The people

WHERE CERVELT™ IS PRODUCED: THE DOUGLAS CREEK COMPANY

Douglas Creek is based in Tauranga, in the north of New Zealand on the Bay of Plenty coast. New Zealand  has about 2.5 million farmed deer and some of the largest deer farms in the world.  
Along with their joint N.Z. company Cashmere Processors (a textile processing company with 20 years of experience in processing cashmere), Douglas Creek is owned by Bert Mc Ghee and Richard Keddell.  There is an engineering department which is directed by Bert Mc Ghee who designs and builds innovative machinery.
As a result of the expertise acquired with processing cashmere, Douglas Creek was able to tackle the challenge set by Cervelt™ -- a new fibre obtained from Red Deer.
In 2005, Douglas Creek began working with key Italian companies to bring Cervelt™ to the market.

	Biography of Bert McGhee, Managing Director of Douglas Creek: Bert McGhee belongs to the fourth generation of a family of Scottish engineers. His grandfather was an engineer, and his father worked on the engines of Rolls Royce aircraft.  After his degree in engineering, Bert travelled around the world. During one of his frequent travels, he met his wife in Australia and settled down in New Zealand where his work focused on textile machinery.  In 1990, he inaugurated a cashmere dehairing company -- the first facility in the Southern Hemisphere – and during that time met Richard Keddell with whom he built up a strong partnership.  In 2000 they decided to try collecting the fibre from the coat of red deer and transform it into yarns and fabrics. They soon realized that it was completely different from cashmere and other fibres. It took 5 years of research to design a machine that could process such a fine, delicate and curly fibre, and another 3 years to develop the yarns and fabrics.
	Biography of Richard Keddell, Director at Douglas Creek: Richard Keddell is a practicing Orthopaedic Surgeon. He grew up on a sheep farm in the South Island of New Zealand. This sparked his diverse investment interests in farming. On his property north of Tauranga, some of New Zealand’s finest cashmere is produced. Richard and his wife also have a flourishing breeding and competition barn of showjumping horses. He has held a number of directorships; including a publicly listed transport company.
	Biography of Russell Lellman (BBS, CA, MinstD), Director at Douglas Creek: Managing Director - Lellman Wearne Curragh Limited, Chartered Accountants. Qualified in Accounting, Finance and Transport Economics, Russell started his working career with Fletcher Challenge in 1978. He left his position as Export Manager North Asia and Europe in 1984 to join his fathers Accounting Firm. Russell has been a practicing Chartered Accountant for 25 years. From 1992 to 2006 Russell, in addition to his Accountancy Practice, was the Chief Financial Officer for the Lambert Group of Companies (over $100 million in assets). Russell holds a number of Directorships in New Zealand and Australia.