Curtis' leadership discovery

"When I started at APL back in 2011, I was a whole different person," he says. "I was very introverted back then, the type of person who would start off my day with five coins and end up with one!"

Young, but looking for a fresh start, Curtis had moved 1500 kilometres—from Invercargill to Hamilton, in search of new opportunities, and found one at APL. "My whole career in manufacturing comes down to chance really," he says. "I wasn't looking for a manufacturing career specifically, I just needed a job in a new city.”

He got one, a fixed-term contract with APL on the night shift mill team - and that was the start of something special. “My bosses liked my attitude and before I knew it, they offered me a permanent position." Thirteen years later, Curtis is Mill Team Leader at APL's Hamilton warehouse, managing 19 people and overseeing the processing of some 20-30 tons of aluminium daily.

The once quiet night shift worker has evolved into a confident leader who believes deeply in his work, his own capabilities and the team he leads.

Great leaders often start on the ground floor, and Curtis is no different. First stop: finished goods, where he mastered the fundamentals of manual handling. Then inspection work, developing an eye for aluminium parts and specifications that serve him still. Then, the bulk store, where he learned to operate cranes, drive forklifts, and manage replenishment systems.

Each role was good preparation for what came next, but the real breakthrough came with Curtis’s participation in APL's internal Helen Moran Leadership course. "That was a massive change for me," Curtis says. “I realised how much leadership depends on truly understanding the people around me.”

"I've become a service-focused team leader. I make a point of shaking everyone's hand in the morning - it sets the tone for everything that follows, and if you win the morning, you win the day.”

Curtis's team manages the critical flow of APL’s aluminium extrusions before powder coating. The operation runs like clockwork: product arrives from the bulk store and gets replenished into racks by seven team members, while pickers receive job cards specifying colour runs and customer details.

Rather than morning briefings, Curtis prefers afternoon toolbox meetings to discuss safety protocols, quality stats, process changes, and any issues that emerged during the day. He brings a coaching mindset to leadership, constantly checking in with his team and "doing a lot of listening to understand what they're facing," ensuring everyone has what they need to perform at their best.

"There's a lot of power in looking after those to the left and those to the right of you," he says.

This year, he implemented a new ordering process that significantly improved service to the picking team. This commitment to excellence runs deeper than process improvements, for Curtis, quality isn't just a metric, it's a core value that earned his entire team Employee of the Month this year for outstanding quality improvements.

For anyone considering joining APL or stepping into leadership, his advice is straightforward: "Just give it a go and give it your all."

"APL is a big company so there are always opportunities out there and lots of ways to grow. What you put in is what you get out of it."

It's advice that carries weight coming from someone who lived it. From introverted young man to confident, results-driven leader, Curtis White didn't just find a job at APL, he found himself.