Where it all began
Our story began in 1916 with Celestino Baiada – a man who valued family above everything else.
Our story starts with Celestino Baiada, who moved from Malta to Australia as a 14-year-old boy. Left alone to start a new life, a quiet but determined Celestino went to work, knowing there would be opportunities ahead. It could be said that his name somewhat determined his destiny; ironically enough, the Maltese occupational name ‘bajjad’ means ‘egg-seller’.
On arrival in Australia, Celestino’s father found work with NSW railways in Lithgow, leaving Celestino to lodge and work in Sydney. He worked as a kitchen hand for just 15 shillings a week. Gifted with an acute business mind from an early age, it wasn’t long before he realised if you do a man’s work, you get a man’s pay and so he negotiated his wage to 25 shillings a week. Of course, entry into the Australian workforce did not come without a nickname. From then on, Celestino was known as Charlie.
Charlie’s first property purchase was a parcel of land at Pendle Hill in Western Sydney. It was Lot 2 of his father’s Old Prospect Hill Road land. He paid a sum of £400 and was described as a poultry farmer on the land document.
On 23 June 1928, Charlie married the love of his life. At the time, Giovanna – fondly known as Ganna – was just 16 and had also migrated from Malta. The couple went on to have seven children and were married for 55 years before Charlie passed away in November 1983.
The Depression started to lift and Charlie saw an opportunity to take advantage of the slow but consistent economic recovery to increase his land holdings. By the second half of the decade, he was on a roll both buying and selling property.
By the early ’40s, Charlie had numerous irons in the fire, selling produce to the markets and continuing to invest in land. The poultry industry grew nearly seven-fold during the ’50s and Charlie’s business grew with it. He was like a father to his employees; firm when necessary but a joker at heart.
Winning and consequently fulfilling a military contract during World War I was a turning point in Charlie’s career. Having never tendered a contract before, let alone with the government, the military had their doubts but Charlie’s determination was unwavering. It proved to be a successful and profitable venture.
Charlie began processing 20-30 birds every week in the concrete sink of the family laundry. This was his first move towards poultry processing.
Innovation was – and still is – at the core of Baiada. During such a period of change for the industry, Charlie welcomed new methods like the continuous chain processing system that would make his work more efficient.
The ’60s and ’70s saw an increase in the supply of chicken to butchers, clubs and restaurants. Working for Charlie was a 24-hour job and the telephone would ring long after the factory had closed its doors for the day. Improvements in processing and refrigeration, and the development of supermarket chains contributed to the demand.
Frank Camilleri’s addition to the Baiada family and business was a pivotal one after marrying Charlie and Giovanna’s daughter, Mary. Charlie trusted Frank to manage sales and distribution, while he turned his focus purely to operations and farms. It is said that today, without computers, you’d need 20 people to match Frank’s efforts.
The next major step in the Baiada business was the change from a sole trader to a company known as Baiada Pty Limited. Charlie became the chairman of the board of directors, while Frank was made company secretary.
A property was purchased at Out Street, West Tamworth. George Camilleri, Frank’s younger brother, took on the role as manager and was integral to the development of the business. Clad in pristine white overalls every day without fail, his commitment and involvement was such that many Tamworth locals believed he was Mr Baiada.
In order to deliver a consistent product and to meet the needs of customers, Charlie didn’t want to have to rely on external suppliers. For the Baiada business, a stockfeed company was a missing link. In a step towards vertical integration, Tangaratta Stockfeeds was established in Tamworth and 100 acres of land was set aside for feedmills and silos.
The ’80s was significant for Baiada. In November 1983 the family, the company and its employees lost a great man when Charlie passed away at the age of 81. John Camilleri stepped in and kickstarted a period of growth for Baiada.
Charlie had paved the steps for the family business that would continue to grow under the leadership of his grandson, John Camilleri. John was just 24 years old when he took over the business of 160 employees at Pendle Hill and Tamworth. Under his leadership, the growth of the company intensified.
In March 1986, an old refurbished hatchery was commissioned at Dungowan (near Tamworth), producing Baiada’s first ever hatch of day-old chicks. This location is still used for parent breeders today. The same year, the company opened its first interstate depot in Queensland and formed an important partnership with Hi-Chick, a breeding company that would give Baiada rights to use their Cobb and ISA Brown breeding stock in the early ’90s.
A breakthrough for Baiada came when the opportunity to supply KFC arose for the first time. It was particularly remarkable as the fast food chain had previously sourced their chicken from other suppliers.
It soon became apparent that a vertically integrated poultry company that included breeding, selling, feeding and processing both layer and meat chickens needed its own technical support. Birling Avian Laboratory and Research Centre is one of our biggest accomplishments, developed as an independent poultry diagnostic and research facility to service not just Baiada, but anyone requiring a specialist laboratory.
Launching a hatchery and two breeder farms in South Australia contributed to our growth in the late ’90s. A separate production plant was established near Pendle Hill in Sydney to specialise in further processed chicken products.
With the turn of the millennium came higher standards for food. 2003 saw the passing of Baiada’s matriarch, Giovanna, at the age of 91. Giovanna’s wish for the family business was to thrive and to continue for as long as possible. The growth of the company intensified with a number of new acquisitions, headlined by Bartter Holdings and the Steggles brand.
In 2002, Lilydale Free Range started in the town of Lilydale, at the entrance of the Yarra Valley in Victoria. The region itself is known for its award-winning wineries and bountiful produce, making it the perfect starting point for our free range brand.
Today, our Lilydale farms are located across regions in South Australia, New South Wales and Western Australia.
One of our most significant business moments was the acquisition of Bartter Holdings, which included the iconic Steggles brand. Baiada doubled in size overnight, making the company one of the biggest producers of chicken meat in the country. Due to the substantial brand awareness of Steggles, the decision was made to retire the Baiada name from the shelves.
Simon Camilleri, John’s brother, was appointed managing director of Baiada and remains in that position today.
The growth of the business continues to strengthen with significant investments and growth planned across our key regional areas including Hanwood (NSW), Tamworth (NSW) and Laverton (VIC). Baiada remains steadfast in our focus on sustainability and scale, while ensuring we give back to the communities we serve.
Steggles, an iconic brand, got a much needed refresh. A new logo design, packaging along with a new brand campaign under the famous “We’re Stegglers for Quality” tagline.
Baiada, leveraging the strategic location of Hanwood as the grain belt of the region, with significant investment in our processing plant, new cold storage as well as waste water recycling initiatives to set key benchmarks for poultry operations.
Our Laverton Site becomes home to a state of the art further processing plant. This investment into further processing helped enhance capacity to produce cooked and crumbed products for the retail freezers and major quick service restaurants.
To meet Australia’s insatiable appetite for poultry (According to the Australian Chicken Meat Federation, annual chicken consumption has reached more than 50kgs per person), Baiada continues to look forward and invest to ensure we can continue to provide quality poultry for future generations to come – sustainably.