Robert Walsh - Senior Industrial Practitioner - Ironlink

"Regain should become to the aluminium smelting industry what IBM is to computing"

Robert Walsh is a Senior Industrial Practitioner at Ironlink, an organisation that provides management services to continuous process industries. As an advisor to Regain, he was first drawn the company’s values and what he describes as their “humanistic” approach to clients and industry.

“My impression of Regain is that it is shaped and driven by Bernie’s (Director Bernie Cooper) personal values,” Robert says. “The people at Regain are both ethical and practical in their approach to business.”

According to Robert, it is not just Regain's approach that sets them apart, but also the way they deal with people. 

“Their outlook in how they interact with the people who work with them, and for them, is best described as ‘humanistic’,” he says. “I enjoy dealing with them.” 

Robert, who has known Bernie for years, previously working together at Silcar, explains he was especially attracted to Regain’s dedication to environmental standards.  

“They put their money where their mouth is and apply the necessary resources to achieve a high standard,” he says. “They have not tried to cut corners. I have seen this in practical reality at the production plants and (environmentally speaking) in high risk operations such as ship loading and unloading. They have gone well past the norms of site cleanliness and control that other stakeholders have previously accepted and expected.”

Roberts says he enjoys working with Regain because it is ultimately rewarding when looking at the big picture. Especially since he has a family who will inherit global environmental conditions. 

“I am very happy to be involved and associated with such an environmental ‘good news’ story,” he says. “I feel I am doing my small bit to leave the world in better shape for our kids and grandkids.”

He also shares many of the values that Regain has worked hard in the industry to be known for. 

“I enjoy working with an organisation who behaves in an ethical and humanistic way as it accords strongly with my own beliefs and values.”

While Robert names numerous projects that have taken full advantage of Regain’s Industrial Ecology Model of transforming waste into a valuable resource for another industry, such as those at Alcoa (Port Henry), Adelaide Brighton and Blue Circle Southern Cement, he uses Tomago Aluminium as a prime example.

“Tomago smelter has almost no accumulation of untreated hazardous waste,” he says. “The hazardous material has been converted to a product that has been beneficially used in another industry (cement).”

When asked where he sees Regain in the near future, he answers by comparing them to another industry leader. 

“As far as the treatment of SPL (spent pot lining) is concerned, Regain should become to the aluminium smelting industry what IBM is to computing,” he says. “It is the natural and first choice because it is proven to work and is the industry leader.”

Top