Family’s Holden legacy lives on at Sonnen, as production set to begin at former Elizabeth factory
His parents met there, he began his working life there, and now, the former Holden factory is where Craig Johnston will forge a new career.
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His parents met there, he began his working life there, and now, the former Holden factory is where Craig Johnston will forge a new career.
After 24 years at Holden, Mr Johnston has taken up a role as manufacturing supervisor with German battery maker Sonnen, which is leasing part of the Elizabeth site.
It follows a long association with the carmaker, stretching back much further than his first job out of high school.
“My dad worked here for 28 years and my uncle for 32 years,” Mr Johnston said.
“Even as a kid I remember waiting for Dad out the front after school.
“My Mum and Dad actually met here — within a couple of days of Mum being here they locked eyes across the warehouse and the rest is history.”
Mr Johnston, of Northgate, spent 19 years in manufacturing at Holden and then five years in the spare parts side of the business, finishing up at the beginning of this month.
He was headhunted by Sonnen’s manufacturing manager — also a former Holden employee.
“At 43, I considered myself still young enough to walk into a place and make a difference and start afresh somewhere else,” he said.
“(But) I haven’t absolutely cut the cord and left my workplace — it’s almost like I haven’t left and I’ll just take on a different role.”
Mr Johnston has been buoyed by the idea of fresh opportunities, alongside the pride he has seen in the eyes of his 11-year-old daughter Darcy, who has a keen interest in environmental issues.
“She’s looked at trying to lower our power bill by turning lights off and had straws removed from her school and got our house recycling soft plastics,” Mr Johnston said.
“I told her what I’m doing now and she just looked at me so proudly, and gave me a high-five.”
Mr Johnston is among nine former Holden employees to find work at Sonnen, which will begin moving in to its new Elizabeth base on Monday.
The company’s managing director for Australia and the Asia Pacific, Nathan Dunn, said setting up shop in Adelaide gave Sonnen access to talented people with strong experience in manufacturing.
“It all lines up to sound like a bit of a fairy tale — that Sonnen has the ability to hire heavily talented individuals and keep them in a location that they’ve been comfortable in for a long time,” he said.
Mr Dunn expects manufacturing will begin at the end of this month, and operations will ramp up to full capacity early in 2019.
The company was lured to the state in part by the SA Home Battery Scheme, which began this month.
It promises $100 million to 40,000 householders so they can buy subsidised batteries at a discount of up to $6000 each, to store solar power.
Mr Dunn said the company’s partners, including Tindo Solar and Cool or Cosy, had already fielded “thousands” of inquiries from people interested in having Sonnen batteries installed at their properties.
Sonnen wants to eventually link batteries to create a ‘virtual power plant’, where oversupply from batteries is sent back into the grid on days of high demand.
michelle.etheridge@news.com.au