SANford Chart

[iceman]

I wonder if they don't see a great future for Sanford? haven't they been a major shareholder for a long time?

I would not thought Ngai Tahu buying a minority shareholding would mean any major change in the company's operations. They see value but their time horizon will be longer than mine.

Selling quota was the last CEO who departed suddenly without much fanfare. His focus was on mussels and fresh fish direct to restaurants wasn't it? Both hit hard by covid while fish was getting stacked up in the freezer so not even a focus on marketing really, nor production. My knowledge is limited so I am probably being very unfair to him, but even as an ignoramus his decision to sell quota seemed concerning.

The new CEO has only been there since January this year so you haven't given him much of a chance as most of the decisions you are concerned about would have happened under the previous CEO.

I thought I had been clear in my criticism. I talked of the last few years so thought it was obvious I was not laying the blame with the new CEO who only started on April 6. Since then the CFO has resigned.
I believe many of the concerning decisions and management culture lies squarely with the Board.

[Balance]

Looks like Ngai Tahu has got its strategic stake and will make its board intentions clear soon enough.

Better part of just under 400,000 shares ($5.15 to $5.40) on the offer side looking for a home - beggars belief that the sellers did not take the opportunity yesterday to bail out. Who is going to buy their shares now except the institutions who shorted the stock yesterday.

[iceman]

On the face of it, this looks like a good appointment:

SAN
23/09/2021 08:31
ADMIN
NOT PRICE SENSITIVE
REL: 0831 HRS Sanford Limited (NS)

ADMIN: SAN: Appointment of Chief Financial Officer

23 September, 2021

NZX Continuous Disclosure

Sanford Announces Appointment of Chief Financial Officer, Paul Alston

Sanford Limited (NZX: SAN) has appointed a new Chief Financial Officer, Paul
Alston, former Chief Executive Officer of Cavalier Corporation.

Mr Alston replaces outgoing CFO Katherine Turner who ends her tenure on 30
September.

Sanford CEO Peter Reidie says "we are delighted to announce that Paul will be
joining us as CFO. He is a highly experienced listed company executive who
will bring great capability and leadership to Sanford. His background
includes CEO and CFO roles at Cavalier Corporation and Turners and Growers,
two significant New Zealand businesses."

Mr Alston's experience also includes several years in Europe at J P Morgan
and Deutsche Bank. He says he is excited to join a company he sees as a New
Zealand icon.

"I believe that Sanford has a bright future and is well positioned for
success and sustainable growth. We need to feed the world in a sustainable
fashion and Sanford is well placed to meet that need."

Mr Alston will start at Sanford in mid-October.

[BlackPeter]

On the face of it, this looks like a good appointment:

SAN
23/09/2021 08:31
ADMIN
NOT PRICE SENSITIVE
REL: 0831 HRS Sanford Limited (NS)

ADMIN: SAN: Appointment of Chief Financial Officer

23 September, 2021

NZX Continuous Disclosure

Sanford Announces Appointment of Chief Financial Officer, Paul Alston

Sanford Limited (NZX: SAN) has appointed a new Chief Financial Officer, Paul
Alston, former Chief Executive Officer of Cavalier Corporation.

Mr Alston replaces outgoing CFO Katherine Turner who ends her tenure on 30
September.

Sanford CEO Peter Reidie says "we are delighted to announce that Paul will be
joining us as CFO. He is a highly experienced listed company executive who
will bring great capability and leadership to Sanford. His background
includes CEO and CFO roles at Cavalier Corporation and Turners and Growers,
two significant New Zealand businesses."

Mr Alston's experience also includes several years in Europe at J P Morgan
and Deutsche Bank. He says he is excited to join a company he sees as a New
Zealand icon.

"I believe that Sanford has a bright future and is well positioned for
success and sustainable growth. We need to feed the world in a sustainable
fashion and Sanford is well placed to meet that need."

Mr Alston will start at Sanford in mid-October.

Interesting - but not quite sure I could decide based solely on the published info, whether he is a good appointment for Sanford.

I guess having both Cavalier as well as Deutsche Bank as previous employers in the CV might well be a mixed blessing (both companies had not just some highs but as well plenty of self inflicted lows), though obviously he could have been the one trying to stem the rot on the way down ;

Agree however - the 6 and a half years he worked as CFO at Turners & Growers probably gave him a quite useful background for his new position ... and the period demonstrates as well some stamina.

Do you know more about him (you can share) than the announcement says?

[iceman]

