Profile
| Name: |
John Lewis |
| Position: |
Divisional Manager - Product Testing |
| Department: |
Executive Management |
| Office: |
Product Testing Division |
| Telephone: |
+61 (03) 9371 2420 |
| Fax: |
+61 (03) 9371 2499 |
| Mobile: |
0417 463 289 |
Background Information
John has had a long and respected career in the wool textile industry having been Director and Chief Executive Officer of Macquarie Textiles Holdings Pty Ltd for many years prior to his appointment as Divisional Manager, AWTA Textiles Testing, commencing on 22nd August 2005.
He entered the wool industry in 1969 after completing training in wool classing and shed management. Following this he travelled around Australia, working in shearing sheds, variously shearing, woolclassing, sorting and managing sheds.
From 1971 - 1976 he worked for Crestknit Industries as Wool Buyer, Assistant to the Technical Director and Group Quality Assurance Manager. At the beginning of this period he qualified for a General Textiles and Testing Certificate. His contribution to the company included:
- Development of faded denim processing
- Introduction of quality control methods to group companies
- Implementation of a quality improvement program
- Establishment of testing laboratories
In 1976 he gained a Certificate in Applied Science - Textile Technology and commenced employment with the then Australian Wool Corporation as a Technical Officer, where his responsibilities involved the provision of specialist technical services to the textile industry. While with the AWC he was involved in:
- The introduction of batch acqueous and solvent shrinkproofing techniques to mills in Australia, France & Malaysia.
- Extension and commissioning felted yarn technology in Australia, Belgium and the United Kingdom.
He was seconded to the IWS at TNO Institute in Holland to concentrate on product development in the knitwear sector.
In 1983 he was appointed General Manager of Aspin Yarns where he was responsible for the marketing, planning, costing and production functions of the Company's worsted spinning and dyeing mills.
In 1986 he was appointed Production Manager, Aweave Textiles, responsible for the planning of production and raw material schedules to fullfill the delivery requirements of customers. During this period of his career he graduated from the David Syme Business School at Monash University with a Bachelor of Business.
In 1988 he commenced employment with General Investments, initially as Commercial Manager. In 1990 he became Operations Manager where he oversaw the production, delivery and procurement functions of the Group's 5 manufacturing sites in Victoria, NSW and South Australia.
For a period of 10 months in 1991 he was General Manager of Valley Mill in Geelong. He then joined Macquarie Textiles as Project Manager responsible for investigating joint venture manfacturing facilities both off-shore and within Australia. In 1994 he was promoted to General Manager, reponsible for the operational aspects of the Company's mill in Albury, from raw materials through to finished product and also for the profitability of manufacturing operations. He became Managing Director in 1996.
He currently holds or has held the following positions:
- President Australian Wool Processors Council.
- Chairman Federation of Australian Wool Organisations.
- Board Member International Wool Company, Zhangzhou China.
- Board Member Beijing Jin Ao Wool Company, Beijing China.
John was appointed as the nominee director on the AWTA Ltd Board for the Wool Textile Manufacturers of Australia Group of Australian Wool Processors Council Inc on 20 February, 2003. He resigned as director immediately upon his successful application for this position.
John reports to the Managing Director.
Accountabilities
The Divisional Manager - Product Testing is accountable for planning, co-ordinating and controlling AWTA Ltd operations in the Product Testing Division, to achieve the objectives of the Company.