36 years at the helm of UHT. Still with first-day excitement.

His eyes still light up at the mention of UHT

The excitement in his first message carried straight through into our conversation. Mr Çelik is remarkably quick and eager. Better still, although he has worked in the UHT process for 36 years, when the subject turns to UHT his eyes still light up and his face still breaks into a smile, just like on day one.

I was genuinely happy to have met him.

To work in the same field for 36 years and still be excited, still be energetic, still tell work stories with passion… That alone is a lesson for anyone who gets bored of everything quickly.

Although he describes himself as having “learned on the job”, over the years he has kept reading, researching and improving himself. His way of speaking, his calm and his courtesy also stand out. He put both of his children through university abroad, and he supports them in continuing to postgraduate study. That his children have the higher-education opportunity he never had is a particular source of pride for him.

36 years on the line

Today Mr Çelik works at Fomilk as UHT Tetra Pak Production and Packaging Supervisor and Trainer. His career began in 1987 as a machine operator under the roof of Gülüm Süt–SEK Süt, where he stayed until 1999. Then came four years at Kaysüt and 11 years at Yörsan as shift leader; two years at Sütaş Tire, three years at Teksüt and one year at Akbel as production team leader. Today he is still on the production floor.

Looking back over his 36 years of experience, he underlines one thing in particular: working with company owners and managers who love milk and are themselves immersed in it, he says, gives a person a special kind of drive and joy in the work.

How do you recognise a good UHT operator?

When I asked him how he recognises a good UHT operator, he drew a very memorable comparison. Like people who go over the key moments again and again after a football match and analyse the game, he said, the operator who keeps running through what went well and what went badly after the production has ended, and who carries on analysing it, is a good UHT operator.

Young people need to be drawn into production

One of the important parts of our conversation was about the young people entering the sector. According to Mr Çelik, companies and managers have an important role to play if young people are to gain the motivation and passion that production calls for.

He particularly stressed that young employees need close attention, and that through good-quality training, workshops and hands-on practice they should be taught not just “which button to press” but also the technological and scientific side of production. Because the more a person understands the reason behind the job they do, the more their view of that job changes.

Lessons from production that are never forgotten

When I asked about a memory from his production years that had upset him, he described how, because of a mistake in the purchasing and quality processes, a cocoa unsuitable for UHT chocolate milk production was used and sedimentation appeared in the products over time. The lesson he took from it is clear: with a new raw material or application, trials and shelf-life monitoring must be carried out systematically and in full.

One of the moments he is proud of is raising line efficiencies after he started at the Sütaş Tire plant. That Mr Muharrem Yılmaz congratulated him in person after this work holds a special place in his memory.

When I asked where the same energy and motivation come from every day, he spoke of his belief in the importance of the work he does. He thinks producing safe food that is fit for human health matters a great deal; that is why he wants to know and understand not only the part he is responsible for, but as far as possible every detail of production.