Paul Eilbeck
Head Miller
Carrs Flour Mills

I came into the milling industry more by luck than planning. I was twenty years old and looking for a job with a more stability/future. My father was working as a number two miller at Carrs Flour Mills in my home town of Silloth and he told me that they were looking for two people to start on a temporary basis cleaning and general duties. Although the job was just meant to be temporary he told me that this was unlikely to be the case and that there would be a good chance that I would be taken on full time once I had served a probationary period. I went to the mill and was interviewed by the warehouse manager. I was given the job and asked to report 8:00am Monday ( this being Friday).

During this period I was mainly cleaning within the mill itself but also carried out other duties including palleting flour and unloading shipments of wheat. After about eight months I was moved to a department which made oat flakes and oat flour. While working in there I was given the opportunity to train as relief/holiday cover for our blending plant system. While doing both of these jobs the mill manager had signed me up to do the nabim correspondence courses. I have found the course very helpful in developing my understanding of how the milling process works, I have picked up a lot from the people I have worked with but the course has given me an outline of what goes on.

After I had been at the mill about eighteen months (Nov 91) I was asked if I would like to go to China ! ! to help Satake install/commission a flour mill (to gain experience). After the initial shock I said I would be delighted to go. I left in January 1992 to go to LUHE flour mill on the outskirts of Beijing. I took with me all the correspondence course books and five flour samples which made me uneasy going through customs to say the least ! The mill was already installed when I arrived and was about to begin trial runs leading up to the mill commissioning test. I was working with two people out there, John Scatchard and a (Jet) Harris; John was the miller and Jet was the engineer. I was out there until April and thoroughly enjoyed it and learnt a great deal about what goes on in a mill.

On my return I was offered the chance to become a No2 miller which I accepted. I worked as a number two miller for five years before being offered the position of number one miller, during this time I continued to do the correspondence courses. I worked as a number one miller for about three years and was then offered the position I currently hold that of Head miller when some senior management retired. I can honestly say that I enjoy doing my current job and am continuing to learn all the time when faced with new challenges.

I appreciate that I have been in the right place at the right time for some opportunities but I set out wanting a job that could turn into a career and have put the work in and have got here.

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