MEDIA RELEASE
Wellard is pleased to announce the appointment of Kelly Whitehouse as General Manager – Meat Processing and Trading.
Mr Whitehouse, who has more than 20 years’ experience in the meat processing industry, will oversee Wellard’s entire meat division, including operations at the company’s Beaufort River Meats abattoir near Kojonup, WA, and its growing meat (beef, mutton and lamb) trading business.
Prior to commencing with Wellard, Kelly had been working at New Zealand meat processor and exporter Taylor Preston, which processes 1.5 million sheep and 65,000 cattle annually.
Wellard Chief Executive Officer Mauro Balzarini said Mr Whitehouse’s experience as both a meat marketing manager and an operations manager suited Wellard’s requirements perfectly.
“It is almost three years since we purchased Beaufort River Meats, and the abattoir and associated meat marketing has performed well in that time but it is now time to look at further expansion,” he said.
“Kelly’s appointment will help drive Wellard’s meat division and trading operations to the next level and free some of management time back to our ever growing livestock export arm. We plan to increase output from our current facility at Beaufort River Meats, target the domestic market to balance with our export market and start looking at beef production too, so we can offer a greater catalogue of red meat protein for our customers around the world.
“In particular, Kelly’s knowledge of the international markets will be important as we target growing red meat exports into the region.”
Mr Whitehouse said he was excited by the opportunities available in the role.
“I have 30 years experience in the meat industry, in processing and marketing of sheep and beef products that are exported to many markets around the globe, and I look forward to utilising that experience and working alongside everyone to help grow the BRM brand to existing and new customers,” he said.
Mr Balzarini said Mr Whitehouse would work closely with rest of the Group to ensure that Wellard continues to offer competitive rates for sheep and lambs for processing and live export.
For further information please contact:
Cameron Morse
Phone: + 61 8 9485 8888
Mobile: +61 (0) 433 886 871