The Country 19/03/25: Andy Borland talks to Jamie Mackay

The managing director of Scales Corp (and former chairman of Rabobank) is also the spokesman for the Lincoln College Rugby Football Club Reunion on May 23. The reunion is for those who played for the College before it became a University in 1990. We also look at the Prime Minister’s trade delegation to India and what tariff-free apples could mean for New Zealand horticulture.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Here's a man who wears quite a few hats in
agriculture in the primary sector. His name is Andy Borland.
He's the managing director of Scales Corp. Their chair Mike Petterson,
is in India with the Prime Minister at the moment.
He's a former chair of Rabobank. And for the purposes
of this interview, Andy, you are one of the organizers
of the Lincoln College Rugby Football Club Reunion for all

(00:23):
those you and me included who played footy for Lincoln
College before it became Lincoln University in nineteen ninety. Tell
us all about it.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
Yeah, thanks, Jamie Nook. We were talking to a group
of us, were talking in the Lincoln College if you like,
went without saying goodbye. So we decided we'd get the
title the Last Autumn Muster Reunion for all of those
rugby players and you know, men and woman that played
for Lincoln and still around from the late fifties right

(00:56):
through to that ninety ninety change over. So there's a
fair group of all teams are obviously welcome, from the
hard case social teams right through to the first fifteen
so and you know we're excited to I guess get
them all together to celebrate and acknowledge old times. But yeah, clearly,
being the president of the Lincoln Lincoln University Rugby football Club,

(01:19):
I've got a bit of a mandate to try and
find them a bit of funding every now and then.
So we're going to raise a bit of money with
the ticket, but also some really cool oction items, Jamie.

Speaker 1 (01:31):
And over the years, Lincoln College these days, Lincoln University
had some great rugby teams and some great rugby players.
Lots of All Blacks played for Lincoln College. And I
think I turned up there in nineteen eighty two as
a dip agger. You were there as a youngster doing
a commerce degree. But I think the year before us,
the nineteen eighty one Lincoln First fifteen as it was

(01:53):
in those days, was arguably one of the best rugby
teams the college that ever put.

Speaker 2 (01:58):
Out, sure, and they won the Chrostach competition that year.
They had Craig Green, Albi Anderson, Bruce Dean's I wouldn't
miss any out, but there was a hell of a
lot of them. We're in and around the All Blacks
or Canterbury and they were a very good site.

Speaker 1 (02:16):
Yeah, and a guy called Dave White who probably should
have been on All Black.

Speaker 2 (02:20):
Yeah, he was him and Albert Anderson is luck. You
couldn't get better. I wouldn't have thought.

Speaker 1 (02:25):
Okay, So how does the weekend pan out?

Speaker 2 (02:28):
Yeah, well, look for the real keen get down here
on Thursday, get the christ which on Thursday, and there's
an evening function there at the high School Old Boys Club.
The Andy Owen sort of knows those guys that have
welcomed us in and let us make a bit of
money on anything we sell. But the main function is
the next day, the Friday night, twenty third of May,

(02:50):
where we've got a function from about four o'clock at
the Hornby Workingmen's Club. There's big room there which we'll
have a few beers in a few yards and also
have a meal and here from some hard case you know,
colleagues and older students and are going to sort of
run a prize auction system as well. So it should

(03:12):
be fun.

Speaker 1 (03:13):
Now on Saturday to get along and support the current team.

Speaker 2 (03:16):
Sure on Saturday, there's a lot to see out at
Lincoln For those that haven't been around, the rebuild has
been incredible what they've done out there. They've just recommissioned
Memorial Hall. There's there's it's worth going out for sure.
So there'll be a tour of the university on the Saturday,
the twenty fourth, and you know, we'll give you a

(03:37):
tend's brief lunch and then we're off to watch the rugby,
which is our club day for the for the year.
So we all most of the teams are playing out there,
so it'd be great for the older guys and girls
to see see how the teams are performing.

Speaker 1 (03:51):
Now, yeah, on Sunday, you just look your owns and
go home. So how do you register for the sandy Well.

Speaker 2 (03:57):
You can link on the the Lincoln University my website
or just if you Lincoln to google, you know, Lincoln
College Rugby Football Club Reunion. That will take you straight
to the portal and you can, you know, you fill
the foreman and send your money and you're all set
to go. It's not a simple process. I'm not an
it genius myself, but I managed to get through it.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
Yeah. Well, I'm as thick as to planks when it
comes to it, And I just googled Lincoln College Rugby
Football Club Reunion and there you go, all the informations
in front of you, talk to me put on your
scales hat managing director. Of course, you're our biggest apple
exporter in this country. I think I'm right in saying that, aren't.

Speaker 2 (04:36):
I Andy pretty close to it.

Speaker 1 (04:38):
Yeah, okay, So how's Mike Petterson getting on in India
with the PM.

Speaker 2 (04:42):
Well, we haven't heard from him, but it was good
of he's and when he was special endboy for the
trade ministers back in the day, I'm talking about like
seve or eight years ago, maybe ten, he toured the
world with like Sir Mike Grocer and those guys, and
he went in there a lot, and you know, he
knows a lot about that part of you know, how

(05:02):
those trade deals work. So it was logical for Mike
to go when we Scale's got an invitation by mister Apple,
so to send Mic up there is incredibly experienced and yeah,
we're hoping for a good outcome for the accctor.

Speaker 1 (05:18):
At the moment, your tariff on apples is something like
forty nine percent. And I was talking to Todd McLay
about this yesterday, and I know you heard that interview. Look,
if we could get zero tariffs on say lamb and horticulture,
that would be a great result.

Speaker 2 (05:33):
Ah, sure, I mean it's it's a fast growing economy.
I think it's the world's largest population now. They certainly
have a need, like in their apples sense that their
apple crop gets absolutely cleaned out eaten, so there's no
sort of great, big cool stores processes taking them through
for twelve months. So they need the import apples to

(05:54):
fill in that part of the season. So it's a
great opportunity for us to you know, toost. We're selling
all our varieties into Indian and it's a great market.

Speaker 1 (06:04):
Hey, Andy Ball and MD of Scales Corp. Great to
have you on the show today. Remember if you want
to go to the Lincoln College Rugby Football Club reunion,
just google it. It'll take you straight there and you
can register. You're a born and bred south Inder like me. Andy,
I'll see you at Duck Shooting.

Speaker 2 (06:20):
Thanks very much, Jamie, I really appreciate it.