Hunter-based professional and Orica employee, Paul Harrison has recently achieved a rare milestone in modern careers.
Paul celebrated five decades (50 years) and was recognised by Orica for being its longest serving employee. As thanks to his loyalty, Orica has named its 300th BulkmasterTM (BM300) Mobile Manufacturing Unit after him.
Group Executive President Australia Pacific and Asia, Darryl Cuzzubbo said Paul has achieved a great deal for ICI/Orica.
“We are extremely proud of him and this is a fitting and unique way to celebrate and acknowledge his contribution to our company,” Darryl said.
Paul first walked through ICI/Orica’s doors in February 1969 working in Research and Development to improve the quality of the nitro-glycol based explosives and to develop and enhance watergel based explosives. He has also served in various roles overseeing the production of NG explosives, boosters and watergels and the production of bulk explosives across Australia.
His global experience includes managing a joint venture involving the manufacture of NG explosives and non-electric detonators and emulsion packaged explosives.
Since 1996, Paul has served as Orica’s Statutory Liaison and Security Manager and is responsible for working closely with regulators across Australia to ensure that Orica’s products are licensed and regulated and its employees, equipment and vehicles are licensed and authorised.
He is an active member of the Australian Explosives Industry and Safety Group (AEISG) for promoting safety within the commercial explosives industry and developing codes of practice.
Paul’s contributions were celebrated Kurri Kurri Technical Centre on Wednesday.
Paul said the company naming the Bulkmaster after him was unexpected.
“Fifty years have flown by and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it; we’ve had the ups and downs but basically, the ups have outweighed all the downs,” Paul said.
“I am absolutely stunned by all of this. I understand the organisation wanted to do something, but I didn’t realise how much the organisation appreciated me. I am very humbled by the Bulkmaster 300 dedication today.
“An old hand once said to me, ‘ducks don’t fly during the shooting season’, and I’ve always kept a very low profile while trying to contribute as much as I possibly can to the organisation.”
The BulkmasterTM7, launched last year for use in the opencut mining sector, is Orica’s market-leading delivery system technology, which provides a leap in productivity and safety on bench, and is another significant step towards automating drill and blast operations in the future. BulkmasterTM7 (BM300) will be deployed and operated in Queensland’s Bowen Basin from March 2019 and will be the fourth BulkmasterTM7 for the Queensland region.
Since 1989 the BulkmasterTM (BM1) has undergone significant innovation and has been part of the transformation of the Australian mining industry by enabling Orica’s customers to be competitive on the world stage.
IMAGE | Paul Harrison was joined by Senior Leaders Darryl Cuzzubbo, Todd Peate and Ricky Butler to unveil the 300th Bulkmaster ‘PAUL HARRISON’ in celebration of his 50 years of service to Orica.
