The People that are Planex : Michael Kaoullas
11 . 08 . 2020
At Planex people are integral to the manufacture and delivery of our premium product. In this series of articles we speak to members of the Planex ‘family’ to find out who they are, what they do and how they feel about working at Planex.
Michael Kaoullas – Plant Manager
Michael Kaoullas is the Plant Manager at Planex and is responsible for the day-to-day running of the factory and its people. He is another long-term employee and has been with the company for 25 years.
Michael graduated from Swinburne with a Mechanical Engineering degree and, through his grandparents’ connection with Fernand Jardel (the founder of Planex), he began work as an assembler. He quickly moved to the Supervisor role, then to Quality Assurance and finally Production Planning and when the company moved to Hallam, he was appointed Plant Manager.
Michael knows everything about the factory. He understands production, quality and works long hours – sometimes he thinks he spends more time at Planex than at home.
There are two main things that Michael likes about Planex. The first is the people and being part of the Planex family; the second is the work. In his role there is a lot of give and take managing staff on the factory floor … he’s always busy but best of all he loves the fact that he helps produce Australian Made products.
He subscribes to the sustainability ideas that are integral to Planex and he was really excited about the initiative to reduce scrap metal waste by making it into counter-weights in Planex cabinets.
Michael is a twin (his brother is also an engineer) and growing up both boys had a great time playing tricks as they are almost identical. His passion is fishing and once the restrictions have lifted, he and his family will again travel to secret fishing spots to catch bream, snapper and whiting. He enjoys eating barbecued fish and calamari but, even though his parents are originally from Cyprus, he eats more Asian food than Greek.
Right now, Michael is eager to support his footy club Collingwood. He is also looking forward to attending the many sports that his children play but it’s just a matter of tearing himself away from the Planex factory floor.
Michael is currently overseeing the implementation of stage 4 COVID restrictions within the factory, he is doing a fantastic job keeping the momentum up in these challenging times.