Waikato Business News May/June 2022
Waikato Business News has for a quarter of a century been the voice of the region’s business community, a business community with a very real commitment to innovation and an ethos of co-operation.
Waikato Business News has for a quarter of a century been the voice of the region’s business community, a business community with a very real commitment to innovation and an ethos of co-operation.
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SPECIAL ADVERTISING WRAP<br />
ROAD AND SPORT HARLEY-DAVIDSON RIDING<br />
HIGH ON DEALER OF THE YEAR WIN<br />
Local long-serving business Road and Sport Harley-Davidson has out-gunned the big guns across Australia<br />
and New Zealand to win the Overall Dealer of the Year award for the second year running. In fact, Road and<br />
Sport has taken the title in three of the last five years over the other 56 dealers in the region!<br />
Owners and Dealer Principals Barry and<br />
Shelley Sproule are obviously proud of their<br />
awards success and their business. They<br />
joined the H-D Dealer network 32 years ago,<br />
in 1990, which now places the store as the<br />
oldest H-D Dealership in New Zealand.<br />
Barry emphasises that the lead given by the Motor<br />
Company – whether in new Motorcycles, new<br />
Apparel and Accessories, or new knowledge and<br />
technical training – is the store’s heart-starter. But the<br />
subsequent oxygen comes from Barry and Shelley’s<br />
genuinely caring and honest business ethos.<br />
“We ensure that the entire staff and management<br />
team is fully trained and totally immersed in bringing<br />
the brilliance of the H-D brand and lifestyle to the<br />
store’s friends and customers,” Barry says. “People<br />
know that we’ll be here when you want us here, that<br />
we’ll do what we say we’ll do, and that we can be<br />
trusted to answer all the questions… or to solve all the<br />
problems.”<br />
That adds up, Barry says, to genuine customer service.<br />
“Our team here in the dealership is the best asset<br />
anyone could have. Shelley and I ask them to learn,<br />
and to fit in, and then we let their enthusiasm and<br />
knowledge off the leash. And I think that’s what the<br />
Continues on following page
From previous page<br />
and dust-free. Quality matters, even out of<br />
the customer’s sight.<br />
customers feel… our enthusiasm and passion<br />
for Harley-Davidson.”<br />
All that H-D Factory training includes, of<br />
course, the three “outside the box” all-new<br />
models introduced into the <strong>Waikato</strong> by Road<br />
and Sport in the last two years.<br />
“Plenty of doubters didn’t believe it possible,<br />
but Harley has brought the LiveWire<br />
Electric, Pan America Adventure Tourer<br />
and the Sportster S into the market, and<br />
each one is utterly brilliant,” Barry says. “All<br />
three were, and still are, category sales and<br />
performance leaders, almost as soon as<br />
they were released.”<br />
Behind all that, a walk through the<br />
Dealership shows that there is quality<br />
everywhere! An immaculate Service<br />
Department with soft rubber flooring so any<br />
items accidentally dropped are undamaged,<br />
a Dynojet dyno, a fully capable machine<br />
shop and protective covers are placed over<br />
the motorcycles being worked on.<br />
And even though no-one sees them, the<br />
Apparel, Parts and Accessories back-room<br />
storage areas are impressively neat, clean<br />
As well as the Road and Sport team, Barry<br />
also acknowledges the massive part other<br />
local-area Hamilton and <strong>Waikato</strong> businesses<br />
have played in their award’s achievements.<br />
“Our success depends on the trust and<br />
reliability of our accountants, bankers,<br />
lawyers and suppliers of all kinds. We’ve<br />
partnered with nearly all of them for about<br />
40 years, they believed then – and now – in<br />
our vision and integrity, and we’ve become<br />
genuine business partners.”<br />
Barry’s knows full well that the dealership<br />
is nothing without its customers and the<br />
relationship they have is more than just<br />
business.<br />
“Getting to know the customers is our<br />
favourite part of this business. Just like us<br />
they are enthusiasts and we know the H-D<br />
lifestyle keeps them young at heart. The<br />
Harley brand, the bikes and the lifestyle…<br />
riding and freedom… it’s addictive and it’s<br />
wonderful. We’re so proud to be in this<br />
business, and proud of the connections we<br />
make every day.”<br />
The dealership is a family affair, and Barry<br />
and Shelley are involving the next generation<br />
in more senior roles in the business. “Hannah,<br />
Peter and Blair have already been with us<br />
a long time and done the beginner-work<br />
learning, so that when they move up into<br />
higher roles, they’ll be very well prepared<br />
and ready. They understand every aspect of<br />
our customer-service because they’ve done<br />
it all in person.”<br />
The Harley-Davidson Dealer of the Year<br />
award is assessed across a range of<br />
dealership operations, including customer<br />
satisfaction, Motorcycles, Parts, Accessories,<br />
Apparel, and Service performance,<br />
commitment to training, marketing and<br />
events, and business reporting.<br />
Harley-Davidson AU/NZ Managing Director<br />
Nigel Keough says, “Barry and Shelley know<br />
how to run a great business, they excel in<br />
customer service.”<br />
A visit to the Te Rapa store will confirm that<br />
the friendliness, enthusiasm for the store and<br />
for the H-D brand is all-encompassing, and<br />
it’s an ethos the whole team is committed to.<br />
And Barry’s estimation of the dealerships is<br />
correct; it’s the entire Road and Sport team<br />
powering the Dealership to three-out-offive<br />
years as Dealer of the Year.<br />
SHELLEY SPROULE<br />
– A WOMAN’S VIEW FROM THE TOP<br />
W<br />
inning the Harley-Davidson Australasian Dealer<br />
of the Year award for three of the last five years<br />
is so special to Road and Sport H-D joint owner<br />
and Dealer Principal Shelley Sproule, that she’s made a<br />
rare public contribution. Coming out of the background<br />
for a moment, Shelley has shared her thoughts on the<br />
reasons for Road and Sport’s success.<br />
A highlight was taking groups of 12 or 13 customers on<br />
trips to Australia – three trips over the years - and riding<br />
through the outback of Australia. Shelley organised<br />
these trips, took care of everything on the itinerary, and<br />
oversaw the container loads of customer bikes and their<br />
own bikes for the journey. And, not one to miss out on a<br />
ride, Shelley rode every kilometer on her own Harley.<br />
Shelley uses the word ‘trust’ repeatedly as she<br />
describes the business; trust from customers in the<br />
Harley Dealership, and trust by the business of its staff,<br />
customers, and associated entities and individuals.<br />
“To be successful and receive these awards there’s a<br />
wider team working in the background - accountants,<br />
lawyers, banks, suppliers including, of course, Harley-<br />
Davidson and in earlier years Morgan & Wacker. All of<br />
them stand beside us, many have been with us for 40<br />
years, or for the 32 years we’ve been with Harley. We<br />
can’t do it without them, they’re actually partners in the<br />
business.”<br />
Shelley whole-heartedly believes that the store’s staff<br />
plays a massive role in the success of the business.<br />
“They’re our partners too. My ethos, and Barry’s, has<br />
always been about caring for our Road and Sport<br />
‘family’, and by extension their families. During the<br />
lockdowns it was important to us that our staff’s home<br />
life could continue as normally as possible.”<br />
As a woman in the male-dominated motorcycle<br />
industry, there have been challenges along the way but,<br />
Shelley says, Harley-Davidson was different.<br />
“NEVER for one second have I seen or felt any gender<br />
bias from anyone at H-D. From day-dot, I was never<br />
discriminated against as a female Dealer Principal.<br />
Harley’s attitude has always been brilliant… it’s<br />
encompassing, respectful, inclusive, and all of that<br />
continues to this day.”<br />
If you’ve ever taken notice of Harley-Davidson’s<br />
marketing, you’ll see – or can feel - the connections<br />
which lead to ‘one big world-wide family’, and women<br />
are very much a part of every aspect of Harley-<br />
Davidson. The passion of Harley owners and customers<br />
for the brand is unique and powerful. Shelley knows that<br />
the closeness which develops between herself, Barry<br />
and the staff, and their customers, is heartfelt.<br />
“Our customer base is huge and extremely diverse<br />
and I’m incredibly fortunate to have had the career I’ve<br />
had with our customers and suppliers. I feel extremely<br />
privileged!” she says.<br />
“The best part of that was being able to give those<br />
customers a life experience in the H-D lifestyle we all<br />
love.”<br />
Shelley has ridden her own bikes all over the world and<br />
cherishes the amazing experiences she has had thanks<br />
to the H-D lifestyle.<br />
In her early years with Harley-Davidson, Shelley was<br />
grateful the lessons from H-D that helped build the<br />
Road and Sport business to what it is today.<br />
In the early days, Harley was distributed in New Zealand,<br />
Queensland and the South Pacific by Australian dealers<br />
Morgan and Wacker, which started life as a familyowned<br />
business.<br />
In 1990, Barry and Shelley were accepted as authorised<br />
H-D dealers by Bruce Wacker and Shelley says the<br />
Wacker family has had a huge influence on the business<br />
and that still stands true today.<br />
“We learned not just about the motorcycles and the<br />
products, from Bruce, his wife Joan, their sons Mark and<br />
Brad, and their international staff, they also taught us<br />
greater levels of professionalism, higher standards and<br />
better customer service. They showed us the Harley<br />
worldwide family in the big picture was real, not just<br />
talk. It still is an honor and a delight to be a part of this.”<br />
Being a woman in a traditionally male dominated<br />
business, Shelley was lucky to have the quiet, wise, and<br />
experienced Joan Wacker to guide her along the way.<br />
Soon after taking on the dealership, the Harley<br />
Company began a program to modernise every<br />
dealer in the world. The spaces were transformed into<br />
‘Designer Stores’ and became exciting and beautiful<br />
destinations for customers and enthusiasts to gather.<br />
Shelley says the ‘Designer Stores’ changed the focus of<br />
motorcycles world-wide.<br />
“There were huge displays of then-new MotorClothes<br />
casual and riding Apparel, along with stylish and new<br />
ways of displaying the bikes and Accessories. Our shop<br />
was gutted and re-built.”<br />
Returning to Shelley’s belief in ‘trust’ as a guiding<br />
principle of the business, she trusted her research and<br />
knowledge of Harley-Davidson, and had enormous trust<br />
in Bruce and Mark Wacker who explained how it would<br />
all work in the future.<br />
“The transformation to a ‘Designer Store’ really did<br />
work.”<br />
Becoming a single-brand Harley-only dealership in<br />
2008, was another major change for the business.<br />
“It was a lifestyle choice for ourselves, for the staff, and<br />
for our customers. We loved what we did with H-D, we<br />
wanted to be better at what we did, we wanted to enjoy<br />
it more, and we wanted our Harley customers… our big<br />
family… to enjoy it as much as we did.”<br />
Still motivated by the Harley-Davidson brand, Shelley<br />
says it’s always moving forward which makes being in<br />
business for as long as they have still new and exciting.<br />
“There are so many new models being released that the<br />
factory online and in-person training remains vital.<br />
Motivating the staff with an expectation of success<br />
and completion of all the training, is very important to<br />
Shelley.<br />
“Our expectations and standards are high but our<br />
customer feedback gives us outstandingly high reviews<br />
and comments about our team.”<br />
“My journey with Road and Sport and Harley-Davidson<br />
has been so fulfilling… the dealer shows in America, the<br />
travel, the rides all over the world, the people we’ve met<br />
from around the globe, the experiences, the memories.<br />
I’m a lucky girl, and I want our customers and staff to<br />
share it too.”
