Protolan is proud to welcome Alina Naz and Nicola Raimondo who both join us from the University of Nottingham, interning over the summer period.

Read below to find out more.

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Alina, tell us a bit about yourself…

“I am an Electrical Engineer currently pursuing my Erasmus Mundus Master’s degree at the University of Nottingham. I am an avid reader who loves adventures and exploring new places”.

… And what are you looking forward to most?

“I am very excited to learn about Project Management from experienced project engineers at Protolan and am eager to see the implementation of designs on project sites. I look forward to meeting everyone on the team!”

 

Nicola, tell us a bit about yourself…

“I am eager to work with the team at Protolan which looks knowledgeable but approachable. Talk to me about anything including football, veganism, and your day!”

…And what are you looking forward to most?

“My passion is food, in particular, the Future of Food. The aspect of my internship I am looking forward to the most is to visit as many food factories as possible!”

 

 

 

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We are passionate about developing new talent and are constantly looking for the next generation of talent to keep Protolan at its best. Contact us if you would like to discuss a career in Food and Drink manufacturing.

To find out more about our Protolan Team click here.

Protolan is proud to welcome a new member of the team.

Nicole Martin-Ford joins us for a summer internship and will be going into her third year at The University of Liverpool studying (MEng) Mechanical Engineering.

Nicole said…

“I am looking forward to gaining some practical engineering experience that will compliment my degree’s theoretical learnings”.

 

Nicole will be working on a range of project management activities during her time with us. We hope she will gain a great insight into the world of food manufacturing and project engineering management from a variety of perspectives.

 

Welcome to the team, Nicole!

 

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To find out more about our Protolan Team click here.

Tea joins Protolan from the MDS Graduate Management Scheme* and will be a vital member of the team supporting various projects.

Tea graduated from The Royal Agricultural University in 2015 with a BSc (Hons) in Equine Science Management. Protolan is Tea’s first of four placements on the 2-year MDS programme. She will be focusing on supporting a range of projects during her time at Protolan.

 

Tea said…

“I am looking forward to absorbing as much as I can, and I hope to grow as a person to become a valuable member of the team”.

She continued…

“I also want to find areas in the food manufacturing industry that I am interested in pursuing further. I think Protolan will be a great first secondment to gain a wide scope of the industry by working on a variety of projects”.

 

Welcome to the team, Tea!

 

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*MDS is a partnership of companies that aims to equip young people with the experience, training, and mindset so that they have the confidence and ability to rapidly become senior business leaders within the food industry.  You can read more about MDS here.

 

To find out more about our Protolan Team click here.

As we carry on the pursuit of showcasing our fantastic team, we would like to introduce Lois Fallon. Lois is a Project Manager and has been part of the Protolan team since 2018. Joining full time after completing a 3-month internship as part of her Project Management Masters.

Lois is supporting several projects and has been instrumental in developing our core Protolan Project Management Process (PPMP).

Have a read of Lois’ view on working within the Protolan team.

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No two days are the same…

… “Working on various projects gives me the opportunity to be exposed to different areas of the food manufacturing industry. Since joining the Protolan team, I have worked on installations both in the UK and US. Managing new equipment installation and a capacity models. This brings around different challenges and learning opportunities regarding food safety, CDM, planning, and controls of a project”.

 

An exciting environment…

… “Having the chance to balance my time between desk work and ‘on the ground’ factory work is one of my favourite things about Protolan! It’s given me the opportunity to integrate myself into diverse teams across various channels of the food industry”.

 

Problem-solving…

… “Overseeing a planned project from its implementation stage through to commissioning and handover is always exciting. However, this is also a reminder that the challenging times were worth it! It’s great experience for thinking on your feet to overcome problems and achieve the results the customer and I are looking for.”

Striving for excellence…

… “There is a strong element of constant development within Protolan. This is proven by the support I have to undertake my Management Development Services (MDS)* qualification alongside my full-time role. For example, I came with ‘self-taught’ Excel skills. Protolan facilitated training to allow me to develop this. In-turn, my capacity modelling skills have developed and now I have completed various projects in a capacity modelling role with confidence”.

