Harvey Beef chief operating officer Wayne Shaw has resigned after being at the helm of the WA meat processing giant for almost a decade.
Mr Shaw returned to his New Zealand homeland this month where he will work as the general manager of processing and safety for farmer co-operative Alliance Group.
Over the years he played an integral role in the development and expansion of the Harvey Beef site and brand, owned by Andrew and Nicola Forrest's Tattarang.
Mr Shaw said it had been both a challenging and rewarding journey, of which he was grateful for.
He was drawn to the red meat sector from a young age, having grown up on a small holding in rural NZ, where he learned about shearing and drenching sheep, processing animals at home and building fences.
Mr Shaw's career in the meat processing sector started with Silver Fern Farms in 1991, where he worked various roles to eventually become operations manager of sheepmeat and venison.
He remained with the company until September 2014 when he was recruited by Harvey Beef that had just been purchased by the Forrests.
"I remember moving to Australia and two days later starting a new job with Harvey Beef, as general manager," Mr Shaw said.
"Eventually that role evolved to chief operating officer, where I took on other responsibilities for the wider group around construction projects, including the Koojan Downs feedlot."
When Mr Shaw started at Harvey Beef, the plant was in need of investment, with limited capacity and facilities.
He was supported by the Forrests through the approval of various projects, which included increasing freezer capacity and improving and modernising standards in water, power and refrigeration.
"Since then we have continued the process of adding and modernising chillers, and building a freezer store and load out facilities," Mr Shaw said.
"Both Andrew and Nicola have really backed the plant over the time they have owned it, heavily investing in improving the plant's quality and capacity.
"This has been a huge benefit to the business, as well as the broader producer network, which has access to a quality livestock processing plant."
Peak capacity has grown since Mr Shaw started, from 500-head to 740-head per day, over a longer season.
Mr Shaw said this was made possible through the development of the broader supply chain and wider cattle supply chain in WA, with a more level supply through the likes of Koojan and other feedlots.
"For example, we don't have a shutdown anymore and instead process year-round," he said.
"That means we are getting close to doubling our overall annual throughput."
In June 2020, Mr Shaw oversaw the construction of a 24 megalitre capacity covered anaerobic lagoon at the abattoir's wastewater treatment facility.
The man-made lagoon, which is 110 metreswide and 2.6m above natural ground level, was designed to reduce emissions by treating liquid waste from processing and capturing methane, and improve the plant's overall efficiency.
"We had an uncovered anaerobic lagoon, which allowed for potent greenhouse gases, including methane and CO2, to be released into the atmosphere," Mr Shaw said.
"Covered with a heavy duty membrane, the newly-constructed anaerobic lagoon captures all the gas.
"That methane is burned in our boiler, replacing about a third of the natural gas that we would otherwise use off the pipeline.
"Effectively, it has reduced our carbon footprint by about 14,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year.
"That is quite significant, and at the same time we also accrue Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs)."
Mr Shaw said the construction of the lagoon was a big step forward when it came to improving the quality of effluent.
Harvey Beef then irrigates on farmland to grow hay, silage and maize.
"I think every industry is becoming more carbon conscious," he said.
"We're certainly seeing that consciousness about the environmental impacts, and particularly the carbon impact, and more specifically, in relation to the beef industry."
Mr Shaw was also part of the team, who put together the proposal for what is WA's biggest feedlot, Koojan Downs, opened in late 2021.
Managing the construction, he worked closely with project managers Fiveight, also owned by Tattarang.
Today, the feeding facility can supply 60,000-head of cattle per year, which are finished on 100 per cent WA hay, barley, cracked lupins and canola oil for 100 days.
Other highlights include securing contracts with two of the country's largest retailers, one new and the other well-established.
As part of this, a $25 million case ready facility was opened onsite in 2016, to produce retail packs, some which are Harvey Beef branded.
Beyond the upgrades and improvements, another memory that stood out for Mr Shaw for different reasons was the Waroona-Yarloop bushfires in 2016.
The fires started late 2015, with a "massive front" from the north to the south.
"We had to send people home and stop processing," he said.
"I had to ask volunteers within the workforce to stay behind to keep the fridge, plants, power and everything going to look after the meat.
"We had staff sleeping on their office floors for a few nights while the fire was passing through.
"Fortunately, the fire never reached the plant, but it did get scarily close and tragically hit Yarloop.
"It was a great effort by the team to keep Harvey Beef operational."
Starting in his new role with Alliance Group, which is the world's biggest sheepmeat exporter, Mr Shaw looks forward to using the skills gained at Harvey Beef.
He has enjoyed working with the Forrests and Harvey Beef team over the years, including producers.
"There are a lot of touch points into the cattle industry in WA, I think there are more than 1000 farmers that have interaction with Harvey Beef," Mr Shaw said.
"That's obviously a big collaborative effort with farmers across the State right from Kununurra to Eucla."
Mr Shaw said he would miss the climate and local steaks.
"It is very rare you get a bad steak here, and that has been the case since I started," he said.
"I think progressive improvement has only continued over the years through breeding and processing.
"There has been that real focus on meat quality in the State, and I have no doubt that will continue."
