Kerr's Dairy family bosses on growing Dundee business one milk bottle at a time
When Kelvin Kerr returned to his family business, the company which started life delivering milk across Dundee on a horse and cart was putting out a modest 750 bottles a week.
Now Kerr's Dairy distributes 100,000 a week across Tayside, Fife and the north-east.
Kelvin started working for the dairy as a youngster, collecting milk money from customers. By the time he turned 14, he was making early morning deliveries before school.
He is the fifth generation of Kerrs to steer the business and currently works alongside his dad, Kelvin Snr.
The firm was founded in 1900 by Sandy Kerr as the Balfield Farm Dairy, using horse-drawn carts to make the morning rounds every morning.
Over the course of the next 125 years, the dairy has ridden the wave of market trends, watched demand surge and fall and moved to various premises across Dundee.
But it was the pandemic, Kelvin Snr told The Courier, and the return of young Kelvin which saw the business grow exponentially to the size it is today.
'The turning point came during the pandemic,' he says.
'As national lockdowns brought back a need for home deliveries, we saw glass bottle sales skyrocket.
'In 2018, the business was delivering 750 bottles per week.
'At the height of lockdown, we shifted more than 80,000 glass bottles weekly.'
The firm now delivers 100,000 bottles a week, across 80 milk runs with a fleet of top-range vans and a staff roster of around 70.
Inspired by the growing public awareness of plastic pollution—thanks in part to documentaries like Blue Planet II—the glass milk bottle returned not just as a sustainable choice, but 'a symbol of community values and care for the environment'.
A period of investment kicked off, with a £450,000 funding package secured with RBS, part of which was used to purchase a 4,630 sq ft property on Ash Street.
This became the dairy's new headquarters in 2021. And another portion funded a fleet of 10 new vans, enabling the company to continue its expansion plans.
Kerr's ventured north to Aberdeen where they took on 5,000 new customers after opening a new depot in Bridge of Don.
Kelvin added: 'We acquired the doorstep delivery database of Müller Wiseman in Aberdeen, bringing in 780 new customers.
'This was soon followed by a major deal to purchase over 4,000 customers from Thomson Dairies. Fifteen of Thomson's staff transferred to Kerr's as part of the deal.
'Most recently we added a further 473 customers through an agreement with Mills Milk, which had acquired part of Graham's the Family Dairy's operations and collaborated with Kerr's to avoid postcode overlap.'
Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire now accounts for more than half their custom, with 14,000 of their growing 25,000 customer list living there.
'This has not only secured jobs but created new ones, with up to 12 additional roles expected to be created in the north-east alone,' he added.
'And it's not the first time the dairy has looked beyond its base. Before the surge in Aberdeen, we took over the North Street Dairy in Forfar, strengthening our presence in Tayside.'
Kerr's has now moved from its initial Bridge of Don location to new premises in Dyce's Kirkhill Industrial Estate, to meet the growing demand of its north-east patch.
As well as milk, the company diversified what it delivers to doorsteps up and down the east coast.
Seasonal products like locally-sourced potatoes and summer-time strawberries have all become part of their product line.
And in winter 2024 they started delivering bags of rock salt, after noticing a gap in the market.
It is all part of continuing a path of innovation for Kerr's, staying adaptable to customer needs and market demand while remembering its roots in Dundee, Kelvin added.
The company has a storied history with the city of Discovery since its humble start at the dawn of the 20th century.
Founder Sandy Kerr passed the reins to his son Johnny, who was responsible for its first transformation.
He sold the original Balfield farmland to Dundee's local authority, which was turned into St John's Secondary School.
With the proceeds he built a state-of-the-art dairy on Clepington Road. It was a facility which included pioneering equipment that could fill 4,800 glass bottles an hour and automatically reject damaged ones.
Johnny's boy Iain then joined the family firm, continuing the tradition under the name John Kerr & Son.
