New Huon Aquaculture owner JBS reveals future of business in Tasmania

The new owners of Huon Aquaculture have addressed workers’ concerns about potential job losses in their first interview since the takeover. WHAT THEY SAID >>

THE new owners of Huon Aquaculture, Brazilian meat giant JBS, concede they have a lot of work to do to improve the salmon industry’s poor image as they reassure workers there will be no job losses or changes.

New Zealand born JBS Australia chief executive for Australia, Brent Eastwood, has been in Hobart this week and said after six months’ research, he knew “very little” about the salmon industry but believes it sits well with JBS’s global operations.

“This will be the first foray into aquaculture for us anywhere in the world but we recognised Tasmanian salmon is the best in the world and Huon Salmon is the best in Tasmania,” Mr Eastwood said.

“The world is 70 per cent ocean and 30 per cent land, there’s a lot of opportunity to grow sustainable protein in the ocean.

“We’ve met the majority of team members this week to tell them all their jobs are safe and we have no intention to change the business. Our intention is to help them be better.

“The Industry has done a very poor job of communicating the good, and letting the intelligent population, get a balanced view.”

The $500m acquisition from the Bender family was a natural opportunity for JBS because “our values and culture aligns with Huon”, he said.

New Huon chief executive Phil Wiese who has worked for Huon for 13 years, said a main focus was to “get the facts out”.

“We’ve got a bit of work to do in terms of getting that positive message out, there’s been a lot of detractors around,” Mr Wiese said.

“It’s up to us now to get the facts out so that people are fully informed.”

JBS Australia CEO Brent Eastwood in Hobart. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

JBS corporate head John Berry, said he had told anti-salmon campaigners including Dr Bob Brown, author Richard Flanagan and Peter George that “we won’t damage the environment”.

“These guys have been very good at community engagement, but you’ve got to balance up between impact and vexatious complaints,” he said.

Mr Eastwood said Huon should be given credit for complaining about the poor health of Macquarie Harbour which led to it being improved.

The executives said they had a good combination of land and sea operations but would watch and learn about the move to salmon farming on land.

Mr Berry said JBS had “employment and economic muscle” in regional Australia and had paid back Tasmanian government grants for the King Island abattoir which he said they ran at a loss before closing and that the Quoiba abattoir was closed because it was dangerous for workers and animals.

Mr Eastwood said the jailing of JBS executives for corruption was a “Brazillian centric situation”.

“It was a situation in Brazil and we don’t try to hide from it but the company has learnt a lot from that,” he said.

Mr Eastwood said JBS would be Huon’s “last owner”.

“We can do better with what we’ve got.and we can make Huon a sustainably profitable business, which keeps everyone’s jobs secure,” he said.

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