Our People

Jamie Jurgens

Jamie’s family has been farming in the Bowen region for more than 100 years and he spent much of his childhood helping his parents on the family tomato, sugarcane and beef farm.

Jamie developed a strong connection to the soil and has always wanted to pursue farming professionally. He studied at the University of Queensland Gatton, where he met his wife Melita. Together Jamie and Melita have grown the business to where it is today.

Jamie strives to produce consistent, high-quality crops with the least environmental impact possible.

Melita Jurgens

Melita is a 4th generation farmer. She grew up on a potato and sugarcane farm in Maryborough and studied a Bachelor of Applied Science in Horticultural Technology at the Univeristy of Queensland, where she met Jamie.

Melita also has a Diploma in Agribusiness management and is focused on growing environmentally-friendyfoodsafe produce.

Melita was involved in developing the Freshcare Environmental Management system and hers was a pilot farm in this system. She is trained in HACCP, SQF and Freshcare Quality Systems.

Richard Gorman

Kalfresh CEO / VJK Director

Richard lives and breathes fresh produce. He was born into a farming family and studied horticulture at the University of Queensland. Richard has been with Kalfresh since 1994 and has been hands-on in most facets of the business.

Richard travels extensively to stay ahead of industry trends and is involved in setting the strategic direction of VJK Produce.

Tom Hunt

Operations Manager

Tom has been working in the fresh produce industry for 16 years. He started working at his local fruit & vegetable shop at the age of 15 and quickly became hooked on the fast-paced nature of the business. He graduated from school and went to work at the central markets and later worked on mango and strawberry farms.

Tom returned to the central markets as a buyer, before joining Kalfresh in 2008. In 2011 Tom won the AUSVEG Rising Star award. Tom was appointed Kalfresh operations manager and in 2016 moved to Bowen to oversee the operations side of the new Vee Jay’s Kalfresh venture. Tom still gets a rush from the pressure and buzz of peak season, when the factory is at full flight and things are changing on a daily basis.

For publicity and media enquiries please contact Alice Gorman on 0407 636 429