Meet the Team - Milan Fussel

Posted on Tuesday, 18 November 2025

Meet Milan Fussel

Maintenance Projects Planner at Eltham

Milan joined ANZCO Foods nine years ago, starting out as a Maintenance Fitter before stepping up to Lead Fitter and then into his current role as Maintenance Projects Planner. In this role, he works closely with the engineering team, draws up plans for shutdowns, coordinates upgrades and projects, and helps manage contractors on site.

Before joining ANZCO, Milan’s career had already taken him around the world. Originally from Germany, he spent four years living in England and ten years in South Africa, holding a variety of roles in semiconductor, pharmaceutical, and chemical plants. He then chose to move to New Zealand instead of returning to Germany - he’d visited on holiday, loved it, and already had friends here. After living in multiple countries, Milan is trilingual and speaks three languages; Afrikaans, German, and English.

Working at ANZCO - and in New Zealand - has been a surprising change for him. In Germany, employment laws mean friends and family can’t be involved in the hiring process, so you can’t recommend people you know to your workplace. In New Zealand, however, it’s common for people to help family and friends into jobs. It’s also his first time working in the meat industry, and he's enjoyed learning how to work with new types of machinery, and about the wider industry.

Outside of work, Milan is all about staying active. After years in roles where he had to commute to a different city and only return home on weekends, he now enjoys living close to work and having more time for the things he enjoys. He bikes to work during summer and spends his free time road biking, jogging, hunting, fishing, or riding motorbikes. Milan’s biggest claim to fame is completing the ‘Around the Mountain Circuit’ in seven hours and five minutes. Now he’s training to shave that down to five hours - and along the way, he’s lost an impressive 35 kg. He’s also a proud grandfather - his 21-year-old son now has a little one of his own.

Fun Facts:

  • Coffee or tea?
    Coffee
  • Favourite fruit or vegetable?
    Any!
  • Favourite thing to have for dinner?
    Steak
  • What's something you'd want on a deserted island?
    A boat
  • If you could learn any other language, what would it be?
    Spanish
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