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"If I had known how diverse and bespoke the refrigeration systems were, I would have joined the industry earlier."
Bruce Smeaton, Senior Consultant at STS
After graduating from Glasgow University, Bruce worked initially with heat exchangers, fans and compressors. After this, he moved to work for Star within in design department and in 2014 moved over to STS where he has progressed further to Senior Consultant.
"I have received practical, hands-on training and theoretical training at a college. The practical aspect of it involved shadowing the most experienced refrigeration engineers in the company to whom I will always be grateful for their continuous support and encouragement."
Paul Newton, Service Manager
After breaking his ankle during the first week of his training in the army, Paul Newton joined Star Refrigeration’s Operations Group as an industrial refrigeration apprentice engineer. His story illustrates the way careers are sometimes forged through unexpected circumstances. Paul’s first career choice was not an apprenticeship, but turned out to be the right one! Paul has since progressed to his current role of Service Manager for Star Refrigeration’s Derby branch.
"I’ll never forget that I left the army on Thursday 28th February and entered into my new engineering job the very next day (yes a Friday)!"
“Star Refrigeration is highly renowned for innovation and for their pioneering technological developments across the world. With an award-winning engineering team, I was confident I was in good hands and was going to learn from the best.”
Dave Bartlett, Operations Training Manager
From star musician to Star Refrigeration– how Star’s Training Manager moved from the army to the office. Dave Bartlett served in the Armed Forces for 18 years. On leaving the military Dave began a career in refrigeration as an engineer with Star, before moving into management. He’s now been with the business for nearly 25 years. We spoke with Dave to find out how the transition happened and what it was like for him.
“Refrigeration has a funny way of getting you hooked. It is fast paced and no two days are the same, which is the way I like it.
“I completed my fast track training pathway in just under a year. A year later I was given the opportunity to become the Branch Contracts Manager. It has been a steep learning curve with many challenges but it is extremely rewarding. There is always someone happy to lend a hand and offer their advice."
Marc Gault, Regional Branch Contracts Manager
Marc Gault decided to transition from the military back to civilian life after serving in many operational tours. He was keen to continue down an engineering career path and had some exposure to refrigeration during his time in the Army. After some research, he reached out to Star and was enrolled into the fast track training programme he completed in under a year.
"When I looked into the industry I couldn’t believe the scale of it - refrigeration is needed everywhere.”
"My eyes were firmly focused on Star Refrigeration due to their reputation and attractive employee package. I applied for Star Refrigeration a couple of months prior to leaving the Armed Forces and I was lucky enough to be offered a position at the Newcastle branch as a fast-track engineer, for which I am eternally grateful.”
Steven Abbott, Training Facilitator
Steven joined Star after more than 22 years of service in the Army. His journey began through our eLearning platform, which led him to complete the fast-track training programme in around 15 months. After four years working as a service engineer in the Newcastle branch, Steven progressed into his current role as a Training Facilitator supporting engineers across the Newcastle and Leeds branches. Now 30 months into the role, he’s passionate about helping others develop their skills and achieve their potential at Star.
“Engineering is about creativity, innovation, hands on practical work and problem solving.”
“I work with a really good team of people at Star who are passionate, knowledgeable and ambitious in what they do…There are opportunities to enhance your career, help gain chartership and attend industry training courses and events. It is rewarding being part of company that provides top quality products and services to secure a better future for staff, customers and environment.”
Claire Syme, Design Engineer
After completing her Masters in Chemical Engineering and trialling a few industrial placements and a graduate programme, Claire came across the refrigeration industry. After some research, she applied for a position within Star and joined the Design team in 2016. Read more about her career highlights.
"I admire the active involvement Star have in the development of the refrigeration industry"
“I have undertaken three summer internships and will start a design engineer position after my graduation this summer.”
Brooke McKenna, Design Engineer
Originally joining the company as a Summer Intern, Brooke is now a Design Engineer at Star. She entered into the role after graduating from a Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering at Strathclyde University.
"Star gave me the opportunity to return to the industry after a long career break – it is fantastic to be back"
"I have benefited from spending time in contracting, consultancy and design. It helps to understand everyone’s different roles in a project and appreciate their individual challenges and objectives. A view of the whole picture is especially helpful in a sales environment."
Anne Flanagan, Business Development Manager
Anne works in Business Development and has a Mechanical Engineering background. She enjoys the balance of sales and engineering within her role. After a career break she returned to Star working on Energy Management System, Ethos.
"There are great opportunities for development and career growth”
"I really enjoyed the practical, hands on aspect of the apprenticeship and I gained lots of onsite experience from seasoned engineers who were happy to share their knowledge and offer encouragement."
Dean Thompson, Service Manager
Dean Thomson started his apprenticeship as an industrial refrigeration engineer at 16 after completing his GCSEs at secondary school. He now serves as a Service Manager for Star Refrigeration Operations Group in Derby.
"In particular, I was attracted to Star because of their high industry standards and their year on year success with apprentices.”
“I started my apprenticeship with Star and almost immediately an individual training plan was set up for me...I also had monthly meetings with my mentor and quarterly meetings with the training manager to measure progress and assess key areas for development.”
