Although brought into the family business at a young age, Gary Mallon, a 36-year-old managing director at Pumptec, still has what he describes as a “real love” for mechanical engineering and repairing equipment.
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Over the past five years, according to Mallon’s nominator, Jason Butler, Mallon has completely modernized the way Pumptec conducts its business. “His commitment to the team and to the training of the engineers is unrivaled,” Butler says. “This leadership and energy translate across the team into a passion for service excellence.”
Mallon says that his favorite part of his job is the clients he gets to work with.
“I have great sympathy for the engineers who need to balance tight budgets, maintenance priorities and clients that perhaps don’t always appreciate how critical some of their pumps can be to their operation,” Mallon said.
If anything, the pandemic made Mallon reconsider how important engineering can be to certain institutions and essential functions.
“To me, whilst being a very challenging time, the pandemic has reinforced the value of what our engineers can achieve for our clients,” Mallon said. “Stretched lead times and lack of in-house engineering resources (often due to clients having self-isolation constraints) has meant that our services have been more important than ever to critical infrastructure sites.”
Outside of work, Mallon spends most of his time with his three young sons.
“Family is very important as it keeps life in perspective and, certainly, the boys keep my wife and I active!”
Looking forward, Mallon plans to continue working at Pumptec and may even bring his own sons into the family business one day.
What advice would you give to a student considering this industry or a newcomer?
“Be prepared to get your hands (very) dirty in order to get the knowledge and experience you will need when you progress from apprentice to time-served engineer. Enjoy the satisfaction of seeing a repair well done, but don’t forget that the task isn’t finished until the workplace is clean and the reports issued.”
See all of this year's finalists by clicking here.