Employee Spotlight

Chewing the cud with… Ed Elder

Each month, we put the spotlight on a Tirlán employee and for our March newsletter, we’re talking to Ed Elder

Delivering the new corporate identity and the Tirlán rebrand has taken a massive team effort and a huge number of people from right across the business have played key roles in its successful roll-out, Strategic Programme Manager, Ed Elder, says.

“My focus remains on implementing our new corporate identity, Tirlán, within the business under the Destiny programme of activities. I moved into the role of Strategic Programme Manager 12 months ago and my job is to deliver large projects and programmes for the business. My initial task was to work with the existing group developing our new name and then to stand up a cross functional team to launch and implement it within the business.

“Tirlán has been very positively received, with great momentum built from day one. Our new name was seen as respectful of where we have come from and ready for our future. The timing was perfect as we also opened our new Collaboration Hub, Abbey Quarter. Our key focus was on building awareness of the new identity both locally and internationally. We knew this would be a journey – Glanbia was 20+ years in the making after all.

“We activated our employees, shareholders and customers to get the name out there. The launch on August 31 2022 triggered a defined period of time in which we could use the Glanbia name. That period expires on March 31st 2023. By then our new identity will be used across our 52 branches and our 11 plants, our 570+ packaging materials, our operations and our 150+ milk tankers, to name but a few areas. Behind the scenes, there are hundreds if not thousands of instances where we have replaced Glanbia with Tirlán to ensure we can operate as our updated legal entity, Tirlán Limited, from 2nd April 2023.

“They say it takes a village to rear a child. It has taken an incredible village to deliver what we’ve achieved in the past year. The momentum behind this new era has touched every part of our cooperative. We would have struggled to achieve all that we have if we didn’t have the excitement and the energy that the new name and the new identity generated within the business and throughout our communities.”

Ed has worn several hats since he first joined Tirlán seven years ago. Initially joining Glanbia Agribusiness, he worked in operations across both Clonroche and Portlaoise feed mills. Following the formation of Glanbia Ireland, Ed moved into the role of Head of Health & Safety. Within 12 months of moving into health and safety, the Covid-19 pandemic reached Ireland. Whilst the challenge this brought was unprecedented, our people rose to the task and Ed played a role from the start of the pandemic, through to leading our C19 response and the relaxation of our protocols almost two years later. During this period, we reduced our lost time accidents by almost 70% and kept our people safe and well during Covid-19. This experience gave Ed a broad understanding of our organisation and a network of colleagues to lean on. Many of these played a key role in the implementation of Tirlán.

“My Health & Safety role gave me a real understanding of the business and how it works together. Moving into this role was a natural fit as I had an understanding of who did what and how we could all work together to achieve our goal under the new name and our new structure.”

The former rugby player says that while he has hung up his boots, he unwinds by heading off into the mountains with pals on Sundays on trail bikes. At this time of the year, there’s also plenty to do in the garden with his partner, Kelly. They’re avid gardeners and readily admit that while their garden looks great, the walls inside the home they’ve recently made together are still white. The interior, he says, is a work in progress.

What’s the next challenge for Ed? “We’ve a number of elements to deliver yet under the Destiny programme. My future could be on this programme for a while yet – or on another strategic programme. But whatever the future brings, I know I’ll have a loyal, energised and willing team around me. We totally underestimated the momentum and the power generated by a new name. That spirit will endure.”