NMR managing director Andy Warne announces his retirement

He has been in the role since July 2002.

He joined NMR from TNT Containers Logistics, where he was European managing director. He brought wide experience in logistics and a strong business focus to NMR, which enabled it to evolve and develop in line with the changing UK dairy sector.

His focus on management quality, board representation and creating skilled teams led to the establishment of the payment testing service National Milk Laboratories, which is responsible for testing nearly all GB’s bulk milk samples on behalf of milk buyers, and to the successful launch of Independent Milk Laboratories in Ireland.

Core milk recording has remained the cornerstone of NMR’s operations under Andy Warne’s tenure. The farmer-facing data service has seen significant improvement in its operation and in the dissemination of a wider range of vital herd and cow management data. For example, the average sample turnaround from milk sampling on farm to results being available to farmers has reduced from 120 hours in 2002 to the current 46 hours.

He has also been instrumental in NMR’s introduction of new, ground-breaking technology for the UK dairy industry, such as the recent launch of GenoCells. This enables somatic cell count (SCC) results to be recorded for individual cows from a single bulk milk sample.

Andy sees the acquisition of NMR by AB Agri in August 2023 as a very beneficial step forward. “This consolidation the UK dairy sector at farm and supplier level creates opportunities for investment in new and smarter services, particularly in data and data insights,” he says.

“Future pressures on dairy farming in terms of sustainability and product quality will require smarter answers and services from suppliers. Positioning NMR within the AB Agri family will enable this investment to take place.”

Jose Nobre, CEO of AB Agri adds: “NMR is an exciting business and I’d like to thank Andy for his part in building a business that is renowned globally for its focus on service and on the innovation of data insights.

“The whole team at NMR is also a key asset, and I look forward to working with the company as we build the next generation of data and testing services.”

Mark Frankcom, NMR finance director, will continue as NMR interim managing director.