Ian Gilthorpe, celebrating 35 years at Fusion Group
Congratulations to Ian Gilthorpe for completing 35 years’ service with Fusion on the 24th November 2021. 24-11-2021
Ian’s journey at Fusion started on the 24th November 1986 when he joined as a Machine Operator at the age of 19. After only 5 months with the business he was promoted to Assistant Supervisor and then over the next 35 years Ian has progressed into various roles including; Shift Supervisor, Tooling Maintenance Engineer and Senior Machine Tool Setter.
Ian is currently one of Fusion’s Automation and Development Engineers which involves a significant role in many of the Group’s engineering projects both in Chesterfield and Fusion Group overseas. On a typical day he performs machine maintenance, troubleshooting and is always on the lookout for continuous improvements following Lean principles.
Whilst with Fusion Ian has completed an HVQ Level 3 in Injection moulding processing and tool setting. This helped further develop his knowledge and skills to be able to carry out his daily tasks safely, effectively and efficiently.
Over the last 35 years Ian has enjoyed getting involved in a wide range of projects but particularly helping with factory upgrades in GH Fusion, China and ACE Plastics, Egypt. He also project managed the purchasing and installation of some of our fully automated machinery.
On some of the past enjoyments Ian said,
“I’ve met some great people at Fusion. One of them is my wife Patsy who I met at Fusion in 1987 when she started with the business. We worked together for 4 years before we got together in 1991 and eventually married in 2002! I have also met some lifelong friends while working for the company and have been luckily enough to travel to some fantastic places around the world, that I wouldn’t have ordinarily visited!”
When asked how Fusion has changed throughout his 35-year employment, Ian recalled,
“When I started in 1986, we could produce far fewer small couplers per hour; whereas now we produce significantly more and with far more automation. We also only employed a total of about 40 people. Whereas there are now just shy of 400 employees within Fusion Group worldwide.”
Ian believes the 3 words that describe him best are “Loyal, determined and patient.” The 35 years of employment with Fusion Group certainly portrays Ian’s loyalty and determination.
When he isn’t at work Ian enjoys spending time with friends and loves anything to do with industrial history and steam engines. Bangkok has been a favourite place to visit, and a particular highlight was a roof top bar crawl which is high on the list of the best things he’s done.
35 years with the same employer is a fantastic achievement! Everyone at Fusion would like to say a big congratulations and well done to Ian for his service