MAY/JUNE VOLUME 30: ISSUE 5 <strong>2022</strong> WWW.WBN.CO.NZ FACEBOOK.COM/WAIKATOBUSINESSNEWS<br />
Nau Mai R ā bringing<br />
power to the people<br />
Aotearoa's first kaupapa Māori energy retailer Nau<br />
Mai Rā is empowering Kiwi’s living in power poverty.<br />
Hamilton-born co-founders<br />
Ezra Hirawani (Te<br />
Āti Haunui-a-Paparangi/Ngāti<br />
Rangi/Ngāpuhi/<br />
Ngāti Hako/<strong>Waikato</strong>-Tainui)<br />
and Ben Armstrong (<strong>Waikato</strong><br />
Tainui/Ngāti Hine) are putting<br />
people before profit and funnelling<br />
money back into funding<br />
initiatives that benefit whānau.<br />
Nau Mai Rā uses a pay it<br />
forward model where customers<br />
pay a portion of their power<br />
bill towards a marae, kura or to<br />
the whānau fund which helps<br />
pay the power bill for vulnerable<br />
families.<br />
“We discovered that there's<br />
over 130,000 households<br />
here in Aotearoa that suffer in<br />
energy hardship or power poverty;<br />
that a massive problem,”<br />
Ezra says.<br />
Basing their business model<br />
around the tuakana-teina relationship<br />
where an older family<br />
member supports and mentors<br />
someone younger, Nau Mai Rā<br />
customers are helping their fellow<br />
customers who are experiencing<br />
hardship.<br />
“We wanted to apply the<br />
tuakana-teina approach, where<br />
we worked with those who<br />
could afford to pay for their<br />
power to support those who<br />
couldn't. And doing so in a way<br />
where we did no harm to those<br />
who could afford to pay for<br />
that,” he says.<br />
“It was a steep learning<br />
curve understanding how we<br />
could apply this approach<br />
into a power industry that saw<br />
consumers as money making<br />
opportunities rather than as<br />
whānau and people.”<br />
In most cases, Ezra says,<br />
their customers pay the same or<br />
less than they would be charged<br />
by other suppliers.<br />
Founded in 2019, the pair<br />
have worked hard to maintain<br />
the integrity of Nau Mai<br />
Rā whilst learning about the<br />
cut-throat power supply business.“We<br />
have been more public<br />
facing in last two years year<br />
and have acquired customers<br />
slowly in different regions as<br />
we’ve tested the product. We<br />
started with learning the complexities<br />
of the industry and<br />
understanding how we can<br />
have our own twist indigenous<br />
twist on it.”<br />
Although based in the<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong>, Nau Mai Rā is only<br />
just beginning to get their product<br />
out to their local market.<br />
It was a conscious decision<br />
to test markets outside of their<br />
patch in order to get genuine<br />
feedback about what they had<br />
to offer.<br />
“If I sign my mum up, she’s<br />
always going to say, ‘son it’s<br />
amazing’. I was probably a<br />
year and a half into Nau Mai<br />
Rā might have before my mum<br />
even realised that I wasn't<br />
studying anymore,” he laughs.<br />
They were determined that<br />
the business would stand on<br />
its own merits and in the early<br />
stages went about quietly signing<br />
up customers and making<br />
tweaks along the way.<br />
“We just had to make sure<br />
that the product could stand on<br />
its own without any cool story,<br />
any marketing pizazz. That we<br />
could sell power at a cheaper<br />
rate to a family, and then use<br />
that power bill to fund each<br />
project.”<br />
One of their first projects<br />
was to purchase a 49-seater bus<br />
for a low decile kura (school) in<br />
Otangarei.<br />
“This was proof to us, that if<br />
a community will pay their bills<br />
with us, we can actually drive<br />
impact back into the community,”<br />
he says.<br />
Seeing the joy on the student’s<br />
faces when they had<br />
their first bus ride was the proof<br />
that what they were doing<br />
was working and making a<br />
difference in people’s lives.<br />
“From that moment we just<br />
continued to build and now we<br />
have elevated just over 2000<br />
people out of energy hardship,<br />
and it is starting to snowball<br />
now,”<br />
People are at the heart of<br />
Ezra and Ben’s business model;<br />
they make bill paying easier by<br />
Ezra Hirawani.<br />
sending smaller more frequent<br />
bills, customers are signed in to<br />
a contract and have the freedom<br />
to move should they choose,<br />
and they don't charge whānau<br />
daily fixed cost in addition to the industry average is around<br />
their bills.<br />
15. And that is largely because<br />
“We've had a very low bad we're not as big as the other<br />
debt percentage. We're sitting<br />
around at two percent. I think Continued on page 3
2 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
Glenn Forster appointed<br />
chief executive of<br />
McCaw Lewis Lawyers<br />
Hapaitia te ara tika pūmau ai te rangatiratanga mō ngā uri<br />
whakatipu. Foster the pathway of knowledge to strength,<br />
independence and growth for future generations.<br />
McCaw Lewis Lawyers announce<br />
that the board has appointed Glenn<br />
Forster as the firm’s first Chief<br />
Executive, a move that marks an evolution<br />
of his role and another exciting development<br />
for the <strong>Waikato</strong> law firm.<br />
Glenn has been part of the McCaw<br />
Lewis team since 2019 when he started<br />
as General Manager. The appointment as<br />
Chief Executive is a significant role and<br />
one which reflects Glenn’s contribution to<br />
the firm’s vision, strategic objectives and<br />
overall management.<br />
Executive Director, Renika Siciliano,<br />
says “Glenn’s strength is in his genuine<br />
desire to see every individual succeed and<br />
thrive. He embodies our firm value of<br />
manaakitanga - uplifting the mana of others<br />
in all his actions. Combine those traits<br />
with his excellent business insights and<br />
skills, and our firm is in great hands going<br />
forward.”<br />
Glenn has managed the firm during<br />
the most unusual of times through the<br />
COVID pandemic, as well as the retirements<br />
and departures of a number of very<br />
senior Directors and other staff. He has been<br />
instrumental in helping drive a values-based<br />
culture through all aspects of the firm.<br />
His business knowledge and financial<br />
skills have been an excellent support to<br />
the Director group, but importantly, those<br />
skills sit alongside a focus on our people<br />
and ultimately doing what is right. It is this<br />
balance of skillsets that drives his strategic<br />
vision for the firm as he continues his<br />
excellent work alongside the Directors and<br />
supporting the wider firm in this new Chief<br />
Executive role.<br />
Founded in 1919, McCaw Lewis has<br />
grown to become one of the <strong>Waikato</strong>’s<br />
leading law firms, specialising in commercial,<br />
Te Tiriti o Waitangi, property, dispute<br />
resolution, asset planning, environmental/<br />
natural resources, workplace law and te ture<br />
whenua Māori (Māori land law).<br />
Level 6/586 Victoria Street, Hamilton Central, Hamilton 3204 | 07 838 2079 | www.mccawlewis.co.nz<br />
At Bayleys, we believe relationships are<br />
what businesses are built on and how they<br />
succeed. We understand that to maximise<br />
the return on your property you need:<br />
Professional property management<br />
A business partner that understands<br />
your views and goals<br />
Contact the Bayleys <strong>Waikato</strong> Commercial<br />
Property Management team today.<br />
Jan Cooney<br />
Head Commercial Property Management -<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong>, Bay of Plenty and Taranaki<br />
027 408 9339<br />
jan.cooney@bayleys.co.nz<br />
David Cashmore<br />
Bayleys Commercial Manager - <strong>Waikato</strong><br />
021 943 305<br />
david.cashmore@bayleys.co.nz<br />
Gert Maritz<br />
Senior Facilities Manager - <strong>Waikato</strong><br />
027 230 2514<br />
gert.maritz@bayleys.co.nz<br />
Darren Rule<br />
Senior Facilities Manager - Bay of Plenty & Taranaki<br />
027 214 1631<br />
darren.rule@bayleys.co.nz<br />
SUCCESS REALTY LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008<br />
ALTOGETHER BETTER<br />
Residential / Commercial / Rural / Property Services
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
3<br />
Power to the people at Nau Mai Rā<br />
From page 1<br />
power companies. But at the<br />
same time, it's evidence that if<br />
you give people a chance they<br />
will pay. If you're willing to<br />
work with people and listen to<br />
them, talk to them, you know,<br />
they'll do their best to reciprocate<br />
the support,” Ezra says.<br />
In the Māori realm,<br />
whakawhanaungatanga or<br />
relationship building plays an<br />
important role in all aspects<br />
of life, and Ezra and Ben have<br />
made this a core value of how<br />
Nau Mai Rā engages with customers<br />
and stakeholders.<br />
“What we've decided to<br />
do is automate as much of the<br />
industry side as possible, which<br />
is 80 to 90 percent of the operation,<br />
and then really invest<br />
a lot of time into connecting<br />
with our customers in genuine<br />
need.”<br />
It hasn’t all been smooth<br />
sailing in the power generating<br />
world, they were close to folding<br />
the company last year when<br />
an electricity supplier pulled<br />
out at the last moment.<br />
“We'd oversubscribed by<br />
500 customers. And it was kind<br />
of ironic the power company<br />
that supports those who can't<br />
afford power, couldn't afford<br />
power,” he says.<br />
“We thought we had connected<br />
on a lot of different<br />
values (with the electricity supplier).<br />
And then it became more<br />
commercially beneficial for<br />
them not to finish off those conversations<br />
about the contract.”<br />
They pulled it together<br />
in the end but their business<br />
saviours were their customers.<br />
“We were really lucky to<br />
have a group of people within<br />
our Nau Mai Rā waka who<br />
could afford to move away. We<br />
called all our customers and<br />
said, ‘hey, look, this sucks to do<br />
this. But would you would you<br />
be able to jump out of our waka<br />
Ben Armstrong and Ezra Hirawani.<br />
so that we can support those<br />
clients who can’t jump out of<br />
the waka?’. The response was<br />
insane, they said, ‘Yeah, I’ll<br />
jump out. I've got your back. I'll<br />
be right back as soon as you get<br />
the contract over line.”<br />
Since then, Nau Mai Rā has<br />
done a complete turnaround.<br />
Now with thousands of customers,<br />
they have set a goal of<br />
onboarding 10,000 customers<br />
by the end of the year.<br />
Ezra was named Young<br />
New Zealander of the Year<br />
<strong>2022</strong> for his work helping people<br />
in energy hardship.<br />
He laughs and says he<br />
took one for the team when he<br />
accepted the nomination.<br />
“Ben and I thought, if they<br />
call us and say we’ve have been<br />
nominated, we'll just choose<br />
the best looking one to go and<br />
collect the trophy if we win.<br />
And that just happen to be me,”<br />
he laughs.<br />
“All through the preliminary<br />
stages, we were making<br />
sure that everyone understood<br />
that this isn't an Ezra award.<br />
This is a whānau award. I know<br />
it is cliche to say we're nothing<br />
without our people, Nau Mai<br />
Rā literally is nothing without<br />
its people.”
4 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
Dreams come true for<br />
Dreamview Creamery<br />
When Dreamview Creamery first dipped their gumboots into farm<br />
gate raw milk sales in 2017 they never dreamed the business<br />
would get as big as it has<br />
Owned and operated by<br />
the Hill family, the Raglan<br />
business recently<br />
issued Fonterra with a cease to<br />
supply notice.<br />
Daughter and creamery<br />
manager Jess says it’s an exciting<br />
step in their journey to run<br />
independently and the realisation<br />
of the dream idea she proposed<br />
to her parents, Dave and<br />
Bronwyn, to stop selling milk<br />
to Fonterra, bottle it themselves<br />
and sell locally.<br />
“This a really big step for us.<br />
We were considering doing it<br />
last year, and I’m probably kind<br />
of glad that we didn't. During<br />
Covid it was actually quite<br />
good to be able to still send our<br />
excess milk to Fonterra.”<br />
The soon-to-be released<br />
Dreamview yoghurt should take<br />
care of the milk normally supplied<br />
to Fonterra and Jess say<br />
they were only producing just<br />
enough excess milk to make it<br />
worth Fonterra’s while anyway.<br />
“Fonterra came every second<br />
day and it kind of depended<br />
on what we were doing in the<br />
creamery that day as to how<br />
much milk would be left for<br />
Fonterra. But it got to the point<br />
where it was, maybe four or<br />
500 litres, and only just enough<br />
to warrant them coming to pick<br />
it up.”<br />
Over the years they have<br />
moved to more sustainable practices,<br />
and from the very beginnings<br />
of Dreamview Creamery,<br />
the milk was sold in reusable<br />
glass bottles. In doing so, they<br />
have saved more than 150,000<br />
plastic bottles that would have<br />
ordinarily been used to get the<br />
milk to the marketplace.<br />
They will continue using<br />
glass for the yoghurt and Jess<br />
reckons they could be the first<br />
milk-based yoghurt to come in<br />
reusable glass jars.<br />
When they started out selling<br />
MPI certified raw A2 milk<br />
from the farm gate, the creamery<br />
was based in a converted<br />
shipping container and locals<br />
would drive up the windy farm<br />
driveway to pick up their supplies.<br />
However, as demand<br />
grew, they bought a refrigerated<br />
truck and started delivering to<br />
homes in Raglan.<br />
They now deliver nearly<br />
7,000 litres of A2 milk a<br />
week to cafes and shops in<br />
Raglan, Hamilton, Tauranga<br />
and Mount Maunganui. This<br />
meant hiring more staff and<br />
buying more trucks.<br />
“It’s awesome to be able<br />
to provide parttime work for<br />
locals,” Jess says.<br />
Because the milk is now<br />
available pasteurised, Dreamview<br />
can sell it anywhere,<br />
whereas their raw milk, by law,<br />
must be delivered door to door.<br />
Raw milk does not go<br />
through the pasteurisation process<br />
so it must meet stringent<br />
Ministry of Primary Industries<br />
regulations.<br />
Dave says there were a lot<br />
of hoops to jump through to get<br />
MPI certification and they are<br />
still required to test once a week<br />
for bacterium levels.<br />
“The regulations are<br />
extremely strict but we have got<br />
really great results,” Dave says.<br />
While MPI regulations prevent<br />
Jess from promoting the<br />
raw milk, she says it still makes<br />
up about 40 percent of their<br />
sales.<br />
“They (the customers) like<br />
that it’s milk the way nature<br />
intended it and they know<br />
where it’s from.”<br />
Like most farming families,<br />
the Hill family grew up on raw<br />
milk and Bronwyn says she<br />
could taste the difference in the<br />
supermarket milk she would<br />
have to buy from time-to-time.<br />
“I really notice a plastic taste<br />
in the milk.”<br />
While Bronwyn says the<br />
highly processed, homogenised<br />
supermarket milk is basically<br />
pulled apart and put back<br />
together again to standardise<br />
it, raw milk will vary in flavour<br />
and content from farm to farm<br />
and cow to cow on a daily basis.<br />
“People these days like<br />
to know where their produce<br />
comes from, how it’s made<br />
and that the animals are looked<br />
after,” she says.<br />
And animal welfare is a<br />
priority; one of the biggest differences<br />
at Dreamview is they<br />
don’t have a bobby truck visit<br />
the farm.<br />
The herd is pure Friesian<br />
and Jess says they have no<br />
trouble selling the year-olds<br />
as first-generation Kiwi cross<br />
milking cows.<br />
“We keep every calf that is<br />
born on the farm. The cows that<br />
are having a baby for the first<br />
time have been mated with a<br />
recorded (Jersey) sire. We keep<br />
the calves on the farm until<br />
about a year-old and then they<br />
can be sold. They are popular<br />
with dairy farmers who buy the<br />
girls as replacements and then<br />
the boys we can sell them on as<br />
beef cattle.”<br />
Other sustainable farming<br />
practices the family have committed<br />
to over the years include<br />
significantly reducing their<br />
stocking rate and making use of<br />
their effluent pond to substantially<br />
reduce fertilizer requirements.<br />
They are also propagating<br />
their own natives trees and<br />
carrying out extensive riparian<br />
planting.<br />
The Hills have farmed the<br />
rugged 300-acre property for<br />
over 20 years and began their<br />
Dreamview journey with a 250-<br />
cow dairy farm.<br />
The farm overlooks the wild<br />
west coastline, with views of<br />
the Tasman Sea, Karioi maunga<br />
and is 10 minutes from the Raglan<br />
‘CBD’.<br />
It’s a place that has brought<br />
all the Hill siblings back home<br />
to work in the family business.<br />
It was Jess who brought<br />
home the idea for the creamery<br />
while she was studying for a<br />
Bachelor of Agriculture at Lincoln<br />
University.<br />
Jess worked at the Lyttleton<br />
Farmers Market every Saturday<br />
selling pasteurised milk in<br />
glass bottles for a local farmer.<br />
“I thought that Lyttleton had a<br />
similar demographic and culture<br />
to Raglan and we had such<br />
positive feedback it got me<br />
interested in doing it at home.”<br />
She now lives in a relocated<br />
home on the property, which<br />
she has lovingly renovated.<br />
Brother Matthew’s skills as a<br />
civil engineer were put to good<br />
use designing the new purpose-built<br />
creamery to replace<br />
the 20-foot container which<br />
served as the first creamery.<br />
“We’re now in a 200-square<br />
metre creamery, and it's just so<br />
much bigger and so much better.<br />
I’ve even got an office in<br />
there,” Jess says.<br />
Sister Kathy came home last<br />
year after university and a stint<br />
working on a horse stud, and<br />
now manages the farm alongside<br />
farm manager Gary Gillies.<br />
After just five years in the<br />
business, the Dreamview team<br />
has grown to include 11 staff,<br />
six refrigerated delivery trucks,<br />
a purpose-built creamery and a<br />
pasteurisation facility.<br />
Jess is always on the lookout<br />
for ways to collaborate with<br />
local food producers; Dreamview<br />
milk is used by Raglan<br />
Gelato and a local home-cheesemaker,<br />
and every now and<br />
then they collaborate with<br />
Raglan Chocolate to produce a<br />
chocolate milk.<br />
“We're working towards<br />
other different products so we<br />
can utilize all the milk. Now we<br />
don’t have Fonterra we want to<br />
make sure we don't waste any.<br />
We need to use as much as we<br />
can all the time.”<br />
While Jess has been the driving<br />
force behind Dreamview<br />
Creamery from the beginning a<br />
look at their website lists Dave<br />
and Bronwyn as the bosses.<br />
“We always try really hard<br />
to make it so they do less but<br />
there’s always something else<br />
to do. I would love for them to<br />
be able to take a step back. I feel<br />
like we get there and then something<br />
happens and we need<br />
them again. We could not do it<br />
without them.”<br />
Jess jokes with her dad about<br />
retiring but just like the Hill<br />
children have returned home,<br />
Dave doesn’t intend on leaving.<br />
“I said to Dad the other day,<br />
‘you can retire sometime and<br />
you know buy a nice house in<br />
town or go somewhere else,’<br />
and he's like, ‘I'm never leaving<br />
the farm’.”
