Tributes for WAMMCO plant manager Rob Panting after unexpected death at age 64

Tributes have flowed for a stalwart of the Katanning meatworks after his unexpected death at age 64.

WA Meat Marketing Co-operative production manager Rob Panting was farewelled at a service at the New Lodge Hotel on Saturday after his death on November 22.

Mr Panting was a long-term employee of the Katanning meatworks, having started at the facility soon after it was opened in 1974 at the age of 17.

He started his career in the holding pens handling incoming stock before moving to the production area.

Mr Panting was eventually promoted to production manager in 1999 after the State Government’s intervention in the Katanning meatworks, which led to the creation of WAMMCO.

Plant manager Tony Bessell paid tribute to Mr Panting, saying he had a close confidant for more than two decades.

“As my second in charge, he was ultimately dependable and committed to the point where we regularly saw more of each other than our wives,” Mr Bessell said.

“Rob’s virtues were his well-known human side, his stoic performance even under pressure, his mischievous sense of humour, and his readiness to identify and mentor those with talent.”

Mr Panting leaves behind his wife Christine, daughter Jacinta, son Chris and two grandchildren.