New appointments welcomed to Ringlink Scotland board
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Aberdeenshire-based Ringlink Scotland Ltd, has made two appointments to its board.
John Gray, managing director of Angus Soft Fruits, takes over as vice chairman and Lonmay farmer Peter Oosterhof joins the board as a new director.
John has been on the board since the summer of 2022, and takes on the role where he will be supporting chairman James Porter of East Scryne.
He has worked at Angus Soft Fruits – which breeds, grows, packs and delivers soft fruit to retailers in the UK and worldwide - for more than 20 years. He grew up on the family farm near Carnoustie in Angus on the east coast of Scotland. After graduating from Edinburgh University, he moved to Poland for five years where he was part of the management team of a large scale potato growing & packing operation.
Commenting on his appointment, he said: “I’m delighted to be taking up the role of vice chairman of Ringlink. I’ve been very impressed by the team who deliver a fantastic service to rural businesses throughout Scotland. I look forward to supporting them with their exciting plans for the future.”
As well as being a Nuffield Scholar, John is a board member of DYW Tay Cities, the organisation that connects employers, education and young people.
John takes over from Peter Chapman who is standing down as vice chairman but remains on the board. Peter, who farms at South Redbog, Strichen, has been a director since 2012 and had been in the vice chairman role since 2019.
New director Peter Oosterhof farms at Savoch Farm, at Lonmay near Fraserburgh.
“I am really looking forward to taking my place on the board,” he said. “Farmer-owned cooperatives are important and Ringlink has a strong track record of serving its members.”
After graduating from Aberdeen University with an engineering degree, he joined a drilling contractor for five years, ending up working in Gabon in performance improvement and operations management. Peter then travelled and worked on farms in New Zealand for a year before travelling through South America.
He came home in 2012 to farm with parents Sjirk and Thyna, who hailed from farms in the Netherlands and New Zealand respectively, building projects such as biomass grain driers and solar panels.
In 2017, he took over running the farm in his own right and has since focused on expanding and streamlining the business on crop production and cattle finishing. In 2019 he was named Young Producer in the Marks & Spencer (M&S) Awards at the Royal Highland Show and in 2022 received their Farming with Nature Award.
Notes to editor
· Separate images of John Gray and Peter Oosterhof can be downloaded at https://we.tl/t-WKBHvVNyPL, for use in association with this release
· Ringlink Scotland is the UK’s largest business ring with a membership of over 3,000. As a co-operative, the business is owned by its members and revolves around the supply and demand of goods and services between its members. Established in 1988, the Ring has seen significant growth progressing from a company focusing entirely on agriculture into a diverse business which now includes haulage, construction, and forestry together with a variety of other business activities.
For additional information please contact Joanna Fraser, at Hoolet.
