Boomaroo Nurseries’ newest site is officially up and running with the launch of Boomaroo Southbrook. The most advanced of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, the Southbrook facility brings together no-touch seeding and growing systems, state of the art germination chambers and precision irrigation and fertigation to produce premium quality and sustainably grown seedlings. With a total of 28,000m² of growing area, the site has a production output of up to 150 million seedlings annually, and extends Boomaroo’s capability to service the whole eastern seaboard.

Of course, a great facility can’t function without great people to run it. So let’s meet the people that make it all tick.

The Boomaroo Southbrook Team

David Parker – Queensland Business Manager

In the role of Queensland Business Manager, David oversees and is an active participant in all apects of the Southbrook facility’s operations from production, agronomy, logistics, quality and safety, to customer service, sales and business development.

With more than 20 years experience in the agribusiness industry, David brings a wealth of knowledge to support both Boomaroo and our customers’ sustainable development into the future. David’s past roles range from agronomy sales to management in national and international chemical and fertiliser companies. This, combined with his relatable and approachable leadership qualities, guides the Boomaroo Team to produce a healthy mix of accountability and empowerment.

The ongoing challenges faced by the industry to produce food more efficiently and sustainably through innovation, automation, resource minimisation and varietal developments have been key attractions to David’s long career in horticulture.

Nathan Lindenmayer –  Queensland Sales

Nathan is our sales guru in the Queensland region, and prides himself on working closely with our customers to ensure they receive the best quality transplants and on-farm support possible. His passion for our customers and their success comes from his own personal upbringing and contribution to his family farm, earning him the highly regarded respect that only comes with providing genuine production advice and support.

Nathan’s broad knowledge and experience covers all facets of vegetable production, from ground preparation, planting, irrigation, fertilizer application, spraying to harvest. With rapid advancements in technology in recent years, Nathan is keen to see how its on-farm application improves quality, resource management and financial success for growers.

Ian Willert – Technical Specialist (based in Victoria)

Ian is our in-house Technical Specialist, and one of our longest standing team members, having been with Boomaroo Nurseries for the past 28 years. Ian’s extensive knowledge and experience is the culmination of early time spent in market gardening, his leading role in our production team during Boomaroo’s formative years, and more recently the close relationship he shares with our growers. With a ‘TEAM BOOMAROO’ mantra in everything he does, his passion for his work shines through in every customer interaction.

Michelle Indra – Quality and Safety Advisor

Our Quality and Safety Advisor, Michelle, is always on the lookout for the safety and wellbeing of both her Boomaroo peers, and the quality of plants sent to Boomaroo customers. Her positive attitude and experience in developing and implementing ‘fit for purpose’ Quality and Safety systems have seen her implement numerous improvements into all areas of the business.

Steven Mitchell – Head Grower

Steven ‘Doc’ Mitchell is our Head Grower at Southbrook and has an eye for growing detail like no other, thanks to some 15 years global breeding experience across Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, USA and Spain. Steven’s passion is overseeing and mentoring the growing team to deliver first grade seedlings; an integral ingredient in the partnership between ‘green thumbs’ and the advanced, automated technologies of the Southbrook Nursery.

Day-to-day, Steven ensures the growing nursery exceeds our customer specifications, working closely alongside our Production Manager to ensure each and every delivery is in full, on time and in spec.

Steven loves being part of a growing industry for a growing population that places higher expectations on quality, and with some of the best produce in the world coming out of Australia he is excited to be part of the new, state-of-the-art nursery at Southbrook.

Stephen Killen – Sowing Line Supervisor

Stephen Killen supervises the Sowing Line at Southbrook, bringing with him 13 years of seeding vegetables and fruit experience and ensuring the seeding of our customer orders meet their specific requirements. His expertise contributes to our vision of ensuring consistency in quality and accuracy at formation.   

On a personal level, Stephen is excited about the possibilities that modern technology brings to horticulture and is continuously amazed at the new and innovative ways the industry can create great plants.

Andrew Creighton – Grower

Andrew’s career started with a production horticulture traineeship after finishing school; 19 years later and his passion for the industry has not wavered, and this is evident in his inherent understanding of plants.

Prior to joining the team, Andrew was employed with Alpine Nurseries in NSW for over 10 years as their Manager/Tree Supervisor, a role that saw him grow advanced ornamental trees for the commercial and landscape industry.

Currently employed as a Grower at our Southbrook site, Andrew looks after all aspects of growing vegetable seedlings; from germination, to delivery stage, and beyond. He is both proud and excited to be part of the team at our world-leading automated growing facility, and what directions the horticulture industry more broadly will take. Andrew is a valued team member and has earned the respect of his peers through his consistent and reliable approach in all aspects of his working day.

Ben Kukic – Grower

Also part of the Grower team, Ben Kukic earnt his PhD in Horticulture in Serbia, which set him up with the skills and knowledge necessary to provide expertise in the seedling growing aspect of the Boomaroo business. Ben not only looks after the growing side of our operations – from the maintenance of plants, fertilization strategy, and pest management – but also is our Dispatch officer, overseeing the sales lines and allocations, billing out of products, reallocations and shipments.

Ben’s career has seen him overcome an array of challenges, and discover new innovations and facets of food production.

Wayne Byrne – QLD Truck Driver / Nursery Hand

Wayne is our QLD truck driver and nursery hand, and continually displays the company’s values ‘we care about our people, our communities and our industry’.  Whether it’s driving the Boomaroo Big Rig or providing a helping hand in production, Wayne has earnt himself the reputation of being happy and helpful, and is highly valued by the Boomaroo team and its customers.

Aron Wilson – Nursery Hand / Trainee Dispatch

Aron is another of our valued Nursery Hands, and joined us during the construction of the Southbrook facility. We quickly recognized his work ethic and eagerness to learn, which saw him join our dispatch team to learn the dispatch process and gain further understanding of how the facility’s automation worked.