Contamac is pleased to share this interview with Jenny Wiegold, HR Executive, who has retired after an impressive 18-year tenure at the company. From her early days managing a variety of roles to her significant contributions in HR, Jenny has been a vital part of our team. Join us as we explore her journey and the memorable moments of her career.
How did your time at Contamac begin?
I was working for an aircraft maintenance company (TNT) as a Technical Librarian and it became apparent that the role would eventually move over to Belgium, so I decided to ‘test the water’ and see what else was out there. Following interviews with John McGregor and the other ‘Group Managers’ as they were then, I started on Tuesday 3 January 2006.
Contamac was much smaller then and my main role as PA to the Management Team involved a variety of tasks, including Travel, Visitor Handling, Recruitment, HR, Marketing, even IT (mobiles and telephone system programming/administration) and basically, anything else that needed doing.
How has the company evolved since you’ve worked here?
Contamac has grown significantly but maintained a core of exceptional people to drive it forward. Since moving to Carlton House and being more HR focused, the team has grown, but I think it has kept the feeling of a ‘Family Business’ – this is a comment that I have often had from new employees.
What are some of the most interesting projects you’ve been a part of?
Arranging customer group visits including flights, transfers, hotels, entertainment while in the UK, setting up the new Consultation Room facility at Bearwalden to facilitate meetings / training for up to 20 people – with a five week deadline!, The move from Bearwalden Business Park to Carlton House, scale up for Medical Devices, which entailed recruiting 10-12 new production technicians within a very short period of time.
What have been some of your Contamac highlights?
Centralising HR and the implementation of the Cascade HR System, which replaced the numerous spreadsheets that I used to maintain – you can’t beat a good spreadsheet! 😊
Arranging events for employees and visitors. It’s very rewarding when you see an event go well and to plan, with everyone enjoying themselves, often completely unaware of the time and effort that goes into it behind the scenes.
What will you miss the most?
The people, without a doubt. Particularly Rob McGregor and Gill Banham, who I have worked very closely with.
What are your retirement plans?
Not having to cram so much into weekends! Getting more involved at the Dog Rehoming Centre where I volunteer, catching up with friends over long, lazy lunches and of course time with grandchildren, especially during school holidays, when I’ll be very busy entertaining them 😊
Closing comments
I would like to wish the Company all the best, for what I am sure will be an even better future.