John Coffey is the operations director at Flahavan’s, one of Ireland’s oldest private family-run food businesses, best known for its porridge.

John started working at the oat mill in Kilmacthomas, Co Waterford, in 1982, monitoring the intake of oats being delivered from local farmers, and sampling and testing the quality of incoming grain at harvest time. Like many people back then, John did not attend university, instead he worked his way up the ladder in Flahavan’s over the years.

“At that time, modern documented quality systems didn’t really exist. John Flahavan’s father and uncle were very interested in the science of oats – the processing, cooking, reaction times and temperatures. Around that time we began working closely with international oat experts to further develop our understanding around the emerging science of oats and the associated health benefits.

With this quality experience background, John was appointed mill manager in the mid-1990s.

He worked in this role for a number of years, overseeing the production, quality, purchasing, maintenance and procurements of the mill. In 2000, after a change in the family shareholding of the company, a new focus around growing the Flahavan’s brand was undertaken and John was appointed operations director.

“Our turnover was much lower then than it is now, so our management team became very focused and very lean. It required a team effort and as a team we took it step by step, often facing difficult challenges, to create the successful company it is today,” he says.

His day-to-day role is extensive, from overseeing the production schedule, packaging and raw material in-take, to warehousing, responding to short lead times on retailer orders, staying up-to-date on quality legislation, and assessing future capital expenditure requirements. He also compiles in-depth reviews of the previous days’ production efficiencies, and he also reviews the “fixed production” requirements for the next two days ahead as well as planning for the longer term. “These days” says John, “we are also exporting our brand to new markets abroad, which include the UK, America, South Korea and Israel”.

John offers advice for those who did not attend further education: “People choose various paths and, for whatever reason, college isn’t for everyone. Your first job is where your career starts – demonstrating commitment and enthusiasm will always be noted.” For those attending college, a degree in food science is a good starting point for anyone interested in an operational or quality role in the food industry. Working at Flahavan’s has been a great journey over the past 35 years. He’s proud to be a part of the growth and success of the company.

“It’s great to see how the company has continued to invest in the business. We’re also committed to the environment, using the by-product of oats to fuel our boilers and soon 50% of our energy requirements will come from renewable resources of water, wind and fire. That’s pretty unique,” he says.