WHO I AM AND WHAT I DO BEST

Creative Entrepreneur, Doer and Achiever

• Created Woody’s Consumer Brands (https://www.woodysbrands.co.za/) and secured most of the client portfolio before leaving the company in 2018.
• Created a unique in-store concept which was dismantled and never fully exploited due to the COVID-19 pandemic In-store Concept Spar – Van Wyngaardt Deli Meats.
• With Richard Bosman, two unique new curing systems – Oake Woods & Co.
• With Richard Bosman, designed unique new curing systems for hams and bacon for the catering trade, fully compliant with legislation, yielding the lowest cost products on the market – Oake Woods & Co.
• Head up the design and commissioning of the largest meat plant in West Africa, including a complete rework of all recipes for Spar Nigeria (https://sparnigeria.com/).

Identify, investigate and exploit relevant new technologies

• Take rib bones and re-constitute a rib from meat scraps at half the price of a regular rib using enzyme technology. (Meaty Rib Project)
• Pioneered DCD technology, never used in the meat industry and successfully incorporated it into the production of low-cost products. (The Power of Microparticles: Disruptor (DCD) Technology)
• Videos were developed in the United States of America to successfully launch Woody’s in South Africa despite the actual clips not showcasing bacon quality or value. (Advertising Matters)

Creative Writer, Blogger and Online Marketer

• Nose-to-Tail and Root-to-Tip: Re-Thinking Emulsions – wrote articles on whole muscle products and emulsion products.
• The Earthworm Express – a blog on the meat industry with +250 000 views, 40 000 subscribers and between 150 and 400 daily readers.

Envision, ascertain and realise

• Working in Africa (understands Africa).
• Think in basic terms without the availability of updated equipment within complex and unknown environments.

Global Expertise

• Travelled widely internationally and gained extensive exposure to great manufacturing and management systems in England and New Zealand in particular.

NOTABLE CAREER ACHIEVEMENTS

• Doubled the output per shift.
• Formed part of a team who implemented a large-scale production system exploiting the maximum capacities of the different sets of equipment and fusing this into a simplified daily production plan.
• Applied the marketing strategy to NPD products, resulting in the company doubling its turnover within 6 months.
• Led Woody’s production from producing 1 ton of bacon per week to 15 tons per day, with over 70% of personally sourced customers as the main drivers responsible for the increase.
• Facilitated the design of an effective and low-cost bacon system that the largest bacon producer in New Zealand copied.
• Designed a low-cost, low-tech thawing system that takes a meat block from -18°C to 0°C within 24 hours with no weight loss.
• Designed systems that reduced fat by 50%.
• Unique ability to extend products further while complying with food legislation and without compromising food nutrition.
• Steered a project where 14 Spar stores consolidated owned butcheries into one Processing Plant.
• Excel in data mining and optimising Plant profitability based on analysed data.
• Create meat and plant hybrids.

WHAT I DO DIFFERENT

• Repurpose scrap (waste) by changing it into high-demand products that deliver excellent profit margins.
• Create sales and distribution platforms to take those products to market.
• Analyse company data by exploiting information and increasing production success (distribution channels, products or people).
• Analyse equipment.
• Produce the highest possible GP products on factory equipment.
• Assess redundant capacity and what products should the redundant capacity be spent on.
• Double output with the same input – establish demand KPIs and lead teams in achieving those objectives.
• Identify raw materials and how purchasing can be restructured to reduce input costs by at least 20%.
• Identify the company’s niche and advise on doubling profit.
• Utilise scrap equipment and devise sales opportunities accordingly.
• Develop and strengthen strategic partnerships by exploiting synergies with surrounding companies.
• Stability on the production floor.
• Create processes and systems that will enable all employees as growth and profitability partners.
• Plan production – smaller teams contribute to implementing structures and work in synergy with other small teams to ensure positive and productive factory operations.
• Create and implement an action plan.
• Measure company profitability and growth.
• Personal share in the client’s company success!

PROFESSIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE

Various Entities, South Africa⎟ January 2021 to February 2023

Independent Contractor

Spar, Nigeria

• Established the largest Meat Plant in West Africa, Lagos, with full Plant commissioning in February 2023.
• Full operational and financial management of the project, including overseeing recipes, equipment, processing lines, senior staffing, etc.

Samworth Brothers, United Kingdom

• Solve and perform an onsite presentation of unique processing systems. Details are subject to NDA.

Russel Stone Group, South Africa

• Demonstrate low-cost/high-margin catering products and use of the bacon-grid system.

Van Wyngaardt Deli Meats (owned by Etlin International), South Africa⎟ January 2019 to December 2020 https://vwg.co.za/

• Created a Food Science Department in support of selling MDM (main commodity) at the start of the COVID-19 epidemic – all core projects were cancelled.
• Created a unique distribution system which would have seen the company double its turnover. It was unfortunately dismantled due to Covid.

Woodys Consumer Brands (Pty) Ltd – Cape Town, South Africa⎟ January 2008 to August 2018 https://woodysbrands.co.za/

Company Founder

Head of Production

Factory Manager/Production Manager/New Product Development Manager

• Oversaw the production output of 15 tons of bacon per day.
• Led daily factory and manufacturing operations, including supervising, coaching, training and mentoring employees across departments.
• Designed and implemented successful systems to increase and support production processes, including integrated batch control and thawing systems.
• Developed a bacon processing system around stainless steel grids and the effective use of transglutaminase technology – the system was developed over many years and is
• I am able to produce exceptional bacon at unusually low input costs – the system is currently used by several companies globally.