Meeting of Wednesday 30 October 2019
Speaker: Clare Johnston from Terex – Finlay
Clare is based at the company’s manufacturing plant in Omagh where she is Group Operational Training Manager. Having explained that TEREX is a global company headquartered in the USA with sales in 2018 of 5.1 billion dollars, she showed slides to illustrate its reach. More than half its income is from sales of Arial Work Platforms [cherry pickers], the other big product line being machines for crushing, screening and washing. The Omagh plant manufactures some 600 crushing machines per year. Members of the club recalled how it all started when John Finlay began making block-making machines in 1953, priced at £14/10 shillings in Scarffe’s. In 1976 a specialised screen production unit was opened in Omagh and the first tracked mobile crushers were produced in 2005. Since then the history of TEREX in Omagh has been one of continuous improvement and development. “Telematics” were introduced in 2016; this enables the company to keep track of all its machines wherever they may be working in the world, monitoring performance and wear and tear. Clare’s fascinating account of her work generated much interest, many recollections and lots of questions.