PETER GREENHAM, JUNIOR
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The reason Dad got out of Gilbertsons was because he foresaw the downfall of those big abattoirs in the middle of the city. He said: “Unions get hold of you! The labour… it's not like country people, they're like city people. They've got lots of options. There is plenty of labour around, but the quality of the labour is not as good as you get out in the rural areas”. In the city, you’re nowhere near the cattle. Cities were getting bigger and it was getting harder to get cattle into the cities. That really came to fruition COVID-19. All the city plants are getting COVID and getting viruses. In the rural areas, we've been virtually COVID free. Also the plant size. We think a Plant Manager can quite comfortably manage an abattoir between 500 and 1000 head. You go any bigger than 1000 head and it starts getting very, very hard to control. You start putting on too many staff and your efficiency goes down the drain. To get your efficiencies then, you run multiple smaller plants rather than one big one. You've got one Head Office and you put your systems in place! That's what Dad has taught me: bigger is not always better. He also said: “You've gotta be the farmer's friend… You've always gotta err on the side of the farmer. You've got to pay quick! You've got to pay your suppliers faster than anyone else in the industry.
You've got to support the community. That's another big thing he taught me – supporting the community where you operate. If you're a good corporate citizen you're supporting the community. If you're supporting the local footy club, the local bowls club and such, people talk! They say: “I'll sell my cattle to them because they're doing the right thing by the community”. We support those who support us! They're the main things that Dad has really been a stickler on. That has allowed us to get cattle, where other people haven't been able to get cattle! Dad was able to spot the trends: • Bigger isn't always better. • The city might not be the best place to operate any more. • The workers are better out in the country and you're closer to the cattle. So that was his “future trend forecasting”. I guess, in the same vein, we looked to the future and thought: “Okay, the manufacturing side is one way to do it, but now it's evolving to more premium high cost, but high margin brand-based”. People were looking for those nuances, looking for ‘natural’, looking for ‘organic’. So we’re still constantly evolving for the future.
Dad obviously taught me a lot about life and about family. 94