Kelvin Sr started shifts with the family business as a nine-year-old in 1977, eventually becoming managing director in the late 1990s.
The fifth generation of Kerrs then came on board when Kelvin Jr returned after a short time away at the age of 24.
And the family hopes this legacy can continue long into the future, with young Kelvin's son Kelvin John's birth coinciding with the move to Ash Street headquarters in 2021.
Kelvin Snr added: 'I'm very proud of the fact that we're still going strong after 125 years.
'And I'm proud of my son, young Kelvin, who has driven the company forward.
'Of course, I would like to thank our customers and staff over the years.'
Kerr's Dairy has also been announced as the headline sponsor of WestFest 2025.
The festival, which culminates on Sunday June 1 with its Big Sunday event, sees thousands of people descend on Magdalen Green for a day of music, art and food and drink.
On sponsoring the popular event, Kelvin said: 'It underscores Kerr's Dairy's commitment to Dundee's cultural vibrancy and family-oriented ethos.
'Additionally, we've launched a schools competition inviting Dundee pupils to design a livery for one of our delivery vans, with the winning design unveiled at WestFest.
'And we are champions for local sport, sponsoring Dundee United's under-18 retail
football shirts, Commonwealth boxing champion Sam Hickey, and numerous
athletes and clubs across the region.
'What started with milk churns and a horse-drawn cart now spans two cities, a 60-van fleet, and a loyal customer base driven by community values.
'We're a family business at heart. And we'll continue to deliver not just milk, but tradition, sustainability and local pride one glass bottle at a time.'
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The Courier
10-05-2025
- The Courier
Kerr's Dairy family bosses on growing Dundee business one milk bottle at a time
When Kelvin Kerr returned to his family business, the company which started life delivering milk across Dundee on a horse and cart was putting out a modest 750 bottles a week. Now Kerr's Dairy distributes 100,000 a week across Tayside, Fife and the north-east. Kelvin started working for the dairy as a youngster, collecting milk money from customers. By the time he turned 14, he was making early morning deliveries before school. He is the fifth generation of Kerrs to steer the business and currently works alongside his dad, Kelvin Snr. The firm was founded in 1900 by Sandy Kerr as the Balfield Farm Dairy, using horse-drawn carts to make the morning rounds every morning. Over the course of the next 125 years, the dairy has ridden the wave of market trends, watched demand surge and fall and moved to various premises across Dundee. But it was the pandemic, Kelvin Snr told The Courier, and the return of young Kelvin which saw the business grow exponentially to the size it is today. 'The turning point came during the pandemic,' he says. 'As national lockdowns brought back a need for home deliveries, we saw glass bottle sales skyrocket. 'In 2018, the business was delivering 750 bottles per week. 'At the height of lockdown, we shifted more than 80,000 glass bottles weekly.' The firm now delivers 100,000 bottles a week, across 80 milk runs with a fleet of top-range vans and a staff roster of around 70. Inspired by the growing public awareness of plastic pollution—thanks in part to documentaries like Blue Planet II—the glass milk bottle returned not just as a sustainable choice, but 'a symbol of community values and care for the environment'. A period of investment kicked off, with a £450,000 funding package secured with RBS, part of which was used to purchase a 4,630 sq ft property on Ash Street. This became the dairy's new headquarters in 2021. And another portion funded a fleet of 10 new vans, enabling the company to continue its expansion plans. Kerr's ventured north to Aberdeen where they took on 5,000 new customers after opening a new depot in Bridge of Don. Kelvin added: 'We acquired the doorstep delivery database of Müller Wiseman in Aberdeen, bringing in 780 new customers. 