Behind the scenes: Tabaré
Every Season in ‘Behind The Scenes’ we like to introduce one of our beloved employees who are at the heart of malabrigo yarn and have helped make it what is today. Tabaré has been with us for years and as the Plant Manager, he plays an integral role in the organisation and management of the mill and its processes, without him and the whole place would go up in multi-colored smoke! He has his fingers in all areas and ensures that everything is running smoothly and that every worker is not only treated well but having a great time. His sense of humor brightens the workplace, he helps people enjoy what they do and make sure they aren’t taking themselves too seriously. In the following interview he gives his unique perspective on what life is like here at malabrigo...
How long have you been working for malabrigo?
I have worked for the company since October 2011, almost six years.
What are your duties and responsibilities?
Basically I organize and ensure that the processes happening in the factory continue to function normally. I act as the plant manager, so I have to schedule and delegate the tasks that are performed across different areas of work. I also organize the exports and orders of our customers and stores in countries like North America (the USA and Canada), the United Kingdom, Russia and Japan. From Uruguay, but on a smaller scale, we also export to countries such as Brazil, Chile, China, Korea, Taiwan and Australia.
What is your typical work day like?
My daily tasks are duties that must be done day in day out. There are also unforeseen circumstances or specific tasks that could arise at any time. The first step of my routine is to work out which wool has to be sent to dye, then knowing this, I send ink receipts to the laboratory so the dyeing sector has something to work with. Next I organize the draining and subsequent filling of the dryers; the skeins that leave the dryers go directly to quality control for labeling, and finally to the packaging area. Another part of my daily duties concerns generating, preparing and controlling the stock that is ready export.
Which of your responsibilities do you enjoy the most?
I find the most satisfying tasks are in the finishing or the final cycles, when the bags are finally prepared and are waiting to be exported. I guess I like the feeling of a job well done.
Which colors are in highest demand?
In our watercolors the most ordered are: Arco Iris, Anniversario, Boreal, Camaleón. In semi-solid colors our most exported are: Tuareg, Cian, Fucsia, Sunset, Cereza and Jupiter.
Which yarns are in most demand?
The most exported yarns are Worsted and Caracol. Then there’s the Superwash line and it would be Ríos, Arroyo, Sock and Mechita.
Do you have a favorite dye color? Or a favorite yarn?
Cian, due to the energy the color transmits to me, I would not wear it in a garment of my own but it catches a lot of my attention. As for yarns, I like Rios a lot. Because of its smoothness and, being superwash, the brightness of the colors means it stands out really well.
Do you know how to knit?
I don’t know how to knit by hand on two needles, but many years ago I worked for a textile company that exported garments of knitted fabric using doublefaced machines. We usually wove tracksuit jumpers and worked mainly with cotton thread.
Could you tell us a funny anecdote?
I don’t have an exceptional anecdote to tell, but I would like to highlight that the relationship between the co-workers here is very good. We always try to work casually, making jokes or telling funny stories… I always try to make jokes to keep up a nice atmosphere. This relationship between coworkers is very important, since it means we can carry out our daily tasks better.