In a corner of Industrial Packaging’s Bray facility, Noel patiently demonstrates the proper technique for operating a machine to a new employee. The ultimate safe pair of hands, given his nearly five decades of experience, Noel handles the equipment with the confidence that comes from thousands of repetitions. As the company’s Key Operator/Instructor, training staff on the wide variety of machinery is just another Tuesday for him. But Noel’s journey to becoming the company’s most experienced employee began in the most unexpected way – as a paper boy.
“I used to deliver the papers as a kid to Industrial Packaging,” Noel recalls. “They asked me would I like to come in one evening just to give the lads a hand. I’d throw the loose tubes into racks and stuff like that, and go to the chipper and get them a feed when they were working late.”
What started as after-school work blossomed into one of those increasingly rare things in today’s world – a genuine lifelong career. Now approaching his 63rd birthday, Noel is closing in on a milestone that few modern workers will ever reach.
“When I’m 65 I’ll reach fifty years of service,” he says with a well-earned hint of pride in his voice.
Growing Up With The Company
When Noel officially began full-time work at the start of 1976, just after turning 15, Industrial Packaging was a dramatically different operation than the one that exists today.
“I went in as a general op, just to pack a few tubes and do whatever I was asked to do,” he explains.
The company has physically expanded through three different locations during his tenure, each move representing a significant scaling up of operations.
“It was a very small factory. And when we moved to BlackRock, we were there for twelve years. That was two and a half times bigger than Harmony Row, Dublin 2. And then when we moved out to Bray, that was two and a half times bigger than BlackRock.”
But it wasn’t just the buildings that changed around him. The very nature of the work, the products, and even the gender balance of the workforce underwent dramatic transformations.
“Years ago in the company, there were more women than men. Now the business is the other way around that there’s more men than women,” Noel observes.
When asked why this shift occurred, his answer reveals how manufacturing itself has evolved: “It’s just that the business that they’re in now is completely different to what it was all those years ago. It was mainly packing years ago and there were a lot of women packing the boxes and stuff like that.”
Today’s operations involve larger, heavier products that require different handling. “Now we’re making larger drums, and they’re heavy and awkward to lift, whereas back then, it was the smaller tubes.”
Products Come and Go
Through Noel’s eyes, we can track the changing demands of Irish and global markets over half a century. Some once-popular products have virtually disappeared.
“We used to do a lot of carpet tubes – four inch tubes for carpets. They don’t seem to be on the go anymore,” he says with a touch of nostalgia. “Years ago, when you went into the shop to buy carpet, it was automatically wrapped on a four inch tube, and they were a popular seller. But nowadays, they don’t seem to buy as many tubes for carpets.”
While some product lines vanished, others emerged. “It’s a much wider range of products nowadays than it was then. So there’s a lot of customer demands now, the industry has changed.”
From Dusty Saws to Precision Knives
Perhaps the most dramatic changes Noel has witnessed involve the machinery itself. When asked about systems he wishes had been in place when he started, his answer reveals much about workplace safety improvements.
“The machine we have today is, I would say, more than 10 times better! Back in the day, the equipment was more like saws. So, there was a lot of dust – when you were setting up the machine, you were working with a lot of dust. Sometimes you’d have to wear a mask. But nowadays, it’s all knife cuts, and I think it’s a lot easier to use, a lot safer.”
Despite these technological advancements, Noel credits the company’s consistent emphasis on safety for making the workplace better.
“Down through the years, the company was always health and safety mad. Loads of opportunities to go on courses and various training things came up, and that still hasn’t changed years later. They still encourage staff to take part and go on courses and make themselves be a better person.”
Learning Every Day
When asked what’s kept him motivated through nearly 50 years, Noel’s answer is refreshingly straightforward: “I love what I do.”
He contrasts his experience with others he’s seen come and go. “There’s some people who have a job and they love it. And other people get jobs and it doesn’t work out. Not that the job is not suitable for them. They’re just not motivated – they come in and they discover after a while that it’s not for them, and they move on to something else.”
This passion for his work extends to his approach to knowledge. Even after nearly five decades in the same company, Noel maintains a learner’s mindset.
“What I’ve always said is that when I come in here every day, even though I’m here all these years, I’m still learning every day. And I think that’s what makes my job a lot easier for me because I know there’s challenges on a daily basis.”
This perspective serves him well in his role training newer employees. He’s noticed changes in how knowledge transfers between generations in the workplace.
“Since I was a young lad, coming in, the people that were working here were very helpful to teach you how to do things. And those days, you were quick to learn. Nowadays, it’s all completely different. It takes longer to learn how to do a job – sometimes young people don’t want to take that time – it needs real commitment. But it’s worth it.
Life Beyond the Factory Floor
The £1.28 weekly train fare that young Noel paid when the company moved to Blackrock might have been a small price to pay for what would become a lifetime career. But Noel’s life hasn’t been defined solely by his work.
Ask him about his passions outside work, and his face lights up talking about football – both as a fan and a coach.
“I’ve been following Bohs for well, since we’re seven years of age, going up to Dalymount,” he says, referring to Bohemian F.C., one of Ireland’s oldest football clubs. “It was funny, like, when you live in Pearse Street and you’re going to Dalymount and all the other lads are going to Shelbourne. But it’s just that I loved it the day I went up there, and I just kept on going up.”
His love for the sport extended to coaching as well. “I used to manage a football team. Boys, when they were under sevens, up to under fourteens,” he says. What started as involvement in his son’s team turned into a longer commitment when the previous manager left.
“The man that was in charge, he had to leave due to work commitments. And he asked me would I take it on, and if I didn’t take it on, that he didn’t have anybody to take it over. So I took it on and I enjoyed every minute of it.”
Years later, those same boys returned, asking him to manage them again as a senior team. “The same lads from under sevens right up under fourteens – they come back up six years later, and we ended up having a senior team, which was great fun.”
The Best Advice
When asked about his proudest moment at Industrial Packaging, Noel’s answer reveals how work relationships often extend far beyond job responsibilities. It wasn’t about a promotion or achievement, but rather about life advice that shaped his future.
“One of the bosses gave me advice, and he used to say to me, I’ve been trying to tell your brother to get a mortgage. He said to buy a house. So, when you get to that age, he said, you make sure you buy a house because in twenty or thirty years’ time, you’ll be glad. So, him encouraging me to get a mortgage is probably the best advice I got from the boss.”
As Noel approaches his 50-year milestone at Industrial Packaging, his story stands as a testament to finding fulfilment in work that suits you, embracing technological change while maintaining human connections, and the value of becoming not just an employee, but a keeper of institutional memory and a mentor to future generations.
In an age where the average worker might change jobs a dozen times in their career, Noel represents something increasingly rare – someone who found their place early and built a life around it, one day and one tube at a time.