'This was soon followed by a major deal to purchase over 4,000 customers from Thomson Dairies. Fifteen of Thomson's staff transferred to Kerr's as part of the deal. 'Most recently we added a further 473 customers through an agreement with Mills Milk, which had acquired part of Graham's the Family Dairy's operations and collaborated with Kerr's to avoid postcode overlap.' Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire now accounts for more than half their custom, with 14,000 of their growing 25,000 customer list living there. 'This has not only secured jobs but created new ones, with up to 12 additional roles expected to be created in the north-east alone,' he added. 'And it's not the first time the dairy has looked beyond its base. Before the surge in Aberdeen, we took over the North Street Dairy in Forfar, strengthening our presence in Tayside.' Kerr's has now moved from its initial Bridge of Don location to new premises in Dyce's Kirkhill Industrial Estate, to meet the growing demand of its north-east patch. As well as milk, the company diversified what it delivers to doorsteps up and down the east coast. Seasonal products like locally-sourced potatoes and summer-time strawberries have all become part of their product line. And in winter 2024 they started delivering bags of rock salt, after noticing a gap in the market. It is all part of continuing a path of innovation for Kerr's, staying adaptable to customer needs and market demand while remembering its roots in Dundee, Kelvin added. The company has a storied history with the city of Discovery since its humble start at the dawn of the 20th century. Founder Sandy Kerr passed the reins to his son Johnny, who was responsible for its first transformation. He sold the original Balfield farmland to Dundee's local authority, which was turned into St John's Secondary School. With the proceeds he built a state-of-the-art dairy on Clepington Road. It was a facility which included pioneering equipment that could fill 4,800 glass bottles an hour and automatically reject damaged ones. Johnny's boy Iain then joined the family firm, continuing the tradition under the name John Kerr & Son. Kelvin Sr started shifts with the family business as a nine-year-old in 1977, eventually becoming managing director in the late 1990s. The fifth generation of Kerrs then came on board when Kelvin Jr returned after a short time away at the age of 24. And the family hopes this legacy can continue long into the future, with young Kelvin's son Kelvin John's birth coinciding with the move to Ash Street headquarters in 2021. Kelvin Snr added: 'I'm very proud of the fact that we're still going strong after 125 years. 'And I'm proud of my son, young Kelvin, who has driven the company forward. 'Of course, I would like to thank our customers and staff over the years.' Kerr's Dairy has also been announced as the headline sponsor of WestFest 2025. The festival, which culminates on Sunday June 1 with its Big Sunday event, sees thousands of people descend on Magdalen Green for a day of music, art and food and drink. On sponsoring the popular event, Kelvin said: 'It underscores Kerr's Dairy's commitment to Dundee's cultural vibrancy and family-oriented ethos. 'Additionally, we've launched a schools competition inviting Dundee pupils to design a livery for one of our delivery vans, with the winning design unveiled at WestFest. 'And we are champions for local sport, sponsoring Dundee United's under-18 retail football shirts, Commonwealth boxing champion Sam Hickey, and numerous athletes and clubs across the region. 'What started with milk churns and a horse-drawn cart now spans two cities, a 60-van fleet, and a loyal customer base driven by community values. 'We're a family business at heart. And we'll continue to deliver not just milk, but tradition, sustainability and local pride one glass bottle at a time.'
