A big thanks to Mark Weatherill our Cattal Manager who has achieved 35 years service with us, Mark has worked within various different departments at the company and is now in charge of our Cattal site, he does a great job and is responsible for over 20 staff and the production of all our 5 and 10Lt pots. See what he had to say about his time at Johnsons below:
1) What have you enjoyed most about 35 years at Johnsons?
I have enjoyed working outside with plants and trees; it has also been good to work with friendly people who have the same goals of producing quality plants and giving a quality service for our customers.
2) Did you work anywhere else prior to Johnsons?
I worked as a swimming pool lifeguard, as a milkman and on a pick your own strawberry farm. The owners turned the farm into a nursery so I stayed to help them. This is how I got into horticulture.
3) What was your first position at Johnsons?
My first position was as a potting supervisor, we had a small potting machine that produced 2L and 3L plants, anything bigger was potted into a plastic bag.
4) What has your greatest achievement been?
My greatest achievement has to be the setting up of the Cattal site from being a barren field into a working nursery.
5) Most memorable day at Johnsons?
There are a few memorable days but one that sticks in my mind is when we used to get a helicopter to spray the nursery. Three of us were working near the tunnels in the main site so we sheltered in the tunnels when the helicopter arrived, not realising the tunnel sides were up so we got covered in spray.
6) Looking back, if you didn’t work at Johnsons, what career path would you have chosen?
I think I would have followed my dad into P.E teaching or something that involved sport.
7) What has made you stay at Johnsons for all these years?
The answer to question 1 is the reason I have stayed for 35 years. Also, every year seems to bring up new and complex challenges in the nursery, which keeps the job interesting.
Posted 16th Dec 1:53pm