 

Teamwork…

… “I feel lucky that I get to work with good clients. Integrating on a new project can be difficult, but there is a support system within Protolan if you need it and we take pride on being able to seamlessly work in partnership with our clients. I think it is important we all manage to work within a range of different projects at various sites. This makes it possible to utilise the knowledge of the multidisciplinary team. Also, we have a weekly catch-up and a Quiz of the Week. This is a great time to ask for advice as the team are all together in a friendly, relaxed environment”.

 

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PPMP

As part of Lois’s 3-month internship with us, she was tasked with looking into standardising the documentation used throughout the business. Thus, PPMP was born; an acronym for Protolan Project Management Process. Lois researched, created, and implemented this across the business which streamlines all projects to the same format. PPMP allows for a faster and more efficient way for a Project Manager or Engineer to find and edit documents whilst making it easier for the team to track.

 

Lois said,

“Re-joining Protolan as a full-time Project Manager has allowed me to utilise the documentation system I helped put in place. To actually create something that is used within the company makes me feel like what I did was useful and it’s nice to feel like I produced something valuable which, I think is a reflection on Protolan’s open way of working”.

 

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We are passionate about developing new talent and are constantly looking for the next generation of talent to keep Protolan at its best.

Contact us if you would like to discuss a career in Food and Drink manufacturing.

 

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*MDS is a partnership of companies that aims to equip young people with the experience, training, and mindset so that they have the confidence and ability to rapidly become senior business leaders within the food industry.  You can read more about MDS here.

To find out more about our Protolan Team click here.

National Vegetarian Week came to a close yesterday. A seven-day event aimed at encouraging people to eat more plant-based food in their diet. This has been a great opportunity for the team at Protolan to share their most loved plant-based recipes. We’ve spotlighted a few of our favourites so continue reading to find out what they are below.

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Jess Donk, Project Engineering Manager

Bean bowl served with brown rice, smoky cheese, jalapeno, and pineapple relish.

Jess says…

“This is super easy to prepare, and you can adjust the heat to your liking. It’s also low cal and it’s beaut!”

 

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Mitch Clark, Project Engineering Manager

Homemade sun-dried tomato hummus with basil.

Mitch says…

“You get a huge bowl out of one tin of chickpeas, so much better than buying it ready-made! Just stick it all in a blender and whizz it up!”

…Can you spot Misty the dog in the background?

 

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Sam Riedy, Business Development Manager

Bean and Sweet Chilli salad.

Sam says…

“This tasted so good I forgot to take a picture!”

 

 

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James Cooper, MDS Trainee

Butternut squash dhansak and coconut yogurt served with spinach and naan bread.

James says…

“I love this recipe as it’s packed with super healthy ingredients and the whole family enjoys it”.

 

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Not only has the past week been a delicious one! But it has been a great way to raise awareness of the importance of eating a balanced diet for the mind, body, and soul. Our fantastic Office Manager Dawn has been organising daily chair yoga and meditation sessions with great uptake from the team, learning about the great benefits of taking just 5 minutes from your day to stop, stretch and reflect.

We pride ourselves on our fantastic and talented team, find out more about them here.

Protolan has great experience in the plant-based manufacturing sector and is currently working on several live projects. It is interesting to see the growing trend of consumer demand for meat-free alternatives and to be involved in the journey.

Welcome to the Team – James Cooper

James joins Protolan from MDS Graduate Management Scheme* and will be supporting our Business Development activities.

James graduated from Writtle University with a BSc (Hons) in Horticulture. He joined MDS to gain practical management experience in the food and fresh produce industry alongside studying for a Level 5 Chartered Management Institute / Departmental Manager diploma. James hopes to use his time at Protolan to learn from his peers and gain valuable insight into various business development activities.

Protolan is James’ third placement in the MDS programme.  He will be focusing across a range of business development channels, marketing, and client relationship management activities.  This secondment will play a critical role in supporting business development and profile-raising initiatives in the UK and international markets.

Welcome to the team James.

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*MDS is a partnership of companies that aims to equip young people with the experience, training, and mindset so that they have the confidence and ability to rapidly become senior business leaders within the food industry.  You can read more about MDS here.

To find out more about our Protolan Team click here.

 

A Warm Welcome to Our New Team Members

As part of our continued growth, Shayne Ford and Louise Blunden have recently joined the Protolan team.