Glasgow Times
03-05-2025
- Glasgow Times
Meet Glasgow Kelvin College new principal as she reveals future plans
Joanna Campbell, who took over in April following the retirement of Derek Smeall, has pledged to focus on innovation, sustainability, and social justice. Ms Campbell previously served as the principal of Dumfries and Galloway College and vice principal at City of Glasgow College. Read more; Football team in 'impoverished' Glasgow area welcomes funding boost She has a proven track record of environmental leadership, having led Dumfries and Galloway College to win three UK Green Gown Awards during her six-year tenure. Joanna Campbell (Image: Supplied) Ms Campbell said: "This college has a clear mission – to serve some of the most deprived communities in Scotland, and to do so in a way that is bold, inclusive and future-facing. "It's a purpose I feel deeply connected to. "I can see clear alignment between that mission and the transformational work already being done." In her first weeks in the role, Ms Campbell has been engaging with students, staff, employers, and community partners to understand their needs and identify areas where the college can do more. This includes reaching parts of Glasgow that could gain from stronger educational pathways and strengthening strategic partnerships across sectors like construction, engineering, digital technologies, and health and social care. She said: "We want to ensure our curriculum is fully aligned with the skills Glasgow needs for the future. "Whether that's in health and care, sustainable construction, data and digital, or the green economy, we need to be responsive and ambitious." As well as Net Zero, tackling child poverty is set to be a main priority. With campuses serving some of Scotland's most economically challenged communities– in areas such as Springburn and Easterhouse – Ms Campbell views the college as having a vital role in improving life chances. She said: "Colleges like Kelvin have a huge role to play in social mobility. "We provide skills and qualifications, but also opportunity and hope. "From ESOL and access courses right through to university access programmes, we create pathways for people who are often furthest from the labour market." Read more: Ambitious plan revealed for former Glasgow banking hall Ms Campbell also acknowledges that the college sector is under pressure, describing it as a "perfect storm" of funding challenges, shifting learner expectations, and skills evolution. She said: "Thanks to the leadership of my predecessor Derek Smeall during some of the most challenging times the sector has ever seen, we've been prudent, we've delivered against our targets, and now we have an opportunity to build on that work and grow further. "But we need the system to recognise the scale of impact colleges make – particularly when we have seen a 17 per cent drop in funding since 2021/22. 'You can't advocate for something you don't fully understand. 'We'll be inviting changemakers into the college – we want them to experience what's happening here, to see the talent and potential that exists across our campuses.'
Daily Mail
21-04-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE After Wall Street crashed, many chased the FIRE movement dream of 'financial independence, retire early'. Today, some are rolling in cash - but it didn't work for everyone...
For many of us, the idea of spending four decades of your life working full-time and putting in long hours is hardly an appealing way to live. Not to mention having to wake up to an alarm clock and travel to work, or constantly being told off for having different ideas that clash with authority. Dolly Parton 's 1980 hit 9 to 5 perfectly captured the exploitative nature of work with a line about letting 'you dream just to watch 'em shatter, you're just a step on the bossman's ladder'. And even if they aren't been exploited, many are scared of being worked to death. But in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, a movement emerged of people who planned to save aggressively, invest and retire in their forties. They are part of the FIRE Movement - or Financial Independence, Retire Early. The theory is you can get by on income from investments (usually property) or earn money from a business you own but aren't actively involved in. Generally speaking, those planning to retire two decades earlier than usual are the type of people with a strong work ethic who are simply seeking some balance in life after working full-time since they were teenagers. They include Millennials now in their thirties who want more time with their children while they are still young, and Gen X empty-nesters in their fifties who want to go travelling overseas while they are still fit enough. Leonie Bint, 57, retired two years ago after working as a branch manager with the Macarthur Credit Union and doing the books for her husband's business that specialised in repairing metal elevator door scratches and dents. Her husband Kelvin, 56, is planning to retire in the next two months after 40 years of working, and hand his Sydney-focused business, In Form Stainless, to their 25-year-old son Brayden. 