Massey's shift in perspective

Then he walked into APL Manufacturing [APLM] for the first time and found himself wondering: Why is everyone smiling? Eleven months later, Massey is APLM’s Warehouse and Logistics Leader, and he's discovered that genuine workplace happiness is transformative.

"I used to be really grumpy and short with people in my old corporate role," he says with a laugh. "Now, when I sign off my emails saying, 'hope you have a great day,' I really mean it!"

“I'm walking around with a smile on my face every day, and I really appreciate the fact that this is such a great place to work!”

But Massey's path to manufacturing leadership wasn't a straight line. He started in hospitality—managing nightclubs and restaurants—before moving to a packaging corporation where he held various leadership roles in manufacturing.

Massey and his family relocated from Wellington to Hamilton in 2024, and this is when he found APLM. "Originally, I was just looking for a reference from an old work colleague, mentor and friend Johann Roozenburg, who is currently APLM’s Operations Manager. He said, 'I think we can do better than a reference—why don’t you come in for an interview?'"

After visiting the site and hearing about the exciting projects APL Manufacturing and the Profile Group were working on, he knew this was his chance to bring his process improvement expertise to a company that was ready to scale up. Massey stepped into APLM as the Stores and Hardware Dispatch Leader and soon implemented systematic process improvements that brought inventory accuracy rates to an impressive 99.3% and optimised Hardware storage and dispatch processes throughout the department. After hiring and training a store supervisor to maintain the new systems, he’s now moved into the broader Warehouse and Logistics leadership role.

As Warehouse and Logistics Leader with APLM, Massey's core responsibilities include overseeing all store management, improving inventory accuracy, optimising purchasing processes, and keeping production teams supplied, among other things. 

Each morning begins with a team huddle where they plan the day's priorities and discuss what's happening across other departments that could impact their work. Massey's leadership style focuses on open communication, regular performance feedback and genuine employee engagement—and that’s been bearing fruit: these efforts are contributing to the sites ability to meet their target of delivering orders within five-days over 98% of the time. From there, Massey focuses on the behind-the-scenes work—developing purchasing processes and ensuring inventory systems run smoothly.

"No two days are ever really the same," he says. "Yesterday I was problem-solving a logistics challenge, today I'm in meetings planning our SAP implementation while mentoring my store's supervisor to take on more responsibility." “There’s always a new improvement opportunity to work on and that offers variety to my workdays and keeps things interesting.”

"The culture here is genuinely infectious, in the best possible way," says Massey. “Everyone's approachable, from our Site Manager Howard, right down to the people on the shop floor." "The organisation has such a flat structure that it’s easy to understand and contribute to the strategic objectives.  This also means that I get to see exactly how my work adds value to the business.”

“The support is incredible too—my Manager April looks out for my wellbeing, I look out for my team, and my peers are all genuinely good at their jobs, which just motivates me to excel alongside them."

Current objectives include continuously improving inventory reliability, data cleaning to ensure process accuracy, and preparation for the SAP integration. "I see a lot of opportunities across the Profile Group.  People move between different divisions all the time, which opens exciting career possibilities across various business units".

"This place has made me a better person both professionally and personally.  I have a real passion for process improvement and APLM has provided a fun and collaborative environment where I can flex my experience and skill set to help contribute to its ongoing success.

“I encourage anyone to come join the team and see for yourself how fun and fulfilling a career with APLM can be!”