The Humble Papaya Salesman - David Wood (web version)

THE HUMBLE

PAPAYA SALESMAN

David Wood Thank you for 40 Years of Service Loyalty | Tenacity | Determination | Success … choose some words that best describe..

Or maybe, we leave it ‘Thank you’ this may be more to his liking if he is reluctant to have the celebration made a big deal of?

THE JETBEST STORY Steve Barnes Chief Executive Officer JETBest Group

18

“

“

David Wood adage no. 28

Every single day presents an ocean of character building opportunities

THE WOOD LEGACY CONTINUES Steve Barnes, CEO JETBest Group

22

I had the interesting experience of meeting David Wood and team back in 2006 and I am pleased to say 12 years later when they took up my references, I joined the business as the CEO. The journey has been very interesting, but David’s focus and resilience has continued to inspire my role within the company.

We may not always agree but the support has been constant and very much appreciated. David’s persistence, determination, resilience and can-do attitude has been the backbone and platform for the growth of the Jetbest Group.

The group has grown but still relies heavily on the performance of the trading floors, the early days’ investment in ripening and prepacking at Acacia Ridge, the opportunity to establish the TFD joint venture and the acquisition of Beemart and Rocky Food Processors.

Moving into partnerships around growing continues to develop the diversity and sustainability of the Jetbest Group.

In some respects we have gone full circle. J E Tipper was a leading tomato wholesaler many years ago; now in Sydney we have re-entered the category. The business prides itself on the longevity of its team members - the level of family in and across the group is testament to ‘Woody’s Ways’. The business has grown through floods, cyclones and a global pandemic, but remained constant to its roots: great fruit, great growers, great customers and excellent service. As the business continues to grow in size, locations, products and service, David will continue to walk the same piece of concrete as a “humble pawpaw salesman”.

Having completed his 40-year apprenticeship, we look forward to moving David onto a full-time role.

Thank you David and even more thanks to Tracey for supporting David and the challenges of J E Tipper!

Go Michael! Go Patrick!

The Wood legacy continues.

23

1930s TIPPERS

1940

1950s

The company expands rapidly, John Edward ‘Jack’ Tipper (JE Tipper) purchasing two additional sections purchases a general corner store in Jack Tipper buys a section in the in the Roma Street Markets.

Roma Street Markets, becoming a Milton, calls it Tipper’s Corner. primary wholesaler in Brisbane’s Markets.

1946 Jack forms a family partnership with his sons Ted and John Jr after their five years’ service in the Army.

Renames the company J.E. Tipper & Sons.

TIMELINE 24

1964

In August, the Markets move to Rocklea where Tippers is a founding agent. Starting with two floors, Tippers quickly expands, purchasing Thirteen-year-old Ernie Wood takes another three sections and a summer job at the company, not warehousing and cold room space. suspecting it would last 46 years.

1950

1974 The infamous Brisbane floods.

Tippers. The Markets are badly affected. Produce is sold and distributed on higher ground on Curzon Street, Rocklea.

1986 Ted Tipper retires. Ernie and a partner During This Time purchase the company.

1983

Ernie served 23 years with Brismark David officially joins the company representing Brisbane Markets and establishes a tropical fruit wholesalers. He served 13 years business that will become the as a Committeeman, one year company’s specialty line. as Treasurer, five years as Vice President, two years as President and two years as Immediate Past President.

Ernie also served on the Australian Chamber of Fruit and Vegetables (later known as the Australian United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association), and was Brisbane Market President and Australian President in 1991.

25

1996 Ernie retires and David and other partners purchase the business.

’98-’99 Tipper’s JET Direct division is established with its purpose-built handling, packaging and ripening facility opening at Acacia Ridge in Brisbane’s premier industrial precinct.

2001 2019

Tippers expands into the Sydney Produce Markets, upscaling facilities Expansion of the company’s and services in 2008 and adding a Queensland operations accelerates Tippers forms joint venture with rapidly with the aquistion of Central specialty banana section in 2013.

Skybury to establish Tropical Fruit Queensland business, Beemart EnDirect. terprises.

A family-run business with 60 years of trading heritage, the Beemart purchase marked a move into the food service, transport and grower services sectors. Beemart now operates from Maryborough, Bundaberg, Gladstone and Rockhampton.

