PASTURES NEW FOR BALE WRAPPING EXPERT
Stewart Douglas, Scottish area manager for bpi.agri, the British based manufacturer of agricultural stretch wrap, is retiring in May. A well known and popular figure in the industry, Stewart has served Scottish agriculture for the last 36 years. Lloyd Dawson, who looks after sales in Northern Ireland, will assume responsibility for bpi.agri’s Scottish customers following Stewart’s retirement on 29th May.
Stewart began his sales career in 1970 after joining the Belfast Rope Works Company, which later became part of Irish Ropes. The company was acquired by British Polythene Industries in 1998 and although the twine and ropes industry is no longer part of the business, Stewart will always be known as the Bluebell Twine man.
During his time at BPI, Stewart has sold countless rolls of polythene film to contractors and farmers across Scotland and has seen the industry grow and develop into what it is today.
Stewart said: “The farming industry has changed significantly over the last 30 years, not least in the area of silage production. Throughout the development of multi-layered film and new state-of-the-art bale-wrapping machinery, it has been a privilege to have worked with Scottish farmers and contractors. I want to thank BPI for a very fulfilling career. I look forward to more time on the fairways at Erskine Golf Club where I plan to spend a lot of my time relaxing from now on!”
Having worked for bpi.agri for 12 years, heading up the company’s sales in Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, Lloyd will assume all responsibility for Scotland from May. From a farming background, Lloyd completed a three year National Diploma in Agriculture at Greenmount Agriculture College in 1991 and brings with him a vast amount of industry knowledge and experience.
Lloyd points out that although it might seem like a daunting task to have responsibility for such diverse territories it is, in fact, not as bad as it might seem. “In Australia & New Zealand we have one distributor with 10 sales representatives, so all I have to do is look after one account and their season starts when ours ends”.
Lloyd continues “Scotland is a challenge which I relish, with so many similarities to my home territory of Northern Ireland. As solid platform already built by Stewart combined with the positive response I am receiving from our customers, makes me confident that bpi.agri’s business will grow from strength to strength in the coming years.”
John Lancaster, Commercial Director of bpi.agri, said: “We wish Stewart all the best for the future; he has been an integral member of the bpi.agri team for many years. Lloyd’s pro-active, innovative approach coupled with his extensive market knowledge makes him the perfect replacement. He has already met the majority of our customers and is looking forward to taking over in May.”
DATE: 17/07/2006
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