CRYSTAL DIAS never expected she would become a process engineer, but it would seem the 25-year-old has found her niche at CSBP's fertiliser granulation plant in Kwinana.
"I've always been interested in science and chemistry she said.
"I didn't want to be stuck in a lab or in a job where I was only researching - I wanted to do something a little bit more interactive.
"This sort of plant is perfect for my desire for chemistry - it's really ideal for what I'm passionate about."
Crystal found her way to CSBP in 2012 after participating in a three-month vacation program at the company's sodium cyanide plant while studying a double degree in chemical engineering and chemistry at the University of Western Australia (UWA).
She was then the successful applicant for a cadetship offered by the company, which gave her the opportunity to work two days a week while completing the final 18 months of her five-and-a-half-year bachelor degree.
"It was really great to get that industry exposure and apply it to my studies at university, especially towards the end of my degree when I was doing big design projects where you need that industry input to give you that edge of understanding," she said.
"I became familiar with how things are done differently in industry, compared to what you learn about at university on a theoretical level."
During the cadetship Crystal worked at the company's sodium cyanide plant, before moving to its ammonia and ammonium nitrate facility.
After completing her degree in 2013, she was offered a position as part of CSBP's graduate program.
Crystal has now moved to a full-time position as a process engineer - manufacturing compound fertilisers in the company's granulation plant.
"It was a bit of a winding journey and I've been lucky to have been rotated through all three business units, so I have a pretty good understanding of all of our chemical processes in CSBP," she said.
It's a busy job for the 25-year-old, who is responsible for authorising decisions made through the facility, along with managing products, storage and troubleshooting.
"In the granulation plant we run up to 14 different products and I provide the operators with a guide sheet for all the running values, and all the plant inputs - as to where we should be for the right chemical analysis as a product," she said.
"Everyday is different which is great because it keeps the job exciting."
As part of her self-development Crystal has learnt to deal with the challenges of working in a male-dominated industry.
"Most of the people that you encounter in operations and maintenance as a process engineer are men, so I've just kind of learnt to put my own touch on things and then I don't have to conform to being a bloke.
"It's not what everyone says it is, you don't have to be a man to be successful in this industry and it's very obvious that it is slowly changing - you see more females in engineering and we're getting a lot more exposure.
"It's a very exciting industry - there's lots of different avenues you can take and there are lots of different plants you can work in, so my advice to young women would be don't be intimidated by a lot of men doing engineering."
She said support systems in place for young engineers at CSBP had been extremely beneficial in helping her overcome challenges.
"We have a structured mentoring process - a program that we can go through to discuss any issues we have or anything we want to know about the future," she said.
"There's just oodles of people here who are very willing to help with the development of our young engineers and our young staff members."
This year Crystal is looking forward to meeting with more customers using products created in the granulation plant.
"Hopefully I'll be getting out a little bit more to get a better understanding of what our quality issues are, so we can focus on what we can do in the plant to put out the best quality product.
"It's great because you actually do see how your products are being used out on the farms and that gives me the biggest sense of satisfaction."
Looking further to the future, she is open to exploring different career options.
"Right now I love my job - it's a really good challenge, but maybe in the next five to 10 years I could see myself doing something a little bit more commercial.
"As a process engineer you get introduced to all the commercial side of the business and how your product has to get to customers, and what you have to do to maintain costs and expenses, so I'm quite interested in that.
"Moving up into management would also be something I'd consider."
Crystal is happy with her career development and proud of her achievements in the industry.
"I suppose I would never have thought that I, at the age of 25 would be the operator of my own plant," she said.
"I just never thought I'd be here at such a young age so I'm very proud of that - it's really rewarding to be at a relatively high level for somebody at my age.
"I know that I've worked really hard to achieve that - it just proves that hard work pays off."
