Meet the Team - Viliamu Alauni

Meet Viliamu Alauni

Cutting Room Key Person at Rangitīkei

Viliamu, known as ‘Vili’, is a Key Person (KP) in the cutting room at ANZCO Foods Rangitīkei. He's been at ANZCO for more than ten years, starting out in the boning room where he quickly learned how to do many different tasks across the boning and packing rooms, becoming known for always being happy to help.

He then moved into his role as KP, which he's been in for six years, where he helps monitor and delegate positions to workers. Supervisors give the KPs cut plans for the day ahead, and it's the KP's job to make sure the workers in the room are set up and have the right equipment to carry out the cut plan. It's an important role, and while Vili says there's more pressure, it's been a good opportunity to test his skills and get more experience.

ANZCO was Vili's first job in New Zealand after he moved from Samoa. He's enjoyed the opportunity to meet people from other cultures and walks of life – he says he never thought he'd get the chance to work with people from Vietnam, Cambodia, and many other countries. He's found communicating can be a challenge sometimes, but he's developed a combination of English and sign language to talk to his team. Vili is a D&I ambassador, working with ambassadors from around the business to help employees feel welcome and make sure everyone is treated fairly. As part of this, he's helped organise culture days, end-of-year barbeques, and other activities around his site.

Before coming to ANZCO, Vili represented Samoa in rugby. He was selected for the high performance academy unit when he was in high school, and out of this he represented Samoa twice each in U18, U19, and U20. He was selected for the Samoa A squad, and had contracts in Samoa and the Cook Islands. He also dabbled in athletics when he wasn't playing rugby, and headed to the Youth Olympic Games and the Champ of Champs Samoa athletics competition where he competed in 100m and 200m sprints.

Eventually, Vili decided it was time to focus on his family, and he stepped back from sport to apply for a job at ANZCO and move to New Zealand with his wife and children. When he's not working, he's spending time with his family, which often involves taking his kids to sports training and sharing his experiences with them, and every now and again he'll fit in a game or two of volleyball.

Fun Facts

• Favourite fruit?
  Pineapple
• Favourite thing to have for dinner?
  Lamb fry curry with Taro and Koko Samoa (Samoan hot chocolate)
• What would you want on a deserted island?
  Supoesi - pawpaw soup
• What superpower would you have?
  A strong brain, to handle stress better!
• If you could instantly learn a language, what would it be?
  Japanese or Spanish
• What's your favourite TV show or all time?
  Undercover Boss