Summer student leaves – a year late

July 27, 2018

Russell Lea joined us 13 months ago as a summer student, keeping production flowing while full-time members of the Power Gems team take a well-earned summer break.

Now, we often complain in Manchester that it’s difficult to tell when the summer starts or finishes – there’s a perpetual grey sky making the horizon difficult to distinguish.

So, it shouldn’t have come as too much of a surprise that he stayed on, and has helped us meet year-round demand, assembling ballasts such as the EB180PD and EB57P, through the dark autumn, winter and spring months.

But now it’s time to say goodbye, as Russell pursues a change of career. The 19-year-old is off to join the world of finance, at the Bank of New York – not in the States but in Manchester where it employs 1,200 people. After all, why would you leave this fine city, home to Power Gems HQ? The weather, possibly.

You can see time-lapse of Russell’s first summer working at Power Gems in 2016, then his return last year. Notice the lack of natural sunlight; when it comes to providing ballasts for the solar simulation market we know a thing or two.

We’re sad to see Russell go, but we understand his reasons. Bucks beat ballasts.