• Arxada’s long-standing and trusted customer relationships is built on decades-long tenures.
• Reflecting on his 30-year milestone, customer account manager Absolom Mngomezulu, shares his story, the changes he has seen over the years and what made him stay with the company.

Port Shepstone, South Africa, 13 April 2023

In an era where job hopping is common, Arxada’s decades-long tenures has played an important role in establishing a trusted brand built on long-standing customer relationships – one of the industry’s hallmarks.

This year, customer account manager, Absolom Mngomezulu, celebrates a 30-year milestone with Arxada, a global leader in wood treatment technologies.  Reflecting back to when he started out in the industry, Absolom describes the past three decades as a ‘great journey’.

“I’ve seen many changes over the years, some of which were more challenging than others. But if you love something enough you are going to stick with it, and I genuinely enjoy the work I do. It never occurs to me to leave. I don’t know how many people can say that,” says Absolom.

Absolom’s long-term commitment and loyalty to the company shows in the manner in which he references his pride in the company and his passion to share his deep knowledge that comes from seeing the company in several different stages of growth over the years.

Growth and opportunities

Straight out of school and with a passion for science and Mother Nature, Absolom’s first position was plant operator. Within two years he advanced to the laboratory, working alongside and learning from the technicians and chemists.  “My love for science was put to good use doing analysis and testing of the chemicals. I loved every moment, and I was fortunate to be able to learn from many great mentors during this time,” says Absolom.

His next growth opportunity was on the production side where he fulfilled the role of product supervisor overseeing quality control. By this stage, the background knowledge of treatment chemicals and hands-on experience, acquired over many years with the company, stood him in good stead for moving up the ladder to a new client-facing role in after-sales training. This meant acquiring computer skills and Absolom was quick to step outside of his comfort zone and embrace technology, which was no small feat at this stage of his career.

After spending the past twenty-three years training customers and their plant operators on Arxada’s Treat Right and Tantreat® programmes, Absolom is just as excited about the industry as the day he started.

“Being able to provide customers with the tools to effectively manage the quality of their wood treatment with our Tanalith® products, as well as the importance of safe and compliant operation of treatment plants is very rewarding. But even more rewarding is seeing people become passionate about preserving the beauty of wood through our long-standing and trusted relationships, developed over many years’ of plant visits,” says Absolom.

Career reflections

When asked why he stayed with the company for so long, Absolom’s immediate response is the many opportunities afforded to him to learn and grow within a globally recognised company. Even with all the change of faces over the years, Absolom describes himself as fortunate to be part of a team striving for the same universal vision of a world built with wood that’s enhanced with industry-leading technologies.  

Passing on some advice

Absolom has this advice for anyone starting out in the industry, “Meet as many people as you can and learn as much as possible – not only about your functional role, but also about the products and services within the company. Being open to learning is what advanced me – and being a good listener also helped a lot”.

He concluded by saying, “You need to love Mother Nature. If not, then you are not the right person for this industry.”

Source: Arxada