Citrus Australia has inducted two more members of the industry to the Hall of Fame, Robert Lochert and Russell Witcombe, at the Citrus Technical Forum Awards Dinner.
Close to 350 delegates from across the Australian citrus industry gathered on Queensland's Sunshine Coast for this year's Citrus Technical Forum that FreshPlaza attended.
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Robert Lochert bought his father’s business, Lochert Bros Pty Ltd when he was 19 with his brother John, and has since dedicated his life to the citrus industry. From 1978 to 1999 the business doubled every seven years and he worked hard to build up knowledge of the exceptional quality of Australian Citrus and finding market opportunities throughout Southeast Asia and around the world. Lochert Bros were at the leading edge of individual packers taking control of their own marketing and exports, including being a driving force behind the introduction of in-house inspections.
Lochert Bros became the first packhouse in Australia to obtain a Certificate of Assurance for the Export of Citrus to non-Phytosanitary Countries overseas without having AQIS Inspection. They continued to reach firsts in the Australian citrus industry with packhouse technology over generations. Robert is credited with building the Crusta brand to one of the most recognised brands in the country, through his commitment to quality and product innovation.
Russell Witcombe is best known for his service to industry as the Managing Director of Mildura Fruit Company, paving a path for the future of packing sheds in Australia. In April 1997, Sun Garden Packers merged with the Mildura Co-operative Fruit Company to form a joint venture citrus packing and marketing business, Mildura Fruit Company.
Russell was appointed the Managing Director and in his time, Russell grew the grower base from 30 growers to 150 including 20 key suppliers, pulling fruit from a 500 km radius. MFC became the largest packer/exporter of Australian citrus, and he became a revered figure in the citrus industry of Australia whose management style empowered and invigorated staff at every level. Russell retired in 2011 but certainly not without leaving his mark on the Australian citrus industry. On completion of Russell’s tenure, MFC packed close to 3,000,000 cartons per season.
A new Emerging Leader award was handed out to Western Australian Andrew Pergoliti has turned the family farm into a progressive business, Harvey Citrus. He has overseen a steep growth phase of an owner-operated business, while still finding time to contribute to the wider industry.
Dr Chris Johnston picked up a service to industry award for active engagement in the research and deployment of new grading technologies. He was actively involved at the Costa Renmark site in 2016 which saw the first Spectrim C2IR citrus installation for Tomra Fresh Food, which allows citrus packers to efficiently grade and sort their fruit as per their individual specifications.
John Owen-Turner has performed important roles for industry, including as a departmental extension officer based in Gayndah in Queensland for many years, where he built an intimate knowledge of every property and applied much effort into maintaining one-on-one relationships with every citrus grower in the state. He also was heavily involved with the export of citrus to Japan.
Research Scientist/Plant Pathologist Harsh Vala also picked up an award for service to industry, after he detected Citrus Canker in a retail nursery while he was off-duty in April 2018.
Across the two days, more than 40 speakers presented on all areas of the industry including biosecurity, international market conditions, research and development and technology and innovation and traceability. The event also features a trade show with more than 30 exhibitors, an R&D Poster display.