Sara Bahr<br />
Rachel Primrose<br />
Rob Scovell<br />
Arno van Niekerk<br />
Kiwi software specialist<br />
in expansion mode<br />
Company-X, the creators of software for<br />
multi-nationals, government departments<br />
and enterprise, is expanding.<br />
Company-X is marking<br />
its tenth year of business<br />
with a recruitment drive<br />
to keep up with demand for the<br />
software development expertise<br />
offered to clients like Cisco<br />
Systems Inc, New Zealand<br />
Police, Local Government New<br />
Zealand and Waka Kotahi New<br />
Zealand Transport Agency.<br />
The <strong>Waikato</strong> software specialist<br />
employs a team of more<br />
than 50 based mainly in the<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong> region of New Zealand,<br />
but also working from<br />
Australia, Thailand, the United<br />
States and United Kingdom.<br />
The team includes software<br />
architects, developers, testers,<br />
and support analysts.<br />
“Our five-year mission is to<br />
continue our growth in strategic<br />
overseas markets and onshore,”<br />
said Company-X co-founder<br />
and director David Hallett.<br />
“We have also invested into<br />
Hillfarrance Venture Capital’s<br />
$40 million fund earmarked<br />
for around 20 investments over<br />
the next few years. We’ve been<br />
working in the start-up space<br />
for decades.”<br />
“Watch this space. We have<br />
plans for continued growth<br />
internationally,” said fellow<br />
co-founder and director<br />
Jeremy Hughes.<br />
“We're really keen to foster<br />
the increase of women represented<br />
in the IT industry and<br />
we're really keen to encourage<br />
the ecosystem that supports<br />
tech founders in the <strong>Waikato</strong><br />
and New Zealand.”<br />
With almost a year at<br />
Company-X Reseller <strong>News</strong><br />
Women in Information and<br />
Communication Technology<br />
(ICT) Awards finalist Sara Bahr<br />
is one of its newest recruits.<br />
Being nominated for an<br />
award and attending the accompanying<br />
gala dinner to mix with<br />
other women in the industry<br />
was one of the highlights of her<br />
time at the company.<br />
“I was attracted to the company<br />
because of the range and<br />
quality of the work it does, as<br />
well as its positive work culture,”<br />
the software developer<br />
said.<br />
Bahr started with<br />
Company-X in New Zealand,<br />
and is now working from<br />
Australia.<br />
“Company-X stands out<br />
with its excellent software<br />
engineers, and their drive to<br />
success and building quality<br />
products,” Bahr said.<br />
Senior software developer<br />
Rob Scovell has been an integral<br />
part of the Company-X<br />
team since its inception in<br />
2012.<br />
“I hadn't met David before<br />
but he pulled me to one side<br />
at the Innes 48 business<br />
start-up competition and asked<br />
if I was interested in joining<br />
Company-X! David and<br />
Jeremy personally invited me<br />
to join,” Scovell said.<br />
He has worked from<br />
Company-X’s Hamilton office,<br />
and from the <strong>Waikato</strong>, the UK<br />
and now Thailand.<br />
“I was immediately<br />
impressed with what they were<br />
doing from the start.”<br />
Scovell said the quality of<br />
management at every level of<br />
Company-X made it stand out.<br />
His favourite memory from<br />
the last decade was taking<br />
centre place in a software<br />
superheroes promotional video<br />
filmed for the Westpac <strong>Waikato</strong><br />
<strong>Business</strong> Awards at which<br />
Company-X took home two<br />
awards.<br />
“The entire Company-X<br />
family on the stage at the<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong> <strong>Business</strong> Awards was<br />
beautiful,” said software team<br />
lead and engineer Arno van<br />
Niekerk.<br />
Van Niekerk has been supported<br />
in his career growth and<br />
stepped into the role of team<br />
leader last year.<br />
Van Niekerk said he had too<br />
many favourite Company-X<br />
memories to name but winning<br />
both the Service Excellence<br />
and Global Operator Awards at<br />
the Westpac <strong>Waikato</strong> <strong>Business</strong><br />
Awards in 2018 tops them.<br />
“The people, the work and<br />
the clients, attracted me to<br />
Company-X,” van Niekerk<br />
said.<br />
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
Company-X founders and directors Jeremy Hughes and<br />
David Hallett are looking for talented software developers.<br />
He is also a team leader.<br />
“Our people make<br />
Company-X stand out.”<br />
DevOps and Solutions<br />
Architect Rachel Primrose,<br />
Bahr’s fellow Women in ICT<br />
Awards finalist, joined the<br />
Company-X team four years<br />
ago.<br />
“I was attracted to<br />
Company-X by the variety of<br />
work within the role and the<br />
people,” said Primrose from<br />
her Queenstown home.<br />
“The experience of learning<br />
about the application of<br />
software in so many different<br />
industries was also a big drawcard.”<br />
5<br />
Primrose has been<br />
impressed by the high level of<br />
skill in the Company-X team.<br />
Asked what advice he<br />
would give anyone considering<br />
applying to join Company-X,<br />
Scovell said: “Do it! You won't<br />
regret being part of something<br />
truly excellent!”<br />
“Just do it,” added van<br />
Niekerk.<br />
“You will see a multitude of<br />
different problems to solve,”<br />
Primrose said.<br />
“Expect kind-hearted people<br />
who are driven towards<br />
producing excellent work and<br />
building a safe and encouraging<br />
work environment,” Bahr said.
6 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
Reconnecting, in person<br />
– flying the <strong>Waikato</strong> flag in Australia<br />
Hot on the heels of the wonderful news that New Zealand’s<br />
borders will reopen fully from July 31, Hamilton & <strong>Waikato</strong> Tourism<br />
(HWT) has been in Australia to promote the <strong>Waikato</strong> region as<br />
part of our work to attract visitors from this important market.<br />
TELLING WAIKATO’S STORY<br />
> BY NICOLA GREENWELL<br />
Interim General Manager, Hamilton & <strong>Waikato</strong> Tourism<br />
HWT marketing manager Rebecca<br />
Evans at the training day with ANZCRO<br />
Being able to get on a<br />
plane and travel internationally<br />
once again to<br />
personally meet up with crucial<br />
travel wholesalers and event<br />
buyers is an enormously exciting<br />
step forward in the recovery<br />
of the tourism, hospitality and<br />
events related sectors here in<br />
the <strong>Waikato</strong>.<br />
It’s particularly satisfying to<br />
be able to do so after the past<br />
two-plus years of lockdowns<br />
and border closures when, quite<br />
frankly, many have wondered<br />
just how we would get through<br />
the tough times.<br />
Although thanks, to technology,<br />
we have been able to continue<br />
regular communication<br />
with our top travel wholesalers<br />
and event buyers. However,<br />
connecting in person and having<br />
those important face-to-face<br />
conversations, is so incredibly<br />
powerful and essential in many<br />
business settings, especially<br />
so in the world of tourism and<br />
travel.<br />
HWT undertook two delegation<br />
trips in league with Tourism<br />
New Zealand and other regional<br />
tourism organisations (RTO)<br />
and operators from around the<br />
country.<br />
Both trips allowed us to put<br />
the <strong>Waikato</strong> directly in front<br />
of significant audiences. We<br />
were welcomed effusively by<br />
our Australian friends who<br />
were very pleased to see us<br />
again, telling us there was huge<br />
demand amongst Australians<br />
for New Zealand business<br />
events and holidays.<br />
The first delegation visit was<br />
all about promoting the <strong>Waikato</strong><br />
to the valuable business events<br />
and incentive travel market.<br />
In networking events in Sydney,<br />
Melbourne, and Brisbane<br />
we were able to establish strong<br />
connections with qualified buyers,<br />
including professional conference<br />
organisers, corporates<br />
and associations.<br />
The <strong>Waikato</strong> is so diverse<br />
and very well suited for a range<br />
of business events including<br />
conferences, and for pre and<br />
post conference activities. We<br />
also have the facilities and the<br />
experiences incentive travel<br />
buyers seek for their clientele.<br />
Kiwi kai, music and song<br />
helped to make each event especially<br />
enjoyable – and memorable<br />
– for our guests.<br />
HWT joined forces with the<br />
rest of the RTO network for a<br />
trade delegation visit to Sydney<br />
led by Tourism Minister Stuart<br />
Nash. In a full day of presentations<br />
and appointments HWT<br />
undertook 29 one-on-one sessions<br />
with key Australian travel<br />
trade representatives.<br />
In pre COVID times, the<br />
trade event was an annual<br />
occurrence providing us with<br />
regular opportunities to connect<br />
in person with and update our<br />
Australian trade sellers.<br />
With our last trade show<br />
having been in 2019, we are<br />
thrilled to have had the opportunity<br />
to meet with these first-rate<br />
travel representatives again to<br />
showcase the <strong>Waikato</strong> and help<br />
them to create unforgettable<br />
holidays in our region for their<br />
Australian and global clients.<br />
Following the Sydney trade<br />
show, HWT travelled to the<br />
Gold Coast along with our<br />
tourism colleagues from the<br />
Central North Island Collective<br />
– Rotorua, Taupo, Ruapehu, the<br />
Coromandel, Hawkes Bay, the<br />
Bay of Plenty and Tairāwhiti.<br />
We met with key travel<br />
sellers including ANZCRO, a<br />
major wholesale company that<br />
has clients spread across Australia,<br />
the United Kingdom/<br />
Europe, the United States and<br />
beyond.<br />
HWT has a long-standing<br />
relationship with ANZCRO<br />
and spent the day re-introducing<br />
the company’s teams,<br />
including reservations staff,<br />
to the amazing diversity of<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong> experiences and<br />
accommodation, along with<br />
our combined central North<br />
Island region offering.<br />
In the next phase of Australian<br />
trade promotion for the<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong>, HWT will shortly team<br />
up with Destination Rotorua to<br />
present a webinar training session.<br />
This will include a virtual<br />
familiarisation tour around our<br />
regions and a live Q&A.<br />
With Australia, the largest<br />
international visitor market<br />
for New Zealand – and international<br />
visitors being 25 per<br />
cent of the <strong>Waikato</strong> tourism<br />
market – we are truly excited<br />
to have achieved these first two<br />
in-market visits. In a nutshell,<br />
they represent a vital step in the<br />
return of our tourism and related<br />
sectors and in ensuring we get a<br />
good share of arrivals this coming<br />
spring and summer.<br />
Fashion Fusion showcases ethical designs<br />
Shama Ethnic Women’s Trust Fashion<br />
Fusion Show recently presented a night of<br />
glamour and diversity. Showcasing fashion<br />
from around the world, the event provided<br />
an opportunity to learn about the “why” and<br />
“how” of garments and accessories from<br />
different cultures.<br />
The fashion show included ethical designs<br />
from Hamilton designer Ana Wilkinson-Gee’s<br />
Holi Boli shop on Ulster Street. A slow fashion<br />
advocate, Ana sells India-made designs as<br />
well as her recent NZ-made, limited-edition<br />
collections. Ana says like Shama, Holi Boli’s<br />
goal is to bring strength and empowerment to<br />
all ethnic women
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first registered NZ owner only and vehicle eligibility criteria applies. The advertised rebate or fee is subject to change at any time and will be reviewed and applied<br />
to your purchase at the time of vehicle registration. You are responsible for claiming the rebate directly from Waka Kotahi. Platinum warranty only validated if<br />
scheduled servicing is met through an Authorised Toyota Store or Service Agent. Capped price service coverage applies to servicing carried out at 15,000km,<br />
30,000km, 45,000km and 60,000km only or time intervals of 12 months, 24 months, 36 months, and 48 months, whichever occurs first under normal operating<br />
conditions. TDP and product specification is subject to change at any time. See Toyota.co.nz for further information, including CCP eligibility criteria, and warranty<br />
terms, conditions, and exclusions. Delivery delays expected across the Yaris range. Toyota Personalised Finance available on all new & used Toyota models.
