Meet the Man Behind the Machines: Q&A with Darren Wardman.

At Catapult, we understand how important it is for our customers’ machines to run efficiently without any unplanned downtime, because we have the same business critical requirements ourselves. With a factory full of Nilpeter presses, and now two Ravenwood coaters, we have the latest technology and we’re geared up to ensure there is always capacity in our print room, which need to be serviced and maintained regularly. To optimise our machines, we knew the best option was to hire expertise in-house, and having worked with Darren Wardman on the installation and maintenance of our Ravenwood machines since Catapult was first established, he was the natural choice to fill that role – a role that will include providing field engineer services to our customers as well as keeping our own print room in as fast and efficient as an F1 race car.

Ed: Tell us about your background – what experience do you bring to Catapult?

Darren: I’ve worked within the printing industry on the machinery side ever since I left education and was part of the team that established Ravenwood, alongside Rob Lewis, Catapult’s Technical Sales and Innovation Manager, when it separated out from Skanem to become a dedicated print machinery business in 2004.

As a service engineer at Ravenwood, I enjoyed working in the US,  Canada and South America because the industry is really dynamic here and there was a real thirst for new technology. I became Ravenwood’s Field Service Manager for the USA in 2017 and loved the opportunity to travel across the States, installing machines, providing technical support for customers and agents, and training other engineers to look after Ravenwood machines. During my career, I’ve worked on machines from Alaska down to the tip of Argentina, and everywhere in between. With the field engineer aspect of my new role, I expect I will still be doing lots of site visits all over the country, and perhaps connecting with a few familiar faces amongst Catapult customers too!

Ed: You’ve joined us from Ravenwood, will it be just their machines you work on, or others too?

Darren: I’m obviously really familiar with Ravenwood machines and, after 20 years working on the same kit, I’m excited about the new challenge of adding to the variety of machines I’ll be working with. The reality is that the fundamental engineering of coaters and presses is very similar and my experience with Ravenwood gives me a head start on anything – I am well known in the industry for being able to turn my hand to any maintenance challenge! I’ll be having formal training too to broaden my knowledge, and I’m already booked in for two weeks’ intensive training with Nilpeter in Denmark very soon.

Ed: After so long at Ravenwood, what made you take the plunge and the new role at Catapult?

Darren: I was very comfortable at Ravenwood and, of course, it was a huge decision to leave, but it’s also really exciting to be offered a completely new role that will break new ground in the sector over here. I’ve known Catapult since it was first established 7 years ago and always admired the way the business has challenged industry norms to deliver new ways of doing things and unparalleled cost and time efficiencies. Joining a company that’s at the top of its sector and is constantly pushing for innovation and improvement is a real buzz, and you can feel it; not just from the leadership team, but also across the whole company. As an engineer, I’m a problem solver that rolls up my sleeves and does whatever it takes to get the job done – that’s the ethos here at Catapult and, even after a short time on the team, I know my work ethic fits right in.

Ed: So what have you been up to so far in your new role?

Darren: My first job was to install and commission Catapult’s new Ravenwood Coater, which doubles our coater capacity, enabling us to produce both traditional and glue gap linerless labels at the same time. It also makes us the only label printer in the US to deploy two coaters simultaneously. It took two weeks to install the machine and another week to tidy up any loose ends to make sure the new kit is fully optimized and integrated with our systems.

I’ve also been on a mini tour of customers in the Miami area to talk to them about our field engineer service and I have my first project coming up on that side of things.

Also on my to-do list is an audit of every machine at Catapult to ensure that we have a detailed servicing and maintenance schedule and that every machine is optimized for performance and efficiency. I’ll be working closely with the team at Nilpeter on maintenance schedules and ordering parts, making sure we benefit from their best practice and technical support too.

Ed: What’s been the reaction of Catapult’s customers to your new role?

Darren: I’ve been delighted and flattered by how positive it’s been. Obviously, customers can see the advantages of having a US-based engineer that can troubleshoot and be on site quickly should the need arise. I think this service is going to strengthen the relationships between Catapult and our customers even further.

Ed: Last question – are you glad you made the move?

Darren: Yes! When I was offered the job, I asked myself, if not now, then when? I was never going to be offered such a fantastic opportunity again, and, having worked with Catapult since the company started, I already have friends amongst my colleagues here and I know the machines, which made the transition almost seamless. I’m looking forward to meeting more customers and getting stuck in wherever I’m needed.