Extruder / Process Operator – Plastics Manufacturing

Permanent Full-Time | Day & Afternoon Shifts | Heatherton, South East Melbourne

An Australian plastics manufacturer in Melbourne's south-east is building a permanent operating team, with openings on day and afternoon shift.

Permanent from day one — not casual, not labour hire, not a trial.

The business has deliberately moved away from casual labour. It wants operators who stay long enough to learn the process properly, and it employs them properly to get them.

The work

The plant makes specialised polymer products for customers right across Australia, running four production lines. It has just come off a record production month and is adding to the team as demand grows.

This is process manufacturing, not assembly. You won't stand on one machine all day — operators rotate through the whole process:

• Plastic extrusion

• Underwater pelletising

• Pulverising mills

• Process monitoring and adjustment

• Product quality testing

• Equipment cleaning and production changeovers

Bagging and the lower-skilled work is handled separately, so your time goes on running the process and the quality of what comes off it.

What you'll bring

Experience in any one or more of the following:

• Plastic extrusion

• Polymer compounding

• Underwater or strand pelletising

• Pulverising or grinding equipment

• Process manufacturing

• Manufacturing quality systems

You don't need all of it. Rotational moulding materials are a bonus, not a requirement, and the company's own testing procedures are taught on the job. Mechanical aptitude and a willingness to learn count for a lot here.

Who does well here

• Takes pride in the quality of what they produce

• Notices things — attention to detail matters in this process

• Reliable and committed

• Works well in a small team

• Wants a long-term job with a stable employer, not a stopgap

• Works safely and follows the procedure

What's on offer

• Permanent full-time employment from day one

• Day and afternoon shifts available

• Monday to Friday, with overtime available through the busier months

• Afternoon shift attracts a shift loading

• Ongoing training across the full process

• Genuine scope to grow with the business

• Rate negotiated on experience — this business pays for capability, and it is not an entry-level operator rate

Applicants must have unrestricted rights to work in Australia.

If you're an experienced extruder or process operator, or you're working in plastics processing and want to broaden out across the process, we'd like to hear from you.

Apply through this advertisement. Applications are reviewed personally and I'll be in touch if your experience is a fit.