farmer is going to be profitable and have a more efficient business. The new mill went live in December 2017, having been shut down


while the revamping project was underway. Then, early in 2018, the board starting looking for a management team to run the site. “We knew from our other two mills the qualities we needed,” says Andrew. But he admits the company could not have been more fortunate in its timing. For just as the search got underway, William Gate was beginning to get itchy feet after 29 years of working for a company based in Cockermouth, making gaskets and seals for high-end applications such as the nuclear power industry. William’s degree is in Rubber Technology, and he had been the company’s chief chemist, head of quality assurance, as well as having technical roles and ultimately being head of operations, with 220 people working under him. His work experience was in precision manufacturing and he was very familiar with auditing and modern technologies and thinking. But what really set him apart was that, alongside this manufacturing knowledge and experience, William was also steeped in local farming. “I am a Cumbrian through and through,” he says, in an accent which leaves no reason for doubting that assertion. His grandparents had a farm in Bassenthwaite which his cousin still runs, and many of his friends are farmers too. William himself has a smallholding. So when he saw NWF advertising for a mill manager for their newly refurbished mill, he realised that this was one of only very few opportunities which could truly tempt him to leave his employment. He applied, was recognised as the outstanding candidate, and got the job. Having made the decision to join, William quickly came to the


realisation that there would be several phases of development required on the site going forward. The industry had just come through a very difficult winter and the Beast from the East was only just retreating. For a new plant with a lot of new kit, this was a challenging time to be ironing out the inevitable teething problems. The first 12 months needed to be about stabilisation and laying the foundation for future growth. He has always been very conscious that any manager is only as good as the team they have around them – and of course that team had been inherited from the previous mill owners. Today, William is pleased to report, that whole team remains intact. They have been through quite a transformation. Under the previous regime, a busy day would have meant producing 250 tonnes and loading 10 lorries; today, throughput has trebled so that 750 tonnes of production is not unusual which equates to 30 wagons being sent out. Although there is more automation and new equipment, it is still a big advance and the mindset has changed along with the nature of the challenge, from working for a family concern to being employed by a PLC. But there is still a family spirit about the place which nobody wants to lose. “We try not to be overly corporate, a little bit informal,” says Andrew. And William confirms, “We never feel out on a limb. Help is always available at the end of the phone or, failing that, people come up from head office which is only two and a half hours away.” The Jim Peet brand was associated, amongst other things, with


the production of very high quality coarse rations. They also had a very high proportion of bagged products. “This brand identity was very precious to us,” says Andrew. “It was something we didn’t want to lose.”


Above: Side by side. NWF and Jim Peet liveried lorries in front of the new raw materials silos


After all, any one of the farms which Jim Peet was supplying at the time of the acquisition could have chosen previously to be an NWF customer, and there must have been reasons why they hadn’t done so. So while it is true that many traits and practices have been introduced into the Longtown mill by NWF, knowledge transfer has certainly been two ways. There are nuances of experience and knowledge acquired over many years in making such well-regarded coarse mixes, as well as in supplying products in bags, and the NWF Group as a whole has benefitted from their new access to this wealth of experience from within the Jim Peet workforce. The trick has been to bring in new competences without losing


what it was which made some farmers choose Jim Peet in the first place. The company has invested in the delivery fleet, which used to number four vehicles and now numbers ten, with one of the newly acquired lorries bearing the Jim Peet livery. For customers still wanting to deal with the old brand, all the touch points remain the same. The phone number, the person customers speak to, the vehicle livery, the drivers’ uniforms and the product paperwork still all carry the Jim Peet identity and, as a result, customer retention has been really high, just as it was for SC Feeds. There is an emphasis on being respectful of customer choice and existing brands, working really hard to keep the experience the same, while benefitting customers behind the scenes where it is possible to do so. One of William’s first acts in his new role was to strengthen the robustness of the engineering support for the mill. Looking at the set- up, with high levels of throughput but limited finished product storage, it was quickly apparent that downtime needed to be avoided if at all


FEED COMPOUNDER MARCH/APRIL 2019 PAGE 23


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