Bean Growers Australia Factory, Kingaroy

 Monday, 13 May 2024

We had a good roll up of thirty-seven (37) for this event which included one (1) new member Ian Morgan – Welcome Ian.

Our first stop of the day was Maidenwell where we had Smoko – It was a great Smoko spot in the park as it had all the facilities that we required i.e. toilet & under cover table etc. – However, there was one downside that on this occasion the breeze was quite friendly to the extent that we were all chasing sun for a change.

Our second stop of the day was at the Bean Growers Australia Factory, where we were met & welcomed by the CEO Lloyd.

Lloyd provided us with an introduction to his company & shared his knowledge & experience in relation to the industry generally covering what products were grown & sold etc – Also, he left us with a pretty good understanding of how popping corn is turned into popcorn & I am looking forward to our visit to Scarecrow Industries later in the year to see the finished product.

Lloyd then took us on a guided tour of the factory covering all facets of production through to the bagging & storage on pallets – I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the factory was not a dusty environment, a bit noisy, but that was to be expected – The automated process of bagging, sealing, & stacking of the bags of product onto pallets ran very smoothly & impressed me the most i.e. it took most of the manual handling injury risks out of play.

To complete our guided tour/visit Lloyd gave us all a bag containing product samples of Mungbean, Chickpea, Adzuki & Popping Corn along with a Bean Growers Australia Biro as a memento of our visit – Very well done & worthwhile visit.

Peter then thanked Lloyd & staff on our behalf & we travelled back to the RSL Club for lunch along with the odd soft drink.

After lunch, we had our usual birthday cake etc with birthdays for the following members falling in May acknowledged & celebrated in our usual manner Viz Leo Cuskelly, Terry Donnollan, Howard Gregson, Bob Kraut, John Kruger, David Lynch & Ross Morley – Bob Kraut & Ross Morley turn 80 this year, & our Patriarch Leo is only one year short of joining the Group of Centurions & receiving his letter from our new Monarch King Charles.

We then loaded our coach, had one more stop at the famous Kingaroy Peanut Van for members to stock up on the infamous Local Product, & then headed for home.

In closing, special thanks to those who contributed to making this another safe & enjoyable event for all attendees, including:

  • Peter Taylor & Lloyd – For organising this event, & Lloyd, for being such a great host, his welcome, presentation, & guided tour – Well done & most appreciated.
  • Warwick Dingle – For ensuring we were all on board before the coach departed again after each stop & for taking & sharing photos.
  • Warwick Dingle, Russell Mauch, Tim Blades, Ian Morgan & Greg Harvey – For looking after the cutting & serving of the birthday cake to members.
  • Russell Mauch & Warwick Dingle – For looking after our finances & name badges during this event, & Russell for receipting & banking of our surplus cash.
  • RSL Kitchen Staff – For providing & serving us with a great lunch in a very timely manner.
  • Peter Thompson – For his usual gig as coach doorman ensuring we all got on & off the coach safely at each stop.
  • Bob Whittaker & Tony Wind – For being on duty as our trusty first aid officers.
  • Jan Neal – For making our much-appreciated birthday cake.
  • Ron Lewis & Eric Canning – For looking after our hydration (distribution of bottled water) & Hygiene (manning the hand wash station at the door of the coach) as we got on & off the coach.
  • Peter Taylor – For taking & sharing photos.
  • Finally, our coach driver Ray for transporting us to & from Kingaroy safely.

Dick
18 May 2024