2013 26

2020

Ernie is presented with a plaque marking more than 40 years’ service to the wholesale fruit and vegetable industry.

Although today’s modern Jetbest Group of integrated operations is almost unrecognisable from Jack Tipper’s enterprise in the 1940s, its principles of professional marketing and personal integrity, coupled with leading edge logistics management, remain at its heart as it continues to build a resilient business taking on the opportunities presented in a vibrant future.

27

“

“

David Wood adage no. 170 & 428

Change is the only constant.

Change is as good as a holiday.

THE NAMING OF THE ERNIE WOOD BUILDING Acacia Ridge warehouse facility 2015

32

In a special moment for two of the company’s longest serving members, the new name and signage was unveiled, bringing back decades of memories shared between Ernie and David.

The building is a lasting testament to Ernie’s commitment and passion for his work, which carries on today with David and his team committed to growth.

Established in 1999 and expanded in 2011, the building continues to evolve and change with the demands of the fresh produce industry. Every day, the Ernie Wood Building and its staff deal with the many curveballs thrown the company’s way. Whether it’s the impact of a global pandemic, natural disasters devastating our spiritual home, the Brisbane Markets, or the ever-changing tastes of Australian and international consumers, nothing fazes the Tippers team .

“

“

In 2015, Tippers’ warehouse facility was named in honour of the company’s former General Manager Ernie Wood who began his career at the company in 1950 at the age of 13, retiring in 1996.

I had no idea what was coming. Of course, I had admired the new, purpose-built Acacia Ridge facility when it was built in 1999 - a huge step up from the single section at the Roma Street Markets where I started work in 1950. But David wanted to show me something else, so we drove out there again together. As David turned the car into Murdoch Circuit, I caught sight of the new signage naming the building in my honour. It brought tears to my eyes.

Ernie Wood

The Ernie Wood Building stands as a proud reminder of an 86year family legacy that continues today.

33

Everything changed when Covid gripped the world. Like every business in the fresh produce suppy chain, the JETBest group, had to adapt to a new and much scarier world. Despite the challenges, the company expanded its reach and scale with the Beemart aquisiton, undertaking growth in logistics capabilities and forging new partnerships, all while maintaining and moving forward with the wholesaling business and servicing growers.

THE COVID DAYS 2020 - 2022

34

Times were incredibly challenging. Procedures and routines now rendered inadequate had to change on the fly, work arrangements altered, some drastically. Through it all, Tippers’ role to get produce from growers into the consumer’s home carried on. David took it all in his stride, keeping his game face on and pushing even harder, doing all he could to keep the company and everyone involved moving forward and focused on the task at hand. “At the end of the day,” he said, “people still have to eat, and there’s never been a better time to eat well.”

36

BRISBANE FLOODS ... AGAIN 2022 The Brisbane Produce Markets and Mother Nature have a love/hate relationship.

If it’s not catastrophic cyclones wreaking havoc with our grower partners and the supply chain, it’s periodic flooding, twice in the last decade. In February 2022, Brisbane and was dealt one of the worst floods in recent memory. The Markets were inundated and not for the first time. Floods had last deluged the Markets in 2011, causing mayhem to operations. A high-water mark was drawn on the wall of David’s pawpaw/papaya cold room in the Markets then. Little did we expect we would be drawing another mark not that long after. The 2022 mark came in under the 2011 record mark but the logistical and procedural nightmares were the same.

Just like the pandemic though, David, and everyone in the company, had to find a way through those incredibly challenging times. And the company did.

Operations shifted to the Ernie Wood building while the floodwater receeded and a monumental clean up began at the Markets. “The fruit doesn’t stop growing,” David said. He’s seen a few disasters in his time. David’s strategy? Grit your teeth, take the challenge head on, work your way through it. And that’s what he did.

