ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA — EP Grain, a joint venture between FREE Eyre Ltd and Emerald Group Australia Pty Ltd., announced that Julian Speed has been appointed general manager, effective April 2.

Originally from Eyre Peninsula, Speed was previously the South Australian and New Zealand business manager for GPS-Ag. Earlier he held roles with Aqua Spy and Landmark, so he is well acquainted with South Australian agriculture and the Eyre Peninsula.

Announcing the appointment, EP Grain chairman Peter Flanagan said Speed was joining the company at an exciting time in its growth, which commenced operations in 2008 as a joint venture between FREE Eyre Ltd and the Emerald Group.

“EP Grain buys wheat, barley and canola and has now sourced over two million tonnes of grain from Eyre Peninsula for export to world markets,” Flanagan said. “The majority of grain purchased is exported through Emerald, although some is on-sold to other exporters where this produces a more attractive return for growers. Around 30% of the grain Emerald has exported has gone to Indonesia, mainly ASW and APW wheat, however the export task is more widespread than many people realize.

“In addition to Indonesia, the top five customer countries include Bangladesh, Kuwait, Mauritius and Vietnam, although we have also dispatched to Malaysia, Iraq, Yemen, Qatar, the Philippines, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Singapore, Thailand, Papua New Guinea and Saudi Arabia.”

Speed succeeds Tim Burrow at EP Grain, with Burrow having moved to Sturt Grain, another company within the Emerald Group.