Peer group pressure

We recently announced the closure of our small factory where we produce tortilla chips and taco shells and pack seasonings into sachets. The facilities we have do not match up to the huge dedicated factories now operating within the Santa Maria group, which benefit from the speed and automatisation that our huge volumes permit. It was the first time in my career that I have stood in front of people to break the news that they will be made redundant.

As difficult as it was to make the announcement, it was nowhere near the pain experienced by those on the receiving end. The commercial rationale spoke for itself, with one slide in my presentation showing the immense difference in the annual volumes being achieved. But once again I was humbled by the excellent efficiency and waste results that the staff produced for the remainder of that day, and the fact that everyone showed up for work the next day - right across all three shifts. That is testimony to the close team, 'don't let each other down' type of culture with which the unit is run.

Other parts of the business heard better news; more investment in capital - and more marketing funds to continue to grow the Discovery brand.

We have already experienced extraordinary benefits from our people visiting other factories and markets to see how they do things.and often seeing very different approaches to problems we may be experiencing. It is exciting to have counterparts in different countries now - to benchmark oneself and our effectiveness. The freshness of these new opportunities to share knowledge and thinking is as if we have unearthed a new seam of gold. I had not fully appreciated this potential richness, as we previously treaded our own independent path.

For me it has been a fascinating and enlightening journey. I think both sides were honest about our values and ambitions, in the negotiations. We are not finding profound differences in style or our expectations of one another. If anything the synergies and similarities are greater than we might have hoped. But the bar has been raised again as we combine with a new peer group and no one wants to let themselves or the team down.