37

“

“

David Wood adage no. 72

I’ve been pacing up and down this same piece of concrete for 40 years

THE WOOD FAMILY STORY Ernie Wood Judy Watts Michael Wood

40

THE WOOD FAMILY STORY THE TIPPERS AND WOOD FAMILY CONNECTION Ernie Wood

Apparently, it was my red hair that did it. After working for another agent during the Christmas rush, I lined up for a job at J E Tipper and Sons at Brisbane’s Roma Street Markets with three other young hopefuls. It was 1950, I was 13 years old, big for my age with a bushy crop of vividly red hair that Ted Tipper couldn’t miss. I got the job that turned into a 46-year career. In return, Ted Tipper had my lifelong admiration. He was a real gentleman.

Back then, Tippers had only one section in the Brisbane Markets. Ted sourced all the produce on the section floor and assigned salesmen to sell specific lines.

Over time, Ted bought more sections and gave me the responsibility of managing them, developing relationships with growers and handling product lines.

I specialised in fruit, particularly cherries, citrus and grapes. The business grew and, in 1985, I bought it from Ted and John Tipper with another partner, retaining the J E Tipper name.

Meanwhile, David was at university, camping at Burleigh during summer holidays and working at Queensland Newspapers as a Casual Inserter (yes, that was a real title!) on Saturday nights, putting the magazine supplement into Brisbane’s Sunday Mail.

The job must have acclimatised him to odd hours because when I offered David some labouring work at Tippers, David’s work ethic was obvious. Even when he was stacking fruit and sweeping floors, David was unstoppable. At the time, Tippers had only six staff working under me and my partner.

After graduating from university and backpacking around Europe, an opportunity arose when the salesman then handling the new pawpaw line left the company. I offered the job to David and it wasn’t long before he had established effective relationships with growers, sourced the best fruit available and had the buyers seeking him out. I gave him some early guidance but I’m the first to admit that it was David’s tenacity, diligence and commitment that built the business. He made it his own.

But it wasn’t all work and no play. Along the way, David rewarded himself for all the long hours with a few boys’ toys. It was the 1980s, after all!

42

43

FAMILY, FRIENDS, LIFE AND PAWPAW! Judy Wood

44

David and I had a beautiful childhood growing up in The Grange with Mum and Dad. The house was always filled with family gatherings and cousins visiting. Our grandparents were a huge part of that.

Even at primary school, David was quite the entrepreneur. Once, he bought sugar-coated sweets in bulk, packaged them and sold them to our friends for a handsome profit. David was also into marbles, Scouts and playing soccer for Grange Thistle. He went to high school at Churchie and still has great friends from those days. He’s always been a loyal mate and is good at keeping in touch.

Our early holidays were spent fishing at Noosaville and later at Burleigh Heads. David loved Burleigh so much he spent every university holiday camping there at Rudd Park. He did well at uni, then took off on a long holiday to Europe. Those were the days when you had to book a phone call home from Europe. Mum was always worried about him so whenever we received a phone call, letter or postcard, we were all very excited to hear of David’s adventures.

David always loved cars. One of his proudest moments was buying his beloved blue RX7. He had some fun times in it until the night I arrived home and asked Mum where David was – he was in bed but his car wasn’t in the driveway. It had been stolen, taken on a joyride to Samford and pushed over a cliff. David was devastated but he regrouped and soon had another car to love.

David and Tracey set up their first home in Ashgrove and David was so proud to become a Dad to Michael and Patrick. Later, David and Tracey bought the family holiday apartment at Burleigh from our parents and David had his forever beach home.

These days, people seem to come and go from jobs on a regular basis. David’s dedication to Tippers and his work ethic have always been impeccable. I admire him for his loyalty to the company and how he puts 110% effort into everything he does.

Congratulations to my big brother on achieving 40 years. We look forward to many more happy times together in the future.

45

LOVE WHAT YOU DO Michael Wood

46

Love what you do.

You hear it a lot. On motivational videos, all over Instagram, from sports and celebrity idols, from mentors and leaders.

But for me, the best example of loving what you do was right at home. My brother and I had the personification of that saying sitting at the dinner table with us, dropping us at weekend sport, taking us fishing on Burleigh Beach, even nagging us to do our garden chores.

I don’t think we’ve ever appreciated Dad’s perspective on work and outlook on life more than we do today, after working alongside him for some years now. The frenetic ebbs and flows of daily trading at the Brisbane Markets have thrown plenty of challenges our way, challenges that would make others crumble.

