Series: Meet the team – Wayne Brister, Production Manager
“After three decades in electronics, it was an easy decision to join DSL”
Wayne Brister, DSL’s Production Manager, is responsible for planning and overseeing the manufacturing activity at our Letchworth HQ.
After working with the DSL team as a supplier for 10 years, Wayne made the move to DSL in 2021, safe in the knowledge of a friendly team and familiarity with the business.
Wayne says: “I’ve had a great working relationship with Rory (Managing Director) and Gary (Operations Director) for years, so it was an easy decision to join DSL; we were already Facebook friends!”.
With almost three decades of experience in electronics production, Wayne has amassed a wealth of knowledge and skills which he applies on a daily basis to our clients’ projects.
He says: “I had an interest in how things work from an early age. My first job at 15 was making PCBs and I quickly moved on to big wiring and boiler control pads, so by the time I was 17 I had a good overview of all the business products and production processes.”
His Production Manager role at DSL is only his fourth job since leaving school, demonstrating his commitment to the companies he’s worked with and his dedication to an industry he knows and loves.
Wayne adds: “I’ve always worked for SMEs which, because of their size and structure, have allowed me to gain insights across the breadth of business functions, and hone my skills in industries such as consumer electronics, aerospace and medical.”
On a typical day, Wayne could be building, testing and shipping products as well as planning for the long-term growth of DSL’s production capabilities to meet the demand for increased quantities: “It would be a natural next step in the growth of DSL to expand on-site production,” says Wayne.
And with his 12 years of team management experience, he’s keen to establish a brand new, multiskilled production team in the future: “I’m a firm believer in teaching everyone everything until they get to saturation point – if you have someone on your team who wants to learn a new skill, they should be encouraged. Not only is it of benefit to the individual and the team, but it also makes good business sense; increasing efficiency and building business resilience,” he adds.
In his spare time, Wayne is kept busy with his three children and two cats. He is also a keen golfer (with a current handicap of 11 at the time of writing) and has won quite a few trophies!