Employee Engagement Committee Member Panumas Homjun, Senior Production Manager, Amata Plant, Champions Community Giving at McCormick (Thailand) Co., LTD
Living with COVID may be commonplace today, however, when the pandemic first took the world by surprise almost three years ago, many people found themselves cut off from their livelihood and struggled to bring basic food supplies home. This was also when McCormick (Thailand) Co., LTD, led by its team of Employee Engagement Committee (EEC) members, decided to do what they could to provide emergency food supplies to the community living in the vicinity of our Thailand plant located in Amata.
One of the EEC members was Panumas Homjun, Senior Production Manager of the Amata Plant. When asked about his motivation to help, he said, “COVID changed the world, and it made me see that people around me were really going hungry without their basic food supplies. Although I had previously been involved in other kinds of community services like blood donation drives and mangrove planting, I had never been in a situation where I saw large groups of people without means to feed themselves. I wanted to give what I could to help people because I knew I was lucky to have a stable job and safe work environment.” Since then, Panumas has not stopped giving. In fact, he is now an integral member of the local EEC and has been actively involved in all local community giving activities from donating stationery and food supplies to a local provincial school, to championing and organizing a recent partnership with Scholars of Sustenance in Thailand to feed hundreds of hungry and underprivileged seniors.
Affectionately nicknamed ‘Nu’, Panumas is an all-rounder with a degree in Food Science & Technology, as well as a master’s degree in Business Administration. He has been with McCormick Thailand since 2018 and first joined as an Assistant Production Manager during an exciting yet challenging time when the APZ region was relocating its Thailand Plant from Rayong to Amata. Tasked as a member of the project team to oversee overall equipment, infrastructure set up and regulatory requirements to successfully transition the plants, Nu recalls those early days with fond memories of hard work that were enriched by valuable learnings and many hours of fun times working with cross-functional teammates to achieve one common goal. “I learnt so much during those times, and even now, the team is like family to me. One thing I love about our culture is that everyone respects each other, is helpful to one another, and most importantly, there is a lot of trust and open conversations which means we tend to resolve work issues amicably and effectively. To me, this is really the Power of People at work."
With over 150 people under his reporting line, a typical day for Nu starts with a Daily Direction Setting (DDS) session followed by a shopfloor visit. Overseeing two shifts over 24 hours also means spending plenty of time interacting with teammates to ensure everyone’s well-being while maintaining every detail to deliver the high-quality products synonymous with McCormick’s brand name. All this while juggling complex projects such as being a member of the APZ Spice Center of Excellence, which has been working with the global team to build up regional capabilities and expertise to fulfill the region’s vision to be a leader in Pepper. Nu is also part of the MMB Southeast Asia team for the last three terms and was assigned as Project Leader and Secretary.
When asked what he is most proud of his achievements here at McCormick, Nu said, “Respect! Over the years having worked closely with my team, I have always put my team first. I am most proud that many of them respect me like a ‘big brother’ and mentor. They put their trust in me to balance company goals while ensuring their welfare. I’m also proud to be part of the MMB, which has taught me in-depth knowledge of the business, and the importance of working as a team, which is so critical to the organisation. Teamwork is always first for me and what makes me happy at McCormick.”
Outside of work, Nu is also great at balancing his schedule as an avid runner and badminton player. He keeps to a timetable of morning and evening runs on most weekdays and plays badminton on weekends.
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