Office
Rodney Shearer
Managing Director
Rodney has been the Production Director since 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 – and manages grading operations across both sites and works between Sales, Production and Despatch. Chris also manages office administration, IT, web and social media management, facilities and stock control/biosecurity operations across the company. Chris holds the Safety Advisor brief and carries out various Health & Safety functions.
Hamish McNeil
General/Office Assistant
Hamish joined Alba in 2017 and is from a customer service background. He is the main point of contact for all visitors to the site and to customers over the phone. Hamish assists with general office administration and provides support to the Sales Team. Hamish also administers the company’s retail side of the business.
The 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 for 16 years and is also from a farming background. She works with Jackie to deliver Alba’s reputation for excellent Customer Service and has responsibility for our e-sale orders and corporate promotions.
Grading
Ryan Allan
Grading Supervisor – Stock Controller
Ryan re-joined Alba in 2016 – having previously worked for the company – and supervises grading operations. 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 for over 25 years 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.
Mike Berkley
Driver
Mike has recently joined us to help with our increase in deliveries. Has is a very experienced horticultural driver and is now enjoying the varied delivery pattern which forestry provides. No doubt he will become as familiar to our customers as Scott has over the years.
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 Supervisor 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.
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.
Carol Frazer
Sowing Supervisor (Contract Labour)
Carol supervises all direct sowing and co-ordinates the team’s daily activity. She has been working with Alba for most of her working life and is an essential link in the traceability chain.
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