Automation Engineer at Seven Up Bottling Company
Created by the Howdy Corporation in St. Louis, MO, 7UP was an optimistic venture from the very start. After great success with the Howdy Orange drink, company founder C.L. Grigg decided to try his luck with lemons and limes. C.L. Grigg spent more than two years testing over 11 different formulas, all in search of a drink that was refreshing enough to prove irresistible to the people of Missouri and the world at large. In 1929, C.L. Grigg’s bubbliest drink was born. The public quickly developed a taste for Grigg’s caramel colored lemon-lime soda. Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda sold, and sold well. As the drink grew more and more popular, the original name was traded in for something short and sweet. Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda became known as 7UP. Early advertising featured a winged 7UP logo with copy that read "a glorified drink in bottles only. Seven natural flavors blended into a savory, flavory drink with a real wallop." The drink was so successful by 1936 that Grigg changed the name of The Howdy Corporation to The Seven-Up Company. By the late 1940s, 7UP had become the third best-selling soft drink in the world. In the decades to follow, 7UP developed iconic branding, setting it apart from industry front-runners. In 1967, 7UP brought the phrase UNCOLA into the national vernacular. The UNCOLA campaign set 7UP apart from its competition and became part of a counter cultural that symbolized being true to yourself and challenging the status quo. Always at the frontier of taste and pop culture, 7UP was also among the first sodas to introduce sugar-free and caffeine free options. Through the years, advertising for 7UP featured everything from a cartoon mascot named Spot, to the "It’s an Up thing" and "Make 7UP yours" taglines.
Provide and ensure leadership in the design, development and deployment of reliable and sustainable electrical and automation systems of all bottling and utilities equipment in the plant.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Provide quality and timely support to the plant in the events of complex automation and electrical challenges.
Set some level of standards in the plant automation operating procedures.
Ensure basic and standard automation tools are available for the automation team of the plant.
Facilitate the use of condition monitoring tools for the routine assessment of automation equipment status in the plant.
Ensure availability and regular update of all user program backup for all automation equipment in the plant.
Ensure availability and regular update of electrical documentation for all equipment in the plant.
Conduct routine audit of all electrical controls of all equipment in the plant.
Develop a list of critical automation spare parts that will be available to prevent stoppages of the production lines/utility.
Regularly communicate to management any critical actions needed to restore the condition of the equipment to 100% reliability.
Facilitate the capability development of the plant automation team to keep with current trends.
Prepare annual automation engineering budget – CAPEX and R&M (zero based budgets).
Ensures implementation of basic cycle maintenance, cleaning and inspection and instill these principles to be part of the culture of operators and technicians.
Take lead in change management for the engineering/automation department related to people structure or role changes, technology enhancement, regulatory and company initiatives on productivity.
Requirements
A minimum of Bachelor of Engineering Degree (B.Eng.) or HND in Mechanical/Electrical Engineering.
Minimum of 5– 7 years relevant hands-on FMCG operation and maintenance experience.
At least 2 years’ experience in a beverage bottling company in a managerial capacity.
Experienced in budgeting and people management
Knowledge of bottling operations: Planning, Manufacturing, Quality, Environment, Engineering, Health and Safety
Operational planning expertise/experience
Understanding of financial impact of decisions
Coaching direct reports and mentoring others