Rabobank agribusiness leader of the year - 9th annual abobank agribusiness awards for excellence 2004

rabobank agribusiness leader of the year
9th annual abobank agribusiness awards for excellence 2004

            JOHN MCLEAN, MANAGING DIRECTOR
    Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory

                    WARRNAMBOOL CHEESE & BUTTER FACTORY
                                   the cream of the country for over 100 years

rabobank agribusiness leader of the year

Introduction
JOHN MCLEAN commenced with Warrnambool Cheese and
Butter Factory in 1956. Commencing in the factory at the age of
15, he was appointed General Manager at the age of 32 and later
Managing Director. He has led the Company for over 30 years.

During those years John McLean took a small rural factory with
few employees and made it an internationally competitive
company with a reputation for delivering high quality produce.

Not one to stop striving for excellence,
John led the Company’s listing on the
Australian Stock Exchange in May 2004.

John McLean continues to support and inspire young people in
and entering the industry, and maintains the respect of his
workers and his peers. He is truly a leader within the Australian
Dairy industry and worthy of official recognition.

               9th annual abobank agribusiness awards for excellence 2004

rabobank agribusiness leader of the year

Leadership in change management to achieve
sustained company profitability
While John McLean has served as Managing Director of Warrnambool
Cheese and Butter (WCB) for 30 years, it is the company’s progress in the
last 10 to 11 years that has signalled some of his greatest personal and
professional achievements.

In 1992, WCB produced approximately 2700 tone of butter and some local market milk. The
company’s 330 suppliers provided 150 million litres of milk, it’s revenue was $56million, assets
were worth $7.7 million and the company’s paid up capital was $542,000. That year, WCB
recorded a modest profit of $155,000

But over the next ten years, John McLean oversaw a wide raft of changes at the Allansford
plant that virtually overhauled the company’s product lines, productivity and profitability.
Warrnambool Cheese and Butter’s first step towards the industry leadership for which it is now
renowned began in 1993 with the construction and commissioning of the state-of-the-art
Cheese and Whey Protein Concentrate plants, followed by the construction of a Milk Powder
Plant in 1998. These multi-million developments at the 17-hectare site, combines with a new
focus in the company’s marketing, retail and distribution divisions, saw a massive increase in
the company’s productivity, profit and international reputation as producer of some of the finest
dairy products in the world.

In 2002, John McLean’s developments had seen the company’s production grow many-fold
compared to its performance ten years earlier, with 78,000 tonnes of product such as butter,
cream, cheese and milk powder manufactured for world-wide distribution. This increased
capacity saw the company’s revenue grow to $313 million in 2002; it’s supplier numbers had
grown at a net rate of 24 new suppliers a year to reach 570, with the amount being supplied
reaching 640 million litres annually. The value of the company’s assets had risen to $131 million
and shareholders equity peaked at $66 million.

The most recent changes at the Great Ocean Road factory have included the introduction of a
new market milk range through the expansion of WCB’s own Sungold Milk label. In a project
that was identified and directed by John McLean personally, the new market milk range led to
the construction of a new $5 million manufacturing plant on-site, further boosting the company’s
profitability, local employment and regional profile.

                  9th annual abobank agribusiness awards for excellence 2004

rabobank agribusiness leader of the year

Shows industry leadership on
national agribusiness issues
Since being appointed manager of WCB in 1953, John McLean
had helped develop not just the profitability of Warrnambool
Cheese and Butter, but also that of the Australian dairy industry.

John McLean’s representative duties include:
   · Executive Director of Australian Dairy Industry Council;
   · Executive Member of Australian Dairy Products
      Federation;
   · President of the Market Milk Federation of Australia;
   · Executive Member of the Milk PROCESSRS Association
      of Victoria Inc;
   · President of Victorian Dairy Products Association; and
   · Chairman, Dairy Technical Services.

John McLean’s involvement in these organisations began in
1987, just prior to WCB’s centenary.

John’s reputation has in part been built through his membership
of the industry’s pearl policy bodies, the Australian Dairy
Council and the Australian Dairy Products Federation. As an
influential member of the Australia Dairy Industry Council and
the Australian Dairy Production Federation, John McLean was
instrumental in gaining Government agreement for continue
market support during the Industry Commission Inquiry into the
Dairy Industry.

