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 11^th 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.

Ian Savage

Food and beverage sector specialist

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.

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