In this profile, we continue to shine the spotlight on our colleagues, the people involved in the day-to-day success of the company. Today, we’re heading to the operations department to introduce machine operator Jean-Marc Velly, who specialises in machine settings, monitoring, supplies… and rock and heavy metal! Learn more about the role and interests of this staff member, who knows all the ins and outs of the packing line.
From packing line to machine operation
Next January, Jean-Marc will have been with Pouliquen for 13 years. He began his career here on a temporary contract a few years after completing his technical diploma in sales. First hired to work on the allium packing line, he gradually took on machine management tasks. For around three years now, Jean-Marc has been a full-time machine operator, working alongside Mickaël Gueguen, who has also been with the company for around a decade.
“My role is to make sure the machines never stop. The packing line has to keep moving.”
Jean-Marc’s job is essential to maintaining packing speed and meeting our customers’ delivery deadlines.
The operations department has seven net packing machines that pack shallots and onions in net bags. These machines unroll and cut the netting, staple the labels onto it, and move the filled net onto a conveyor belt staffed by operators who pack the bags into cardboard boxes.
Awareness and adaptability: essential qualities for a machine operator
The machines are programmed to maintain a specific packing speed for each product, but it is essential to keep an eye on the entire operation in order to ensure that things are running smoothly. Jean-Marc is never far from the net packing machines, ready to intervene for routine procedures such as reloading supplies (netting, clips, and labels), or more complex tasks such as resetting the programme to reach the optimal packing speed. On average, our net packing machines turn out between 40 and 45 net bags of shallots (250g and 500g) per minute. For onions, the average is between 25 and 30 one-kilo bags per minute.
Traceability and supplies
In addition to his role as a machine operator, Jean-Marc is responsible for managing traceability. He oversees order tracking and computerised real-time inventory management. He also manages the company’s supply of cardboard boxes, checking what is needed in the production department every evening and ordering what is needed from our supplier.
He is known by all members of the Pouliquen team as a competent, hard-working and willing colleague: one of those people that everyone enjoys working with.
A passion for music
Jean-Marc has always been a music fan, and his favourite genre is heavy metal. He plays drums and guitar, and also records his own compositions in the home studio he’s designed.
This musical pastime works hand in hand with another of his hobbies: computers. New technologies are making it easier to arrange, mix, and compose music, increasing musicians’ artistic freedom and sometimes even making it possible to produce albums for other rock groups. “Music is also about meeting people and exchanging ideas!”
