New Tribe Breweries chief forecasts bright future for Goulburn facility

Heath Baker was appointed CEO in May, after the business emerged from voluntary administration. He started with Tribe as site manager in January. The former international sales manager and head of international alcohol at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners says Tribe is now on a much more sustainable financial footing.

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The facility never stopped production during the administration.

All 90 Goulburn employees were retained and paid entitlements, product lines were trimmed and $4 million in costs cut through a corporate restructure.

The business entered voluntary administration in February. It was later revealed $72 million was owed to unsecured creditors and $30m to secured creditors.

But its subsequent purchase by major shareholder, the Elsie Cameron Foundation, and a small group of private equity shareholders has rescued the business which started in Goulburn in 2017/18.

Mr Baker said Tribe would now be based wholly in Goulburn.

"The voluntary administration showed we were top heavy in costs. The barrel room was in Marrickville and we had overheads we couldn't sustain," he said.

"The heart and soul of the business is in Goulburn so the decision was made to rationalise and locate here (entirely)."

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Mr Baker said the fact that most of the debt had been wiped out made a "massive difference" to operations from a cashflow and working capital viewpoint. Now the business was in a more "stable financial position" and he forecast that Tribe would turn a profit next year.

He told The Post that partner brewing would continue to make up the bulk of business. Tribe also produces its three main brands - Stockade, Mornington Peninsula and Wilde. Mr Baker said these previously had about 50 different products, which would be reduced to twenty.

"Two years ago we had 25 sales people, about 50 skews and we were gearing up to be a partner brewer and a brand owner," he said.

"Unfortunately it hasn't eventuated, given the circumstances over the past few years, and we had to make call on what we wanted to do with those brands. We had to focus on what matters."

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The Ducks Lane brand will also be resurrected and used as a selling point for Goulburn. In addition, there will be greater focus on RTD (Ready to Drink) brands.

All suppliers have stayed on board

When it started, the Brewery was expected to produce 30 million litres annually, but had capacity for 110 million litres.

In the 2022/23 financial year, Tribe produced 20.5 million litres, the most ever.

"We have a very stable customer base and suppliers and employees have stood by us. We didn't leave any order unfilled and the quality was maintained in a period that was uncertain for everyone," Mr Baker said.

"Our target is to grow 10 to 15 per cent (volume) in the next six months and that much again in future. We want to get to 30 million litres. We're really proud of what we've done but we're not there yet."

Although the market remained "tough" with cost of living pressures and output costs, Mr Baker said a "more realistic" financial plan positioned the business well.

The CEO said Goulburn Mulwaree Council had been very understanding through the administration. He and government relations and community engagement officer, Geoff Kettle, will meet Mayor Peter Walker, CEO Aaron Johansson and seniors staff this week. Mr Baker said there was no debt to the council for water use.

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Mr Baker will also address the Goulburn Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, August 9.

He said Tribe wanted to play a bigger role in the community. It has recently sponsored the Goulburn Dirty Reds, supplying free beer to the Poidevin Oval bar which is sold on game days. The club keeps the profits.

Likewise, a tasting and tourism space within the brewery is still on the longer-term agenda.

Mr Baker, who lives in Sydney, says Goulburn is a great place to work and he loves his job.

"I didn't expect to be CEO so soon though," he laughed.

"...My goal when I started was to get the place humming, improve morale and keep things moving forward. That's still my aim. If we can't get things right here in Goulburn, nothing else matters."

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