Meet the Team - Mark Crichton

Posted on Monday, 29 September 2025

Meet Mark Crichton

Loadin/Loadout Leading Hand at Green Island

Mark wears several hats at Green Island. His main role is Loadin/Loadout Leading Hand, but he's also a Stand-In Supervisor and Health and Safety Representative, and where needed he also helps with certification.

His days begin at 4:30am, moving ingredients to production areas around the site and setting up temp rooms for production. Later in the morning when trucks arrive with raw material, Mark and his team load the product into cages for tempering so it's ready for production the next day. In the afternoon he'll scan and prepare product for dispatch. It keeps him busy, but he enjoys it because it helps fill the day in.

Mark has more than 30 years' experience in the meat industry. He worked at Fortex in loadout, which was taken over by PPCS after the Fortex collapse, and then changed to Silver Fern Farms - and he stayed with the company across all of the changes. Eventually the site shut, so Mark moved to Polarcold, but when he started to get sick of ‘four white walls’ in the freezer, he looked for another job. His son, who worked at Green Island, mentioned a loadout vacancy at the site. He applied, interviewed, and was hired immediately - and he's never looked back.

Since joining ANZCO, Mark has been surprised by the open communication, and that everyone treats each other with respect, no matter their role. He's also valued the development opportunities available - like when the old stand-in supervisor retired, and the team at Green Island offered him the role.

Outside of work, Mark keeps busy in the garden. He's recently built planter boxes from leftover site pallets, and uses them to grow vegetables. Naturally he’s also a loyal Highlanders supporter. After a busy day at work he often heads to his garage man cave - complete with a five-person spa, 65-inch TV, surround sound, and his collection of around 30 swords from around the world - and listens to music. Mark is married, and has four adult children and thirteen grandchildren.

Fun facts:

  • Favourite fruit?
    Nectarine
  • What's one thing you'd want on a deserted island?
    Boat
  • What superpower would you have?
    Being calm
  • If you could instantly learn any other language, what would it be?
    Mandarin
  • Favourite TV show of all time?
    The Sopranos
Go back to all articles