Shayne Ford joins us as Senior Project Manager, bringing with him over 30 years’ experience in the beverage industry.  He has spent the last 27 years with a major drink supplier in the UK and international market, while having many roles as an Engineering project manager, operational factory management, and transformational business project delivery, in both the UK and international setting.

Coming from a background in Electrical / Electronic Engineering before PC were on every desk. I share my house with my wife of 20 plus years and daughter 19 doing a mechanical engineering degree and the dog (Thor) . In my spare time, my passion is vehicles having a number of Land Rover Defender to name a few and I’m in the process with my Daughter doing a nut and bolt renovation of a Triumph Spitfire from 1972 which she has purchased. Really pleased to have joined Protolan and looking forward to working closely with members of the team.

Louise Blunden has joined the team as a Project Engineering Manager, with over 20 years of process engineering and project management experience gained as a Chemical Engineer within the food and chemical industries. She is looking forward to working with the Protolan team in delivering food manufacturing excellence for a range of projects.

Both are dog lovers, so will fit right in with our pet mad team!

 

Shayne and Louise will be hitting the floor running, supporting us on major food manufacturing projects for our clients.

Welcome aboard to you both.

Welcome to the Team – Ivan Erviti

Ivan joins Protolan from MDS Graduate Management Scheme* as Project Manager.

Graduating as a Food Engineer in Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Argentina, Ivan joined MDS because he wanted to gain real experience in the Food Industry in the UK.  Working within the MDS Graduate Programme has given Ivan a unique opportunity to understand the whole supply chain of food manufacturing.

Protolan is Ivan’s first placement in the MDS programme. He will be supporting us with our current projects and gaining deeper insight into the food manufacturing process.

Ivan said the following about his role:

I consider working as a Project Management Trainee at Protolan a perfect opportunity to learn from experienced professionals and employ the skills I acquired during my university course of studies in real and exciting projects!

Welcome to the Team Ivan.  Good to have you on board.

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*MDS is a partnership of companies that aims to equip young people with the experience, training, and mindset so that they have the confidence and ability to rapidly become senior business leaders within the food industry.  You can read more about MDS here.

To find out more about our Protolan Team click here.

 

Welcome to our Fresh Eyes Evaluation.

A complete solution designed to support food and drink manufacturers to stay ahead by assessing and improving their operational performance and production efficiencies.

One of our core values at Protolan is to put our clients first.

More and more, we listened to clients asking for a resolution to challenges within their facilities.  We had a strong solution with the expertise and knowledge of our team and so, Fresh Eyes Evaluation was created.

Protolan knows that every food and drink business is unique, complete with its own challenges and requirements.  Our Fresh Eyes Evaluation is completely flexible so we can discuss and understand your requirements to focus on exactly what you need.

We will work in partnership with you, considering all aspects of your business with a fresh eyes approach.

Our evaluation is designed to support you and can range from a One Day Review through to a Customised In-depth Review. From long-term objectives to short-term needs, we will provide the support you need to help make your factory run more efficiently. Our evaluation allows us to look at your facility from an independent perspective, assessing current performance, identifying opportunities for improvement, and review against best practices.

Let’s work together to achieve food manufacturing excellence.

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For an initial FREE consultation contact us.

For more information on our Fresh Eyes Evaluation click here.

 

Welcome to the Team – Hugh Cruikshank

Hugh joins Protolan from MDS Graduate Management Scheme* as Project Manager.

After completing Product Design Engineering at Strathclyde University Hugh joined the MDS Graduate Scheme to improve his management skills and understanding of the food production industry.

Having completed three placements through the MDS Graduate scheme at Flamingo Horticulture and Aldi UK, Hugh will be a welcome addition to our growing team.

Hugh is looking to gain invaluable experience from the food manufacturing sector.  He will be learning more about the management of food projects but also gaining deeper insight into the manufacturing processes.

Hugh had the following to say about his upcoming role:

“I am delighted for the opportunity to develop my project management abilities with such an exciting and experienced team at Protolan!”

Welcome aboard Hugh.

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*MDS is a partnership of companies that aims to equip young people with the experience, training, and mindset so that they have the confidence and ability to rapidly become senior business leaders within the food industry.  You can read more about MDS here.

To find out more about our Protolan Team click here.