00:01King Island's roaring 40s weather, isolation, small population and reliance on shipping
00:09makes it a tough place to be a food manufacturer.
00:14Instead of being put off though, Victorian Graham Wilson saw opportunity.
00:20Now to King Islanders, he's a hero, for he's one of the two men who in March
00:25saved their beloved cheese factory from closing.
00:29What I like is brands, I like iconic brands even if they've gone a bit sad.
00:34Graham, the owner of Australia's largest manufacturer of plastic pots and containers for the horticultural industry
00:41has bought and fixed well-known companies before.
00:45It's easier, he says, to restore a tired brand than to create one.
00:50The King Island brand is a well-known brand, it's a great product, that hasn't gone sour
00:57and I thought, well I'll grab that before it does go sour, so I don't have to spend so much money to bring it up again.
01:03It's been on the supermarket shelves for years, it's one of their top brands, so a lot of that work's already done.
01:09It was a bit of a no-brainer in that regard.
01:11Graham's business partner is former merchant banker Nick Dobromilski, a whiz at numbers and doing deals.
01:18Is it an act of philanthropy or are you guys intending to make money from this business?
01:24No, I'm not a philanthropist, we bought it to make money of course, you know.
01:29It's going to be a bit long term for us, but yeah, ultimately if the business doesn't make money, it's not a business.
01:41For 40 years, cheese has given the island jobs and a reputation for premium produce.
01:47The island's biggest employer, it makes the most awarded cheese in Australia.
01:54Mayor Marcus Blackie says it's part of the island's identity.
01:58We're immensely proud of our cheese.
02:00It's the brand that really made us a household name around Australia.
02:05Canadian dairy giant Saputo bought it from Japanese multinational Kirin in 2019.
02:12But last year Saputo announced after failing to find a buyer, it was closing the operation.
02:19Nick Dobromilski isn't fazed, multinational owners couldn't make the business work.
02:25It's a niche brand and it probably needs that niche care.
02:30It's going to get some love again, so I feel very proud and responsible.
02:35But yeah, I share that responsibility with everyone.
02:42you
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