8 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
Procedural Fairness Revisited<br />
You may (or may not) have noticed this column missing for<br />
a few months. It was not because I was sick with Covid,<br />
but more that I was sick of Covid. After all, there are only so<br />
many columns one can bear to write about wage subsidies,<br />
vaccine mandates and changes in traffic light settings<br />
So now for something completely<br />
different. Well, not<br />
completely different as I<br />
have written about what constitutes<br />
a fair process before, and<br />
I thought by now most employers<br />
had got it. That was until a<br />
recent dismissal I dealt with<br />
which made me realise that was<br />
not the case, even in a big company<br />
with an HR department.<br />
Learning what constitutes<br />
a fair process in employment<br />
law, will never be a waste of<br />
anyone’s time. You use it for<br />
redundancies, issuing warnings,<br />
suspensions and dismissals. In<br />
other words, when any action<br />
an employer is going to take is<br />
likely to result in a disgruntled<br />
employee.<br />
Ever shaken your head in<br />
confusion when reading an<br />
article where an employee did<br />
something outrageous, yet still<br />
got awarded compensation?<br />
Invariably, it will not be because<br />
there was not a good reason to<br />
dismiss the employee, but that<br />
the employer went about it the<br />
wrong way. For an employer’s<br />
action to be justified, it needs to<br />
be both substantively justified<br />
(the why) and carried out in a<br />
procedurally fair manner (the<br />
how).<br />
Let’s take a common example<br />
where an employee has<br />
done something wrong, which<br />
may result in a warning or a dismissal.<br />
The first, and often overlooked,<br />
step is always to dust<br />
off the employee’s individual<br />
employment agreement (‘IEA’)<br />
and check to see what’s in there<br />
in relation to disciplinaries.<br />
Some IEAs have very prescriptive<br />
terms that the parties agreed<br />
to when the employment commenced.<br />
Likewise, review any<br />
relevant policies. You must follow<br />
whatever is specified in the<br />
IEA or disciplinary policy to the<br />
letter.<br />
Following that, the employee<br />
should be presented with a letter<br />
that clearly specifies what allegations<br />
are being raised against<br />
them. Attach to the letter all<br />
evidence the employer may rely<br />
on when making a decision on<br />
the disciplinary outcome (be it<br />
CCTV footage, GPS printouts,<br />
signed/dated witness statements<br />
and any other relevant<br />
evidence). The letter must also<br />
state that the employee has the<br />
right to bring a support person<br />
or legal representative to the<br />
proposed disciplinary meeting<br />
and must state the potential<br />
maximum outcome, so the<br />
employee knows how serious<br />
the matter is being viewed by<br />
the employer.<br />
All of the above should be<br />
provided to the employee two to<br />
three days prior to a scheduled<br />
disciplinary meeting so that they<br />
have the opportunity to get legal<br />
advice and/or prepare evidence<br />
to counter the allegations. Also<br />
inform the employee that the<br />
meeting will be recorded, and<br />
they are welcome to record it<br />
also, or the employer will provide<br />
them with a copy after the<br />
meeting.<br />
During the meeting, listen to<br />
the employee’s explanation with<br />
an open mind. Predetermining<br />
the outcome of a disciplinary<br />
investigation is one of the most<br />
common breaches of procedural<br />
fairness, and is often disclosed<br />
inadvertently by an employer,<br />
even when they think they are<br />
cleverly disguising their true<br />
view of the matter.<br />
The employer is free to question<br />
the employee where they<br />
need more information or where<br />
what the employee is saying, is<br />
not stacking up against the evidence.<br />
Do not introduce new<br />
evidence during the meeting and<br />
expect the employee to come<br />
up with an answer on the spot.<br />
If new evidence arises between<br />
sending the disciplinary letter<br />
and the disciplinary meeting<br />
itself, provide it to the employee<br />
and reschedule the meeting so<br />
the employee has time to consider<br />
it before the meeting.<br />
Only once you have all the<br />
information, can you then go<br />
on to consider matters carefully<br />
and make a decision on whether<br />
the allegations are upheld and<br />
what the sanction should be. Do<br />
not make the decision at the end<br />
EMPLOYMENT LAW<br />
> BY ERIN BURKE<br />
Employment Lawyer and Director at practica Legal<br />
of the disciplinary meeting but<br />
let the employee know you will<br />
endeavour to make your decision<br />
as soon as you can (usually<br />
within 24 to 48 hours).<br />
Learning what<br />
constitutes a<br />
fair process in<br />
employment law, will<br />
never be a waste of<br />
anyone’s time.<br />
Where the sanction is serious<br />
such as a final written warning<br />
or dismissal, an additional step<br />
is recommended where you<br />
provide the employee with a<br />
letter that contains preliminary<br />
findings about whether the allegations<br />
are being upheld and a<br />
proposed outcome, and reasons<br />
for both. Allow the employee<br />
the opportunity to respond to the<br />
preliminary findings and proposed<br />
outcome, either in writing<br />
or in another meeting, and<br />
consider those responses before<br />
making and conveying the final<br />
decision.<br />
Where a suspension is<br />
involved, the same process<br />
above applies but in truncated<br />
form. First, check the IEA. If<br />
there is no clause allowing suspension,<br />
then it will be unlawful<br />
so don’t even go there. If there is<br />
a suspension clause, you need to<br />
still carefully consider whether<br />
there is good reason why the<br />
employee cannot remain in the<br />
workplace during the disciplinary<br />
investigation (and the<br />
grounds are very limited).<br />
You can propose suspension<br />
in the initial disciplinary letter,<br />
clearly stating the reasons the<br />
employer considers it necessary,<br />
advise the employee they<br />
can seek legal advice, and ask<br />
them to respond to the proposal<br />
(either in person or in writing)<br />
prior to making and conveying<br />
the final decision on suspension,<br />
usually within 24 hours<br />
of the letter being given to the<br />
employee.<br />
If still in doubt, call a specialist<br />
employment lawyer or Google<br />
it. There is simply no excuse<br />
these days for an employer failing<br />
to follow a basic fair process<br />
when there is ample information<br />
a mouse-click away.<br />
Eight common<br />
questions about Google<br />
Ads answered<br />
Google Ads are powerful.<br />
They can put your<br />
business right in front<br />
of your perfect target market<br />
just when they’re searching<br />
for your products or services.<br />
But they can be complex too.<br />
Here are common questions I<br />
get asked about Google Ads.<br />
How do Google Ads work?<br />
When people search on Google,<br />
ads are often shown above<br />
and below the search results.<br />
These ads look just like the<br />
organic results, except they<br />
have small text that says “Ad”<br />
beside the listing.<br />
Google Ads (previously<br />
known as AdWords) allows<br />
advertisers to select which<br />
searches we want our ads to<br />
show for. For example, if you<br />
run a plumbing business in<br />
Hamilton, you’ll want your<br />
ad to show up when people<br />
search for “plumbers Hamilton”.<br />
This makes Google Ads<br />
highly targeted.<br />
Google runs on a “pay per<br />
click” (PPC) basis, which<br />
means that you don’t pay for<br />
your ad to show; you only pay<br />
when someone clicks on your<br />
ad.<br />
Every time ads are shown<br />
Google runs an auction to<br />
determine which ads will<br />
appear, and in what order.<br />
There might be 30 advertisers<br />
wanting their ads to show, but<br />
Google will only show seven<br />
Search ads on the page (four<br />
ads at the top of the results,<br />
and three ads at the bottom).<br />
The biggest factor in determining<br />
which ads show, and<br />
in what order, is the budget<br />
of the advertiser – that is,<br />
what are they willing to pay if<br />
someone clicks the ad?<br />
What if my Google Ads<br />
campaign spends way<br />
more than expected?<br />
One of the very useful things<br />
about Google Ads is that we<br />
have very close control over<br />
budgets. If you’ve run out of<br />
budget for the day, your ads<br />
will simply stop showing for<br />
that day, and will reappear the<br />
next day.<br />
If I run Google Ads will that<br />
help our organic rankings?<br />
No, running Google Ads has<br />
no impact on your organic<br />
rankings at all. However, paying<br />
for ads means that your<br />
ads can show above the top<br />
organic rankings.<br />
Why doesn’t my ad always<br />
show?<br />
There are a number of reasons<br />
why your ad might not show.<br />
A common one is your budget<br />
– if you’re low on budget<br />
for the day because people<br />
clicked on your ads, and other<br />
advertisers still have budget<br />
left, their ads might show and<br />
yours not. Generally, there<br />
are more advertisers bidding<br />
than ad slots to show, so your<br />
ads will not show all the time.<br />
Why isn’t my ad always at<br />
the top?<br />
The ads at the top are the most<br />
expensive spots. Sometimes a<br />
competitor will bid more than<br />
you for a particular auction,<br />
and their ad will show higher.<br />
While being at the top is nice,<br />
sometimes being in a lower<br />
position means you can get<br />
more results because you’re<br />
paying less for each click.<br />
How do I know if Google<br />
Ads is working for my<br />
business?<br />
Tracking the results from<br />
your Google Ads is extremely<br />
important. If you have an<br />
ecommerce site the key figure<br />
you’ll be tracking is how<br />
much revenue came in from<br />
Google Ads traffic.<br />
Alternatively, if your business<br />
gets leads from ads, then<br />
you’ll track form fills (such<br />
as contact forms or quote<br />
requests) and phone calls.<br />
And by recording which leads<br />
came from Google Ads you<br />
can measure exactly how<br />
much revenue you receive<br />
from those customers.<br />
Should I run Google<br />
Ads? Will it work for my<br />
business?<br />
Google Ads doesn’t work for<br />
every business. In general,<br />
if people used to turn to the<br />
Yellow Pages to find your<br />
THE DIGITAL WORLD<br />
> BY JOSH MOORE<br />
Josh Moore is the head marketing fanatic at Duoplus, a<br />
Hamilton-based digital marketing agency that helps clients get<br />
more leads and sales through online marketing. www.duoplus.nz<br />
products or services, now they<br />
turn to Google. An agency can<br />
give you accurate estimates<br />
of the number of searches<br />
per month in your region that<br />
relate to your products or<br />
services. These figures can<br />
help you determine whether<br />
Google Ads is right for your<br />
business.<br />
How do we get more leads<br />
from our Google<br />
Ads campaign?<br />
The biggest secret we’ve<br />
found for increasing the number<br />
of leads from a campaign<br />
is to send Google Ads traffic<br />
to stand-alone landing pages,<br />
instead of a full website. Our<br />
tests have found that in most<br />
cases, using optimised landing<br />
pages can generate twice<br />
as many leads as sending traffic<br />
to a website!
