When Henry Scerri says he knows copper, he’s not just talking about himself. He’s talking about his father, uncles, brother, a family that has collectively poured over 190 years of their working lives into the same factory floor in Port Kembla — the very birthplace of copper tube in Australia.

That’s a legacy.

Working up the Ranks 

Henry joined MM Kembla at 16 years and 9 months old. “I started here as a canteen boy,” he says with a grin. 

From there, he worked his way through the factory the way only someone who truly loves the place would — patiently, and with a curiosity about every corner of the business. After canteen boy, he moved on to the draw benches at 18 years old, then to the furnace, the cabin cranes, boiler attendant and eventually, his home for many years now: the Midas.

Today, Henry is a Team Leader on the Midas machine — one of the most critical points in the production process. It’s where copper tube is drawn down to size, from one inch all the way up to 54mm, cut to length at 6 metres and 5.8 metres, where the finished product is then sent out the door. 

Forty plus years in, Henry isn’t just an employee, he’s the perfect example of the beating heart inside Kembla.

A Family Affair

Henry’s story doesn’t start or end with Henry.

His father worked in the machine shop for over 25 years, one uncle spent 40 years in the tube mill whilst another uncle in the yard gang, clocked more than 40 years. His brother came through the tube mill before moving into the store as a storeman, with 28 years under his belt and his sister-in-law worked in the administration building for 16 years. A single family with over 190 combined years at the one address — 30 Gloucester Boulevard, Port Kembla.

Henry says he’d ask his uncles and father what it was like back in the day and they would ask him what’s different today, exchanging stories to one another. 

“My father always says, ‘What’s changed there?’ And I say, ‘Not much .'”

Classic. For a lot of people, that might sound like a criticism, like an outdated process. For Kembla, it’s the highest possible compliment and is testament to the copper being produced, a material that doesn’t change and can outlast the life of a building.  Despite the ongoing investment in improving manufacturing processes and efficiencies, one thing that hasn’t changed is Kembla’s commitment to producing Australia’s highest quality copper tube for over 11 decades. The processes that produce quality copper tube don’t need reinventing — they need mastering and families like the Scerris have spent generations doing exactly that. 

What 40 Years Really Buys You

There’s a difference between someone who operates a machine and someone who understands it. Henry is firmly in the latter category.

“It’s good to keep you on your toes — checking, doing tests, making sure the quality’s in it,” he says. “From 40 years, you’ve got that knowledge about it. You know what you’re looking for.”

When asked whether, if all systems failed on the Midas, he could still work out what end product was right and wrong, Henry doesn’t hesitate. 

“Yes. Yes I should be able to.”

That depth of knowledge — the kind that only comes from decades of repetition, observation, and genuine care — is exactly what sits behind every stick of Kembla copper tube that leaves Port Kembla. It’s not just quality control. It’s institutional memory, passed down through hands and generations.

What Quality Means When It’s Personal

Ask Henry what Kembla quality and reliability means to him, and he gets straight to it.

“It means a lot to me. At the end of the day, it’s our jobs. We send the quality out. People are going to buy our stuff, and that’s what I want. I wouldn’t buy it if it wasn’t up to spec.”

He pauses, then adds with quiet confidence:

“They [customers] look at our brand — they should have a good look at it. Because it’s really good quality. We’ve been in the business for over 100 years now. The quality is good. I’d have no problems with it. And if it goes past me — well, you’ve got quality.”

Henry isn’t just a gatekeeper of quality — he’s a believer in it. When your family’s name is tied to the product, quality stops being a standard and starts being personal.

The Bloke on the Truck

Henry is also the face of MM Kembla’s Proper Copper campaign — recognisable across Australia and into Southeast Asia on everything from marketing materials to the side of Kembla’s delivery trucks.

How does that feel?

“It’s an honour to be the face of MM,” he says. “On the truck and everything. Even the guys on the floor are stirring me up a bit.”

But the best part? His nephew spotted the truck in Queensland before Henry had even seen it in the flesh himself.

“He rings me up going, ‘Hey Uncle, you’re up here! You’re in Queensland today!’ And I said, ‘Yeah mate, I’m just keeping an eye on you — so just watch what you’re doing, mate!'”

It’s the kind of story that only happens when a person becomes genuinely synonymous with a brand. Not because of a photoshoot, but because of 40 years of showing up, caring, and doing the job right.

The Kembla Difference — In Human Form

Henry Scerri is proof of Kembla’s generational knowledge being embedded into everything we do. 

He is the living embodiment of what it means when we say our people are metallurgists, engineers, and specialists – the original craftsmen of copper. That knowledge isn’t in a manual or employee onboarding course. It’s in the hands of people like Henry, passed down through families like the Scerris, refined over decades, and poured into every single tube that leaves this factory.

110+ years of Australian copper manufacturing. 190+ years of one family’s contribution to it.

That’s not just history. That’s our people. That’s Kembla. Copper. Unrivalled.

Want to see Henry in action? Watch the full interview video above.

To find out more about MM Kembla’s legacy and what makes our copper genuinely different, visit our Kembla. Copper. Unrivalled. page.