A wealth of knowledge

Seng’s 36 years at Cook Medical Australia

During a hot summer’s day in January 1986, Seng Ounkham was parked at the Cook Medical warehouse in Melbourne, Australia, waiting to pick up his wife. Seng drummed his fingers against the steering wheel and continued glancing at the doors of the office, trying to get a glimpse of his wife. He’d worked hard that day and wanted nothing more than to go home. But instead of his wife walking to his car, Geoff Reeves, the manager of Cook Medical Australia at the time, walked up to him.

“I was so surprised,” Seng reminisced, a smile on his face. “He came up to me and asked me what I was doing here. I told him I was here to pick up my wife. Geoff smiled and asked me if I could help them with an issue they were having with international shipping.”

At the time, Seng was working as a production engineer at a dishwashing company. He may have known a little more about Cook and their products through his wife, but he was in no way qualified for the work Geoff suggested he do. However, there was something compelling about Geoff’s offer and Seng decided to go for it.

He began working at Cook the very next day. Fast forward to present day, and Seng is celebrating his 36th work anniversary with Cook.

From International Shipping to Customer Service to Raw Materials

During the next six months after being approached by Geoff, Seng worked tirelessly to improve the international shipping situation with countries such as Japan, Korea, and Singapore. And with the prior knowledge he possessed, and his ability to solve problems as an engineer, he was able to make sure that the situation was organized correctly and that other employees would be able to do the job as well.

“After I fixed the issue, Geoff Reeves summoned me again! This time, he asked me to help with International Customer Service,” Seng said, shaking his head with laughter. “I knew nothing about Customer Service.”

And so, Seng began working in Customer Service. He developed excellent relationships with international distributors and customers, and he enjoyed his job. He helped reorganize the entire system, making sure that Cook employees were aware of all the products being manufactured and shipped internationally.

“It was a big job. And I had to train someone with me so we could do the work together. But after another six or seven months, I was finished with this, too,” Seng said.

Unsurprisingly, Geoff already had another job ready for Seng to begin, this time in Raw Materials. Around the same time that Seng began working in Raw Materials, a new product was being manufactured, and there were quite a few issues, both within the company and externally, that needed solving. Seng, the perfect fit for the job, readily agreed.

“I worked 12-to 13-hour days because there was so much to do. We had to continuously communicate with the US, and because of the time differences, staying late at work became normal,” Seng said. “It took much longer to fix these issues, and soon, I had stayed with Cook for a few years.”

In 1988, Cook Medical Australia moved to a new location—almost 1,800 km, or about 1,118 miles, away to Brisbane, Australia. They were one—one of the first buildings in Brisbane Technology Park. Seng was part of a small team sent about a month before the official move to oversee the moving process and make sure everything in the warehouse and office was okay.

“I trained new employees, and when everyone else moved up to Brisbane, we were good to go,” Seng added.

Computers, systems, and Information Technology

Soon after that, in 1990, Seng was yet again tasked with a new job: overseeing the IT department.

“I knew nothing about IT and computers. I spent two weeks with Bill Cook in England, training and learning everything I could about computers and the systems we used. It was amazing, even though we trained from 8:00 in the morning all the way to 10:00 at night,” he gushed.

And since then, Seng has continued to be an integral part of Cook. He’s seen Cook grow from a small group in Melbourne, with only a few dozen employees, to what it is now, one of Queensland’s largest medical device manufacturers, with over 700 employees. The IT team has also grown immensely over the last two decades, and the way we perceive IT has changed, too.

“Seng has contributed towards so much of what Cook is today. He has a wealth of knowledge about the business and continues to be a valued part of our team,” Samih Nabulsi, managing director at Cook Medical Australia, said.

“Getting to learn all the new programs and understanding the changes is something that I always look forward to. There are always challenges; they’re my favorite part of the job!” Seng said. “Cook is my second family. I love working here, and every day I’m so grateful that Geoff Reeves approached me that day and I started working at Cook. I thank everyone that I have worked with so far, and I am so proud of everything we have achieved.”

You can check out a special message from Seng by clicking on the video below.

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