The latest employee to be put in the monthly ‘spotlight’ is Dan Fairest, sales manager and recycling specialist. He tells us all about his role, his work achievements, and why he can never relax on a weekend!
Name: Dan Fairest
Job title: Sales Manager
What does your role entail?
My role is to establish lasting business relationships with both new and existing customers, whilst assisting them in all aspects of their waste recycling & size reduction requirements. Naturally, I advise the utilisation of UNTHA’s state-of-the-art, market-leading industrial shredders!
How long have you been with the company?
I joined UNTHA UK in January 2012 – just where have the last five years gone?!
What’s the best thing about your job?
It’s perhaps a clichéd answer, but it has to be the variety – no two days are the same. Every single project I work on is different, as all clients have very specific requirements which are unique to their business.
I may be overseeing a trial with a hard drive shredder in the morning, liaising with a customer at lunch time on a confidential waste shredding enquiry, then going to visit a potential metal shredding client in the afternoon. I love the pace and the varied nature of the applications we can assist on.
For you, which is UNTHA’s stand-out shredder?
I work for the recycling division of UNTHA so for me it would have to be the four shaft range of shredders which were originally designed and patented by our chairman in Austria. They have been going for nearly 40 years and are the most reliable and proven shredders on the market. They range from the everyday RS40 for small to medium sized projects, all the way up to the mighty RS100 and RS150 shredders for heavy duty WEEE and metals processing, amongst other applications. They are robust, dependable and 100% guaranteed to get the job done.
Which is your favourite UNTHA project?
I have worked on a number of projects over the past five years but the one which gave me the most satisfaction – in relation to the equipment doing the job it was bought for – would be for a company involved in manufacturing a recycled product for the pet industry.
Prior to installing one of our shredders they were continually having to shut down their manufacturing process due to the inconsistency of their feedstock, resulting in interrupted uptime of their plant. Once they commissioned our equipment at the front end of their production facility, they had a 100% operational record for the first time – ever! Now that is satisfying! We have since supplied them with a further two shredders bringing their total to three – proof if it were needed that they are as happy with the outcome as we are.
What’s been your biggest work achievement, since joining UNTHA?
Aside from the above and being successful in my role, I like the fact that I can contribute to other aspects of the business not directly related to my position. For example, producing corporate videos demonstrating our equipment, for use in presentations and our website, and being able to contribute ideas which are taken on board by the company.
Describe UNTHA in three words:
Reliable, progressive, innovative.
And finally some more light-hearted questions:
What’s your favourite food?
Anything Italian or Thai – or Indian! I’m not fussy.
How do you relax on a weekend?
I have three young children aged ten and under, so none of my weekends are relaxing!
If you were stranded on a desert island, what is the one thing you couldn’t live without?
Aside from the obvious answers of my wife and children I would love a clockwork radio!