GWF is a wholly owned subsidiary of Associated British Foods plc, a diversified international food, ingredients and retail group with sales in excess of £15bn, over 130,000 employees and operations in 52 countries across Europe, southern Africa, the Americas, Asia and Australia. ABF is split into five segments: Grocery; Sugar; Agriculture; Ingredients; and Retail. ABF’s purpose is to provide safe, nutritious, affordable food; and clothing that is great value for money.
About GWF
In doing these things well, we know we are doing good every day by contributing to making millions of people’s lives better.
Associated British Foods started out as a bakery business in 1935. A great deal has changed in that time but what has remained constant is the essence of Associated British Foods. By this we mean the ethical way in which we operate.
We believe we have a duty of care in the way we do business, including: how we employ people and develop careers; ethical and environmental standards in our many supply chains; health and safety; appropriate funding of pensions; and to conserve and where possible enhance the environments in which we operate.
George Weston Foods makes some of Australia and New Zealand’s favourite and most innovative products.
We are one of Australia and New Zealand’s largest food manufacturers employing over 6,000 people across 40 sites. Our product range is diverse and includes leading brands such as Tip Top, Sunblest, Abbotts Village Bakery, Burgen, Golden, DON, KR Castlemaine, Yumi’s as well as MAURI (flour, milled products, animal feed) and Jasol (cleaning and hygiene solutions).
Our Operating Model
Our operating model encourages entrepreneurial spirit, where people have the autonomy to live our core purpose ‘to see that all of our businesses thrive’. Our authentic and inspiring leaders support and challenge us to deliver extraordinary performance, where you’re rewarded for both ‘what’ you achieve and ‘how’ you achieve it.
We love to say ‘thank you’, celebrating our people for their contribution to business results and living our values. We’re committed to safety for everyone, everyday; and value diversity and inclusion as a way of delivering better outcomes.
Our purpose is to see that all of our businesses thrive
Each business, GWF, Tip Top, MAURI, Jasol, DON and Yumi’s has the autonomy to develop their own identity and culture, brought to life through their purpose, vision and brands. Our values are the same.
Safe, Courageous, Trusting and Collaborative
When combined, our four values drive our distinctive culture, guiding our decisions and actions every day.
Our belief is that we act like owners of the business.
Our Vision is that we provide the best home for a growing family of safe, well led businesses delivering outstanding results and return
Our Heritage
Tip Top in Australia
The Tip Top brand was launched nationally in 1958 and was the first national bread brand in Australia. Tip Top’s pre-sliced, wrapped bread revolutionized the baking category in Australia in the 1950s. Over the years, the range of breads and baked goods under the Tip Top brand has expanded to cater for the developing needs of Australian families. As a result, Tip Top produces over one million loaves of bread every day and delivers its products to more than 18,000 locations. That’s a lot of bread!
Tip Top Bakery in New Zealand
In the early 1950’s, GWF purchased Stormont’s Bakery in Kingsland Auckland and launched the Tip Top Bread brand into New Zealand. Today, the business employs more than 500 people in five manufacturing sites. Together, the sites produce more than 1.2 million loaves of bread, buns, rolls, muffins and crumpets every week.
DON
DON® Smallgoods was established in Victoria in 1947 by a local butcher R.J. Gilbertson. In producing his range of processed European-style meats, Gilbertson set very high standards, employing European master craftsmen, who used the traditional methods of curing and preserving meat.
Their techniques were an instant success in a rapidly changing post-war Australia and by 1951, the young company had expanded and built a separate factory to keep up with the demand. The successful growth of the company over the years saw GWF purchase the DON® brand in 1999 to complement its existing smallgoods operations.
In 2008 GWF purchased KR Castlemaine, who began producing ham and bacon back in 1911. Recently DON built a large state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in regional Victoria representing substantial, long-term investment in the region.
DON is the biggest employer in regional Victoria, with over 1,200 people.
MAURI formerly Weston Milling
MAURI is one of the oldest and largest cereal manufactures in Australasia. As part of GWF, MAURI benefits from a broad working knowledge throughout the food and agricultural industry and provides innovative solutions to support a traditional approach to flour milling.
Weston Animal Nutrition traces its roots back over 60 years in both Eastern and Western Australia. The original business names of Wesfeeds and Millmaster are well known in the livestock industry for their dedication to develop and provide products and services of the highest standard.
Jasol
Jasol Australia was established in 1934 when an enterprising chemist, Mr. Charles Johnson, approached a Mr. Edwards who was a prominent Adelaide businessman with a formulation that enabled oil to be mixed with water. In 2003 Jasol expanded operations into New Zealand with the acquisition of Wilsons chemicals and in 2005 Andrew Limited, both leading cleaning and industrial chemical manufactures.
