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Changes to business processes have ensured this well-loved brand's pickles, onions and jams are enjoyed by the public…
Industry
Manufacturing: Food and Beverage
Outcome

The analysis and recommendations challenged the organisation's ideas about the changes that should be made. Spring Gully said it pointed them in the right direction to achievea more sustainable, modern production into the future. 

Capability
Business optimisation and process optimisation
Region

Dry Creek, South Australia

Kevin Webb – Managing Director Spring Gully Foods

"We have been working hard to make our business more sustainable, more efficient and a more modern producer for the years ahead. 

We had preconceived ideas as to the changes we saw should be made, but through the process of going through it with SAGE, it pointed our thinking to a different direction and the outcome we achieved in the end was the best for the company.”

Challenge

Iconic Australian food producer Spring Gully Foods produce a range of pickles, sauces, relishes, chutneys, honeys, jams and fruit spreads.

The company was forced to enter Voluntary Administration in April 2013.

The fourth generation, family owned and operated company was faced with ongoing price pressure, reduced revenue and increased costs which required urgent action to keep the business viable.

Media support resulted in increased sales which helped cash flow, but not efficiency.

Solution

Spring Gully still faced with high production costs, and the Government pledged support to purchase key equipment to increase production efficiency. But as part of this it sought independent review and analysis to identify how the financial support could provide the most benefit.

SAGE Automation was engaged to help.

 

Outcome

SAGE undertook a detailed analysis of the business and found that the proposed new Case Packer would not deliver the best bang for buck. 

Bottle necks between the material delivery and jar filling processes would leave this new equipment grossly underutilised. 

A process improvement solution was developed to deliver much greater results.

The analysis and recommendations also covered product pricing, a review into the number of products and the resulting manufacturing process changeovers, packaging, labelling, warehousing, and design all came under the spotlight.

Challenges Section

Company profile

In 1946, in the leafy foothills of Adelaide, Edward McKee’s hobby of pickling his home-grown onions proved so popular that it soon became his primary business, giving rise to the much-loved brand Spring Gully . Now, four generations on, Spring Gully (a brand of Spring Gully Foods) is still family owned and operated, and our commitment to using the finest quality ingredients continues.

The 70 year-old company fought back after going into  administration in 2013. Consumer support and changes to business processes have ensured its pickles, onions and jams are enjoyed by the public for years to come.

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