This month we catch up with Jason Lee, Service Technician from Victoria. Jason is originally from Korea and comes to us with a mechanical engineering degree from Kangwon University in South Korea. Jason is also a CO2 laser resonator expert, obtaining resonator servicing certification directly from Panasonic in Osaka in 2006.
How long have you been working at Alfex CNC Australia? Coming up to 8 years
What did you do before you started with Alfex? I worked for a Korean laser machine manufacturer, I was a deputy manager and oversaw 10 other service technicians for about 10 years.
How did you get started at Alfex? I came to Melbourne in 2010 for the AusTech tradeshow, as Alfex had one of our laser machines on display. I came to Melbourne to assist Alfex to install and operate the new machine during the tradeshow. That is when I met George for the first time and had discussions about working for Alfex. 4 months after that initial discussion, I moved to Melbourne with my wife and son! The Alfex family has been really good to me, so friendly and welcoming – this was a huge factor in my decision to move to Australia.
What drew you to Alfex? When I worked in South Korea, I traveled to many different countries. Everyone was friendly, but I’ve never met people like Maryanne and George before. They have really helped me to settle into my life here in Australia with my family, I couldn’t be more grateful. I really wanted to work with them and I’m so happy to have made the move and be working with them.
How do you spend your time outside of work? I have two main hobbies – first is tennis. I play every Sunday morning with a bunch of friends. I had never played tennis before moving to Australia, and when an Aussie friend asked me to play and taught me how, I loved it! I’ve been doing it for 7 years now! My other hobby, which is new, is to go fishing. I love to take my family out to the water and spend the early morning or late evening fishing together. It’s a great way for me to relax and spend time with my family. It’s very quiet, and I get time to reflect on my family, my family back in Korea, my work, and my future.
What is your favourite vacation place and why? I really love to go the Great Ocean Road and Warrnambool area, its very quiet and I take my family every year for our holiday. I have great memories there, I tried fishing for the first time in Warrnambool and caught my biggest fish! 30cm bream.
Tell me about an exciting project that you’ve worked on at Alfex. Recently I installed the first Kern LaserCell at Melbourne University. I was really impressed with the machine – it’s one of the most well-made machines and easy to use machines that I’ve worked with. A couple of the Kern technicians came down from the US to assist in this first installation, so I got to work with them. Not only are their machines really well-made and easy to use, Kern has been one of the most supportive partners to work with. The US-based service technician taught me how to do all the maintenance, servicing and troubleshooting in so much detail. They are really willing to provide unparalleled support to us as technicians so we can pass that to the end customer. Since Alfex and Kern are both family-based businesses, I can see how their core values of excellent customer service complement each other.
What is the craziest thing to ever happen to you? 2 years ago, I went to America for training and I was meant to stay for just a week. When I got to the airport for my flight home, the airport security wouldn’t let me on my flight! Apparently, there was an issue with my VISA that I wasn’t aware of. They wouldn’t allow me to leave the US! So, whilst Maryanne back in the office was calling around trying to get my VISA sorted so I could come home, I got to spend another week in the US. I ended up driving around Connecticut and spent my second-week sightseeing before flying home.
If you had to eat one meal, every day for the rest of your life, what would it be? Bulgogi. It is a Korean food made of thin, marinated slices of beef or pork grilled on a barbecue. My wife makes the best Bulgogi and it is definitely my favourite food. My whole family loves it.
