"Working on our own doesn’t achieve the best outcomes but taking input from all generates more ideas and often improved results."
"Working on our own doesn’t achieve the best outcomes but taking input from all generates more ideas and often improved results."
“I just like to be able to get to the end of the day and be happy I put in the right effort.”
Cleanaway Warrnambool newest branch manager is Brad van Rooy, a Warrnambool native who’s responsible for overseeing a fleet of vehicles and colleagues in Warrnambool, Hamilton and Stawell.
Pictured: Brad next to our signboard.
Brad came to Cleanaway after being with a fuel distributorship servicing customers from Princetown to Dartmoor to Apsley to Dundonnell. “I enjoy working regionally – my roots are in Warrnambool, despite living in England for about 10 years where I met my wife and my kids were born.”
He describes Cleanaway Warrnambool as a dynamic workplace and that no two days are the same. “We have a long list of daily obligations to fulfil just to keep the gates open, and this alone keeps me on my toes. Additionally, unforeseen issues often crop up and while some can be resolved immediately, others can take longer to fix.”
This leads to close collaboration with the team. “Working on our own doesn’t achieve the best outcomes but taking input from all generates more ideas and often improved results,” he says. His motto is “two ears one mouth.”
He advises those who are looking to get into the waste industry that “If you put something into the role, you’ll certainly get something out of it. (The waste industry) is very interesting and there are a lot of moving parts. It’s much more than just the truck with a flashing light in the middle of the night travelling down the road.”
Brad describes himself as a bit of a revhead, with an extraordinary memory for numbers. He credits this to his first job in a local farm machinery dealership after leaving school, where he was a spare parts person. “I can recall dozens and dozens of parts numbers for old tractors from those younger days,” he says.
When asked what he loves about Warrnambool, Brad said, “Well, we are very lucky to live somewhere so beautiful. I lived in England and a lot of people there had never travelled much beyond their own country. Admittedly, there are plenty of picturesque spots there but we have such a diverse country here and more locally, the scenery is pretty special. And there are a couple of good burger places too.”
Check out our Careers page to learn more about working at Cleanaway.