'In the early days, he'd be doing 16-hour days, six, seven days a week,' Leonie Bint says of her husband. Kelvin, who is now working part-time two or three days a week as he transitions into retirement, says work at one point never stopped, with clients including the National Rugby League's Shark Stadium in Cronulla. 'We were working constantly: we were probably down to three-and-a-half, four hours a day of sleep,' he tells me. Kelvin, a welder and metal fabricator, also experienced the stress of employing 25 staff when the Global Financial Crisis saw customers abruptly stop spending money. 'We got really big but then after the GFC, it sort of died off a lot so we ended up closing,' Leonie recalls. The remarried Gen X empty-nester grandparents, with four adult children between them aged 25 to 33, have moved from the Camden area, in Sydney's outer south-west, to the Camden Haven area, south of Port Macquarie on the NSW mid-north coast. The Dunbogan locals, now living a stone's throw from the beach in a gated community, want to go travelling overseas while they are still fit and healthy. They have a European trip planned for next month to Spain and Denmark, and another holiday in Asia towards the end of the year taking in Singapore, Thailand and Bali. 'We've done quite a few overseas trips and on one of them, we were the youngest too,' Leonie says. 'We like cruising and stuff but we're usually in the young crowd. Everyone's older. 'They all say: do it now [retire and travel] while you're younger because physically you can't when you're older, and so I think that's what we've just always had in our mind that we want to go and see the world. We want to do stuff and physically be able to do it.' Kelvin says meeting new people on holiday is another thing he's looking forward to. 'When you're on those cruises, you're always meeting people and we've kept in contact with pretty much someone from every cruise,' he says. He's also more inclined to try some more physically demanding pursuits, like cycling from Amsterdam to Bruges in the Netherlands. For trips around Australia, they have already converted Kelvin's Hyundai Staria work van into a campervan with a bed to save on having to buy a motorhome or a caravan - and are already planning a trip to Broken Hill's Mundi Mundi Bash in August. 'If we get too old for that sort of thing, we've still not spent a fortune on a caravan,' Kelvin says. Rather than invest on the share market, they borrowed to buy eight investment properties in three states including houses at Logan, south of Brisbane; Moranbah, in north Queensland; Old Bar, on the NSW mid-north coast; Albury in southern NSW; an Airbnb house at Dunbogan; and a property in Adelaide. 'At least with the houses, I still feel that the houses are pretty stable because we have a housing crisis,' Leonie says. 'As much as the house prices do go up and down, we've got enough equity that we feel secure enough in the choices that we've made. 'If you'd gone down the path and put all our money into the share market, I think we'd be feeling a little bit more anxious now. That would be a concern. 'I'm glad we bought property a few years ago and had the time to sit on it so now, they've all got enough equity in it that, we can sell one and still manage.' They are living off rental income from their investment properties before they can access their superannuation and aren't worried about bank savings rates falling should the Reserve Bank keep cutting interest rates. 'If you put money in the bank, it just disappears,' Kelvin says. Travis Elliott, the 37-year-old managing director of QLD Roller Shutters, is planning to completely retire by his late forties so he can go on more holidays to places like Japan and Italy with his wife Selina, their daughter, 10, and seven-year-old son. 'We've sacrificed a lot, to be fair to get where we are,' he tells me. 'By the time I aim to retire, another say eight years, my daughter's going to be 16, 17, 18, kind of thing, by the time I'm partially retired. 'I can get the most out of really good holidays with them. We enjoy skiing - that's been off the cards up until pretty much the last couple of years. 'That's my plan - I'd love to be able to get away and still afford to enjoy a couple of good trips a year with my family and just spend more time with my wife.' Travis is planning to continue to own his business, which locally manufactures garage doors and roller shutters for windows, but gradually let someone else do the day-to-day running. 'It's not to sit around and do nothing, I couldn't do that,' he says. 'If I continue to own the business, have it sort of run passively, I'd do one day a week. 'We've got a bit of a succession plan - we've got one of my guys who's been working in the business a long time, very presentable, got a lot of knowledge. I'm looking in the next year or two transitioning where he does a lot more of that and sort of train him in what I do, the way I like to do things, as I step back a bit. 'I want to be done and dusted, definitely before 50; I want to be able to utilise my retirement, I don't want to be an old person and retired.' The proprietor, who bought QLD Roller Shutters in 2019 as the previous owner battled cancer, has spend the past six years putting in 70-hour weeks and some 12-hour days, working every day except Sunday. He says his Sunshine Coast-based baby boomer father, now 68, had worked too hard in his business marketing career. Gil Elliott, who is yet to retire permanently, agrees he is a workaholic and isn't the type to sit around with a fishing line. 