On Wednesday 22nd November colleagues at Somercotes Rail Solutions plant in Derbyshire held a small retirement send-off party for their long serving friend, William (Bill) Lewis. They were able to thank Bill for his exceptional commitment to Cemex and the Rail business over his 23 years of service.
Bill started with the company on Monday 18th September 2000 and gained his leader hand role in 2007 working mainly in the glue building. He has been a key part of this site’s safety improvements during his time and has driven change within the gluing process, even gaining the nickname ‘Buffalo Bill’ following a team paintballing day where Bill charged the opposition’s base and won an award on the day.
Bill turned 74 this year and felt it was his time to hang up his steel toecap boots, high visibility clothing and kick back.
Terence Clair, Rail Business Manager, said: “I have had the immense honour to have worked with Bill for all his career. His commitment, hard work and positive attitude has made it a pleasure to have him as part of this team for such a long time. I will miss Bill, as will the rest of the team here at Somercotes, and as you can imagine after knowing each other for a little over 23 years it is right to say that Bill is a dear friend, and we have created some amazing memories along this journey. We wish Bill all the best in the next part of his journey.”
During Bill’s send off a personal video message from Marcelo Catala Espinosa was played. Damien Allen was also able to attend and shared the impact Bill has had on others outside the local team.