Meet the Team:
Ian Savage
Each month we’ll be introducing you to a member of our expert team. This month is the turn of Ian Savage, a food and beverage specialist with over 30 years in the industry.
What is your background and how did you end up at FEG?
My background in engineering started on the 11th of June 1977 when I started an apprenticeship training to be a Fitter/Turner.
I qualified as a mechanical technician in 1977 and after a number of engineering jobs with local firms, I settled at Jus Roll a food manufacturer specialising in frozen food. I joined the company in a maintenance roll and then progressed to development where we worked hand in hand with the development graduates developing new products .
It was in this role I met Chris Williams who was employed by Jus Roll as a consultant.
When the factory transferred production to Greece I was made redundant after 34 years in the same company.
Chris asked me If I would help him out with an installation job at Silvery Tweed in Berwick to which I said yes and I have been here ever since. It will be five years In December since starting with FEG.
What does a typical work day look like for you?
I have now started on a four day week gradually reducing my hours leading up to retirement which is in December this year. So three days a week I work from home if I am not on site, and once a week I attend the office.
My role is similar to the other project engineers apart from when the projects come to the installation stage, I close down my laptop and open my toolbox.
I will work alongside other contractors and change my role from a design technician to an installation technician.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
This job has many challenges for me which I enjoy, sometimes, but my job here gives me much more flexibility than I ever had in previous jobs which I have come to appreciate over the last four years.
FEG is a much smaller outfit than I have worked at in the past, so my role is much more diverse and you need to have a much wider range of skills than was needed in previous jobs .
My job here gives me much more flexibility than I ever had in previous jobs which I have come to appreciate over the last four years.
What’s been a recent project you’ve particularly enjoyed or been proud of?
I have just completed an installation job at CPI in Sedgefield, where I produced the drawings , ordered the fabrication , sourced the labour force for the installation , and supervised and helped with the installation .
The customer was very pleased with the job and although I lost many sleepless nights worrying if I had missed something when it finally came to fruition and everything had gone without a hitch I was very pleased.
Selected Projects Carousel
FEG Global delivers new cold store facility to support ambitious growth plans for Libra Seafoods
The FEG Global engineering team recently designed and installed a new cold store for North East based prawn processing business, Libra Seafoods. The expansion meant increased capacity to allow for new opportunities and business growth.
Flexible dynamic weighing food conveyor systems designed and built to allow for varying product flow levels
2 Sisters Food Group needed a food conveyor systems installation to transport their potato products from existing line equipment to a new food transfer pump. Within the final process, the UK-based food manufacturer also needed to be able to dynamically weigh the potatoes.
£650k CDM large capacity flour silo installation
FEG were commissioned by GM in the UK to Project Manage a £650K cost saving project under CDM to install larger capacity flour silos and batch weighing facility.
McVitie’s site restored and at full production 6 months after flooding
FEG Ltd were appointed as Principal Contractor to get a flooded McVitie’s biscuit factory back up and running at the earliest opportunity.
Organic Production Facility for Mcvitie’s
We were commissioned by McVitie’s to project manage a new ingredients feed and mixing system for a start-up organic facility. At a value of £1m the project included our operating under full CDM duty holder responsibilities.
Industrial odour Issue solved for high temperature frying factory environment
Our client Essentia came to us after having received an environmental notice for an industrial odour issue from its proteins frying factory. Our experience showed us that a typical combination of scrubbers would not be adequate for this project, given the variation in contaminants that had to be removed from the air.
Odour Acridity Issue Solved for Seafood Manufacturer
Our team of odour experts worked to develop a new liquid gas scrubber* solution that worked in a 3-stage process to remove all composites from the gas.
Flexible dynamic weighing food conveyor systems designed and built to allow for varying product flow levels
2 Sisters Food Group needed a food conveyor systems installation to transport their potato products from existing line equipment to a new food transfer pump. Within the final process, the UK-based food manufacturer also needed to be able to dynamically weigh the potatoes.
New Curried Food Production Area
In this case study we helped a long-term client to maximise use of space and equipment for best efficiency during a long-term phased factory expansion …
Cradle-to-grave £6.5m factory production line extension
We were appointed Principal Contractor for this £6.5m factory extension project, which involved converting a warehouse into a high care food production area and incorporating it into the main factory.
Design and installation of new docking rollers to reduce downtime and wastage
We designed a docking roller system to reduce wastage and downtime for this baked foods manufacturer.
Designing a conveyor system for new pizza line that maximises existing equipment
Our expert team of engineers designed and installed a conveyor system for a new pizza line that maximised the use of existing equipment.
Talk to us today about your next CAPEX or site-level project.