'I won't retire - I can't see myself sitting around fishing at 70 or 80,' he says. 'It's probably a personality thing - Travis has probably seen what has happened and he's taken a good lesson from that. 'I believe that I will probably never retire completely but I said I want a situation where I can do what I want to, rather than what I have to. 'If I loved golf, I'd probably be playing off single figures now but my interest has been businesses. I love it when they work.' Gil Elliott obtained a Master of Business Administration in his late fifties and tried briefly retiring at 60 in 2018, hoping there would be continuing income from his sales distribution business, G and S Marketing. For almost four decades, it had sold consumer electronic goods from the likes of Sharp, De'Longhi, Kenwood and Nescafe's Dolce Gusto coffee machines to major retailers, having started at Rockhampton in central Queensland before branching out across Australia and New Zealand. But things turned sour when big electronics brands decided they no longer needed his company's sales and marketing services - a decade after the Global Financial Crisis. One client terminated their arrangement to distribute products across Australasia after it had been in place for 37 years. 'I was retired at 60 and I had my business sold and then unfortunately that fell over,' he says. 'That business was worth several million dollars so I decimated my super.' Individual JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman stores started buying stock from the corporate head office, rather than through his sales company. His business had previously received commission from selling direct to the stores at a wholesale level and organising in-store displays to boost sales but the business model collapsed overnight. This forced Gil to sell his other personal assets, from properties to trusts, and start a new business instead of retiring. 'Unfortunately, the business turned sour for me and I had to unfortunately divest myself of some of those properties and some of those funds out of super,' he says. His son has no plans to keep working into his sixties like his father. Travis wants more of a balance from his mid-forties onwards, having worked as a fridge mechanic before selling electronic goods at JB Hi-Fi and going into real estate. 'It's funny because I've always, sort of, had this plan because I've seen Dad [and] how hard he's worked,' he says. 'I didn't want that to be similar to me: I could probably continue to work and have an extremely great lifestyle but I'd rather have a pretty headache-free, debt-free nice passive income coming in.' Travis, who owns a house at Scarborough north of Brisbane, plans to derive income from the business, which also includes the ownership of industrial premises in the southern Brisbane suburbs of Sumner and Coopers Plains. But retiring early is far from easy with Australians unable to access their superannuation until they turn 60, not to mention qualifying for the age pension at 67. Someone retiring in their late thirties therefore has to have an income stream for three decades, in the absence of work. Even a modest retirement for a single person would conservatively cost $32,897 a year and those Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia figures cater for those aged 65 to 84 who typically have less of an appetite for overseas holidays. A comfortable retirement is costed at $51,814 annually, based on the idea of travelling abroad every seven years. Gil Elliott has since established Positive Income Strategies, giving people tips on how to retire early through investment properties. 'It's about helping people learn to budget, because they don't teach that anywhere anymore, to save, and then from that eventually invest so they have some passive income,' he says. But he admits Donald Trump's tariff wars could erode superannuation balances, forcing many people to delay their retirement during a cost-of-living crisis. 'It may add a year or two to their quest of retiring,' he says. Gil says retiring early requires very disciplined saving. 'Most people don't know how to save, they don't know how to budget,' he tells me. 'Five-dollar coffees instead of 70 cent one and make your own; I look at my credit card and say, "Why have I got six bloody things apart from Netflix on my card every month?"' Leonie Bint, who left school at 15, says the idea of retiring early was in fact a childhood dream - and she was actively listening to podcasts on the FIRE movement to finetune their investment strategy. 'My dad actually retired very early - in his forties; sold the house, moved to our weekend farm place, built a house and just worked whenever he wanted to so I guess maybe some of that rubbed off - "I don't want to work forever",' she says. 'He's now passed too and I figure, if he'd actually worked up until retirement age, he would have only lived another five or six years before he died. 'Enjoying more life now while we physically can is the most important thing to us.' Kelvin says working forever to grow an even bigger business would have been pointless.
