The newly merged Landmark-Ruralco management team starts a "new dawn" roadshow blitz on Tuesday, holding town hall style meetings across Australia with about 1500 staff and joint venture partners.
Starting in Townsville, managing director of the super-sized farm services powerhouse, Rob Clayton, has chartered a private jet to fly to Brisbane, Sydney, Wagga Wagga, Melbourne, Launceston, Adelaide and Perth between October 1 and 4.
He will meet about 800 employees drawn from almost every branch of the new Australian agribusiness.
Another four-day whistle-stop tour will follow the same route from October 16 where about 700 representatives from CRT merchandise stores and Landmark's independent retailers will also learn about the new structure, new bosses, and ask questions about how the company will work.
This is about winning hearts and minds in our first 90 days.
- Rob Clayton, Landmark-Ruralco
However, the much anticipated new name for the new 4500-employee operation will not be revealed until November 11.
Despite widespread conjecture in the bush about the combined company's name options, Mr Clayton has ruled out returning to Landmark's roots and resurrecting the historic Dalgety brand.
"It will take some time for the two businesses to blend and for people to get to know each other, but we will truly integrate in the coming months," he told the Farm Writers Association of NSW.
"This is about winning hearts and minds in our first 90 days.
"We believe we can keep the people we are bringing together, and if we do that we can keep our customers."
Landmark's Canadian parent company, Nutrien, will pay Ruralco shareholders almost $470 million ($4.40 a share) to swallow up Australia's third largest farm services outfit on Monday morning.
The new rural conglomerate will have 45 per cent of the nation's farm merchandise footprint, sell more than 3m cattle, 13m sheep, 600,000 bales of wool and more than 1m tonnes of fertiliser annually, and employ more than 400 agronomists.
It includes Ruralco's Total Eden water equipment and service business; livestock exporter, Frontier International, plus finance and insurance and technology ventures.
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Mr Clayton, who already leads Australia's biggest rural marketplace player, will be accompanied by the merged business' executive team members and Nutrien's retail operations chief executive officer, Mike Frank, on both roadshows.
The newly announced leadership group includes a mix of Landmark and Ruralco staff.
Its three national trading regions will be headed by current Landmark executives, Robert Payne, Jon White and Andrew Duperouzel, while CRT's Greg O'Neil continues to head up the merchandise group's member business.
Ruralco's northern Australia boss, Andrew Slatter, takes the agency general manager's role, and Ruralco's financial services chief, Ian Perry, becomes finance and insurance general manager of the amalgamated business.
Departing bosses
Leading Ruralco identities, managing director, Travis Dillon; company secretary, Tim Rowe, and chief information officer, Tom Hansen, leave the business on Monday, and chief financial officer, Adrian Gatwicke, departs later this year.
Mr Clayton said the combined company would reduce overall costs by streamlining supply chains and non-customer facing roles, working with leading product suppliers on research and development goals, and maximising opportunities like its 190,000 tonnes of fertiliser storage and blending capacity.
"We will see change in our business, but the focus is our people and if we keep our people we keep our customers happy," he said.
Landmark staff asked me why Ruralco's businesses aren't coming in under our brand, given they've been bought out. My response is, they didn't ask to be bought out.
- Rob Clayton
Marketing the new brand name would really kick in with an advertising campaign by February, but he warned it may take 18 months to more to rebrand offices, replace signs and staff uniforms, paperwork and even Eftpos machines.
Re-branding would likely be an emotional change for many, but Mr Clayton had seen the Landmark business' name changed five times under four different owners in the 19 years he had worked for it.
All wearing same jersey
"It's not about the brand, it's about the people and business that brand stands for, and the purpose of the organisation," he said.
"Landmark staff have asked me why the Ruralco businesses aren't coming in under our brand, given they've been bought out.
"My response is, they didn't ask to be bought out.
"And a lot of Ruralco people worked for that group because they didn't want to be part of the Landmark name.
"I think a big part of this merger is getting everyone wearing the same new footy jersey and making sure we are one team."
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