VICCHEM, a leading player in the agricultural and Industrial chemical manufacturing sector, proudly announces the appointment of Bill Dowdle as new chief executive officer, following on from the retirement of managing director Andrew Killick and his transition to chairman.
Mr Dowdle has a long and outstanding career in the agricultural Industry and is excited and delighted by his appointment.
"VICCHEM has a long and proud family history and to be given the opportunity to take the business forward as someone outside of the family, shows a huge level of trust in me and is quite simply an honour," Mr Dowdle said.
Mr Dowdle has a wealth of experience as a dynamic business leader with a proven track record across various sectors, including agribusiness, biotechnology manufacturing and water management.
Before joining VICCHEM he served as CEO of AgLink Australia, the country's largest independent agricultural retail distributor with a group turnover of over 2 billion AUD. Additionally, he established AgLink Canada, serving as founding CEO.
He has also worked in the fertiliser industry as an agronomist and threw in a bit of dam building in his earlier years.
“I have been around the ag game for many years and coming from a grass roots level and working my way through, has given me a great understanding of rural merchandising and farming,” he said.
Mr Dowdle understands the importance of the Australian agricultural industry as a major economic driver for our country and a significant source of employment for communities.
“Any edge we can implement and use to make farming more sustainable for our future is worth investigating. I have travelled extensively and in Canada they can grow crops in 120 days in between snow and ice - technology has played a huge role in developments like this,” he said.
He is also an advisory board member at ReNutrients Pty Ltd, an Australian business specialising in renewable, sustainable, organic fertilisers and nutrients for the agricultural Industry.
“Stewardship for Australian manufacturing and growing the business are my number one priorities. There are so many other opportunities out there for us to explore but our core will always remain proudly Australian.”
Mr Dowdle listed opportunities in veterinary products, food production, new technologies, weed resistance and improved herbicide performance as areas of interest.
“We have such a great leadership group here at VICCHEM and my experience across so many sectors including farming and retail will allow me to grow the business successfully,” he said.
Challenges include shipping, global supply and product sourcing.
“As one of the few Australian manufacturing businesses left in our country, we really understand our products and their performance and it is exciting to have the opportunity to build on everything VICCHEM has achieved so far.”
In his spare time Mr Dowdle likes to pick up a paint brush and spend time with his grandchildren.
“Staying connected with family is extremely important to me and also like to take a trip out to my daughters farm at Moree for a dose of reality,” he laughed.
Mr Killick said he is delighted by Mr Dowdle’s appointment, emphasising his dynamic leadership style, values-driven approach, and diverse background.
"The board looks forward to working with Bill and realising the full potential of VICCHEM as we deliver long term growth and value for agriculture and industrial customers
"VICCHEM Is well-positioned to continue its innovative approach delivering products that solve our customers problems and improve their operation performance across agriculture and industrial industries,” Mr Killick said.
VICCHEM is proudly an Australian family owned business manufacturing out of Melbourne.
VICCHEM uses 100 per cent Australian grown canola oil in their products as part of a commitment to grow and support Australian farmers with locally manufactured products.
