2019 saw Tristan Pinder promoted into the Service Manager role for Pryda, looking after the equipment team across Australia and New Zealand. With a long history with Pryda, Tristan’s focus is to deliver the right support and service to drive productivity for fabricators.
A maintenance fitter by trade, Tristan served his apprenticeship with Pryda, at the company’s nail-plate factory in Dandenong South, Victoria.
Following a two-year stint of overseas travel, he spent nine years on the tools as a service technician, fixing and fine tuning automated saws, table presses, rollers, wall framers … the whole shebang.
Much has changed during his time with Pryda, but no more so than advances in automation, which are fast eliminating menial jobs and driving throughput and efficiency, particularly in linear sawing. “But that’s not to say our old saws don’t cut it by today’s standards – still plenty keep up, but like all aging technology they’re more expensive to keep in tip-top condition,” he said.
Tristan manages a team of 7 technicians and service staff, supporting fabricators with break-fixes, upgrades, and preventative maintenance.
He said both Pryda and fabricators faced the issue of plant access. When machinery breaks down production can grind to a halt, which leaves no option other than to whistle up a Pryda technician to do their thing. However, it’s a different story for preventative maintenance and upgrades, when halting production to provide access to machines must be weighed against the cost and inconvenience of disruption.
“Like all manufacturers, fabricators are under the pump to improve throughput and margins – no one wants to interrupt production. But often a little inconvenience averts bigger problems down the line.”
Outside work Tristan has a young family, including a two-year-old and a four-year-old, and yearns for quiet moments when he can lie down, close his eyes, and not have someone jump on him as part of play time!