Haygrove SA 2021

It is amazing how quickly 2021 has flown by! They say the harder you work the quicker time goes. This year was all about our business successfully navigating around all the challenges that were thrown at us. It was about our fantastic team and our good systems being tested to the limit. It was about Haygrove coming out on top. Yes, we could have done some things better. And yes, we made mistakes. But we now have a team that uses those mistakes to improve.

Haygrove is very fortunate to be supplying the high value horticultural sector that is thriving. As a result we are fortunate to have had a good year and the company is growing. This means there are opportunities for our over 120 permanent staff to be assured of personal growth within Haygrove. This, after all, is why we are in business. One of this year’s success stories is about the numerous internal promotions of fantastic staff. Well done to all those who were promoted, but also, to those leaders that trained them, gave them the correct skills to develop, and most importantly of all, identified the potential in those individuals.

In 2021 I have received many messages from satisfied customers thanking Haygrove for good service and staff that have impressed them by going beyond their expectations. It seems we are really living up to our motto of “The Complete Customer Experience”!

This year we democratically elected the employee of the year and team of the year. We asked all staff to nominate colleagues who stood out, went beyond what was expected of them, and represented our company’s ethos. The results demonstrated how well our Haygrove team is coming together and how leadership skills are developing in our company. There were a lot of cross departmental nominations indicating respect for the part others play in creating a successful product. There were also a few instances where a manager was nominating someone in their team and that same nominated person was nominating their manager! An example of a phenomenal team!

Here are a few fun facts from Haygrove’s last 12 months:

• We made 587 sales. That is 11 per week or 2.3 sales per day
• We sold 488 hectares worth of combined polythene and shade net
• We manufactured and sold a total of 83 160 anchors. On average we drill anchors 75cm into the ground. This equated to 62km of drilling! That is almost the equivalent of drilling from Elgin to Cape Town!
• We processed 1 130 tons of steel tubing. A total of 470km of tube. The equivalent of the distance of Elgin to past Beaufort West towards Three Sisters on the N1!
• We sold 2.93 million hog rings. We install these on shade net structures 25cm apart. This is therefore the equivalent of installing 586km of hog rings. Elgin to Jefferies Bay on the N2! 

Here are some of the many highlights of the year: 

• Our automated tunnel solutions and our good relationship with Agrilogiq taking off
• Our continued strides we are making into the Cannabis Market 
• Shade net sales despite expensive steel
• Our R & D team is phenomenal. This team demonstrates the strength of our company. It is amazing to see this team in action!
• Our Health & Safety team and their commitment to ensuring all staff work in a safe environment.
• Zimbabwe has been a great market for us in 2021 
• We have made some good steps into the SA Kiwi fruit industry and have developed a great product for these growers
• Our ops team have been very resilient negotiating around the logistical nightmares of 2021 and communicating well with our customers on these challenges
• Our finance team managing our cash flow and all the challenges of managing a growing business
• Our PM team – number of sites controlled & leading hands promotions
• The energy and passion of the sales team who believe in our product and understand how to help our customers maximize their return on investment.
• We have made great strides in looking after the planet. Even if this is on a small localized level. 
  • Our alien tree clearing project on the farm is showing us just how desperate indigenous flora and flora were waiting for us to take responsibility for the land we are custodians of! 
  • Our recycling systems are now very organized and the amount of waste to landfills is now minimal!

I wish all our staff, all our suppliers and all our customers a wonderful Christmas. I hope you all have a fantastic time with friends and family and enjoy a well-deserved break.

I am sure Haygrove will have a fantastic year next year in 2022 and therefore make a positive impact on all of you!

Thank you,

Mark