The outstanding contributions of Costa’s employees were recognised last night (May 15) at a gala Costa Awards ceremony, attended by close to 200 people including representatives from across our Australian and international operations.
Marc Werner, Costa CEO, celebrated the return of the awards to the Costa calendar.
“These awards are the single most important event for our company because they recognise the most important asset we have, our people,” Mr Werner said.
“Today Costa Group is a world leading fresh produce company, with farming operations across three different continents, supplying fresh, healthy and nutritious food to a global population.
“We are also the industry leader in everything we do, whether it be investing in innovation, pioneering ground breaking technology, or being the recognised employer of choice.
“These Awards bring us together to recognise and celebrate those in our business who have gone above and beyond, exhibiting exceptional performance and behaviour, while also being exemplars of our core Costa values.
“It is truly remarkable and makes me tremendously proud to lead this company knowing what great people we have and the contribution they make to our success.”
The recipients of the awards were:
Frank Costa Award
The Frank Costa Award for Management Excellence was presented to Badi Kargar, State Manager for Vertical Farming, Victoria. Badi has transformed challenges into opportunities and ideas into impactful results. His leadership has not only propelled operational success at Mernda but has also fostered a culture where continuous improvement and innovation are a way of life.
Chairman’s Awards
People and Culture: Casuarina Mushroom site (WA) for implementing a range of activities across health and wellness, careers in mushrooms and employee recognition which have all contributed to a high retention rate and a thriving workplace.
Workplace Health and Safety: Antony Shih, Costa Farms and Logistics, who consistently puts the safety of our people first while also navigating major operational changes.
Food Safety and Quality: Megan Knigge, Driscoll’s, who continually strives for excellence in quality, food safety and ethical sourcing compliance.
CEO Awards
Innovation, Research and Development: Berry Domestic Continuous Improvement team for the various projects they have worked on in the areas of ag tech and data and systems support.
Managing Growth: Tian Weijie from our Costa China business for his involvement in nearly all of the development projects in China and for recently travelling to Laos to provide technical assistance to the new venture.
Customer Service: Craig Greenhalgh, who is approaching 28 years of service and has cultivated very strong relationships with key retailoers and is currently overseeing domestic and New Zealand sales.
Long service awards were also presented to attendees Adam Williams and Parampal Mahli who are celebrating 25 years with Costa and Wayne Smith who this year celebrates 30 years with the business. Other long services awards are being presented at our farms.
Also recognised during the awards was Gary Wright, who was one of the founders of the berry business.
Gary was instrumental in the development of not only Costa’s blueberry growing and genetics business, but one of the driving forces behind the growth of the broader berry industry. He is regarded as one of the true icons of blueberry production globally and much of the success of the berry business is due to his expertise.