But not Dad. The unpredictability of a dynamic market environment and the broader business landscape … well, it’s lucky he loves being challenged! (Except if you put a new iPhone in his hand and challenge him to make the most of its features. He really wants his Nokia back, but that’s another story.)

He says he doesn’t like change but it does fuel his fire and it has certainly motivated him to jump out of bed earlier than most, eager to get back to pacing that slab of concrete, being with his team, resolving obstacles and giving his customers the best service.

We were sitting at dinner recently and he hit us with another line that resonated: ‘Find your niche, work as hard as you can at it and give it all your energy’. Dad’s dedication is absolutely unmatched, his enthusiasm uncompromising. You’d have to be pretty dedicated to get PAPAYA as your personalised number plate. You’d have to be even more dedicated to get the Brisbane Markets to paint that on your car park next to the concrete slab where you’ve sold the best pawpaw and papaya in the country. Dad provides the most diligent and fastidious (he loves that word, I can only hear it in his voice!) service and loves immersing himself in relationships with customers, suppliers, staff and peers he considers close friends … EVERY. SINGLE. DAY for FORTY. BLOODY. YEARS! That’s loving what you do. That’s finding your niche and locking it in. That’s being the best you can be. We can all apply that to our lives, careers and relationships, hopefully maintaining the same passion and internal fire for forty years and counting.

47

“

“

David Wood adage no. 1990

Another happy customer leaves JE Tipper

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM FRIENDS, BUSINESS PARTNERS, ASSOCIATES The Kath Family, Lecker Farming The Ruddell Family, Valley View Pawpaws The MacLaughlin Family, Skybury Farms Helen Whelan, Friend and Business Associate Geoff Gault, Chairman JETBest Group 50

The Kath Family

52

Lecker Farming

Well, 40 years and still going strong! Congratulations and well done!

I tip my hat to anyone who has the stability to go the long road and have the strength, stamina and foresight to see the bigger picture and build an entity that is a cornerstone of what we do today.

David’s dedication and devotion to the J E Tipper companies is inspiring and well noted by both peers and adversaries. You have the vision and judgement to get the right people to drive Tippers to where it is today. Your attention to detail, care factor and doing whatever it takes makes ‘shit happen’.

David’s energy, detailed focus and determination raise the bar higher than most would aim for. I often describe David as being like a hamster on a wheel that is set on flat out during normal time, then putting the wheel on turbo when there is a huge volume of fruit to sell. Even then you still manage to do a back flip with a reverse pike. Apparently, Camp Eden can only handle David once a year.

My earliest recollection of Tippers was stamping tomato boxes with J E Tipper while growing up in Gympie. I would have been about 10 years old. It wasn’t until my teens that I went with my father to the Brisbane Markets and saw Tippers. My father was talking to Ernie Wood but a few years later when I was with my father looking at pawpaw sales, David was firmly entrenched in the business.

53

I’m not a big one on history, however our families clearly go back a while together, close to 50 years. We have now spanned two generations. It is here that I recite one of David’s sayings: ‘Change is the one constant’. In recent times our conversations have become less about pawpaws and prices, and more about other topics - politics, economics and society’s directions - and we mostly agree. We’re both getting older and starting to sound like our parents. Here I’m going to pinch another of David’s favourite sayings: ‘One day, we all sit down to a banquet of consequences.’

So, 40 years and still going strong. I hope there is no talk of retirement and I say this partly with Tracey in mind - you two not would make good grey nomads! Having known David for most of these 40 years, I know he’s best kept busy. This may eventually evolve from being fully hands-on to giving advice from the sidelines, with plenty of anecdotes for Michael and Patrick. I’m sure David will always find time to scour the newspapers for share market updates and opinions on Australia’s economic direction. We may have to convince Camp Eden to take him in more than once a year, and we can only hope the Gold Coast doesn’t get too crowded and prevent him from surfing and drinking coffee.

54

David, you should be rightfully proud of your journey and achievements. We wish you a very happy further 40 years in the business.

Congratulations again.

From Gerard, Cordula and family and the team at Lecker Farming.