Yumi's
In 2018, George Weston Foods acquired Yumi’s. Yumi’s Quality Foods is one of modest beginnings, when Benjamin (nicknamed Yumi) and Michael Friedman began processing fish.
Yumi’s has since advanced from fish dips to now include over 20 classic varieties and an Anytime range of innovative squeezable dips that everyone can enjoy. Yumi’s offers unique non-dairy and gluten-free dips, aioli’s, vegetarian snacks, mayonnaise and smoked fish perfect for everyday consumption and entertaining. Yumi’s promises products filled with high-quality ingredients, packed with nutritional value and most importantly taste great!
The now famous Yumi’s range are conveniently available in most supermarkets. Yumi’s also produce a range of products suitable for a large range of food outlets, including cafes, restaurants and takeaway outlets. Yumi’s gluten and dairy free products better allow establishments to cater to every dietary requirement and taste preference.
Meet Our Leaders
Our leaders are given a high degree of autonomy which fosters entrepreneurialism and agility to seize opportunities
Stuart Grainger
Chief Executive | GWF
Stuart joined GWF’s parent, ABF in 1996 with UK based roles with British Sugar, AB Agri and Weston Centre; then moved to Australia in leadership roles with GWF’s Weston Milling. In 2010 Stuart was appointed to lead Don through significant change including commissioning a new $280M state-of-the-art factory in Victoria. He took on the role of GWF’s Chief Executive in September 2016. Stuart has extensive experience in the food industry and in driving value across the entire food supply chain from farm to fork. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology from Reading University in the UK.
Michelle Pombart
Director People and Performance | GWF
Michelle joined GWF in 2012 and leads the People and Performance function across the company. With expertise in driving high performance people practices and organisational change, Michelle has held senior leadership roles in companies across industries including financial services, telecommunications, hospitality and retail. Prior to GWF, she was Head of HR for FlexiGroup achieving AON Hewitt Best Employer accreditation; and also held senior HR roles with Vodafone Australia, Dymocks and Mariott Hotels. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Human Resources) from the University of Western Sydney.
Lorna Raine
Chief Financial Officer | GWF
Lorna joined GWF in 2014 as Chief Financial Officer. She has extensive experience in finance, operations and leading transformational change teams, having held senior roles in multinational consumer and quick service restaurant businesses. Prior to joining GWF, Lorna was Chief Operating Officer with Fairfax Media and CFO of their Metro Media Division. She held senior leadership roles with Yum Restaurants International (Australia), and in South Africa, was CFO for McDonalds. Lorna holds a Bachelor of Commerce with Honours, a member of the Australian Institute of Chartered Accountants and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Michael Winterburn
Head of Business Development | GWF
Michael joined GWF in 2017, following nine years as Head of Corporate Development with GWF’s parent, ABF. Prior to ABF he was Director of Investment Banking with UBS. Michael brings a wealth of commercial experience and a strong foundation in Business Development and Strategy, and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) from the University of Melbourne.
Andrew Cummings
Managing Director | Tip Top
Andrew joined GWF in 2011 to lead the Tip Top business. He has extensive experience in leading large scale, diverse manufacturing businesses. With expertise in marketing and industrial and consumer branding, Andrew was previously Vice President Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa business for The Clorox Company (a US home care products manufacturer that markets over 27 diverse products in more than 100 countries). Andrew holds a postgraduate diploma in Marketing Management from Macquarie University.
Paul Foster
Managing Director | MAURI
Paul joined GWF in 2013 as the Tip Top Sales Director and led the transformation of field sales through new technology, sales capability and a new approach to customer engagement. In 2019, Paul was appointed the Managing Director of MAURI to lead and grow the business with a vision of digitalisation and how to make it reality through sound strategy development.
He has over 20 years’ experience leading large scale manufacturing businesses, with extensive experience in Strategy, Marketing and Sales.
Paul has a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry and Computer aided Chemistry, 1st Class Honours from The University of Manchester.
Will Ursell
Managing Director | DON
Will joined the ABF group in 2006 as Marketing Director for Twinings Australia where he progressed to Managing Director in 2014. Will moved to GWF in 2018 taking on the role of Managing Director of DON. Will has extensive experience in the food and beverage business across Australia, New Zealand, UK and Asia. Will started his career in FMCG as a graduate at Nestle in the UK , he then moved to United Biscuits in the UK where he held a number of executive roles leaving the business as Marketing Director of Snacks in 2006 to join Twinings in Australia. Will holds a BA (Hons) in Business and post graduate qualifications in Marketing.
Michael Friedman
Managing Director | Yumi’s
Michael Friedman co-founded Yumi’s Quality foods, a dips and snacks business with his brother Benjamin Friedman in 1989. Michael was appointed CEO in 2014 upon the partial sale to private equity. Michael joined GWF as Managing Director Yumis in 2018 following the acquisition of Yumi’s GWF.