Ms Morris (52) was appointed earlier this month after two interim managers, who are still employed by Alliance, filled the position since the departure of the last permanent appointee, Nigel Cuthill.
She has become the first woman appointed to the plant since processing started at the site, on the outskirts of Timaru, in the 1890s, and in an industry which is still perceived as being male dominated.
‘‘It has moved on a lot in recent years. If a person is right for the role it’s not about being male or female. There’s been no negativity — I’ve had fabulous feedback and I’ve got a really good team here,’’ she said.
Ms Morris has worked for Alliance since 1995, most recently in a corporate role managing safety and quality assurance at all seven Alliance plants around New Zealand. She has also been a volunteer firefighter with the Duntroon brigade and a St John volunteer.
Before taking up the Timaru position, she worked in Alliance’s Invercargill office while living in Gore.
Her decision to apply for the Timaru position came after careful consideration.
‘‘I knew they have a great team here and that Smithfield is embedded in the community. I think there’s a pride at Smithfield and there has been multi-generations of the same family working here.’’
While unsure of the exact number of women employed at the plant during the season, it was ‘‘not where I would like it to be’’, but there was the opportunity for the number to be increased.
Her management team was looking at how to extend the season.
‘‘We are looking at ways how to make the plant viable for the long term and extending the season is a way to meet our objectives,’’ she said.
In recent seasons Smithfield has struggled to fill positions during the killing season and last year undertook a letter drop around Timaru trying to attract staff.
At the height of the season Smithfield employs 510 people.
‘‘Timaru has low unemployment, around 2.3%, so we’re looking at other avenues for job seekers such as part-time work and job sharing.
‘‘We want to engage with the community, showing there is a career path and opportunities with Alliance.
‘‘We will have a letter drop again. The management team will be delivering them in the letterboxes.’’
Rather than changing things initially, she planned to complete a review.
‘‘We’ll look at what worked and what didn’t work to come up with new ideas and initiatives. We’ve got 50 ideas to improve things.
‘‘It’s all around safety, quality, delivery and costs, with safety first.’’
She was optimistic about Smithfield’s future, given the company’s investment in the plant over the past 20 years, the most recent being $1.2million on its boning operation, work on which began on Monday.
‘‘Alliance has committed a lot of money to Smithfield. I feel it’s in a very good place.’’
FEMALE MEAT PLANT MANAGERS
• Judith Mair was appointed plant manager by Alliance about 20 years ago.
• Earlier this year, Melonie Nagel (51) was appointed manager of the company's Mataura plant. Born and raised in South Africa, she had lengthy experience in the meat industry, a path which arose after she started her studies in food technology.
The Mataura plant marked the 2019 season by breaking a beef processing record, with 150,216 cattle processed for the season, beating the previous record by more than 8000.
Chris Selbie, Alliance's general manager people and safety said the company employed almost 5000 people throughout New Zealand.
''The meat processing sector has traditionally been a male-dominated industry and we are committed to increasing the career and employment opportunities for women across all areas of our business.
''We are delighted to have two female plant managers managing plants in our network. The sector offers great opportunities for people in a range of areas including management, marketing, food science, HR, manufacturing and technology.''
• Rival company Silver Fern Farms employs Bronwyn Cairns at its Waitane plant, near Gore, where she has been for two years.
Company spokesman Justin Courtney said in the past five years the company had employed two other women plant managers at the now closed Fairton and Silverstream plants. Both women have since moved on.