$500,000 fine and reparation after death on Sanford fishing vessel
23 September 2021
The death of a crew member on the factory fishing vessel, San Granit, has led to fishing company, Sanford Limited, being fined $375,000, and ordered to pay $121,860 reparations to family and $35,000 costs by the Timaru District Court.
Sanford pleaded guilty to one charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act of exposing workers to risk of death or serious injury, and the Court has now released its reserved decision.
Maritime NZ Investigations Manager, Pete Dwen, said the tragedy occurred in November 2018 when Steffan Stewart became caught in machinery in the ship’s automated freezer system for processing fish.
“The need for machine guards to protect workers is a well-known issue on ships,” Mr Dwen said.
When Sanford bought San Granit in 2016 it had an “at sea safety report” done to identify risks on board and what could be done to fix them.
Dangers in the automated freezer system were identified as “high risk”.
However, it was not until Mr Stewart’s death two years after the report that Sanford spent $450,000 making critical changes, including introducing an automatic shutdown system and revising its standard operating procedure (SOP) for clearing blockages.
The incident occurred shortly after 3.45am when Mr Stewart entered part of the automated freezer system to clear a blockage. When the system activated he became caught and was fatally injured by moving parts of the system.
On most voyages, the foreman or factory manager was to review the SOP with the freezer man. There are no records of this review kept by Sanford.
Judge A.A. Couch said in his decision that having a written SOP at the time of the incident was of little value in practice because Sanford did not monitor compliance and management was either unaware or unconcerned that the procedures were not being followed.
Workers had developed their own work-arounds to clear blockages, including not calling designated personnel as required.In addition, the cage around part of the system was not always locked. This meant workers could enter the caged area to clear a blockage without the system being turned off.
The factory supervisor checked workers every hour. However, the factory supervisor on Mr Stewart’s shift was unfamiliar with the automated freezer system and therefore limited in their ability to monitor and provide the supervision necessary to help keep workers safe.
They were also unaware of Sanford’s fatigue management policy – San Granit’s factory operated 24/7 when the ship was fishing.
Maritime NZ’s investigation found that Sanford could have guarded machinery in the automated freezer system so blockages could be cleared without exposing workers to moving parts, the SOP was poorly worded and confusing, and monitoring and supervision of workers’ safety was inadequate.
“It is positive that all these changes have now been made by Sanford. However, it is critical all employers consider carefully machine guarding equipment, processes, monitoring and supervision to avoid it taking a death or serious injury to learn these lessons,” Mr Dwen said.

[BlackPeter]

$500,000 fine and reparation after death on Sanford fishing vessel
23 September 2021
The death of a crew member on the factory fishing vessel, San Granit, has led to fishing company, Sanford Limited, being fined $375,000, and ordered to pay $121,860 reparations to family and $35,000 costs by the Timaru District Court.
Sanford pleaded guilty to one charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act of exposing workers to risk of death or serious injury, and the Court has now released its reserved decision.
Maritime NZ Investigations Manager, Pete Dwen, said the tragedy occurred in November 2018 when Steffan Stewart became caught in machinery in the ship’s automated freezer system for processing fish.
“The need for machine guards to protect workers is a well-known issue on ships,” Mr Dwen said.
When Sanford bought San Granit in 2016 it had an “at sea safety report” done to identify risks on board and what could be done to fix them.
Dangers in the automated freezer system were identified as “high risk”.
However, it was not until Mr Stewart’s death two years after the report that Sanford spent $450,000 making critical changes, including introducing an automatic shutdown system and revising its standard operating procedure (SOP) for clearing blockages.
The incident occurred shortly after 3.45am when Mr Stewart entered part of the automated freezer system to clear a blockage. When the system activated he became caught and was fatally injured by moving parts of the system.
On most voyages, the foreman or factory manager was to review the SOP with the freezer man. There are no records of this review kept by Sanford.
Judge A.A. Couch said in his decision that having a written SOP at the time of the incident was of little value in practice because Sanford did not monitor compliance and management was either unaware or unconcerned that the procedures were not being followed.
Workers had developed their own work-arounds to clear blockages, including not calling designated personnel as required.In addition, the cage around part of the system was not always locked. This meant workers could enter the caged area to clear a blockage without the system being turned off.
The factory supervisor checked workers every hour. However, the factory supervisor on Mr Stewart’s shift was unfamiliar with the automated freezer system and therefore limited in their ability to monitor and provide the supervision necessary to help keep workers safe.
They were also unaware of Sanford’s fatigue management policy – San Granit’s factory operated 24/7 when the ship was fishing.
Maritime NZ’s investigation found that Sanford could have guarded machinery in the automated freezer system so blockages could be cleared without exposing workers to moving parts, the SOP was poorly worded and confusing, and monitoring and supervision of workers’ safety was inadequate.
“It is positive that all these changes have now been made by Sanford. However, it is critical all employers consider carefully machine guarding equipment, processes, monitoring and supervision to avoid it taking a death or serious injury to learn these lessons,” Mr Dwen said.

Hmm - I guess the previous CEO (Volker Kuntzsch) is unlikely to add this judgement to his CV. It clearly shows how little the company cared under his watch about heath and safety and quality. They say the fish always stinks from the head.

Lets hope things are now better - shareholders are always the last group of stakeholders to learn about things like that (Pike River springs to mind ...) - pretty sure the workers knew.

[iceman]

Hmm - I guess the previous CEO (Volker Kuntzsch) is unlikely to add this judgement to his CV. It clearly shows how little the company cared under his watch about heath and safety and quality. They say the fish always stinks from the head.

Lets hope things are now better - shareholders are always the last group of stakeholders to learn about things like that (Pike River springs to mind ...) - pretty sure the workers knew.

Sadly this is one of the negatives about buying +30 year old vessels. Safety issues back then were not as high a priority as they are now and equipment surroundings much more dangerous. In this very sad case, it came at a terrible cost.

[ralph]

There should be an improvement in Profits Once the increased snapper quota kicks in !

[iceman]

Sanford goes for mandatory vaccinations for seagoing crew https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/ind...-fishing-crews

[iceman]

The exodus continues. I don't think this is bad for SAN. Mr Chia was hired by the previous CEO as CFO and was well qualified for that. It was a mistake to then move him to COO with zero operational experience in the industry

https://www.nzx.com/announcements/382276