NexDo delivers<br />
home services at<br />
your fingertips<br />
Described as the Uber of home services, NexDo recently<br />
expanded its services to the <strong>Waikato</strong> after a successful<br />
Auckland launch in 2021.<br />
NexDo connects home<br />
services providers<br />
with customers via<br />
bookings through an app or on<br />
a website.<br />
Founder Sakshin Niranjan<br />
helped launch ride-share<br />
company Ola in New Zealand<br />
in competition to Uber.<br />
While taking a break from<br />
Ola and searching for his own<br />
business to launch he noticed<br />
there wasn’t a home services<br />
platform in New Zealand.<br />
“This is not a new concept,<br />
it is in the US, Australia, and<br />
on the other markets as well.”<br />
When Covid hit, Niranjan<br />
realised many providers from<br />
the home services industry<br />
lost trade during the lockdowns.<br />
“There are close to 3000<br />
businesses in New Zealand<br />
doing home cleaning and<br />
lawn mowing. Not all of them<br />
are able to digitally attract<br />
customers. And everyone’s<br />
looking for things online.<br />
We provide that platform and<br />
there is no charge upfront. We<br />
give you the job, the job is<br />
100% paid for and only then<br />
we charge you a commission.”<br />
Similar to ride-share business<br />
models, the NexDo app<br />
matches vetted service professionals<br />
to nearby jobs, allowing<br />
already established small<br />
businesses the chance to utilise<br />
their unbooked windows.<br />
“It's as simple as bringing<br />
your business up onto the platform,<br />
and providing them with<br />
a network to connect with customers,”<br />
he says.<br />
The home service providers<br />
produce a Ministry of Justice<br />
certificate to show no convictions<br />
and NexDo require at<br />
least three years’ experience<br />
in their area of service.<br />
Fixed fees mean customers<br />
don’t have to waste time<br />
shopping around and sourcing<br />
quotes, instead, the NexDo<br />
app provides great value<br />
across the listed services,<br />
Niranjan says.<br />
“Our team takes care of all<br />
payments through our secure<br />
payment gateway, ensuring<br />
security for both customer<br />
and professional, leaving<br />
you stress-free knowing that<br />
everything is taken care of.”<br />
NexDo set the price and<br />
customers pay in advance for<br />
the service, much like they do<br />
with Uber and Airbnb.<br />
The providers are guaranteed<br />
payment for their services,<br />
but Niranjan says, with<br />
this comes the responsibility<br />
of doing a top-quality job.<br />
There are close to<br />
3000 businesses in<br />
New Zealand doing<br />
home cleaning and<br />
lawn mowing. Not<br />
all of them are able<br />
to digitally attract<br />
customers.<br />
“If there's a problem, we<br />
address that problem. We go<br />
to the service provider and<br />
say, ‘Hey, you've not done<br />
this’, and we send them back.<br />
We also take on refunds, or if<br />
they're genuinely not happy,<br />
then we investigate that. So<br />
that's the level of quality the<br />
customer gets from us.”<br />
It’s not only the customers<br />
who are reaping the benefits,<br />
NexDo founder<br />
Sakshin Niranjan<br />
Niranjan says, the providers<br />
can make up to $55 an hour<br />
after a 15 per cent commission<br />
is charged.<br />
“They’re actually making<br />
more money than they would<br />
in any other job working for a<br />
cleaning company.”<br />
Launched over a month<br />
ago in Hamilton, NexDo professionals<br />
currently provide<br />
home cleaning, moving out<br />
cleaning, carpet and upholstery<br />
cleaning, and will soon<br />
offer carwash and lawn mowing<br />
services.<br />
In the future, NexDo services<br />
will expand to include<br />
beauty services like manicures,<br />
pedicures and facials,<br />
home haircuts, bed-sitting and<br />
other home services.<br />
Niranjan partnered with<br />
digital expert Rod Snodgrass,<br />
former chief executive of<br />
Spark Ventures and a director<br />
of NexDo, to develop the<br />
business.<br />
NexDo has over 120 service<br />
providers across the<br />
country who have serviced<br />
over 10,000 customers since<br />
the launch in 2021<br />
CONVERSATIONS WITH MIKE NEALE<br />
OF NAI HARCOURTS HAMILTON<br />
Rent Reviews: Market vs CPI<br />
With the changing economic environment<br />
that we are experiencing,<br />
along with increased land<br />
and construction costs, this makes for<br />
an interesting discussion when it comes<br />
to leases and possible rent reviews outcomes,<br />
and how these factors may impact<br />
that outcome.<br />
Ratchet Clauses<br />
We have seen commercial ADLS leases<br />
move from hard ratchets (where rental<br />
could only rise and never fall), to soft<br />
ratchets where the rental cannot go below<br />
the commencement rental of the then current<br />
term, but can otherwise increase and<br />
decrease within a lease term. In reality,<br />
these soft ratchets appear to be a fairer<br />
model that better reflect the ups and downs<br />
within a market cycle.<br />
Over recent years and with inflation<br />
broadly sitting in the band of 1.5 percent<br />
- 2.5 percent, commonplace saw regular<br />
rent reviews to CPI, possibly with a plus<br />
factor, interspersed with market reviews.<br />
Now that inflation is the highest in nearly<br />
30 years at 6.9 percent and likely to remain<br />
for some time yet (for whatever reason, it<br />
has taken the Reserve Bank and government<br />
far longer to see what the general<br />
public has seemingly known for well over<br />
18 months now), we are starting to see tenants<br />
review how they might want to deal<br />
with future rent reviews in new leases.<br />
There are three common Rent<br />
Review methods:<br />
Market<br />
This is where the rental is compared to<br />
other premises in the current market, when<br />
taking into account quality, size, location,<br />
landlord improvements etc. Should a<br />
Tenant not agree to the Landlords assessment<br />
of market rental, disagreement may<br />
lead to a time consuming and potentially<br />
costly dispute. Invariably a landlord having<br />
a market rental valuation undertaken<br />
by a registered valuer, will be higher than<br />
that conducted by the tenant. While market<br />
should reflect “the market”, the element<br />
of opinion as to what this should be,<br />
will often occur between the assessments<br />
carried out between the Landlord’s and<br />
Tenant’s respective valuers.<br />
CPI<br />
The CPI (Consumer Price Index) rent<br />
review is recognised as an increase (or<br />
decrease) measured by the rate of inflation.<br />
They are simple to understand and administer,<br />
while also being less likely to lead<br />
to a dispute – useful, as long as the commencement<br />
rental is at or near a market<br />
level. It allows both parties to plan ahead<br />
and budget for their costs. With CPI having<br />
remained low for an extended period, it<br />
was not uncommon for the figure agreed to<br />
be CPI plus a percentage - +1 percent, even<br />
up to +3 percent<br />
Fixed Percentage<br />
This is where an agreed percentage increase<br />
will take place and the regularity of those<br />
increases. They also are simple to understand<br />
and simple to administer. The risk<br />
here, is that unless there are interspersed<br />
with market reviews, that potentially the<br />
rental may end up being significantly<br />
higher or lower than its actual market<br />
value. One such instance that I am aware<br />
of had a 12 year term and annual increases<br />
of 5 percent compounding – more than<br />
10 years on, this now has the effect of the<br />
rental being some 20 percent ahead of its<br />
true market level.<br />
So what are we witnessing today?<br />
Increasingly, it’s a combination of the<br />
above. This usually provides a fairer<br />
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
Mike Neale - Managing Director,<br />
NAI Harcourts Hamilton.<br />
outcome when balancing the Landlords<br />
requirements for growth and the Tenants<br />
desire to keep increases at a minimum.<br />
When assessing the mixture<br />
of potential rent review<br />
mechanisms, the first question<br />
to consider is whether the<br />
commencement rental is in<br />
fact at a market level”<br />
This mixture of fixed or CPI reviews,<br />
interspersed with market reviews, provides<br />
growth for Landlords, while providing certainly<br />
for both Tenants and Landlords. This<br />
combination ensures that neither party is<br />
paying significantly above or below market<br />
rates. It’s important to note that just<br />
because a rent Market Review is due, it<br />
does not necessarily mean that there will<br />
be an increase.<br />
The mixture of review mechanisms<br />
often includes what is referred to as a “Cap<br />
and Collar”, where CPI Rent Reviews or<br />
Fixed Percentage Reviews are followed<br />
by mid term Market Rent Reviews. Collar<br />
restrictions prevent the rental from falling<br />
below a predetermined level, while the Cap<br />
restriction prevents the rental from rising<br />
above a predetermined amount. Essentially<br />
it reflects the best and worst case scenarios<br />
for both Landlords and Tenants.<br />
One recent lease we undertook, had a<br />
Cap and Collar clause reflecting that the<br />
increase shall be the greater of 2.0 percent<br />
per annum or CPI, with CPI to be capped<br />
at 8 percent over the two year period. The<br />
end outcome under this scenario will see<br />
the rental increase by between 2.0 percent<br />
- 4.0 percent per annum<br />
So, considering a new lease? Then<br />
contemplate incorporating a balance of<br />
mechanisms. Leases reflect long term<br />
relationships between Tenants and<br />
Landlords, so Rent Reviews that look<br />
to reduce the potential for disputes<br />
between Landlords and Tenants, will<br />
likely ensure smoother sailing for both<br />
parties.<br />
It is important to seek professional<br />
legal advice from a qualified professional,<br />
before entering into a lease agreement.<br />
9<br />
NAI Harcourts Hamilton<br />
Monarch Commercial Ltd MREINZ Licensed<br />
Agent REAA 2008<br />
Cnr Victoria & London Streets, HAMILTON<br />
07 850 5252 | hamilton@naiharcourts.co.nz<br />
www.naiharcourts.co.nz
10 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
What about the ‘S’? - A social lens on ESG<br />
After climate, one of the next ESG priorities<br />
is social. Are you ready?<br />
Results from PwC’s<br />
annual global investor<br />
survey show greenhouse<br />
gas emissions to be the leading<br />
individual Environmental,<br />
Social and Governance (ESG)<br />
consideration for investors and<br />
an important factor in decision<br />
making. However, the survey<br />
highlights that sustainability<br />
for businesses needs to be about<br />
more than emissions reduction<br />
and notes an increased focus<br />
on the social element of ESG.<br />
Following emissions reduction,<br />
the top three cited ESG<br />
issues for global investors;<br />
ensuring worker health and<br />
safety; improving workforce<br />
and executive diversity equity<br />
and inclusion, and addressing<br />
human rights in the supply<br />
chain. Interestingly, for Australia<br />
and New Zealand respondents,<br />
the level of importance<br />
given to these social issues was<br />
higher than the global average.<br />
their employer is making<br />
a difference, which plays<br />
a strong role in staff retention.<br />
In the talent acquisition<br />
processes, you’re under<br />
interview too!<br />
• It makes business sense<br />
<strong>Business</strong>es are rethinking<br />
who they buy from and do<br />
business with, and are now<br />
considering both positive<br />
and negative impacts their<br />
wider supply chain has on<br />
achieving their social objectives<br />
- these decisions have<br />
commercial impact. For<br />
example, this may involve<br />
investigating modern slavery<br />
in the supply chain, and<br />
gender and cultural diversity<br />
in terms of pay gaps,<br />
employment practices and<br />
procurement.<br />
What can organisations<br />
focus on?<br />
Because of the increasing<br />
importance of social measures<br />
for customers, employees and<br />
investors, ESG needs to be<br />
more than a tick box and companies<br />
need to place ESG at<br />
the heart of their businesses.<br />
Focus should include:<br />
- Which social risks and<br />
opportunities have a material<br />
impact on reputation,<br />
compliance or performance?<br />
- What metrics should we<br />
be using to measure and<br />
report progress and how are<br />
we positioning to achieve<br />
them?<br />
- Do we have the capacity,<br />
interest and skills to<br />
develop an ESG strategy?<br />
If not, how do we plug the<br />
skills gap?<br />
- Do we have the systems and<br />
processes to track and monitor<br />
our progress?<br />
- How do we use incentives<br />
and structure in the business<br />
to steer towards our social<br />
goals?<br />
- Are we taking an interest<br />
in regulation that might<br />
affect us? Have your say<br />
on MBIE’s open consultations<br />
on Modern Slavery<br />
and Worker Exploitation<br />
proposal (closing 7 <strong>June</strong><br />
<strong>2022</strong>).<br />
More information on how<br />
to drive improvements in<br />
social outcomes through your<br />
corporate strategy and day to<br />
day operations can be found<br />
at www.pwc.co.nz/services/<br />
consulting/sustainability/sustainable-products-procurement-and-supply-chains.<br />
We know New Zealand<br />
businesses have started incorporating<br />
climate risk and opportunities<br />
into strategy and risk<br />
management, some have begun<br />
transforming the way they do<br />
business. Where is your business<br />
on this journey and are you<br />
ready to start thinking about the<br />
‘S’ in this way?<br />
Why are social issues<br />
important?<br />
• It’s the right thing to do<br />
The COVID pandemic,<br />
rising inflation and global<br />
conflict have brought to<br />
light the consequences of<br />
overlooking ESG issues.<br />
These recent events have<br />
brought some real-work<br />
meaning to the long-term<br />
call to address environmental,<br />
social and governance<br />
issues as simply the<br />
right thing to do, and an<br />
increased expectation that<br />
businesses can and should<br />
play a leading role.<br />
• It’s personal<br />
Employees and job-seekers<br />
see it as increasingly<br />
important for organisations<br />
to be living (or at least<br />
developing) their ESG<br />
story. They can afford to<br />
choose who they work for,<br />
and current employees are<br />
seeking confirmation that<br />
TAXATION AND THE LAW<br />
