In this series, our employees talk us through their roles and the challenges they encounter. Now, it is Dany’s turn.
Dany, a maintenance technician, shares with us part of his professional and personal life.
Can you introduce yourself in a few words?
My name is Dany HERVEUX, I’m 46 and I’ve been a maintenance technician at TRICOFLEX for five years. I’m an electrician by training, but I’m quite versatile because I also do mechanics and boiler making.
After my BTS in industrial mechanics and automation, I started my career in the food industry. I worked there for around twenty years and held various positions. I started out as an electromechanic, then was promoted to deputy maintenance manager, before becoming new works maintenance manager. I was also a subcontracting manager at KALIZEA, a company based in Pringy (51 Marne).
Then, I decided to move closer to home and found a job as a maintenance technician at TRICOFLEX.
Can you describe your work for us?
I mainly work mornings and afternoons. I do repair work and I sometimes do new work and process improvements.
What departments do you work with?
I work mainly with production.
Can you tell us about a major project to which you contributed?
At the beginning of 2023, I contributed to a major project: the RTA 2 recycling line.
I recreated parts of the lines, and added a refusal section that enables the material to be recycled and reworked so that there is no waste. These modifications have enabled us to achieve our current results: a defibred semolina, superior quality and a 2-fold increase in production.
I’m happy to have achieved this result. This project has been the biggest challenge I’ve faced at Tricoflex.
Apart from projects, generally speaking, if you’re called out to a breakdown, is it easy to sort out?
By definition, it can last 30 seconds or several weeks or months. It varies a lot. For example, if a large gearbox breaks and we can’t rebuild it in-house, and we have to subcontract, the line could be shut down for months.
When you were a child, did you aspire to be a maintenance technician?
My father had a technical trade too, and I used to tinker with him at the workbench when I was a teenager. So I’ve always been attracted to this industry and its many derivatives.
Outside work, what’s your favourite way of taking your mind off things?
Sport shooting does me a lot of good.
It’s not necessarily well thought of, it’s considered dangerous. However, it’s not the weapon that’s dangerous, but the person using it. This is a highly supervised sport in terms of safety, and the rules are strict.
Concentrating on making the perfect shot allows you to disconnect from everything else. There’s the thrill of shooting, but also the club environment where everyone shares a common passion.
There’s also a whole technical side to it: the shooting position, the grip, but above all the reloading, which takes place at the workbench. It’s a mixture of chemistry and maintenance.
Do you have a hidden talent?
I’m a bit of a builder at heart, I’ve built my own house and some buildings, mainly with my father: we make a good team.
How do you motivate yourself in everyday life?
Professionally, I put certain thoughts to one side and go for it: that’s conscientiousness. What’s more, the people I work with are committed and invested in their work. Their motivation stimulates me.
To motivate me outside work, I listen to music that moves, techno, rock or even offbeat remixes.
If you could remove one spot from your work, what would it be?
Repetitive tasks. I’m someone who likes difficulty, so it’s more rewarding for me to manage to find a complex fault.
What are the most important skills you need to be a maintenance technician?
Be calm and tenacious. I think tenacity is the most important skill to have if you want to get to the end of the breakdown and not stop halfway.
There’s also a management aspect. You have to listen to the person in front of you to fully understand the problem.
What’s your favourite thing about TRICOFLEX?
What I like, and what I liked more from the outset than what I’d experienced in the food industry, is the fact that we manufacture our products from A to Z, and that the packaged hose that comes out of the factory is the same as the one we find in the shop. It’s really rewarding.
