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A
Brief History current part
JUNE 2007 Ten Years Still puttering along,
the drought has affected produce supply for everyone
making it quiet. Bought green t-shirts for all the
staff, very flash once you get use to them. And Thursday
is Wodoga Daywhere we all where the white "nut"
t-shirts Soester Boarde sent us. We now have Jeffery
Thomas to help and changed a small Mitzi Van for a
Ford Transit giving us a lot more carrying capacity.
There are lots of inquiries still for organic food.
During October 2006 we had approaches from Organic
Wholesalers Melb and Ecco Farms to buy our business,
both really intended buying stores in the Adelaide
Produce Markets and cutting into our market plus serving
the main supermarkets and independents. Org Wholesalers
did not succeed, they found organics in the Adel Markets
to be virtually nonexistent and left in March 2007.
We believe Ecco Farms are still here in Adelaide serving
mainly the supermarkets.
JULY 2005 Replaced the small number 10 banana room
with a purpose built 4 pallet banana room, very nice,
not force aired though.
JUNE 2004 Seven years now
and still here! Business steadily going up, seem to
be getting more customers. Biggest problems is the
number of small business closing up (and with them
some of OUR money!).
Company
History... the
story from the begining
Steves Organics started June 1st 1997. Initially in
direct competition to Chiquita, we started on the
Monday in the spare store of Carbis Banana Agency,
then moved on the Tuesday into Gores Bros. My wife
and I started using our family car and a borrowed
trailer with the help of Sue`s uncle Reuben. After
a few months we bought a van and a while later had
Ben O`Donahue to help.
After about 14 months Gores was sold and we moved
in the rear of Ward Broes (again using the back of
that same Carbis store to which we were next door
again). By this time we had Brad Moore, Ben and Ian
Steenson helping me. On moving we needed to buy a
fork lift. Here we were extremely compact, we had
only 8 pallet spaces of cool room and 5 pallet spaces
in the store, then it was outside - rain or shine!!
We were on top of each other, the office comprised
a small desk containing the computer, printer, phone
fax, answering machine etc!!
Then Wards moved out and we had more space but in
Feb 1999 Wards was sold but we were extremely fortunate
to pick up a car wreckers warehouse just outside the
markets. We were at this stage unable to get any space
inside the market. We were offered stores after we
had moved but by then it was too late. We bought a
small truck and on Friday 20th Feb 1999 we moved,
that was a very long day! We borrowed trucks and forks
and managed to move everything lock, stock and barrel-
the locks were changed on the market store as we moved!
We had a refrigerated container put in the shed that
day and we were there! Next week we put up a small
cool room and have used this for ripening bananas
to this day. It was five weeks before we built a cool
room, this was one we bought off a customer and extended
giving us 20 pallets of cool room.
October 26th 1999 we had built a brand new 8 pallet
therm-fresh banana room and got rid of the container.
At the end of August the Ford van met an untimely
end with a drunk driver hitting it and we were forced
to upgrad to a Toyota long wheel base, diesel.
Tim
English left in September 2000 and Sam Aloisi comenced
doing most of the computer work. After Sam started
we purchased a new computer and networked the two,
a very useful move. In February 2000 Brad decided
to join the Airforce to have a career. He is still
there and happy now in Wogga. We hired Ben Johnson
to replace Ben. In November 2001 we finally had built
another room between the main two, it is 12 pallets
and just refrigerated. They are now numbered 7 (thermfresh)
8 (latest one) 9 (big cold room) and 10 is the small
banana room.
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