Day in the life

When it comes to the mechanical engineering behind the ammonia plant at Billingham – the buck stops with me. I get involved with new projects, major investments and the big decisions about how we resolve problems and do things better in the future. As we use about 1% of the country’s natural gas and our process involves 1000°C temperatures, it’s a major challenge. But it’s one any engineer would love, especially as it’s an exciting time with major investments taking place all around us.

Another thing you’ll notice straightaway is the different culture. Here, people have a voice, ideas are encouraged and you can talk directly to senior managers. You’ll also enjoy lots of responsibility, new challenges and learning all the time as part of our talented team.

It’s a privilege to be part of a team that helps British farmers to grow the food the nation needs. The UK’s only manufacturer of nitrogen fertilisers, we aim to be the first choice for our customers by providing great quality products and an excellent service every time. So, it’s up to my team to look after all aspects of an order from start to finish and provide such a great experience that our customers keep coming back for more.

Each day is an exciting new challenge as we look to enhance our service and meet individual customer needs. At CF, the service culture is strengthened by listening to your ideas and empowering employees to make a difference. Nothing will hold you back and the opportunities are there to be taken.

I joined CF straight from university over years ago and I’ve never looked back. As we’re a big business that continues to go from strength to strength, new doors open up all the time, so I’ve been able to progress my career and take on lots of different roles. Today I lead a fantastic team of people who are responsible for everything from financial reporting, forecasting and modelling to budgeting, analysis and shaping systems. We feel a real sense of achievement as we work in partnership with different teams to help our business grow.

At CF, you’ll enjoy plenty of variety, training and new challenges. So if you’ve got plenty of drive and good accounting, analytical and business management skills – this is the place for you.

I spend half my time maintaining our production lines and the other half in the office arranging planned shutdowns and sorting out the paperwork. At the moment we’re investing lots of money in our plant and it’s great to see new technology being implemented and running smoothly.

We’re also investing in our people and I’m proud to be a QCF assessor, awarding recognised qualifications to our people as part of our in-house training. It’s been brilliant for my development too and I’m even thinking about doing a degree that CF will support.

Not only is this a great place to work with good pay and opportunities for promotion – you’ll be able to better yourself as CF will invest in your personal and professional development.

My role is all about building sustainable, long-term relationships with farmer and industrial buying groups. We’re the UK’s only manufacturer of nitrogen fertiliser, but we operate in a competitive global market, so we’ve got to demonstrate how our premium brands, products and services make a difference and deliver value for money. This means speaking to customers every day and developing forward looking plans, campaigns and messages.

I may have been in this dynamic industry for over 20 years, but I still get a buzz out of providing products that help British farmers to feed the world and produce better quality food. At CF I also feel I have a voice, everybody has – although it helps that I sit only 15ft away from our CEO!

I joined CF over 20 years ago and work on all kinds of projects from increasing plant capacity and improving safety to reducing energy usage and introducing new equipment. It’s a really interesting role and as most of our process operations are on site, I don’t just sit in the background, I see the real difference my work makes. I love driving projects from concept to completion and being able to say – ‘I did that’.

As we’re at the forefront of sustainable manufacturing my work has taken me all over the globe. I’ve attended technical conferences, discussed technical issues and even given papers in America. At CF our work matters to the world, so we always push ourselves to keep on improving and do the right thing.

In purchasing we buy everything from replacement plant right down to the paperclips. We get to meet a variety of interesting people and spend someone else’s money! In my role I get involved with larger projects and cost savings.

I’ve only been here a few months, but the team has made a big effort to make me feel welcome and valued. There’s a real togetherness and everyone gets on, so doors are always open and people will find time in their busy day to provide help and support. They also say ‘thank you’ for a job well done, which gives me a real boost and keeps me motivated.

My role is challenging and definitely not an easy ride – but the team is brilliant and every day I look forward to going to work

I’m responsible for production and maintenance at our Billingham site. This means I look after everything from our people and the environment to health & safety and our relationship with the local community. I joined CF as a junior engineer 26 years ago, as I was interested in high pressures and high temperatures. And since then my career journey has taken me in a number of different directions from engineering purchasing and machine overhauls to plant engineering and operations management.

Whatever my role I’ve always valued our team spirit and tight knit community. At CF, you’ll feel empowered, be supported and work as one team to make something of real benefit – we couldn’t feed the country without our products.

I’ve got an interesting job full of new challenges. Every day is different as I support a variety of plants, ensure product quality and look after the hygiene and process analysis side of things too. Working closely with shift teams, it’s up to me to make sure everything runs smoothly and we deliver what we promise to our customers.

I’ve been part of the Billingham team for over 36 years and work with fantastic people who are our biggest strength. Every one here is so friendly and supportive, as we all work together to share ideas and do things even better to provide British farmers with the best fertilisers possible. We’ve achieved some amazing things, but the best is still to come, as we invest in new plant, great training and our growing team.

At CF, we’ve got a great bunch of people who are at the heart of our success. And it’s up to me to look after them at the Billingham Site. At Billingham, I’m responsible for everything from organisational change and HR policies to developing recruitment campaigns and making sure local people see us as an employer of choice. As we’re growing our team and investing in the future, our environment is constantly changing, which makes my work as varied as it is interesting. I love being part of a British manufacturer that’s sole purpose is to help British farmers grow more food. And my challenge is to recruit more talented people, provide the very best training and development and to help shape a sustainable manufacturing business for tomorrow.