shift manager, performance manager for both the mill and board plants, SHEQ manager (safety, health, environment and quality) and production manager.

Earlier this year, Philip was promoted to plant manager, and now leads 150 people working at the Kirkby Thore mine ­— encompassing engineers, operators, managers and administration staff. He manages both the day-to-day running and the plant’s long-term strategy and has meetings away from site at the British Gypsum head office in East Leake.

He has some exciting plans in store for the Kirkby Thore plant which include hiring new team members for a range of roles over the next four to six months, as well as implementing new initiatives to increase productivity and upskill staff.

He added: “When I started all those years ago as a 15-year-old, I didn’t know I would one day be running a whole arm of the business.

“I’ve worked for the company for 38 years and they’ve always been a fantastic employer. I’m proud to work for British Gypsum.”

Mike Emson, operations director, said: “Phillip’s progression from apprentice to plant manager is a great example to everyone that hard work and dedication can lead to an exciting and progressive career in British Gypsum. Philip has held many different roles during his career to date and the experience he has gained will prove invaluable as he takes on this new challenge.

“Within operations, we are highly focused on developing our people to be the best they can be and growing our talent pipeline to provide great career opportunities. Phillip, along with the rest of the operations leadership team, will continue to drive this strategy and create many more examples like this one.”

Managing director Dean O’Sullivan said: “We are immensely proud of Philip and all he has been able to achieve in his career with British Gypsum. He is a valued member of the British Gypsum family, and we can’t wait to see what he’ll bring to the Kirkby Thore plant in his new role.”

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