Mackie's have been farming much of the 690 hectares of land
at Westertown since the turn of the century.
We are now working with the fourth generation of Maitland Mackie
-
Doctor Maitland Mackie of North Ythsie, Tarves (1884-1975)
Sir Maitland (Mike) Mackie, Westertown (1912-1996)
Maitland Mackie CBE - current Chairman
The fourth generation, Maitland (Mac) Mackie - current Managing Director,
and his sisters Karin Hayhow (Nee Mackie), and Kirstin McNutt (Nee
Mackie) have begun their "tenure".
The most recent generation are too young to have any connection
to the business. The young cousins include the fifth Maitland, known
as Mike.
Each Maitland as an entrepreneurial innovator has, in his own
way, contributed to the development of the business.
Doctor Maitland secured and delivered a substantial farm to each
of his six children.
Sir Maitland was the first to diversify the developing dairy farming
into milk retailing in Huntly and Aberdeen. This activity was started
in the late 30s and was subsequently sold to form the core of Kennerty
Farm Dairies in 1964.
The present Chairman, Maitland restarted milk retailing with the
purchase of several rural milk rounds as its core in the late 60s.
He also began to make ice cream.
In was in 1986 that the kernel of what is now MACKIE'S as
it is today was added. A small investment in a real dairy ice cream
manufacturing capability was made, to use the cream surpluses arising
from the market shift to semi-skimmed milk. By 1993 the annual sale
of ice cream had grown to a turnover of £2.5 million.
In 1993 the Byres of Winnie the Land Girl, Willie Watt and Jimmy
Philip, splendid early cattlemen, and old Mill buildings with water
wheel were renovated and redeveloped to accommodate a modern ice
cream dairy capable of an output of 6 million litres a year.
By 1994 the business had become a substantial milk processing/retailing
business with a turnover of £12 million and employing 250 people.
During the same period the land farmed doubled and 2,000 acres previously
rented were purchased and brought into family ownership.
In 1996 a well equipped state of the art New Product Development
Kitchen was added to this £1 million dairy investment.
The milk retail sector doubled its volume in the three years to
1994 and in doing so had grown beyond its capacity. To take it further
was to require a major investment. Further, this market had become
a fiercely competitive pure commodity large-scale market. The ice
cream sector had shown a new way and in April 1994 the strategic
decision was taken to sell the liquid retail sector and concentrate
on development of the luxury ice cream and related products business.
MACKIE'S integrated farm and food business had now arrived
in the "fine food" business, producing delicious affordable
eating indulgences.
In squaring up to the big political/economic changes now facing
the agricultural industry in 1998, MACKIE'S had further rationalised
its farming by removing the Pig Enterprises.
MACKIE'S vision is to be a global brand from the greenest company
in Britain created by people having fun.