> BY VICTORIA ASHPLANT<br />
Director PwC Global Reporting<br />
TAXATION AND THE LAW<br />
> BY BROOKE HEATH<br />
Financial Assurance Manager<br />
Procuta Associates<br />
Urban + Architecture<br />
Contact us 07 839 6521<br />
www.pauaarchitects.co.nz
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
11<br />
Matamata tech business has global reach<br />
Written By STEVE EDWARDS<br />
Behind the doors of a previously vacant<br />
upstairs office block in Matamata lies an<br />
information technology business which<br />
now has a global reach.<br />
LuminateOne, founded<br />
while directors Tim<br />
Hampton and Nick<br />
Humphries were still students<br />
at <strong>Waikato</strong> University, has<br />
recorded five million views<br />
worldwide since its formation<br />
just five years ago.<br />
With a customer base<br />
stretching to the United States,<br />
the business software specialist<br />
has a diverse portfolio ranging<br />
from garden mulch and quarrying<br />
through to vehicles and<br />
food.<br />
Tim and Nick met while<br />
completing computer science<br />
degrees in Hamilton, with both<br />
hired by the university for two<br />
different roles each – cyber<br />
security lab research and App<br />
development.<br />
With a similar skillset, on<br />
top of this workload at university<br />
they were also offered job<br />
“pitches” by fellow students.<br />
Their big break however<br />
came while still on campus<br />
when they were asked to bring<br />
their software development<br />
skills to food delivery service<br />
Yummy.Com<br />
With university degrees in<br />
The LuminateOne Team - Back left: Todd Moody, Jason Taylor, Craig Le Valliant,<br />
Juliet Shaw, Nick Humphries, Tim Hampton, Katrina Rose. Front left: Reece<br />
Gilbert, Laura Edgington, Emma Campbell, James Wylie, Jordan Laing.<br />
hand, Tim and Nick both had<br />
projects ‘on the go’ but needed<br />
premises to work out of.<br />
By chance the former Transport<br />
Building on the corner of<br />
Arawa and Tui Streets in Matamata<br />
was being renovated.<br />
Tim and Nick, not over-confident<br />
of business success, initially<br />
opted for a single-year<br />
lease with right of renewal.<br />
“Now, we (including sister<br />
website development company<br />
Mata Digital) can’t get enough<br />
space.”<br />
LuminateOne started out<br />
with a staff of three interns,<br />
all mates from university, and<br />
has now grown to 13 fulltime<br />
employees.<br />
Clientele includes the American<br />
Software Testing Qualifications<br />
Board, along with the<br />
New Zealand operations for<br />
vehicle brands Hyundai, Isuzu<br />
and Renault.<br />
There is no point<br />
reinventing the<br />
wheel. But if you<br />
can innovate to<br />
gain a competitive<br />
edge, that’s where<br />
businesses start<br />
to see the magic<br />
happening. It<br />
ultimately saves time<br />
and money.<br />
Tim and Nick say a replacement<br />
website and App they<br />
developed for healthy food specialist<br />
A Little Bit Yummy drew<br />
a million viewers in its first year<br />
of operation.<br />
Clients closer to home<br />
include leading Matamata businesses<br />
J Swap Contractors and<br />
Daltons.<br />
“It’s just about doing really<br />
excellent work,” Tim and Nick<br />
say. “We build innovative digital<br />
platforms which let businesses<br />
improve their customer<br />
experiences and grow their bottom<br />
line.”<br />
They say investing in innovation<br />
makes for a highly successful<br />
business.<br />
“There is no point reinventing<br />
the wheel. But if you can<br />
innovate to gain a competitive<br />
edge, that’s where businesses<br />
start to see the magic happening.<br />
It ultimately saves time and<br />
money.”<br />
Nick and Tim say software<br />
platforms are tailored to suit<br />
the respective business, covering<br />
aspects including stocktake,<br />
timesheets, sales reporting,<br />
customer relations, billing and<br />
ordering.<br />
“A lot of what we do now is<br />
critical for businesses. We are<br />
the heartbeat,” they say.<br />
While Covid has obviously<br />
hit hard, they point to an acute<br />
labour shortage as the greatest<br />
crisis currently facing the tech<br />
industry.<br />
However, Nick and Tim<br />
remain confident about the<br />
future of LuminateOne.<br />
The five-year plan includes<br />
a second office in New Zealand<br />
– probably Christchurch<br />
or Wellington – and 40 staff<br />
working out of the Matamata<br />
headquarters.<br />
Nick and Tim say Luminate-<br />
One is also proud of its social<br />
good element, such as subsidised<br />
work on booking systems<br />
and customer data for the<br />
Matamata Community Health<br />
Shuttle.<br />
Sponsorships by the company<br />
include Matamata College<br />
and Matamata Racing Club.<br />
Empowering the <strong>Waikato</strong> to take action<br />
against food waste – food rescue app<br />
launches in the region<br />
The <strong>Waikato</strong> region is receiving a sustainability boost to its<br />
hospitality sector with Foodprint, a new tool that connects<br />
customers to discounted surplus food from local eateries,<br />
officially launching in Hamilton, Cambridge, Te Awamutu and<br />
Raglan recently.<br />
Combating the climate<br />
crisis by minimising<br />
food from going to<br />
waste, Foodprint operates<br />
by offering generously discounted<br />
surplus food from<br />
eateries to customers to ‘rescue’<br />
before it is thrown out.<br />
Customers order and pay for<br />
food in the app before collecting<br />
directly from the eateries,<br />
with the significant discounts<br />
ranging from 30 to 90 percent<br />
off the normal retail price.<br />
Almost 50,000 tonnes of<br />
food is wasted by the hospitality<br />
and retail sectors in<br />
New Zealand each year, over<br />
60 percent of which is still<br />
edible. When food is thrown<br />
out it decomposes in landfills<br />
and emits the greenhouse gas<br />
methane, making food waste<br />
a huge contributor to climate<br />
change.<br />
Foodprint has partnered<br />
with around 40 eateries across<br />
the region including Weave<br />
Eatery, Hayes Common, The<br />
Organic Food Store, Reload<br />
Coffee Shop, The Herbal Dispensary<br />
and Pickle & Plum.<br />
They join the community of<br />
400 eateries in Auckland and<br />
Wellington reducing their<br />
‘foodprint’ with the app with<br />
customers ‘rescuing’ their surplus<br />
food.<br />
“We are excited to be continuing<br />
our nationwide expansion<br />
by bringing Foodprint to<br />
the <strong>Waikato</strong> region,” Foodprint<br />
founder Michal Garvey<br />
says. “Foodprint is a sustainability<br />
driven app that gives<br />
customers a chance to take<br />
a bite at saving the planet.<br />
Addressing food waste has<br />
been identified as one of the<br />
top actions to combat the climate<br />
crisis and is currently<br />
under consultation through<br />
Ministry for the Environment.”<br />
Foodprint has been working<br />
with the local councils to<br />
open their service up to the<br />
region. “When I read about the<br />
Foodprint app, I knew it was<br />
something I wanted to support<br />
the roll out of for our district.<br />
The app and its mission align<br />
with the council’s food waste<br />
minimisation objectives and<br />
we hope it will provide a way<br />
for local businesses to get as<br />
much monetary value in their<br />
pockets as possible for food<br />
they have prepared,” Waipā<br />
District Council waste minimisation<br />
officer Sally Fraser<br />
says.<br />
Café operators have praised<br />
Foodprint for its sustainability<br />
purpose and usability.<br />
“Foodprint is genius, it’s a<br />
beautiful and easy to use app<br />
which means we can get our<br />
delicious lovingly made food<br />
into someone’s tummy that<br />
previously would have ended<br />
up in the compost,” Ponsonby’s<br />
Little Bird Kitchen<br />
founder Megan says. “We<br />
waste less, and it gives people<br />
access to food that might<br />
usually be out of their price<br />
range.”<br />
Foodprint launched in<br />
Auckland in 2019. Last year,<br />
Garvey took part in the country’s<br />
first Climate Response<br />
Accelerator, a new programme<br />
hosted by Wellington’s<br />
Creative HQ to supercharge<br />
innovative start-ups<br />
tackling climate change challenges.<br />
This enabled Foodprint<br />
to launch in Wellington<br />
and prepare them for nationwide<br />
growth in <strong>2022</strong>, starting<br />
with the <strong>Waikato</strong>.
Fieldays <strong>2022</strong><br />
gearing up to<br />
be a bumper<br />
summer event<br />
Fieldays attendees will have to swap their<br />
winter coats and gumboots for jandals and<br />
sunnies, with the iconic four-day agri event<br />
being held in summer for the first time in its<br />
54-year history.<br />
From the farmers eager to<br />
get their annual Fieldays<br />
fix to townies looking to<br />
get a taste of what’s on offer,<br />
Fieldays <strong>2022</strong> will showcase<br />
the whole food and fibre journey,<br />
from farm to plate.<br />
Shifting Fieldays <strong>2022</strong> to<br />
November 30 to December 3<br />
was not an easy decision but<br />
will ensure the popular fourday<br />
agri event can run to its full<br />
potential. The shift also provides<br />
a one-off opportunity for<br />
Aotearoa New Zealand organisations<br />
to exhibit, when usually<br />
cannot attend during the<br />
event’s traditional <strong>June</strong> period.<br />
Other benefits of a summer<br />
Fieldays also include: no brav-<br />
ing the chilly winter mornings,<br />
thick fog causing flight delays,<br />
longer days, better weather,<br />
and a good opportunity to do<br />
some Christmas shopping!<br />
The largest agri event in the<br />
Southern Hemisphere plans<br />
to end <strong>2022</strong> with a bang, considering<br />
last year’s event was<br />
a huge success. Fieldays 2021<br />
saw 132,776 people visit the<br />
event, becoming the second<br />
biggest in the event’s 53-year<br />
history.<br />
It also generated an impressive<br />
$675m in sales revenue<br />
for New Zealand firms with<br />
$234m going into the <strong>Waikato</strong><br />
region alone. Plus, $330m<br />
additional GDP was generated<br />
for the New Zealand economy<br />
at Fieldays 2021, and almost<br />
3,000 jobs were sustained.<br />
Chief Executive of the<br />
New Zealand National Fieldays<br />
Society, Peter Nation,<br />
says despite its vital boost to<br />
the local economy, Fieldays<br />
is much more than just doing<br />
business.<br />
“Fieldays is not just a platform<br />
for primary sector businesses<br />
to trade, it’s also a destination<br />
for families, friends, and<br />
the primary industries to come<br />
together.<br />
“Having that sense of connection<br />
is important for our<br />
wellbeing and bolsters our<br />
identity as Kiwis - events are<br />
in our DNA.”<br />
As an extension of the physical<br />
event, an engaging mix of<br />
content will be livestreamed on<br />
FieldaysTV, a good alternative<br />
for those who can’t make it to<br />
Mystery Creek in November.<br />
FieldaysTV content will be<br />
filmed in real-time at the heart<br />
of the event in a glass studio<br />
based on the Village Green,<br />
highly visible to passers-by<br />
and in a convenient location<br />
for live crosses to exhibitor<br />
sites. After the gates close at<br />
the end of the day, visitors<br />
can tune into Fieldays TV on<br />
demand.<br />
We are very much<br />
looking forward to<br />
opening the gates<br />
in November for a<br />
summer celebration<br />
of Aotearoa’s primary<br />
sector.<br />
FieldaysTV will also run<br />
different series that shine a<br />
spotlight on the people that<br />
drive the New Zealand primary<br />
sector forward. Discover local<br />
stories of young people making<br />
their way in the primary<br />
sector, heart-warming stories<br />
about our rural communities,<br />
and delicious recipes from top<br />
Kiwi chefs!<br />
Shifting the popular fourday<br />
agri event also means that<br />
the gates at Mystery Creek will<br />
open to international visitors<br />
and exhibitors as Aotearoa<br />
New Zealand’s borders are set<br />
to open by 31 July.<br />
“As a world-renowned<br />
event, it will be incredible to be<br />
able to welcome attendees and<br />
organisations from across the<br />
globe for the first time since<br />
2019,” Peter says.<br />
“The conversations, connections,<br />
and meetings that<br />
could potentially take place<br />
at Fieldays <strong>2022</strong> would help<br />
drive our primary sector’s output<br />
and reputation worldwide.”<br />
He also notes that the event<br />
being positioned in November/<br />
December will suit those planning<br />
their summer holidays<br />
around the event.<br />
“The timing of Fieldays<br />
<strong>2022</strong> will suit many attending<br />
from overseas, who may<br />
choose to attend Fieldays and<br />
then enjoy a long summer holiday<br />
with friends and whānau.<br />
This within itself will bring<br />
an economic boost and muchneeded<br />
tourism to our regions.”<br />
“We are very much looking<br />
forward to opening the gates in<br />
November for a summer celebration<br />
of Aotearoa’s primary<br />
sector.”<br />
Fieldays is based on a<br />
114-hectare site at Mystery<br />
Creek 10 minutes from Hamilton<br />
and is the largest agricultural<br />
event in the Southern<br />
Hemisphere. Fieldays <strong>2022</strong><br />
has been postponed until<br />
Wednesday November 30 to<br />
Saturday December 3, <strong>2022</strong>.<br />
Head to fieldays.co.nz for more<br />
information.<br />
SAME SAME<br />
BUT<br />
DIFFERENT<br />
30 NOV-3DEC
Connect - Grow - Inspire - Represent<br />
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
13<br />
Problem solving<br />
with Extended<br />
Reality (XR)<br />
Extended reality (XR) technology is helping Company-X<br />
clients increase efficiency.<br />
TECH TALK<br />
> BY LANCE BAUERFEIND<br />
A senior consultant at <strong>Waikato</strong> software specialist Company-X and<br />
product owner of Voxcoda, a flexible, easy-to-use text-to-speech<br />
technology platform that anyone can use.<br />
Born to Inspire<br />
The Chamber has added INSPIRE to its Purpose<br />
Statement to now read Connect, Grow, Inspire<br />
and Represent.<br />
Inspire is what Chambers were historically<br />
designed to do. When James<br />
Shiner Bond created the <strong>Waikato</strong><br />
Chamber back in 1906, it was precisely<br />
to inspire people to come to Hamilton<br />
and the <strong>Waikato</strong> to connect and grow<br />
their families and their futures.<br />
Whether it was inspiring members<br />
to trade along the silk road route or to<br />
ship cargo by sea, the first ever Chamber<br />
