NOTHING MORE NOBLE
If you call yourself a Kiwi and the name Talley’s results in a blank look on the old dial, then some might argue you ain’t a real Kiwi at all.
The name Talley’s is as Kiwi as Red Band gumboots, Split Enz, and ‘Fush and Chups’. Actually, they are Fush and Chups – literally – and ‘tatties’, and peas, carrots, endless other veges, meat, dairy … they’re pretty much a homegrown pantry!
The modest seafood company founded by Ivan Peter Talijancich in 1936 is today a multi-division, multinational Kiwi success story. It produces for the home market under its own brand names, supplies commercial customers, and exports to 70 countries around the world.
There’s red meat and dairy representation in the portfolio also, with Talley’s owning AFFCO, and holding the majority share in Open Country Dairy.
The numbers generated by the Talley’s brand alone boggle the mind. The fishing fleet incudes more than a hundred inshore independent boats, and seven deepsea factory ships which combined fish more than 70 species of fish, and the Motueka operation processes more than 70 tonnes of Greenshell mussels every day.
On the land over 40,000 tonnes of vegetables are
grown and harvested each year, and that’s not including 80,000 tonnes of potatoes. And don’t forget after dinner. There are millions of litres of ice cream produced each year to get through.
But as great as those stats are, they’re not the real gems. The three that count most are the sustainable fishing practices, the 100% homegrown and GE-free produce, and then leaving the best until last, jobs. From a one-man start-up, Talley’s Limited today employs over 2000 people across the wider operation. All in a company that’s still 100% New Zealand owned and operated.
“It’s a great place and brand to work for,” says Hayden Reed, freight operations manager for Talley’s Limited.
“In the Talley’s branded truck fleet we have about 50 units of varying makes, currently tending toward Scania in line haul, and Isuzu in paddock and short haul work.”
In keeping with a company whose very ethos is built on reaping what you sow, Talley’s also contributes positively to road transport industry driver development and the driver pool, able to start cadets from car licence and progress them to class 5.
“They’ll often come from the factories too, looking at the trucks, liking what they see and wanting to get involved,” said Hayden. “We have around seven or eight class 4 and 5 drivers who started off on car or class 2 licences. Obviously, we can’t place all the drivers we get to class 5 as we don’t have a great staff turnover. Recently we had an employee who wanted to progress on and we were happy to help place them with a company we felt had similar values. We’ll always be here when positions come up.
“Likewise, you have to be flexible nowadays. Older drivers looking to cut down on hours can job share on a truck. That way they stay active, and we retain their IP and wisdom. Then we have examples like Toni Tawhara in our northern division. She was runnerup in last year’s RTF Young Driver of the Year. This year she decided she wanted to study, but continued to work for us part-time while she did it. She is now back driving full-time for us and the possibilities for her within Talley’s, as they are for any of our drivers, are just about endless. You have to look for win-win situations.”