Luke Salter

Senior food and dairy operations leader with 14+ years in FMCG and more than 10 years in management across processing, packing and high-volume manufacturing. Combines visible people leadership with strong operational discipline across safety, quality, delivery, cost, yield, OEE and continuous improvement. Proven in cross-functional problem solving, manager and operator capability development, Lean/5S ways of working and major site investment.

Current project portfolio includes an £8m commissioning programme and a scalable automation initiative with approximately £500k site-wide potential. Open to relocation for the right senior operational role.

Production Lead at Magna Foods (2025-01 – Present)

• Drive operational performance across safety, quality, productivity, OEE, hygiene standards and process efficiency within a fast-paced food manufacturing environment.
• Analyse operational trends including accidents, CPMU, OEE, quality, downtime and productivity; worked with Automation to improve daily performance reporting and visibility.
• Introduced 5S standards on Line 9 and structured root cause analysis for operators, strengthening workplace organisation, problem-solving discipline and ownership of recurring issues.
• Led commissioning of Line 9, a £5m production line, delivered five days ahead of schedule and fully operational on time through close coordination of Engineering, contractors, Production, Quality and wider site stakeholders.
• Leading the commissioning of Line 10, an £8m production-line investment, currently working through the structural build and installation phase and coordinating readiness for the next commissioning stages.
• Leading a £50k rim-heating automation pilot on Line 9; subject to successful validation, the technology is planned for rollout across all production lines, creating an approximately £500k site-wide improvement programme.
• Lead Early Management meetings, bringing cross-functional teams together to review site issues, assign ownership and drive structured long-term improvement actions.
• Introduced line inspection reporting and reviewed risk assessments to improve process control, accountability, equipment visibility and safe working practices.

Shift Manager | APS Project Team | Stourton Project Team at Arla Foods (2023-03 – 2025-03)

• Selected for a project-team secondment at Arla Stourton because of processing knowledge and familiarity with relevant systems and machinery.
• Identified potential recurring cost-saving opportunities valued at approximately £300k-£500k per year and challenged CIP timings to create further capacity and cost benefits within the cottage cheese plant.
• Selected for the Arla Performance System (APS) project team alongside colleagues from Production, Engineering, Quality and Logistics.
• Delivered work across leadership and capability, site performance management, standardisation and continuous improvement, including 5S, top loss, SQCDMP and coaching.
• Led shift performance against Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, Motivation and Planet priorities within high-volume cheese manufacturing.
• Maintained visible shop-floor leadership through safety walks, daily and weekly audits, quality verification and escalation of operational risks.
• Managed yield, giveaway and off-cut performance through SIC review, daily reporting and collaborative problem-solving with operators and Engineering.
• Supported team development through one-to-ones, skills matrices, multi-skilling and progression opportunities, while working cross-functionally with Engineering, Planning, Logistics and Quality.

Senior Process Leader / Technical Operator at Müller (2012-01 – 2023-03)

• Delivered two cost-saving projects at Müller with combined recurring savings in excess of £150k per year, presenting the proposals to senior management and gaining approval.
• Progressed from Technical Operator into Senior Process Leader responsibilities for more than six years, overseeing a team of up to nine and coordinating day-to-day shift activity.
• Planned production and engineering activity while maintaining legal, health and safety, quality and operational standards; completed fire, H&S, quality and first-aid audits.
• Managed downtime reporting, handovers, tanker-logistics rescheduling, engineering-job planning, return-to-work activity, one-to-ones, team briefs and training matrices.
• Supported CIP validation, lean management, CCP controls, laboratory testing, asset-care routines and SAP-based operational processes.