of Commerce born in 1599 in Marseille,<br />
France, through its trading links,<br />
brought its members together for a<br />
common purpose and inspired them to<br />
connect, share and take action to protect<br />
their business interests long into<br />
the future.<br />
XR technology blends<br />
the real world with the<br />
digital worlds creating<br />
both augmented reality (AR)<br />
and virtual reality (VR) solutions<br />
to overcome complex<br />
business problems.<br />
<strong>Business</strong>es are looking for<br />
ways to increase productivity,<br />
profitability and efficiency<br />
and seek to know the technology<br />
options that will enable<br />
that. They hear buzzwords<br />
and acronyms like AI (Artificial<br />
Intelligence), AR, VR,<br />
XR and ML (Machine Learning)<br />
and want to know if these<br />
technologies can help solve<br />
their problems.<br />
AR is still an emerging<br />
technology, nevertheless it is<br />
one form of technology that<br />
Company-X has used to solve<br />
problems for clients.<br />
A leading manufacturer of<br />
whiteware appliances askedhow<br />
Company-X could project<br />
information onto an appliance<br />
in the real world, to help<br />
explain its features.<br />
There are multiple AR<br />
solutions available,<br />
and our job is to make<br />
sure you have got<br />
the right one for the<br />
problem we are trying<br />
to solve.<br />
Company-X built a smartphone<br />
app that overlaid interactive<br />
Computer-Generated<br />
Imagery (CGI) augmented<br />
with interactive text over the<br />
whiteware appliance.<br />
The app could be used by a<br />
sales assistant to demonstrate<br />
product features to potential<br />
buyers on the showroom floor.<br />
The sales assistant could<br />
launch the app on their phone<br />
or tablet, point the camera at<br />
the appliance and see information<br />
about all its controls.<br />
Each dial and switch is<br />
contextualised with text<br />
explaining its function, with<br />
the functionality simulated<br />
when it is selected in the app.<br />
The app could also be used<br />
as an interactive AR user<br />
manual once the buyer had the<br />
appliance at home, negating<br />
the need for a bulky printed<br />
manual or PDF file.<br />
The manufacturer could<br />
use the app to track the most<br />
asked questions about its<br />
products and use that data<br />
to inform enhancements and<br />
improvements.<br />
With this technology you<br />
could see augmented reality<br />
simulations of any manner of<br />
appliances working: an oven<br />
cooking, a dishwasher washing,<br />
a microwave working, all<br />
through 3D animations.<br />
You could even look inside<br />
at the workings of the appliance<br />
with augmented reality<br />
cutaways.<br />
Despite projects like this,<br />
where it is the perfect solution<br />
in a very controlled environment,<br />
AR is still very much<br />
an emerging and unrefined<br />
technology for less controlled<br />
scenarios.<br />
Clients ask whether they<br />
can use a phone or wear an<br />
AR headset or glasses to project<br />
information into an area to<br />
assist in the repair of a piece<br />
of machinery. We can do that,<br />
but there are always questions<br />
about the practicalities.<br />
There are health and safety<br />
considerations. For example,<br />
is the user able to hold an AR<br />
device in their hand and look<br />
at small screen safely while<br />
carrying out their activity,<br />
or would an AR headset be<br />
safer? Or would an AR headset<br />
obscure the user’s vision<br />
and put them at risk from<br />
other workplace dangers?<br />
Could the AR headset<br />
withstand the working environment?<br />
Is it dusty or wet?<br />
What lighting conditions do<br />
you need for the technology<br />
to work properly? Is Wi-Fi<br />
available?<br />
There are multiple AR<br />
solutions available, and our<br />
job is to make sure you have<br />
got the right one for the problem<br />
we are trying to solve.<br />
The fact that scarcity of<br />
resources and in particular<br />
food is a megatrend,<br />
ensures the <strong>Waikato</strong> with<br />
its food basket economy<br />
will be a key part of New<br />
Zealand’s export economy<br />
for decades to come.<br />
It was fitting at our most recent<br />
monthly INSPIRE event hosted by<br />
Ryan Hamilton that we listened to Chris<br />
Joblin, the CEO of Tainui Group Holdings,<br />
speaking about the aspirations and<br />
actions TGH has for the <strong>Waikato</strong>.<br />
Quietly spoken, with a great deal of<br />
forethought and passion, Chris outlined<br />
the global megatrends he and TGH<br />
have considered as they have laid out<br />
their future. His key point was that the<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong> and Hamilton are at the nexus<br />
of several MEGATRENDS and thus<br />
perfectly placed to take advantage of<br />
them.<br />
Indeed, he saw Hamilton becoming<br />
New Zealand’s number two city. Sitting<br />
centrally as the <strong>Waikato</strong> does, we are<br />
New Zealand’s logistics capital. The<br />
arrival of Maersk, one of the world’s<br />
largest shipping lines, building a major<br />
transhipment coldstore at the Ruakura<br />
By Don Good, CEO of <strong>Waikato</strong><br />
Chamber of Commerce.<br />
SuperHub, only reinforces that view.<br />
The fact that scarcity of resources<br />
and in particular food is a megatrend,<br />
ensures the <strong>Waikato</strong> with its food basket<br />
economy will be a key part of New<br />
Zealand’s export economy for decades<br />
to come.<br />
Insights into transport, agriculture<br />
and technology followed. Of real interest<br />
was TGH’s view on Hamilton’s<br />
CBD. They are the largest landowner in<br />
the city and have great plans for development<br />
of their properties, all of which<br />
will make a significant difference to<br />
the <strong>Waikato</strong> and need some long term<br />
decisions on infrastructure by our city<br />
leaders.<br />
TGH’s commitment to the city and<br />
the <strong>Waikato</strong> certainly gave his early<br />
morning audience a lot to ponder on.<br />
Are TGH aspirational? Absolutely.<br />
Are they inspiring? Absolutely. Is there<br />
opportunity for all? Absolutely.<br />
To view a copy of the session, contact<br />
info@waikatochamber.co.nz.<br />
There is strategic opportunity in his<br />
presentation for your business to understand<br />
and adapt to. Inspiring thinking<br />
and actions.<br />
BUSINESS<br />
AWARDS<br />
Connect - Grow - Inspire - Represent<br />
<strong>2022</strong><br />
WAIKATO CHAMBER<br />
OF COMMERCE<br />
PROUDLY<br />
SUPPORTED BY<br />
206594AE
14 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
CONFERENCE, EVENTS AND VENUES<br />
Mighty <strong>Waikato</strong>:<br />
Welcoming business<br />
events once again<br />
From testing your nerve at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park<br />
– on track at high speeds or off road wrangling the rough –<br />
to sipping specially brewed SouthFarthing ale at Hobbiton<br />
Movie Set, the <strong>Waikato</strong> region has what it takes to make a<br />
memorable business event, or incentive trip, says Hamilton &<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong> Tourism’s <strong>Business</strong> Events Manager, Aimee Tyson.<br />
As well as continuing to<br />
encourage New Zealand<br />
organisations,<br />
including local companies and<br />
groups, to stage their events in<br />
the <strong>Waikato</strong>, Tyson says the<br />
sector is excited to be able to<br />
welcome international guests<br />
once again following the<br />
re-opening of borders.<br />
“Planning and preparing<br />
for guests is a very important<br />
part of the hospitality – the<br />
manaakitanga – that we here<br />
in the <strong>Waikato</strong> extend not<br />
only to our own people but<br />
also to visitors to the region.<br />
All of us in tourism, hospitality<br />
and events are so elated<br />
that we can readily host business<br />
events again and that<br />
there are no longer restrictions<br />
on gatherings.”<br />
Tyson, along with seven<br />
of the region’s leading business<br />
events/incentive organisations,<br />
is representing<br />
the <strong>Waikato</strong> at the coming<br />
Meetings <strong>2022</strong> business<br />
events trade show in Christchurch<br />
(15-16 <strong>June</strong>) which is<br />
attended by qualified events<br />
and incentive buyers from<br />
around the country and Australia.<br />
Participating will be<br />
Claudelands Conference and<br />
Events Centre, Novotel Hamilton<br />
Tainui, Hobbiton Movie<br />
Set, Discover Waitomo, Mystery<br />
Creek Events Centre, Jet<br />
Park Hamilton Airport and<br />
Hampton Downs Motorsport<br />
Park.<br />
Claudelands is one of the<br />
world-class conferencing<br />
facilities in Hamilton.<br />
Set in 34 hectares of parkland<br />
but just a 10-minute<br />
walk from the central city<br />
eateries, bars, retail precincts,<br />
art galleries, museums, and<br />
accommodation options,<br />
Claudelands has flexible<br />
spaces capable of hosting<br />
1,200 or more delegates,<br />
supreme facilities and a talented<br />
team ready to deliver<br />
outstanding events.<br />
In the heart of the city,<br />
Novotel Hamilton Tainui<br />
recently fully refurbished its<br />
six conference spaces with<br />
state-of-the-art facilities that<br />
are ready to welcome up to<br />
300 delegates seated theatre-style<br />
or 200 for a banquet<br />
dinner. The hotel has<br />
217 guest rooms.<br />
The whimsey of Hobbiton<br />
Movie Set proves to be quite<br />
the inspiration for creative<br />
thinking at many of the business<br />
events staged on location<br />
where the Hobbit and<br />
Lord of the Rings trilogies<br />
were filmed.<br />
A guided tour of the set<br />
is included, and the range of<br />
event spaces is creative too<br />
with the ability to accommodate<br />
large groups (think<br />
1,000-plus). These include<br />
The Yard, where dining is al<br />
fresco, the celebrated Green<br />
Dragon Inn and the specially<br />
constructed Hub with its<br />
up-to-the-minute equipped<br />
meeting rooms.<br />
From convivial team<br />
building activities to<br />
mind-blowing adventures<br />
underground in the caves,<br />
Discover Waitomo ensures<br />
delegates and incentive visitors<br />
have the best of times.<br />
Stunning native bush is the<br />
backdrop for the specially<br />
designed event spaces.<br />
At the multi-purpose<br />
Mystery Creek Events Centre<br />
flexibility is the name of<br />
the game. There is a wide<br />
range of indoor and outdoor<br />
event spaces to choose<br />
from for exhibitions, conventions,<br />
tradeshows, large<br />
conferences, festivals, corporate<br />
meetings, gala dinners,<br />
memorials and more.<br />
Re-opening on 8 August<br />
after being a managed isolation<br />
and quarantine (MIQ)<br />
facility, Jet Park Hamilton<br />
Airport has a fine reputation<br />
for the outstanding care and<br />
hospitality extended to all<br />
visitors at any time. The hotel<br />
has even won two awards for<br />
the way it looked after guests<br />
during this period. Jet Park<br />
has fully equipped meeting<br />
rooms, ballrooms, boardrooms<br />
– and guest rooms<br />
– that readily cater for up to<br />
200 seated theatre-style.<br />
A hot lap in a Lamborghini<br />
or getting behind the<br />
wheel in a go-kart are among<br />
the exhilarating team building<br />
experiences at Hampton<br />
Downs where there are conferencing<br />
facilities catering<br />
for up to 500 guests. The<br />
motorsports park’s location<br />
halfway between Auckland<br />
and Hamilton make it a convenient<br />
destination.<br />
We’re<br />
here to<br />
help<br />
Meet in the<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong><br />
Be a Mighty Local<br />
- we’re here to help<br />
with your next<br />
business event<br />
businessevents@waikatonz.com<br />
www.meetwaikato.com
CONFERENCE, EVENTS AND VENUES<br />
H3 rolls out the welcome<br />
mat for events once again<br />
The H3 team are thrilled to be welcoming<br />
all events back to its venues following the<br />
lifting of capacity restrictions.<br />
Melissa Williams, H3’s<br />
<strong>Business</strong> Development<br />
and Sales<br />
Manager - <strong>Business</strong> Events,<br />
says it has been fantastic to see<br />
people so keen to reconnect<br />
and do business in person once<br />
again.<br />
“While technology is great<br />
when we can’t physically be<br />
together, nothing beats meeting<br />
and doing business in person.<br />
Building relationships face to<br />
face, being able to read each<br />
other’s body language and<br />
making real in-person connections<br />
are so important to life and<br />
business.”<br />
Melissa says H3 has been<br />
hosting a steady stream of<br />
business events across its three<br />
venues – Claudelands, FMG<br />
Stadium <strong>Waikato</strong> and Seddon<br />
Park – since restrictions began<br />
lifting, including several hybrid<br />
events under the earlier capacity<br />
limits.<br />
“In March we had two<br />
award functions take place at<br />
Claudelands using a hybrid<br />
event model where the clients<br />
hosted a group of up to 100<br />
at our venue and then used<br />
livestreams to connect to other<br />
groups of attendees at different<br />
venues. While it isn’t always<br />
the event organisers’ first choice<br />
to operate this type of model, it<br />
is great to see people’s willingness<br />
to adapt and embrace solutions<br />
like this to ensure events<br />
can still go ahead under various<br />
restrictions,” she says.<br />
“Moving forward, this type<br />
of livestream technology will<br />
definitely still have a place<br />
– things like livestreaming<br />
keynote speakers from other<br />
parts of New Zealand or overseas<br />
when their schedules don’t<br />
allow them to physically be at<br />
an event really does open up a<br />
world of possibilities for event<br />
organisers.<br />
“Not only that but being able<br />
to virtually connect to international<br />
guest speakers or delegates<br />
instead of flying them in<br />
from around the globe is also<br />
a great option from a sustainability<br />
perspective.”<br />
Since the removal of all<br />
restrictions, Melissa says she<br />
H3’s business events calendar has been quickly<br />
filling up again since event restrictions were lifted.<br />
has been delighted to see H3’s<br />
business event calendar quickly<br />
filling up once again with a<br />
range of events, from smaller<br />
meetings through to larger<br />
conferences and functions.<br />
The last couple of weeks<br />
were particularly busy for<br />
Claudelands, with the 800-plus<br />
delegate Water New Zealand<br />
