Tatura Milk Our Values

Career Profiles

At Tatura Milk Industries we employ people with a variety of skills and backgrounds in the areas of:

Manufacturing operations and food technology
Logistics
Warehousing
Engineering
Maintenance
Planning
Quality Assurance
Business Development and sales
Field Services
IT
Finance
Human Resources
Finance and Accounting
Data Processing

Career Profile:
Staff Member: Tom Dickins
Current Position: Technologist Nutritionals
From 1/10/2009

Previous positions with TMI:
Casual Cheese Packer - 29/1/1998 to 1/8/2001
Cheese Maker - 2/8/2001 to 21/8/2002
Technical Assistant - 22/8/2002 to 9/6/2004
Technical Co-ordinator - 10/6/2004 to June 2006
Unit Manager MPC/Bio-actives - June 2006 to 1/10/2009

Education:
Dual Recognition - Cert. IV in Food Technology and VCE.
Bachelor of Applied Science Food Science & Technology - University of Ballarat.

How did you come to work at Tatura Milk Industries (TMI)?
I first became involved with Tatura Milk during the dual recognition program I undertook during years 11 and 12. This program involved 100 days work placement which I spent both at TMI and at Snowbrand (TMI’s infant canning partner).

When I went on to study my Degree at the University of Ballarat, I did some holiday work at TMI and during my final year was also given the opportunity to complete my research project here.

After graduating I joined TMI as a cheese maker and had the chance to apply the knowledge I had gained in my study first hand. From this position I went on to work in the technical department which involved conducting trials on new products, trouble shooting on current products and processes as well as many other functions. This role was extremely rewarding especially when a new product was introduced that I had been involved in.

And your current role..?
To lead the technical aspects of New Product Development (NPD) and minor change activities associated with the nutritional product family under the direction of the technical manager. This includes formulation development, plant trials and validations, operations support, specification development and productivity opportunities.

So what’s it like working for TMI?
There is never a dull moment at TMI and I really enjoy the challenges that my roles over the past 13 years have presented to me. The people are really what make TMI the place that it is as we have such a diverse range of people from different cultures and countries all working together as a team.

Career Profile:
Staff Member: Jacinta Villani
Current Position: Quality Divisional Manager - Nutritionals
From 21/12/2009

Pevious positions with TMI:
Micro Technician - 5/12/1994 to 12/11/1996
Milk Farmer Payments Testing - 13/11/1996 to 4/2/1997
Calibration Co-ordinator - 5/2/1997 to 23/7/2000
Laboratory Technician - 24/7/2000 to 28/7/2004
Calibration Co-ordinator - 29/7/2004 to 5/11/2006
Laboratory Supervisor - 6/11/2006 to 20/12/2009

Education:
Advanced Certificate (Cert IV) Food Technology and partially completed Diploma of Food Technology at TAFE

How did you come to work at TMI?
I undertook work placement at TMI for my Certificate. That was in September 1994 and in the December of that year an opportunity arose for a Microbiology Technician and I was successful in my interview for this role. This position really gave me grounding for consolidating and expanding the skills I had acquired in my study.

The focus of my first role with TMI as Microbiology Technician was Final Product, Line Survey Testing and Media Making. I then began working on the Dairy Farm Payment testing area, this involved the quality testing of milk for Antibiotic Residues, Fat and Protein content and Extraneous Matter. This was an excellent entry to the business of TMI and after two years in this role I accepted another role in Calibrations. This was a very exciting time, as I was just the second person at TMI to be involved in adapting the new technology of NIR (near-infrared) and IR (infra-red) Instrumentation to our particular product mix. This technology measures the amount of light absorbed or reflected by the product samples and uses this information to create calibrations to compute the fat, moisture and protein content of the product.

And your current role..?
The overall scope of this position is to co-ordinate, manage and improve on all activities associated with the quality assurance and control systems relating to operations of the Nutritional production facilities to ensure compliance to relevant procedures, standards and regulations.

So what’s it like working for TMI?
I find my current role very challenging after coming out of the laboratory after 14 years. Not any one day at TMI is the same as the next. I really enjoy working with the team to develop process change and quality improvement. Mixing with a new team of people has really got me out of my comfort zone and reinvigorated my working life.