WHEN Malcolm first walked through the gates of Kimberly-Clark\u2019s Millicent Mill as a 17-year-old apprentice fitter and turner – just two days after his birthday – he never imagined he\u2019d still be there five decades later.<\/p>\n
But ask him why he stayed, and the answer comes easily. \u201cI really like it here. Otherwise, I wouldn\u2019t have stuck around for 50 years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Born at the old Millicent hospital and raised on a dairy farm on Rocky Camp Road, Malcolm\u2019s connection to the region runs deep.<\/p>\n
It was on that farm that his passion for making and fixing things came to life.<\/p>\n
As a teenager, he built a go-kart powered by twin lawn-mower engines – a homegrown creation that caught the attention of visiting Kimberly-Clark engineers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey asked who built it,\u201d he said. \u201cDad said, \u2018He did it all himself.\u2019 I was 14. They said, \u2018We need people like that at Kimberly-Clark.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Just a few years later, he proved them right.<\/p>\n
Malcolm started as an apprentice back when the team still referred to the company as APCEL, a historic SA-based group owned by the Australian Paper Manufacturers and Cellulose1.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s proud to have been part of the Mill\u2019s evolution, working over the years as part of the \u2018Mill Gang\u2019 and spending nearly 30 years as a shift fitter, supporting maintenance across multiple tissue machines around the clock.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s witnessed enormous transformation in the industry and the site itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cNearly everything here came after I did,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
From trains delivering every bolt and beam to today\u2019s modern truck-driven logistics, from handmade parts to digital processes, the mill has evolved, yet Malcolm\u2019s curiosity and pride in craftsmanship have never wavered.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack then, we made parts straight away,\u201d he said. \u201cEveryone fixed things! My father told a story of me fixing my grandma\u2019s walking stick with a new rubber stopper when I was just two years old. People don\u2019t necessarily do that anymore.”<\/p>\n
If there\u2019s a secret to working half a century in the same place, Malcolm believes it comes down to two things: curiosity and a sense of pride.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter you\u2019ve been here as long as I have, people look to you like you\u2019re a part-owner,\u201d he said. \u201cAlways act like you own it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Malcolm describes how this strong sense of pride impacts his work, noting that he\u2019ll still stay and overlap with incoming shifts to ensure anything he\u2019s been looking at is operating properly \u2013 even if he\u2019s been up all night.<\/p>\n
1 Apcel Ltd was a South Australian-based wood pulp and paper company established in the late 1950s near Millicent, primarily to produce pulp and paper products using local forestry resources: Department of Primary Industries and Regions<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you’d fixed a piece of equipment, you don’t want to hear anything bad come out of that,\u201d Malcolm said. \u201cYou don’t want to hear, oh, that failed after a week. You want to hear that it lasted years.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mindset has guided him through thousands of shifts, countless projects, and three decades on the safety committee, something he\u2019s still incredibly passionate about.<\/p>\n
There’s an innate curiosity that comes through when you speak to Malcolm.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was always wondering what are they going to build next? Can I be part of that? Those sort of questions kept me here\u201d.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also a commitment to what the team makes at Millicent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe products will always be a part of me. Even when I go overseas, I buy Kimberly-Clark. It\u2019s just a really good product!\u201d<\/p>\n
Outside the Mill, Malcolm still loves making things, with a more recent passion for woodworking and photography, as well as traveling with his wife \u2013 something he plans to do a lot more of in his upcoming retirement.<\/p>\n
He was also a longstanding member of the local Apex Club and remains part of the Lions club.<\/p>\n
\u201cK-C helped those clubs, and those clubs help the community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Malcolm also had a message for the next generation.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to have an interest in [your work],\u201d he said. \u201cIf you\u2019re curious, you\u2019ll get into it. And once you’re here, stick with it. See something through.\u201d<\/p>\n
Malcolm is most proud of his ability to take on multiple roles and adapt to change \u2013 something incredibly pertinent in today\u2019s work landscape.<\/p>\n
This month leaders from across Kimberly-Clark\u2019s Family Care & Professional division, including ANZ Managing Director David Tyack, are gathering at Millicent to celebrate Malcolm\u2019s milestone.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a moment the entire mill is proud to recognise: 50 years of skill and dedication, that\u2019s helped create products used by millions of Australians.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WHEN Malcolm first walked through the gates of Kimberly-Clark\u2019s Millicent Mill as a 17-year-old apprentice fitter and turner – just two days after his birthday – he never imagined he\u2019d still be there five decades later. But ask him why he stayed, and the answer comes easily. \u201cI really like it here. Otherwise, I wouldn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n