Office

Rodney Shearer

Managing Director

Rodney was the Production Director from the company’s inception in March 1988 and has held the post of Managing Director since 2000. Rodney has a very wide horticultural experience and was responsible for the development of the nursery from a green field site. He has recently developed a second nursery site to satisfy increasing demand and although he is Managing Director, he still maintains a hands-on role in production.

Chris Allan

General Manager – Safety Advisor

Chris joined Alba in 2014, having worked for the company for several years as a student.  Chris takes an active role in many aspects of the business and manages office administration, IT, web and social media management, facilities, stock control and biosecurity operations across the company. Chris holds the Safety Advisor brief and carries out various Health & Safety functions.

Amalia Costin

Office Admin Assistant

Amalia joined Alba at the beginning of the 2017 season and comes from a retail and administrative background. Amalia carries out general administration and processes retail sale orders, whilst also being responsible for reception.

Sales Team

Jackie Watson

Sales Executive

Jackie joined the company in 1992 and comes from a farming background.  The company enjoys a reputation for speedy responses to quotations and sales queries, which is in no small part down to her hard work.  She is a familiar voice to many of our customers and has responsibility for one of our major promotions.

Margaret Allan

Sales Executive

Margaret has worked with us since 1997 and is also from a farming background.  She works to deliver Alba’s reputation for excellent customer service and has responsibility for our retail orders and corporate promotions. Margaret largely works to meet the needs of our Highland forestry clients and is responsible for the Forestry Commission procurement framework.

Grading

Ryan Allan

Grading & Stock Control Manager

Ryan re-joined Alba in 2016 – having previously worked for the company – and manages grading operations across both sites.  A major part of the role is acting as the link between Sales, Production and Despatch.  He ensures that plants from the correct seed lot are graded according to the customer’s specification and that grading operations are carried out efficiently and on time.  Ryan also carries out various stock control functions including monitoring for pest and disease as well as biosecurity management. Biosecurity has always been of great concern to Alba, but the recent increase in pests and diseases to in the UK nursery and forestry trades has dramatically increased the profile of this role.

Keith Tait

Order Supervisor

Keith has a pivotal role within Alba as he has primary responsibility for Quality Control of graded plants and ensures that all orders are collated and looked after prior to dispatch, serving as the link between Grading and Despatch.  Keith has worked with Alba since 1993 and attended agricultural college where he studied horticulture.

Despatch

Kevin Shearer

Transport & Despatch Manager

Kevin is Rodney’s eldest son and heads the despatch department.  He has been working with Alba since 1995. He attended Forestry School in Inverness and has since worked in nurseries in Canada and the Czech Republic. Whilst with Alba he has held various positions and is now in charge of scheduling all deliveries and ensuring that orders are despatched on time and so is normally the point of contact to answer delivery queries.

Scott Imrie

Driver

Scott has been with us since the early days and is the friendly face of the company when delivering trees.  He particularly enjoys going to remote places in the Highlands and Islands where he can indulge in his passion for fishing after his deliveries have been completed.

Alex MacFarlane

Despatch Supervisor

Many of our smaller orders have specialist packing instructions and Alec ensures these are completed correctly.  He also supervises the wholesale despatch team to ensure that there is a seamless transition between David’s grading and transport.

Production

Derek Stewart

Nursery Manager

Derek joined Alba in 2001 as a nursery charge-hand. He has 15 years experience in horticulture, a significant time being spent producing genetically improved Sitka Spruce from cuttings.

In 2002 he took over as Nursery Manager and is now responsible for the day to day management of the nursery team who man the nursery 7 days a week and successfully manage a complex mix of crops.

David Lyall

Assistant Nursery Manager

David has been with the company for many years and was previously Grading Supervisor. David assists Derek with the day-to-day running of both the Lower Winton and Liberty Hall sites.

Craig Shearer

Seed Manager

Craig is Rodney’s youngest son and, like Kevin, has grown up with Alba and therefore has considerable experience of the forest nursery trade.  Having spent time travelling the world, Craig has now settled with Alba as our Seed Manager, where he uses his knowledge and experience to source the best tree and shrub seed from global and UK suppliers. He organises the purchase and stratification of all seed and co-ordinates UK collections from trees of local provenance.

Finance

Tim Gardiner

Financial Controller

Tim joined Alba in 2013, bringing a wealth of experience from a wide range of financial roles.  Most recently, he was Managing Director of Mackie’s at Taypack (Mackie’s Crisps). Tim’s expertise ensures that our finances remain healthy and we manage the company well.

Anne White

Accounts Administrator

Anne joined Alba in 1989 as part time book-keeper. She is now accounts administrator and has been involved in the computerisation of the accounts system. Her role has greatly expanded and along with the daily management of accounts she is also responsible for company insurance and assists in budget forecasting.

Anne is the company’s longest serving employee