From running the mail as a junior to being a keystone in safe operations at Bell Bay Aluminium, Tez Clark has racked up 50 years with the business. Here he shares some memories and advice...
Terence Clark, but everyone calls him “Tez”, is an Adviser – Safety Projects at Bell Bay Aluminium. Tez’s story at the smelter began on Wednesday, April 10, 1974, when he was 16 years old.
Tez started at Bell Bay Aluminium – then part of Comalco - as an un-apprenticed junior. A real entry-level role. The job covered quite a few things. Tez was doing refurbishment of potline tools, running stores deliveries to potlines, doing mail deliveries, and collecting crew timecards for payroll.
1976 to 2007
In 1976, Tez started shift on the “Old” Line 1 potline. Back then the cells were pre-bake, there was no fume ducting, and it was dusty. In those times, 3M paper masks were used for protection from the fume smell and dust. Personal Protective Equipment has changed and improved significantly since the 1970s. After a couple of years on Line 1, Tez transferred to the Potrooms Day Labour team. That was in 1978. Tez had various roles there before moving to Line 2 Potrooms Operations as an operator in 1983.
By 1989, he had already been on the job for 14 years. Tez started on the Heat Mass Balance trial in Line 4 before moving into a crew leadership role in 1991. Five years later, it was time to move on again: He started the Potrooms Service Crew and stayed with this team for about a decade.
The big changes
From 2007 to 2024, Tez had various roles. He was in projects; he was the Reconstruction Superintendent and currently is the Safety Projects Adviser. Tez says his latest job is the most rewarding role he has done. He can move around site, talk to many people about their ideas and help them bring their ideas to fruition. It is a long way from delivering the mail.
Obviously, Tez has witnessed many changes over the past 50 years. The biggest changes occurred between 1996 and 2002 when the smelter introduced a lot of new technology that improved the safety and wellbeing of the team, and also improved the environment within and outside the site borders.
Family wisdom
Aside from Tez, the connection to Bell Bay Aluminium runs strong in his family. His mother, father and three of siblings also worked at the smelter throughout their lives. Tez’s son, Josh, started working at the site in 2016 and is now Superintendent – Operational Excellence.
For young people starting at Bell Bay Aluminium, or anywhere else in Rio Tinto, Tez’s advice is to find a role that will give you satisfaction, speak up when you need to and always maintain a curious disposition. You might end up liking it and staying a while…
Wow ... 50 years: where did that go?