HBF Info Magazine 1982 Vol 2 No 3

HBF

INFO

FEBRUARY 1982 Vol. 2, No. 3
HBF INFO is published quarterly for employees of THE HAWKE’S BAY FARMERS’ CO-OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION LTD. P.O. Box 147, Hastings Telephone 66-119
Registered at Post Office Headquarters as a magazine

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The Wool Department had the busiest December it ever experienced. HBF sold more bales than any of our competitors in the November and December sales.

1979   1980   1981
Bales received into store – Dec   12,543   13,601   17,303
Bales received into store – July to December   43,389   48,786   51,854
Bales sold – December    14,340   13,308   14,900
Bales sold – July to December   37,609   37,181   40,769

As for the retail department, the holiday season had our cash registers ringing continually. Liquorland sales were more than 20% over budget overall for the three stores in Napier, Hastings and Gisborne; and retail sales exceeded budget.

The livestock kill for the season is way down, because farmers are keeping livestock on the farm to add weight. But we can even be cheerful about this, says General Manager Jim Scotland, “because when we’re not buying meat, we’re using less money so the bank account and cash flow are not unduly affected.”

Livestock Kill   1980-81   1981-82
Lambs   175,850   83,194
Sheep   21 ,323   13,924
Cattle   2,477   779

EMPLOYEES WIN PRIZES

Get your entries in now for the March 31 draw in the HBF Travelbag Competition. You may win a $350 travel voucher, a $150 voucher or a travel bag full of liquor, wine or food.

So far, 110 people – including a whole cricket team – have signed up with our travel department because employees referred them to HBF.

In December, Betty Ferris, ledgers clerk at Gisborne won the $350 prize, and John Gadsby, Hastings real estate, the $150 travel voucher.

In November, Brian Kelsey, Waipukurau area manager, won a travelbag of Cook’s wine, and Heather Gilchrist, Gisborne typist, won a bag of liquor.

Details of the competition and travel referral slips are posted on notice boards throughout the company. For further information, contact your local HBF travel office.

NEW VITICULTURE JOB CREATED

When HBF bought a 25% share in Cook’s New Zealand Wine Company Ltd. last year, a person with practical grape-growing experience was needed to work with Cook’s vineyard development manager and 67 growers, to ensure that Cook’s grape supply in Hawke’s Bay and Poverty Bay would be despatched from the vineyards in the best possible condition for the making of quality wines.

So the job of Viticultural Field Officer was created.  This officer would call regularly on all growers, providing them with vineyard and on-farm requirements, giving sound advice on the planning and establishment of vineyards, grape propagation, management techniques, grape pruning, trimming, spraying and general husbandry.  (His job description doesn’t mention wine-tasting. Pity.)

The viticultural field officer must also advise Cook’s vineyard development manager on changes in the area concerning land use, tactics of competitors, climatic and seasonal variations, potential contract areas, suitable growers and soil types that represent opportunities and/or threats to Cook’s operation in this area.

The person chosen to fill this job was Francis Byrne, who has had ten years experience in viticulture and, before that, three years in horticulture, plus farm management.  At his Lyndhurst Road, Hastings, home, he and his wife Suzanne and four children raise kiwifruit and gherkins.  He also makes his own wine.

Francis is based in Hastings and reports to Horticultural Manager Ally MacKay, in the Mercantile Division.

Photo captions –

HBF Travel Manager Rodger Pilbrow shows his staff at the Hastings office the new brochure describing the $5950 New Zealand Wine Export Promotion and Viticultural Study Mission to Germany and France in ‘“May and June. From the left are Ursula Sinton, chief clerk, Lisa Arrell and Shelley-Ann Dougan, junior travel consultants. The company is especially proud that the Wine Institute of New Zealand Inc., asked HBF to set up the tour. It is the first major overseas venture of this kind for both the Institute and HBF. It’s a new marketing strategy to involve our company in the lucrative business of special interest tours.

Francis Byrne, HBF’s new viticultural field officer, chats with Matty Love at Cook’s 25-hectare vineyard at Fernhill, Hastings.

TAKAPAU AND WOODVILLE

Takapau and Woodville are HBF’s smallest outposts of empire.  Takapau has seven employees, not counting John Seed, produce manager, and Jim Howard, stock agent, who service Takapau from Waipukurau.

Takapau’s actual sales in 1980-81 were $625,858. Woodville has 15 employees plus mercantile agent David Thomson working out of Dannevirke and stock agent Sid Draper from Pahiatua. Actual sales in 1980-81 totaled $923,000.

The atmosphere in these two country stores is quite different from city outlets – more informal, more relaxed (except during hectic times at the grocery checkout), with everybody on a first-name basis.  Customers and staff know each other as neighbours, club members, sportspeople, churchgoers.  Babies are plopped on counters, news exchanged on what the council has failed to do and miscellaneous marital scandals. Lonely people come in for conversation.

One advantage of this personal contact is, as Takapau retail manager Ross Dahm puts it, “People are more inclined to air their views if they are not happy about something, instead of going to shop somewhere else like they do in cities.”