Tom Woolston, Design Engineer
Now a fully qualified design engineer at Star Refrigeration’s maintenance and service branch in Bristol, Tom Woolston started his career as an apprentice. Tom received the silver prize at the RAC Cooling Industry Awards 2018 and was crowned ACR Trainee of the Year 2018.
"Refrigeration shapes the world we live in - from the internet, computers and ice cream to medicines and beer!”
"I have been working for Star since 2007 and I have most enjoyed working for a company that is fully supportive of your development, both as an individual and also in developing specialist skills to be applied within the Industry. I have enjoyed working as part of a team and consider myself lucky to be surrounded by kind, supportive people."
Chris Druce, Service Manager
Chris Druce is Star Refrigeration’s Oxford branch Service Manager. He shares his journey from apprentice to engineer since joining Star nine years ago. Starting off as an apprentice, Chris worked his way up through the company at Oxford branch as an engineer and has since moved to the Service Manager role.
"I enjoy the sense of pride at being a part of a great engineering team."
Gary McVittie, Technical Manager
Gary McVittie FInstR has been an integral part of the Star Refrigeration family since he commenced his journey as an Apprentice Refrigeration Engineer back in 2000. While working as a Refrigeration Engineer, he completed a BEng (Hons) in Building Services Engineering, transitioning from Service Engineer to Design Engineer before progressing to Technical Manager in 2010, Product Manager in 2022 and consultancy services in 2023.
“I like the fact that at Star, people matter– they make a difference and are well looked after.”
"My role as a consultant engineer has allowed me to travel the world…Since joining Star Technical Solutions I have had the privilege of working in Barbados, Mauritius, Kenya and the USA."
Pat Stacey, Consultant Engineer STS
Pat Stacey has spent his working career in industrial refrigeration, joining Star Refrigeration in 1984. Starting as an apprentice, Pat went onto win the ‘Apprentice of the Year’ Award from Basford Hall College.
"Every day is different- new sites, new issues and new plants…you never stop learning.”
“Moving to the service side of the business has also helped me develop personally. I was very quiet and lacked self-confidence…I have now become a much more confident and self-assured person”
Brian Greig, Service Supervisor
After finishing his apprenticeship in mechanical fitting and welding at Star's manufacturing facility in Glasgow, Brian Greig decided to retrain as an industrial refrigeration engineer. He then transferred to the service and maintenance side of the business. As an operations engineer, Brian now services some of the systems he helped build. His extensive knowledge of refrigeration systems allows him to foresee any potential issues and solve them before they cause downtime. Brian has since progressed to the role of Service Supervisor.
"You can obtain a qualification while getting paid to learn.”
“Overall, my apprenticeship with Star has probably been one of the best decisions I ever made. The team of engineers I work with at the London branch are nothing but helpful. Star senior engineers are incredibly knowledgeable and always answer the many questions I ask.”
Luke Edgell, Refrigeration Engineer
Luke Edgell completed a 3 year Industrial Refrigeration apprenticeship at Star Refrigeration’s Service and Maintenance branch in London and is now a fully qualified industrial refrigeration engineer. Luke joined Star just two days after his sixteenth birthday and has never looked back. Read more about his inspiring story.
“Industrial refrigeration is a great trade to be involved in.”
“Star is a great place to train and work…. I am so grateful to my mentors and colleagues at Star who have dedicated so much time and effort to my training and development and have given me complete support throughout my apprenticeship.”
Sam Gills, Refrigeration Engineer
Sam Gills is a design engineer which he was supported by Star to progress into after completing his apprenticeship with Star Refrigeration Operations Group in Newcastle. He was named ACR Trainee of the Year 2017 and then went on to compete in the national finals of Skill Fridge at the NEC in Birmingham in 2018 where he won the bronze medal. More recently he has been awarded Student of the Year 2019 at the RAC Cooling Awards
“There’s no need to struggle with anything, there’s always someone you can ring for advice and help.”
"I was placed on lots of different training courses. I was also mentored by an experienced engineer who would provide on the job training. After just 3 months, I was given the extraordinary chance of helping with the installing and commissioning of a branch contract.”
Drew Thornton, Service Supervisor
Drew Thornton achieved top competence level for an industrial refrigeration engineer after following Star’s Refrigeration training programme. As a fully qualified ST5 engineer, Drew is utilising his exhaustive knowledge & experience to serve customers and train new apprentices.
"I was impressed by the focus on my development.”
“I also like the idea of working for a company with a reputation for innovation and sustainability. Star is a family business renowned for their employee centred values and the benefits you receive from Star, from the start, are pretty good too!”
Harley Wilkie, Group Business Systems Analyst
Harley Wilkie left school in 2009 and joined Star Refrigeration three months later. Having gone through different development opportunities and through different roles within the company, Harley is now committed to the successful upgrade of the company’s business management software system as a Group Business Systems Manager.
"Career highlights - The people I’ve worked with and the people whom I have learnt from. And of course the friends I’ve made at Star."
Gary Cleary, Head of Projects
Gary Cleary has been with Star for 16 years. Starting off as an apprentice, Gary worked his way up through the company in various Production roles, and is now facing very different challenges as one of the Star Refrigeration Project Management Team.Page 3 of 3