Meet the Team:
Grace Williams
Each month we’re introducing you to a member of our expert team. This month is the turn of Office Manager, Grace Williams who is crucial to the smooth running of FEG.
What is your background and how did you end up at FEG?
I was originally a PE teacher, then I was promoted to managing a School Sport Partnership, which involved managing a team of PE teachers across a partnership of secondary schools and their feeder primary schools.
Our remit was to support the primary schools delivering PE and also to promote and develop extra-curricular sport and school competitions and festivals. This was a government funded initiative but unfortunately in 2011 the funding was cut and I was made redundant.
Having just had my son Alistair, I decided to take the opportunity to have a year off and concentrate on being a mum! During this time my husband Chris was starting to expand FEG and was taking on his first employees. He soon found that the admin side of the business was building and he was spending more and more time in the evenings doing paperwork. I started doing odd bits of admin for him and once my year was up we decided that it made sense for me to take over the admin tasks and work for the company part time. This meant that we only had two days of childcare to think about and I still had time at home with Alistair.
Two days quickly turned into a full time role as the business has grown but I still have the flexibility to work around school hours and childcare commitments.
What does a typical work day look like for you?
My time is predominantly spent in the office, where I handle all aspects of the administrative side of the business from finance and purchasing to day-to-day HR and office maintenance. This includes everything from running the accounts system, processing invoices and purchasing travel, equipment and services for projects, to ensuring our equipment and company vehicles are maintained.
I also oversee all aspects of our ISO 9001 accreditation and work with the team to ensure we continue to fulfil our responsibilities and drive FEG’s continued improvement.
As we have grown I have been able to introduce new systems and technology to support my role, which has been essential for best utilising my resources.
How does FEG differ from other places you’ve worked?
Being a PE teacher meant a very active day and even once I started to manage the School Sport Partnership I was out and about visiting schools, working with teachers and children and attending meetings. While FEG is the first place I have worked that is completely office based, I find myself dealing with a far greater breadth of stuff than any previous role and I enjoy the variety and challenges that brings.
No two projects are the same and I have a profound appreciation for the effort and expertise our team puts into each one.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
I enjoy the variety of the role, and the challenges that come with it as the company has grown.
I have had to adapt and learn new skills, everything from running an accounts system to dealing with HR issues and even getting involved with the sales and marketing side of the business. I received training to support the transition from PE teacher to managing a busy office and I’ve grasped the opportunity to diversify my skillset and grow into the role.
It is such an interesting business to be involved in, seeing how the engineers approach the different projects, how they overcome and solve issues for clients and the satisfaction of achieving results for our customers.
No two projects are the same and I have a profound appreciation for the effort and expertise our team puts into each one.
Selected Projects Carousel
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.
£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.
Factory Extension Project With New Cold Store
As part of an ongoing factory extension project the client required a new outgoing product cold store facility as the existing cold store capacity was no longer adequate.
Reinforce Safety and Security for Food Production
This McVities site had applied for AEO (Authorised Economic Operator) accreditation and part of that accreditation was “Reinforce Safety and Security”. The factory’s perimeter fence was identified as being in poor condition and in need of redesign and renewal.
New seed cleaning plant design and installation
We supported our client Silvery Tweed Cereals in the design and installation of a new seed cleaning plant at its Berwick-Upon-Tweed headquarters.
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.
£3.8m turnkey high capacity pastry production line project
We were commissioned by General Mills to undertake a £3.8m project to install a new high capacity frozen pastry production line, from feasibility to hand-over.
Talk to us today about your next CAPEX or site-level project.