The Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology has named Daryl Holmes and Joe Nealon as this year’s winners of the Food Industry CEO of the Year Award.

Kyrsten Dewinetz nominated both Daryl & Joe for their outstanding contributions to the food industry.

Janice Baker presented the award to Joe & Daryl here at Nealanders Head Office, as both Daryl & Joe were unavailable to attend the 2008 CIFST/AAFC Joint Conference in Charlottetown, PEI.

Congratulations to Daryl & Joe.

Nomination form submitted by Kyrsten Dewinetz

Nealanders was originally founded in 1989 by Joe Nealon and Phil Anderson, they were joined shortly thereafter by Daryl Holmes. All three partners came from a background in the food industry and their goal in creating Nealanders was to provide ingredients and finished food products to food manufacturers with excellent quality, service and at a fair market price. They wanted to grow their new company by fully understanding the requirements of their customers and distinguishing themselves by exceeding customer expectations. They started on a shoestring budget; their office was little more than a closet. Their first piece of office furniture was an old door propped up on milk cartons, a desk that all three shared. Today the company has grown to over $120 million dollars in annual sales, with warehouses and blending facilities from coast to coast in Canada and over 200 employees.

Joe and Daryl are innovators, they continually pioneered new ways to add value to every aspect of the food ingredient purchasing process, from selection and buying options to delivery and customer service. Their first innovative concept was the heated tote. Customers had often expressed frustration in dealing with viscous liquids such as molasses and honey. These liquids were slow to pour and wasteful in that much of the product was left behind in the drums. They were the first in the industry to offer a solution by delivering the products in heated totes. The liquids once heated were less viscous and therefore were delivered quicker and the waste was minimized. Saving time and labour, customers quickly recognized the improvement in efficiency and embraced the idea.

Another corporate philosophy that both Joe and Daryl hold strong to is adding value to customer service. Their mission was to have a sales force of Account Managers that were able to provide the best service through Technical Education and constant training and updates for Nealanders products. All Nealanders Sales Representatives that they hire have a technical background with a minimum of a Bachelors Degree in Science. They are sent for training on a regular basis at the manufacturers’ sites to learn new methods, applications and products being introduced into the market. Joe and Daryl wanted to ensure that their sales force was able to intimately understand all aspects of the customer’s business and be able to advise on all options that would pertain specifically to the customers’ needs. Whether they were offering a commodity or a brand new specialized product, their goal was to solve the customer problem.

Joe and Daryl have realized great success through Nealanders and as such, wanted to give back to the Food Industry community. In 2000, they started the Nealanders Food Science awards. There are three food science prizes awarded annually to students in the Guelph B.Sc. Specialized Honours Food Science program. The award is granted to a well rounded student who contributes to the overall life (both academic and extra curricular) of the Food Science Department, Food Science Club, University and Community beyond (both on and off campus). Award winner contributions have improved the academic and or social environment for their colleagues and or for the community and society.

Joe and Daryl have also long supported the coop programs at the University of Guelph. Students have been employed for their work terms in various capacities at Nealanders. Whether in quality control, research and development or in sales support roles, the students have had an introduction into the practical applications of their studies. Their university training has translated into practical skills that employers in today’s Food Industry are seeking. In fact Nealanders has hired many of their coop students after graduation as full time employees that are still working for the company today.

I wish to recognize Joe Nealon and Daryl Holmes by nominating them for the CIFST CEO of the Year Award. I hope that this nomination will be considered in recognition of Joe and Daryl’s outstanding contributions to the food industry as a whole.

June 17, 2008