Staff Profiles
John Macdonald
“Naki Boys on Tour”
John Macdonald - Manager for Swap Stockfoods based at Taranaki is on a boy’s tour. He and two clients who have also turned out to be best mates are on a mission. That mission is to see as many sights of the Swap Stockfood North Island business as they can in their two day tour from Taranaki to Matamata and Mount Manganui.
Up from Taranaki they have so far seen quarries, bulk stores and the operations at head office in Matamata. “It’s really hard to believe the size of Swaps business“ states Trevor Dent - Dairy farmer of 200 Friesians, client of Swap Stockfoods and mate of John. This is reinforced by other comments of “hell it’s massive“ and “very impressive“ uttered by George Buchanan - the third of the Naki boys on tour. George who also farms in Taranaki milks 280 Friesian Crosses after initially being a sheep and beef farmer.
When asked how they all got together I expected to hear stories of mutual football clubs or families with similar interests but instead they tell me they came together by meeting John for the first time when he successfully sold them Palm Kernel Expeller (PKE) from Swaps.
“Swaps were the only Taranaki based company to sell PKE“ states Trevor. “They’ve been very good to me and that’s why we’ve stuck with them. That’s how I first met John. He pulled up; we got talking and just hit it off. That’s the sort of guy John is - he builds strong relationships“.
George is of a similar opinion. “I always found that John values his customers. He makes you feel like he’s doing the best for you and the company. You don’t feel like you’re being shafted because you know it’s a win win. He’s a pretty special guy“.
John himself is fairly understated although seems very proud to be the sales rep from Swaps that sold the most tonnage of PKE in 2010. Not bad considering he started in sales only 5 years ago after starting as a truck driver and working his way up.
“I was the first Swap staff member in Taranaki. I saw all these Swap trucks driving around down here and rang them to ask if they were interested in basing a truck here. I had no interview and started with them the next day. They asked me what sort of truck I wanted. I told them I’d never driven a Kenworth so that’s what they got me“.
From here it grew to 8 drivers which meant they eventually relocated the trucks and drivers to Taranaki. From here the obvious step was to bring a ship of PKE into New Plymouth Port. This meant a bulk store had to be acquired which was done in a matter of four days. “There was only one to choose from so that made the decision easy“ says John. With the acquisition of the bulk store and the ship coming more frequently to New Plymouth this found John managing a team of drivers and the store staff. Something John still enjoys. Although now more in a sales role, John still is the manager of the New Plymouth Swaps operation. He spends his mornings in the store before heading out on farm.
“I don’t class myself as a salesman“ states John concerned with the connotations that come with it, “but rather as the liaison with the farmer. I don’t try to shove PKE down their throat - I just strike up a conversation and try to make them laugh!“
Although he does tell them at any chance he gets how great Swaps are. “They provide the best product in the Taranaki. Swaps led the way by bringing PKE into Taranaki and they still do“. He loves working for Swaps and just thinks “they are mighty people. I don’t know how else to say it - just mighty people with real family values from the top down“.
I leave John as Trevor and George are keen to head over to the Mount to check out the bulk store at the port stopping at another quarry on the way over. Then it’s back to head office in Matamata for morning tea tomorrow before heading home and concluding their tour. As usual there are lots of laughs between the three and discussions about which pub they’ll have their first beer in. All part of the road trip from the “Naki boys on Tour!“
A final Note from Swaps
Unfortunately before we had a chance to publish this story John has sadly passed away. At the time of writing this article John was ill with Cancer. We have chosen to publish this article as a tribute and testimony to John and what a wonderful sales rep, colleague and friend John was to our team. He is sadly missed and we write this article in remembrance of a special man.
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