Zaun has appointed a champion of production management and fencing to be its new operations manager.

Mark Lewis takes on responsibility for operations including production, purchasing, logistics, engineering and health & safety.  His brief is to ensure that Zaun is a world-class production business with the appropriate standards of quality and efficiency to compete in the global market.

He said: “My focus will be on the processes and systems used in the business to make them as efficient and effective as possible. We want to exploit our existing system and reduce the level of administration using bespoke spreadsheets.”

Lewis joins the business following six years at Knauf Insulation making rock mineral wool insulation. Prior to this, he had 14 years at Betafence including setting up their fencing business in the Wigan plant and was latterly the manufacturing manager in the Sheffield plant.

Prior to the formation of Betafence with the sale of Bekaert’s fencing division, he worked for both Bekaert, and Tinsley Wire so has 17 years’ of experience in wire and wire products production.  In his early career, he held roles in production engineering with Lucas Aerospace, production management in automotive production with AlliedSignals and as a manufacturing systems engineer with BICC Cables.

Lewis said: “I love the programme How’s it Made and apply those sort of principles to everything I do.

“We’re not going to make any massive step changes in manufacturing here at Zaun, but we will be making lots of little step changes so every day we will be just a little bit better.”

As Lewis said, he applies these principles to everything not just work.  He is currently renovating a Grade II listed building which will become his family home in Mold in North Wales.

Zaun co-founder and director Alastair Henman said: “Mark has such broad experience across such a range of industries including fencing with Betafence and Bekaert and has a real heart for production management and engineering.  I expect him to be instrumental in developing us as a world class manufacturing business.”