Orange manager to run Thailand manufacturing
Electrolux will relocate the current manager of its Orange refrigeration plant in New South Wales when it closes in April, to run the company’s expanded Thailand manufacturing operations in Rayong.
Mark O’Kane, (pictured below) the current manager of the Electrolux refrigeration plant in Orange will be promoted to the position of General Manager – Thailand Operations after the company’s local refrigeration production ceases on 15 April.
In his new role, O’Kane will assume responsibility for the Electrolux washer and refrigeration plants in Rayong which manufacture products for the Australian retail market. He will also finalise the successful transition of large refrigeration and freezer production from Orange to Rayong which commenced last year.
O’Kane will succeed and report into Tom Bell, who has been promoted to Vice President Industrial Operations – Electrolux Asia Pacific.
In addition to O’Kane’s appointment, Jozef Dolinski, Engineering and Environmental Manager at the Orange plant, has been seconded to the North American Manufacturing Engineering (NAME) team in Andersen, South Carolina. Dolinski has worked at the Orange plant for the past 22 years between short postings to other Electrolux manufacturing facilities in Thailand and Poland.
Electrolux Home Products managing director – Australia and New Zealand, Mike Putt, said he was “delighted to have retained the services of these valued employees”.
“Mark’s appointment especially will ensure Electrolux continues to cement its reputation for producing refrigerators and freezers of the highest quality under the market-leading Westinghouse, Kelvinator and Electrolux brands,” said
O’Kane said he was grateful for the opportunity to “broaden my experience in an overseas manufacturing facility”.
“And I’m delighted to be able to help ensure we see the processes that resulted in the exemplary product quality and employee safety records achieved in Orange implemented in the new expanded refrigeration facilities in Rayong,” O’Kane said.
Of the 544 employees who worked in the Orange plant at the time of its closure announcement in October, 2013, 320 will remain until the last production day. And of the 164 employees who have been made redundant since May 2014, only 19 currently remain unemployed.
“This is testament to both the durability of the Orange economy and our employees who were realistic about future job opportunities and undertook training courses for new careers in growth sectors before it came time for them to leave the plant,” O’Kane said.