Former Simplot workers to reunite

Former Simplot workers Ian Jones and Russell McDougall will be attending a reunion on Saturday and hope as many past colleagues can attend.

Around 30 people are expected to attend a reunion of Scottsdale’s former Simplot processing factory at Bridport Football Club this Saturday.

Simplot shut the doors on the George St facility on December 23, 2003, ending 60 years of vegetable processing on the site.

The global giant’s decision to centralise production at Ulverstone was a devastating blow for Scottsdale, with 120 people losing their jobs at the time.

The site became and remains a bulk-receiving site for potatoes from the north and north-east of Tasmania. 

Russell McDougall and Ian Jones are just two former employees planning to attend the reunion, which had originally been slated for the 20-year anniversary but has only now been organised.

“I worked at Simplot for 18 years started stacking boxes like everyone else did mostly and then moved into the production side and after a few years I became a supervisor right to the very end almost,” Mr McDougall said.

“We’d all probably still be there if it was still going.”

Mr Jones worked there for 43 years across every role.

“I started like Russell then became a supervisor but I gave that up because I hated night shift. I went into the storage facility and took a redundancy when it shut but then came back (to the storage facility) for another 10 years.”

Both recall a huge operation that had a large and positive impact on the town.

“It created a lot of work. It subsidised football and netball clubs. It hurt when it shut but not many people went to Ulverstone,” Mr Jones said.

“It was the best money in the North East you could earn,”

Added Mr McDougall: “The closure was almost to be expected but when reality hit it was very hard on young families that had to make big decisions. For us we wanted to stick around because this is home but it was hard for many people.

“It has been an important part of Scottsdale. It was Scottsdale for many years along with the sawmills. People came to work and found a role and most of them stuck around for a long time and played football and were part of the community that we need.

“You could go out and buy your house and buy a new car and your wife could come and work and you could have a double income so it was a great environment. I met my wife there and it was a wonderful place to build relationships.”

Mr McDougall said there was still hope and possibility for smaller scale food processing opportunities to be developed in the area into the future.

“Simplot spent a lot of money redeveloping this processing plant and got it to a really high standard just before they shut it down and I see the same thing with the Army food centre (Defence Science Technology Organisation). They have spent a lot of money there and got it to a standard and hopefully it’s not going to be wasted.”

The reunion will start at 3pm at the Bridport Football Clubrooms. The bar will be open and people are encouraged to bring a plate to share.