Basil Martel, Woodville retail manager, comments, “Everybody knows everybody and everybody does everything. We have a loyal staff that works well together.  I can put any of my people anywhere to help out.” And employees seem to enjoy the variety of jobs.

Photo captions –

Ross Dahm (left) Takapau retail manager, chats outside the Takapau store with customer and shareholder David Mintoft who had been manager at HBF Takapau from 1954 to 1957.

Sheryl McDonald, grocery manager (left) and Karen Hanratty make swift work of packing.

Left, at Woodville, Brent Robinson, hardware assistant (left) and Eric Hale, hardware manager, watch Retail Manager Basil Martel pile up some paint tins photogenically, basil has been with HBF 22 years.  Eric, incidentally, is wearing  the new HBF company necktie, which is available to all personnel.

Right, Ted Snelling, produce and grain storeman and van driver, draws oats for Woodville’s ten stables and approximately 100 horses. “We sell two hundred tonnes of oats a year – and there’s a winner in every grain,” says Ted.

Working in the Woodville showroom are Virginia Burgess (left), Margaret Kitney (centre) and Hazel McNeil (background).

Dudley Lean (right) is grocery manager at Woodville, and David Marshall (left) grocery assistant.

Christine Kemp (left) and Vaila Robinson serve customers. Dulcie Eades (not shown), part-time grocery assistant, was off duty.

John Mountfort, mercantile storeman, minds the store while his assistant snoozes.

Bethel Kappely, clerk, works partly for mercantile and partly for retail.

Cashier Susan McLean recently passed her final examinations for Stock and Station Industries Certificate.

Eric Hansen, Waipukurau real estate, puts up new photos of desirable properties for sale in Takapau windows.

Helen Larsen takes care of hardware, spare parts and window displays.

Robyn McCabe copes with youngsters at the checkout counter.

Tom Ramsay, produce storeman, gets ready to load a customer’s car.

Joyce Ellmers, office clerk, picks up the mail at the local bookstore.

LONG SERVICE EMPLOYEES MEET AT ANNUAL DINNER

All active or retired employees with 15 years or more continuous service as of 30 November each year are members of the HBF Long Service Club and get together every year in November for a banquet. Employees who have reached 25 years of service are presented with a wristwatch. Club membership now includes 57 staff members and 76 retirees, total 133. Shown here at the 1981 dinner are, from the left: Beth Moss, Gisborne retail; Enid Calvert, Hastings; Eileen Wright, Hastings; Doug Grieve, Hastings; Noel Simmons, Napier; Norma Cooper, Waipukurau; Charlene Marra, Waipukurau retail; Dick Quinn, Gisborne; Betty Ferris, Gisborne administration.

Harold Robertson, Ahuriri wool department; Roy Orange, Hastings; Errol Davis, wool department; Wally Semmens, Dannevirke administration; Dudley Joll, Ahuriri; Dick Taylor, wool department; Allan Burlace, Dannevirke mercantile; Les McKinnon, Dannevirke; Percy Anderson, Dannevirke; Dinny Sheeran, wool department.

One-man department

DAVE FOOTE (below) has a one-off job – he is building and maintenance supervisor and runs his own one-man department from his Ahuriri office, reporting to Company Secretary Gordon Lochhead.

Twenty-eight years ago, Dave joined HBF as carpenter-joiner, eventually becoming supervisor of seven men – a department that gradually faded away, the work now being done by outside contractors.

Dave deals with engineers and architects, draws up plans for alterations and building, gets quotations, looks at structures being built to make sure they are being done according to plan, discourages enthusiastic managers from making unauthorised changes that would be structurally unsound, works up maintenance budgets, passes accounts for payment and deals with the usual hundred-and-one exciting jobs like figuring out what happened to the hot water.

SMART COOKIES PASS EXAMS

Staff members have been studying for their Stock and Station Industry Certificate through the TCI (Technical Correspondence Institute). This certificate requires passing four examination papers, usually over a period of two years. Those who passed their exams at the end of 1981 are:

Exam Paper A: The Industry
Sheryl Davies, Wairoa stock clerk
Russell Black, Hastings mercantile trainee
Peter Margoliouth, Hastings mercantile agent

Exam Paper B: Soil and Plant Science
Sheryl Davies

Exam Paper C: Animal Science
Grant Duff, Waipukurau produce agent (has already passed A and B)
Susan McLean, Woodville cashier (has now completed all exams)

Exam Paper D: Farm practice
Russell Black
Susan McLean

Working toward professional qualifications in other fields are:

Anton Epplett, Hastings branch administration: passed two accounting exams toward his professional accountancy qualification and the NZ Certificate of Commerce.

John McHardy, Gisborne assistant accountant, passed two exams toward Bachelor of Business Studies, Victoria University.

Brian Slader, Hastings produce agent, passed real estate practice exam toward his QP (Qualified Person).

John Mills, company produce manager Hastings, passed two NZ Institute of Management examinations.

Employees interested in studying to advance their careers should contact their area or district manager or Bill Plapp, company personnel manager, Hastings. When the Stock and Station Industry Certificate has been attained, a $315 annual increase is added to salary. For each exam passed, the company refunds costs of enrollment and exam fees, and makes a single payment of $75.00.

Study can begin at any time of the year.