In addition, John McLean also led vital industry discussions in
1999 and 2000 regarding the landmark deregulation of
Australia’s dairy industry. He was also a key player in helping
the dairy industry to achieve the final deregulation package,
which delivered $1.63 billion to dairy farmers across Australia.

John McLean also continues to maintain active leadership
within the agribusiness community through trade associations,
university links and conferences, and has played a key role in a
range of activities that have helped to further strengthen
Australia’s dairy industry and boost its reputation amongst
international markets.

               9th annual abobank agribusiness awards for excellence 2004

rabobank agribusiness leader of the year

Amongst his achievements are the creation of the Cheese
Starter Culture Centre vua Dairy Technical Services Pty Ltd
(of which he is Chairman). This centre was developed in
order to protect the nation’s existing cheese making industry
by storing and maintaining suppliers of the starter cultures.
The Centre’s role also involves researching other cultures
and combinations that are of benefit to the industry’s
development. Having been instrumental in getting the Centre
off the ground, John McLean and WCB continues to play a
key role in the operation.

John McLean was also instrumental in forming the Australian
Ingredients Centre. This centre was established to extend the
application range of dairy products in the wider food industry.
The success of the Australian Ingredients Centre has also
seen it become a focus point for smaller dairy companies,
who utilise the centre and its work in order to carry out
market surveying in Asia, including mainland China. As a
result, dairy companies are enjoying a better appreciation of
how the international markets work and are even starting to
identify and utilise knowledge such as particular taste
requirements of the different markets. As a result, market
growth across the sector has improved.

As a member of the Milk Processors’ Association of Victorian
and the Victorian Dairy Producers Association, John McLean
was also a key player in the decision to change the role of
the Victorian Dairy Industry Authority, helping it to become an
organisation focused on food safety and health.

He also helped to ensure that the sale of industry-owned
brands held by the Victorian Dairy Industry Association
delivered significant gains to Victorian dairy farmers. The
sale in the brands resulted in $60 million being raised, which
was put towards a foundation established further improve the
dairy industry.

               9th annual abobank agribusiness awards for excellence 2004

rabobank agribusiness leader of the year

Creates & Communicates a vision for
the future of Australian agribusiness
John McLean’s influence, passion and drive continues to deliver
benefits and change to the Australian dairy industry.

On 1 July last year, Dairy Australia came into being as the
nations statutory organisation. Dairy Australia was the result of a
merger of industry’s two previously statutory bodies, (the Dairy
Research and Development Corporation and the Australian Dairy
Corporation). John McLean helped to orchestrate and oversee
the merging of these two bodies into a private corporation-based
entity now owned by the dairy industry.

Deregulation of the dairy industry in 1999-2000 also saw Mr
McLean play a pivotal role in guaranteeing the future of the dairy
industry’s single-desk-selling arrangements in Japan. As a result
of Mr McLean’s efforts, the dairy industry decided to move closer
to its Japan customers, by replacing the single desk trading
arrangement with a system that now allows individual companies
to have direct links to their Japanese trading partners.

Leadership in the development of effective supply chain
partnerships throughout the agribusiness value chain
JWCB’s opening of an office in Tokyo last year has helped to prove within the dairy industry
that small processors can succeed and prosper if they continue to provide superior quality
and outstanding customer service.

John McLean’s smooth management of the change in single-desk selling arrangements in
Japan has also helped to change the culture of how the industry and its products are
perceived and orientated in Japan; dairy exporting to the Asian country is now seen as a
more customer orientated direct trading environment.

As Managing Director of WCB, John McLean has also developed on-farm quality assurance
programs to ensure a holistic, chain approach to managing the quality of the company’s
products. This has involved engagements with all sectors supplying the dairy chain. As a
result, Australian companies are recognized as leading the field in this area. WCB maintains
the top ISO and HACCP accreditation and the company’s quality assurance is help up as
national benchmark, particularly in relation to cheese production.

A major New Zealand competitor recently admitted using WCB’s quality standard for cheese
as a bench mark. John McLean’s has also helped to oversee the development and
continued expansion of the WCB Acme Field Days, which is considered to be Australia’s
premier dairy field days and attracts more than 40,000 patrons each year.

               9th annual abobank agribusiness awards for excellence 2004