New Chairman of EastPack

14 May 2007

New Chairman of EastPack Longtime Agribusiness Champion

A long time investor and champion of Bay of Plenty agribusiness, Raymond Sharp, has been elected chairman of grower owned EastPack Ltd, the integrated post harvest operator and the world's single biggest GOLD kiwifruit service provider.

The former chairman of the Bay of Plenty Community Trust and a rural accountant for over 30 years, Mr Sharp has a number of directorships and investments ranging from orchards through to forestry partnerships. He has been involved in kiwifruit for over 12 years.

"I have seen the highs and lows of the kiwifruit industry having been an accountant and financial advisor to many growers and from first hand experience as a grower myself," he said. "EastPack has been good to me through the years and is in good shape to move forward successfully with ongoing investment in infrastructure and building world class quality systems that will lift productivity, cost efficiencies and returns," he said.

Also joining the Board as a Commercial Director is Dr Mike Ashby, Managing Director of ESP Programme (North) Ltd and the former Chief Operating Officer at Southern Cross Healthcare where he played a key role in its successful turnaround. Dr Ashby has also worked at Cap Gemini (formerly Ernst & Young Consulting), leading the national Strategy and Transformation team. He has a PhD from Victoria University in International Relations.

Mr Sharp said that Dr Ashby would add further depth to the Board with specialist skills in governance, systems and company structuring across a range of sectors.

"EastPack had a difficult 2006 but we are on track to improve performance all round in 2007 with significant recent investment in people, processes and $10 million in plant at our sites in Opotiki, Edgecumbe and Te Puke this year alone."

Mr Sharp takes over the chairmanship following the retirement of Don Atkinson, who has lead the business for the past 26 years. EastPack began in a leased stonefruit packhouse on the Rangitaiki Plans in 1981 handling 12,000 trays of kiwifruit. Today it is a leading post harvest service provider handling 14 million trays of GREEN and GOLD kiwifruit with world class facilities, including the single biggest GOLD kiwifruit operation in the world at the recently upgraded Te Puke site.

ENDS

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