"We employ 260 people here on site," says Shane, Site Manager of Fonterra's Lichfield milk processing plant. "That's a significant number, but I guess it's more than that too, in terms of the connections that we have with the local community," he says.
"We've got people who have worked here since, what they call, the 'Club Mud' days. Lichfield was formed here in 1995 as a greenfield site and has been a prominent member of the community ever since. Back in the day, in 1995, there were two cheese plants built from the ground up involving a lot of the local community in terms of providing employment. In 1995 they were walking around up to their knees in mud, building this place."
The site is now nearly thirty years old, and into its third generation of staffers according to Shane. "There are a lot of relatives and relations, I've got three generations working here now. I think over time, and especially when we're in a community like we are, there's a lot of family connections."
"What you find, and what I love about working here is - and it's like that in the Co-operative in general - is that there's a real family feel on site."
- Shane Harris, Site Manager of Fonterra's Lichfield milk processing plant
"In that time, we've also built some significant capability in our staff and invested heavily in their development. As a result of that, we have quite a strong connection on site to the Co-operative and people are proud of what they do and what they bring to the business every day."
The connection to the Co-operative goes beyond their passion for their work and their relationship to the site Shane says.
"I hear people talking about having just had a barbecue conversation or an over-the-fence conversation with one of our shareholders. I'd probably hear one or two of those each week here on site. Maybe it's because we are rural that our staff are more embedded in that rural community and connected to our shareholders, so there's lots of discussion that goes on about the business and how we're performing," he says.
Being staffed by passionate local people speaks to some, but not all, of the Co-op site's community mindedness. For Shane, being part of the community means a lot more than being a big local employer. For him, this is more about the Co-op's philosophy of mutual prosperity.
"Any dollar we make goes back into the New Zealand community in some way shape or form," he says. "Whether that's in wages, or whether that's in all the businesses we interact with in the local community - local businesses like Laser Electrical and Van Dams Plumbing, EnviroWaste and all those smaller businesses that we have a connection with that we've supported, throughout. And they support us - it's a joint effort."
That co-operative philosophy also shows up in the form of one of Fonterra's hero community programmes, the Hapori Programme - Hapori meaning the coming together of people for a common cause. The ongoing initiative funds projects that create meaningful impact in local communities, in the areas of quality nutrition in the hands of those who need it most; protecting and regenerating the natural environment; and keeping local communities strong.
"In terms of support and reinvesting back into the community, we also have the Hapori fund, with which we've touched a lot of the local community over a long, long period of time in terms of supporting where we can," Shane says.
The business, it seems, isn't just part of the community, but the community is just as much a part of the business.
Find out more at fonterra.com/todayandtomorrow.