The Ruddell Family

56

Valley View Paw Paws

Our relationship with David began around 1990 when Leo was managing Darraleigh Pawpaws. Initially things were business-based however it didn’t take long until a genuine friendship developed. In 1992 we started Valley View Pawpaws and David was with us from our first consignment of eight styrofoam boxes. Over the years we met and enjoyed getting to know Tracey and as our families grew, our kids met and developed friendships with Michael and Patrick.

During our years working with Tipper & Sons and then JE Tipper, David has been our rock. Through cyclones and a few other disasters that are farming, David and Tippers have been a constant support to us. Whether it was cyclones, storms and weather reports, or celebrating personal milestones over the years, we have shared them all with David.

In the early days we would chat with David at week’s end to give him numbers for the consignment that was on its way. He would tell us the market price before the Friday afternoon fax would arrive. We would tell him he was giving the bloody fruit away, he would then discuss the reasons for the current market price, what he was doing to improve it next week and the call would end with the usual “while you are doing your best Leo, rest assured I am doing mine” to which our response would be “well you will know when I am not happy with your best David because our fruit will stop arriving”. And that is how it went for the next 30 years and counting.

In the last three years we have handed our business over to our son Garrick who now has the daily pleasure of conversing with David. We have the comfort of knowing that it is business as usual and David is still a constant support to Garrick and so continues a great working relationship and a new generation of friendship.

It is an incredible advantage if you enjoy your work. David is dedicated and passionate and we, along with the entire pawpaw/ papaya industry, owe him an enormous debt of gratitude for his tireless efforts and unwavering commitment. He continually strives to grow and improve our industry and that dedication should be applauded, admired and respected.

Congratulations David, you ‘cheeky possum’! You honestly deserve all the accolades. Enjoy your time in the spotlight as opposed to the hot seat and we look forward to being around to celebrate this wonderful milestone with you, Tracey and the family in the near future.

Our very best wishes and friendship always, Leo, Debbie, Garrick, Caitlin and Laken Ruddell Valley View Pawpaws

David’s quotes would always be passed on and still to this day his “one day we will all sit down to a banquet of consequences” is often repeated. Words like ‘plethora’, ‘Biblical proportions’ and ‘tsunami’, we associate with Woody.

57

The MacLaughlin Family

58

Skybury Farms

Ian and I first met David when we began growing red papaya in 1994. At the time we, Skybury, were successfully growing coffee, exporting to Europe, Asia and America; and our familyrun business was slowly expanding. Being an enthusiastic businessman and looking for another avenue to increase our turnover, Ian began exploring the idea of diversifying into different crops. Taking into account our climate, soils and rainfall, papaya came out at the top of the list. The common variety being grown in Australia at this time was the yellow pawpaw – so, of course Ian took on the challenge of a something a little different!

With some clever marketing strategies, David managed to grow acceptance of red papaya among independent store owners. As demand grew, so did David’s confidence in selling our fruit and he encouraged us to expand our production! David advised us on new packaging ideas, guided us in giving presentations to the market and offering cut fruit tastings to in-store customers.

We discovered together that once we got customers to try and buy, we had them hooked on the new variety. Needless to say the number of pallets consigned to Mr Wood at JE Tipper grew exponentially!

Skybury produced its first crop of Carica Red Papaya in December 1994, packed in generic boxes, and we proudly dispatched our first pallet to David Wood at Tippers in the Brisbane Markets. I clearly recall the response we got from Mr Wood: “Your fruit is very nice, but please don’t send more than half a pallet per week as the market will not support a greater quantity.” We also placed our small production into some of the other southern wholesale markets, and remained optimistic that we hadn’t chosen the wrong crop to branch into.

David has always been passionate about his job. His role in the papaya industry is widely acknowledged and I believe he’s been known as Mr Papaya on the Brisbane trading floor for as long as anyone can remember! As years went by, we came to consider David as one of our good friends, as well as a business associate.

We greatly value this friendship and the opportunities we’ve had to spend time with David and his lovely wife, Tracey. David has also mentored our children as they’ve grown up and joined the business.

Determined to succeed, we enlisted David’s help in raising appreciation for this interloper! Over the following months we made several trips to Brisbane to meet with David, spend time with him on the market floor and meet with some of his customers.

Our whole family has admired David’s resilience, strength of character and firm belief in the industry he clearly loves. We congratulate David on his 40-year anniversary with JE Tipper and JetBest. Well done and best wishes for the future.

