Belle

Mechanical Engineering Graduate

Graduate Program: Mechanical Engineering

Current role: Mechanical Engineer

Tell us a bit about you including your degree and current role at CA.

I completed studies in Brisbane from University of Queensland in 2021 and joined CA as a Graduate Mechanical Engineer in 2022. I am currently working at the Gladstone site with the Maintenance and Reliability department as the Area Engineer for Cement Mills and Dispatch.

How has a career at CA deepened your skills and experience?

There is always something new to learn and you are never short of problems to solve coming into work every day. It has helped strengthen my critical thinking and allows me to collaborate with engineers and technicians in other departments as well as other CA sites across Australia. It has given me the opportunity to build strong connections and continually network within the business for sharing ideas and experiences. In addition to that, working at a production plant is highly dependent on operational risk management which requires a lot of technical understanding and familiarization with the plant.

What exciting projects have you been involved in?

Throughout my 2nd year as a graduate in Railton, I was working with the Engineering team on several capital projects leading up to our major kiln Shutdown in April 2024. The projects were focused on the implementation of the additional alternative fuel dosing points in the preheater as part of our decarbonization roadmap for the site.

What can an incoming graduate of CA expect in their first 6 months?

In the first 6 months as a Mechanical Graduate Engineer at CA, it was basically an introductory course to a cement production process and major machinery operation. Most of the time, you will be shadowing a senior experienced engineer/s to gain understanding of material processing and maintenance practices. There is plenty of support from the team on brainstorming, problem-solving, data analysis as well as guidance on the safety protocols. It is a hands-on experience with opportunities to see the machinery up close during scheduled maintenance days throughout the year leading up to the major shutdowns. Later in the program, there are opportunities where you may be able to develop and improve your leadership skills with some supervisory roles in the maintenance team and working with onsite contractors.

Sam

Supply Chain and Logistics Graduate

Graduate Program: Supply Chain and Logistics

Current role: Supply Chain & Logistics Graduate

Tell us a bit about you including your degree and current role at CA.

I am a New Zealander, born and raised, who completed my studies at the University of Canterbury where I received my major in Operations and Supply Chain Management. It wasn’t until halfway through my last year where I came across Cement Australia and their graduate program that they had on offer. In relation to my degree, I thought this was a great opportunity to expand and learn directly in the Supply Chain area. I am currently working within the purchasing department and have been for the last 6 months before I move on to work with procurement team.

How has a career at CA deepened your skills and experience?

Cement Australia purchasing team has allowed me to build some great experience working within software used to streamline an efficient channel between vendors, site, and other CA employees. With mentorship I have been able to grow my understanding on communication requirements, SAP software skills, report breakdown and actioning, and a brief view on sites structure to running the plants, loading docks, and allocations.

What exciting projects have you been involved in?

I have been involved in day-to-day communication back and forth with sites and vendors in working on creating purchase orders for both goods and services and ensuring these POs are confirmed/received and chased up. The weekly reports to constantly follow up on both international and national orders to ensure lead times are accurate and delivery dates are achievable.

What can an incoming graduate of CA expect in their first 6 months?

An oncoming graduate can expect their first couple of months consisting of a few site and lab tours where you will get a feel and understanding of what it is like from a perspective working with, treating, and moving the cement. 1 on 1’s will be held throughout the start where the experts will sit down and run you through the makeup of cement, the different sites, the history, and future projects that are in the works to improve the quality of our cement and growth of our company. These 1 on 1’s will also be with your department leader where they will break everything down for you on how they go about business to ensure everything runs smoothly or how difficult projects are handled. Lastly, of course you will learn the structure of your department and what is required to be done every day to complete projects. Projects will be given to you/ looking after certain vendors or sites where you will go back and forth with site managers, sales teams, and engineers to deliver goods and services on time.