There is unlikely to be anything in the stores of the CAPS Sydney branch that Ron Cok isn’t aware of or perhaps has been the one to put there.

Celebrating 35 years at CAPS, Ron knows his way around compressors, not as technician, but from three and half decades in stores or as a parts adviser.

“When I started, we only had Ingersoll Rand Compressors and some tools."

“There was the 2000 series, ML Series and some Types 30s. The place has expanded so much over the years, and we have so many different brands and models now.”

Life as a store man wasn’t always the plan for Ron. Emigrating to Australia at age 9, Ron even went back to Holland for a while and along the way looked destined for a career as a chef.

“It was great, but split shifts and working weekends when my mates were off and then having days off during the week, it got tiring and I looked for something else.

“Ultimately, I gave it away and did various jobs and then some driving for about 10 years before moving into the stores for the company I was at.

“It was then that the CAPS job came up and it’s been great. I only live six kilometres away, but Sydney traffic means it can still take half an hour some days.

“When I started, I basically got told – ‘Here’s the stores, go do what you like.’

Ron recalled he first task was to arrange things and clear up, putting a card index system in place so we could track what we had.

“Back then you could get a hell of a lot more done without computers.

“It was more direct, with conversations with people. You’d ring someone up and say I need this from her and that taken there. But now you just seem to be in someone’s email chain and they get to you when they want to.”

Ron said times that he went out with the field guys were good learning experiences.

“I used to go out and give them a hand with some things. It was a good way to know the gear, see what goes where and understand how it works. It really helped with the parts role and then onto stores.”

Ron’s tip to people starting out or joining the business has been to always try and do the best job you can.

“Be friendly to people and if you don’t know something, ask questions!"

“Do things the way you would expect them to be done if you were the customer.”

Ron highlighted how much he has enjoyed his time at CAPS.

“Not every day is heaven, nowhere ever is, but I really enjoy working otherwise I would have retired seven years ago,’ he said.

“While I’m able and fit I don’t mind keeping going, but you never know what is around the corner.”

Congratulations from all your colleagues on your service milestone Ron.