Ian, Marion and the MacLaughlin Clan

59

I had the privilege of meeting David in the mid-1990s. I have worked with David for nearly three decades and his passion for the Jetbest business, particularly pawpaw and papaya, has been unwavering.

Discussions with David are always robust and there is always an article from The Australian Financial Review or The Australian to talk about, not just on financial matters but general business, leadership, family – anything and everything.

Helen Whelan

David and Tracey have always welcomed my husband Scott and me in celebrating Christmas with the Tipper family at some very memorable parties over the years. I feel like I am part of the furniture, mainly because of how welcoming David and all the shareholders have been.

If I am describing David some of the words I would use are: dedicated, meticulous, salesman, pawpaw, papaya, competitive, thoughtful and friend. I still remember my first visit to Block C; I have learnt so much since and seen many changes but some things have stayed exactly the same.

Congratulations to David on forty years and I’m sure there will be a few more to come!

Helen Whelan

60

Friend & Associate

I first met David in late 2014 as part of my due diligence in assessing the role of Chair of the Jetbest Board, which I started in January 2015. Since then, I have found David to be a hard-working and a thoroughly driven individual who focusses on the job at hand.

He often says that he’s just “a humble pawpaw salesman”, but he’s so much more than that.

In discussions with people, you quickly find some common areas of interest and with David, it was our love of good food and good wine, something we enjoy sharing when the occasion arises. Fitness is another of David’s passions. He once let me know that 14 muscles are activated when opening a bottle of wine!

Geoff Gault

You also sometimes find interesting circumstances where your paths crossed somewhere along life’s journey. One such occurrence was that David and I both worked on Saturday nights/early Sunday mornings during our university years, inserting the colour magazine in the Sunday Mail. I won’t go into the job title, but we had a great time discussing this thoroughly enriching job that we shared along with all the many others on the newspaper production line on a Saturday night when we could have been out doing things that our mates were enjoying. I guess we put it down to character building!

Chairman, JETBest Group

I cherish my friendship with David and our working together on the Jetbest Board. Congratulations on your achievements with Tippers and I applaud your work ethic over the past 40 years.

Best regards, Geoff Gault 61

“

“

David Wood adage no. 2008

Shortest horror story ever ... Sold Out.

THE FUTURE Patrick Wood

64

THE FUTURE Patrick Wood

I’ve been coming out to work with Dad since I was about six years old. The Brisbane Markets always fascinated me: the fast pace, the people, the way they communicated, the continuous banter … it was always exhilarating, sometimes a bit scary. The way that Dad operates, his work ethic and his passion to be the best are hard to miss and always impressed me. I didn’t really like getting up so early but I knew a long time ago that my career would be not just in the Markets but with the best of the Markets: the JETBest Group. Dad’s way of working certainly attracts attention and respect and he’s been a terrific role model.

Since 2018, the company has undergone an exciting expansion which gave me the opportunity to work in Sydney on three occasions. Those experiences deepened my understanding of the business and the opportunities available in the industry. Every time I worked in Sydney I learnt something about myself, as I hope I always will, and I drew on what I had absorbed from Dad over the years. With his ongoing support and teachings, I try to bring my best to work every day, just like him.

To me, being a third generation Wood at JE Tipper doesn’t feel like ‘continuing a legacy’ or anything like that. It feels natural so it must be in my blood. The job has its pressures and challenges – I grew up with them! - but I love it, even if I still haven’t gotten completely used to the crazy hours! Seeing the way Dad operates at work and at home is motivating and sets the blueprint to continue the family name for the next 40 years in my own way. Being only 25 and a ‘baby’ in the industry, there’s still much I have to learn but I draw from Dad’s treasure chest of knowledge and experience – he’s seen it all! I look forward to working with Dad for many more years so I can walk the path that he helped to create for me and for Tippers, and hopefully enjoy even a slither of the success he has brought to the company and to our family.

It’s an honour and privilege to carry on the Wood name at Tippers. I’m exceptionally proud of Dad and of having his reputation and legacy attached to me.

66

67

“

“

David Wood adage no. 7

The fruit doesn’t stop growing for [public holidays, natural disasters, pandemics... anything really].

The show goes on.