Meet our People: Bob Prosser, Site Services Controller

Meet Bob Prosser. He joined Zuken in June 1981, in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, when it was still Racal Redac. He is a facilities manager with a passion for problem-solving and a part-time Father Christmas. Recently, he took some time out of his busy schedule to chat with me about his many years of experience at Zuken.

I’m the Facilities Manager of our UK office and look after the building infrastructure, facilities, systems, and services. Facilities management is a challenging and dynamic field that requires technical and operational knowledge, communication, and interpersonal skills.

Much of the work and projects involve external contractors and depend on good cooperation between different departments such as IT, HR, and Finance.

There’s no such thing as a typical day, which is why the role is so engaging. Every day can bring a new challenge, something to fix, a problem to solve, or something to plan. There’s probably not been two days the same since 1981! Perfect for someone like me with a passion for problem-solving, strategic thinking, and leadership.

Most Memorable Project

The recent refurbishment of the office building is the project that immediately springs to mind. The project involved replacing the HVAC system, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, redesigning the UK sales area, and meeting room suite. The time frame was a real challenge for this project: all of the work was done after the pandemic lockdown and employees returned to the office.

Beekeeper and Father Christmas

In my spare time, I keep bees. I started a few years ago with two hives I received as an anniversary gift after 35 years at Zuken. Fun fact about bees: they communicate by dancing! Their dance move is called the ‘waggle dance.’ It’s not actually a dance move at all, but rather a clever way of communicating between themselves to tell their nestmates where to go to find the best source of food. It took the researchers at Sussex University two years to decode the waggle dance.

I also help run our local community hall and am a management committee member. I enjoy clay pigeon shooting with my son. And I’m busy every year around the end of November and into December when I dig out my red suit and hat and make appearances at primary schools and nurseries.