Conference on 25-26 <strong>May</strong>,<br />
followed closely by the Hospice<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong> and Montana Food and<br />
Events Bucket List Banquet in<br />
Globox Arena on 27 <strong>May</strong>. The<br />
800-plus delegate NZ Veterinary<br />
Association Conference is<br />
also taking place on 20-22 <strong>June</strong>.<br />
“While it can be challenging<br />
to hold large events like these<br />
so close together it is incredibly<br />
rewarding too, particularly<br />
after the challenges of the past<br />
couple of years,” she says.<br />
“One of the positives we’re<br />
taking out of Covid-19 is our<br />
ability to adapt, learn and grow.<br />
We’ve been able to reopen our<br />
doors with a greater sense of<br />
confidence and an enhanced<br />
level of care for clients, as<br />
we know everyone has been<br />
through a lot recently and we’re<br />
ready to help them in whatever<br />
way we can to return to business<br />
in the easiest, safest way<br />
possible.”<br />
The H3 team can support<br />
clients every step of the way<br />
with their events – from<br />
selecting the perfect space and<br />
determining the best room<br />
setup, to ensuring they have<br />
the equipment needed, and the<br />
Melissa Williams, H3 <strong>Business</strong> Development<br />
and Sales Manager – <strong>Business</strong> Events.<br />
perfect catering to complement<br />
it all.<br />
H3’s trusted food and<br />
service partner Montana Food<br />
and Events also spent the past<br />
few months reimagining their<br />
menu range and are welcoming<br />
back clients with exciting new<br />
options.<br />
Key changes include a new<br />
customer-centric menu structure,<br />
seasonal chef recommendations<br />
and more plant-based,<br />
café-style and light finger food<br />
options, as well as the introduction<br />
of sensory cooking experiences<br />
and specialised ‘signature<br />
dishes’ made with ingredients<br />
sourced from local suppliers –<br />
dubbed ‘Montana Makers’.<br />
“The new sensory cooking<br />
experiences add a special point<br />
of difference to events, as they<br />
involve a range of different<br />
methods such as barbecuing<br />
and smoking on site which<br />
stimulates all the senses. Guests<br />
can see, hear and smell the<br />
dishes being prepared, they can<br />
literally feel the heat off the<br />
cooking equipment and chat<br />
to the chefs, and then they get<br />
to treat their taste buds to an<br />
amazing meal at the end of it.<br />
This option can provide such a<br />
memorable point of difference<br />
for events,” says Melissa.<br />
“The Montana Makers<br />
initiative is also very exciting as<br />
it enables signature ingredients<br />
to be traced back to local farms<br />
throughout the region. Not only<br />
does this help guarantee the<br />
freshness of the ingredients but<br />
the improved traceability and<br />
reduction in food miles aligns<br />
perfectly with H3’s ongoing<br />
focus on sustainability.”<br />
H3group.co.nz<br />
We pride ourselves on enabling this to happen safely and seamlessly,<br />
with tried and true measures in place to give you peace of mind when<br />
hosting your business events at our venues.<br />
Our TRUSTED TEAM can assist you every step of the way<br />
Enjoy FRESH FLAVOURS off a new menu range from our food and<br />
service partner Montana Food and Events<br />
Our DIVERSE VENUES have the perfect spaces for all sizes and<br />
types of events<br />
Connect at H3 venues today!<br />
07 929 3000 | businessevents@h3group.co.nz | h3group.co.nz
16 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
CONFERENCE, EVENTS AND VENUES<br />
Mystery Creek Events Centre is open<br />
and ready to host your next event<br />
Mystery Creek Events Centre is open and<br />
ready to host businesses and groups in<br />
their well-renowned, multi-purpose venue<br />
as Aotearoa begins to open up again.<br />
Situated on 114 hectares<br />
of stunning natural surrounds<br />
beside the <strong>Waikato</strong><br />
River, Mystery Creek has<br />
a range of indoor and outdoor<br />
venue spaces and services to cater<br />
towards every need. Whether<br />
you simply have a reason to<br />
celebrate, need to hold a hui or<br />
conference, or your large-scale<br />
concert or festival needs a new<br />
home, Mystery Creek has got<br />
you covered.<br />
“Events are part of our DNA<br />
as Kiwis – we love to connect,”<br />
says Peter Nation, Chief Executive<br />
of the New Zealand National<br />
Fieldays Society, the not-forprofit<br />
organisation that owns<br />
Mystery Creek Events Centre.<br />
“The sheer choice of spaces<br />
at Mystery Creek means we can<br />
cater towards events of any size,<br />
scale, or type.”<br />
Planning events in uncertain<br />
times can be daunting, but<br />
the Mystery Creek venue event<br />
managers are on hand to assist<br />
you to ensure your next event is<br />
safe and enjoyable. The added<br />
luxury of a flexible venue calendar<br />
provides individuals with<br />
an extra level of confidence, as<br />
it allows events the best possible<br />
chance of going ahead, in<br />
what have recently been uncertain<br />
times.<br />
Mystery Creek Events Centre<br />
is well-practiced in delivering<br />
a high standard of health and<br />
safety protocols and systems to<br />
assist businesses navigating the<br />
government’s COVID-19 requirements<br />
and the traffic light<br />
system.<br />
As well as being the home to<br />
the cornerstone Fieldays event,<br />
Mystery Creek have hosted a<br />
diverse range of events over<br />
the years. All events hosted<br />
at Mystery Creek benefit from<br />
the convenient location, just 15<br />
minutes from Kirikiriroa Hamilton’s<br />
CBD and two minutes<br />
from Hamilton Airport.<br />
Notable events include<br />
Six60’s sell-out show in early<br />
2020, and the NZMCA Motorhome,<br />
Caravan & Leisure Show<br />
in late 2020, which attracted a<br />
record number of motorhome<br />
and caravan enthusiasts. Mystery<br />
Creek have also hosted a<br />
plethora of sports competitions,<br />
festivals, camps, conferences,<br />
dinners, awards ceremonies,<br />
weddings, and social functions.<br />
The venue has proved to be<br />
a prime location for cultivating<br />
business relationships among<br />
New Zealand’s major industries<br />
as well. This was evident<br />
recently when the Horticulture<br />
Conference 2021 hosted over<br />
700 delegates in The Pavilion<br />
in July 2021. Bespoke needs<br />
for the event were also met<br />
with plenary and concurrent<br />
seminars, media, and ministerial<br />
business meetings, and<br />
43 exhibitors showcasing their<br />
products and services.<br />
“We’ve navigated some<br />
stormy weather over the past<br />
two years, as have many other<br />
businesses in the events industry,”<br />
Peter notes.<br />
“Our learnings from this<br />
period have strengthened our<br />
business and the way we deliver<br />
events. We have additional<br />
safety measures to enable<br />
customers to plan their events<br />
being confident that they are<br />
complying with government<br />
guidelines, while simultaneously<br />
delivering a successful and<br />
enjoyable event.”<br />
Need a flexible venue,<br />
with experienced and helpful<br />
staff to help deliver your<br />
next event? Get in touch now<br />
to discuss our range of booking<br />
options on 07 843-4497 or<br />
enquiries@mysterycreek.co.nz.<br />
Whatever you’re planning, we<br />
can provide the infrastructure,<br />
people, facilities and know-how<br />
to make your event a success.<br />
Located on 114 hectares, Mystery Creek<br />
Events Centre offers unique indoor and<br />
outdoor spaces, with the ability to cater<br />
for anything from conferences and trade<br />
shows to large-scale concerts or festivals.<br />
A unparalleled space<br />
for hosting versatile<br />
events<br />
Let’s talk<br />
07 843 4497<br />
info@mysterycreek.co.nz<br />
MYSTERYCREEK.CO.NZ
CONFERENCE, EVENTS AND VENUES<br />
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
Give your event a touch of Middle-earth<br />
magic by hosting at Hobbiton Movie Set<br />
17<br />
Hobbiton Movie Set offer a range of unique<br />
venues fit to host your next event and give<br />
your guests an experience to remember.<br />
Since 2012, we have been<br />
privileged to present The<br />
Green Dragon Inn as part<br />
of our experience. Located on<br />
the Hobbiton Movie Set, the<br />
Green Dragon Inn is an exceptional<br />
example of expert craftsmanship.<br />
Step inside the masterfully<br />
recreated pub, where<br />
the barrels are filled with our<br />
exclusive Southfarthing ale,<br />
stout, cider and ginger beer, a<br />
perfect match to any feast in<br />
The Shire. We have a delectable<br />
range of food available<br />
from our professional in-house<br />
catering staff, covering everything<br />
from canapés to a banquet<br />
feast fit for a Hobbit. The Green<br />
Dragon Inn is fully themed with<br />
indoor and outdoor fireplaces<br />
encouraging your guests to<br />
spread out into the beer garden<br />
beneath the glowing lanterns.<br />
The Party Marquee, adjacent<br />
to The Green Dragon Inn<br />
is equipped with a garden bar<br />
outside overlooking the Hobbiton<br />
Movie Set, providing<br />
an exquisite view for all our<br />
guests. The Party Marquee is a<br />
fully themed, spacious location<br />
for large groups. The painted<br />
canvas exterior, vibrant bunting<br />
and colourful lanterns means<br />
your group will be immersed in<br />
the festive magic of the movies.<br />
Like The Green Dragon Inn, the<br />
marquee has a fully licensed<br />
bar and catering is tailored to<br />
your event by our professional<br />
in-house team.<br />
The Millhouse is a fully<br />
themed venue located on the<br />
movie set, just across the water<br />
from The Green Dragon Inn.<br />
The Millhouse is an expertly<br />
crafted venue offering the same<br />
warm, inviting atmosphere of<br />
The Green Dragon Inn, but in<br />
a more intimate setting ideal<br />
for private dining experiences,<br />
small wedding receptions<br />
and corporate meetings. The<br />
exposed wooden beam ceilings,<br />
crackling fireplace and curated<br />
decor set the scene, while the<br />
cleverly hidden AV technology,<br />
full commercial kitchen and<br />
bathroom facilities complete<br />
the function of the space as a<br />
self-contained multi-use venue<br />
available for hire.<br />
Situated near the Mill and<br />
a short stroll across the double<br />
arch stone bridge from The<br />
Green Dragon Inn is the Marketplace.<br />
Guests are invited to<br />
taste a real piece of New Zealand<br />
from individually themed<br />
stalls bursting with traditional<br />
Hobbit fare. The market stalls<br />
are catered to your guest’s<br />
requirements and can consist<br />
of New Zealand cheeses,<br />
freshly baked artisan breads,<br />
cured meats, smoked fish, and<br />
of course fresh produce from<br />
the Hobbiton gardens just to<br />
name a few. The Marketplace<br />
is a bustling, vibrant experience<br />
to tantalise the senses<br />
of your visitors. Guests will<br />
find themselves engulfed in<br />
the sights, smells, sounds and<br />
tastes of The Shire. Throughout<br />
the evening there will be<br />
roaming Middle-earth entertainment<br />
mingling amongst the<br />
guests. Our visitors are invited<br />
to move freely throughout the<br />
area and watch the carpenters,<br />
horse farriers and puppeteers<br />
go about their daily life. Among<br />
the stalls will be Hobbiton’s<br />
handcrafted barrel bars pouring<br />
the exclusive Hobbit Southfarthing<br />
range, a selection of<br />
Middle-earth wines and various<br />
non-alcoholic beverages. As the<br />
sun sets over Hobbiton Movie<br />
Set the village will light up and<br />
provide a stunning backdrop for<br />
your event. The Marketplace is<br />
a unique and special experience<br />
offered exclusively to function<br />
groups.<br />
Officially opened in March<br />
2020 is The Hub, a newly<br />
constructed, architecturally<br />
designed building situated<br />
at The Shires Rest. The Hub<br />
offers flexible meeting rooms<br />
and stunning views overlooking<br />
the surrounding farmland<br />
and rolling green hills. The<br />
1600m2 venue features two<br />
conjoining rooms, aptly named<br />
the Romney and the Angus<br />
rooms after the variety of livestock<br />
breeds that are farmed<br />
on the surrounding Alexander<br />
farm. These two flexible meeting<br />
spaces can be combined<br />
or used separately to suit your<br />
needs. The Hub can host up to<br />
130 guests in various configurations,<br />
with breakout spaces<br />
for welcome drinks, meals or<br />
meetings available. With stunning<br />
views overlooking the<br />
surrounding farmland and rolling<br />
green hills of the mighty<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong>, The Hub offers a<br />
refreshing change of scenery.<br />
The Hub is the ideal venue for<br />
half or full day meetings, with<br />
options to add a Movie Set<br />
tour and dinner in The Green<br />
Dragon Inn to conclude the day.<br />
For more information on hosting<br />
your event at Hobbiton<br />
Movie Set visit www.hobbitontours.com/en/events<br />
or contact<br />
our dedicated events team who<br />
can help you craft a memorable<br />
event on +64 7 888 1505 or at<br />
events@hobbitontours.com<br />
Add some Middle-earth magic<br />
to your next business event<br />
Celebrate your next event in the pictureqsue setting of The Shire<br />
Experience the real Middle-earth with a tour of Hobbiton Movie Set as seen in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Trilogies,<br />
finishing the evening with a delicious feast on-set.<br />
With a suite of stunning, authentic venues to choose from Hobbiton Movie Set has all the<br />
resources to create a successful event to remember. Contact our dedicated events team today.<br />
SHIRE TOURS, SHIRE’S REST, MIDDLE-EARTH, GREEN DRAGON, HOBBITON, THE HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS and the characters, places, events and items contained therein, are trademarks or registered trademarks of The Saul<br />
Zaentz Company d/b/a Middle-earth Enterprises (SZC) and are used under license by Rings Scenic Tours Limited and Wingnut Film Productions Limited, which are independently owned and operated.
18 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
Chamber celebrates<br />
The <strong>Business</strong> Awards<br />
1.<br />
The <strong>Waikato</strong> Chamber of<br />
Commerce celebrated the launch<br />
of the <strong>Waikato</strong> <strong>Business</strong> Awards<br />
supported Foster Construction<br />
Group on Thursday, <strong>May</strong> 12.<br />
Hosted in the new Foster-built<br />
Rabobank office, with previous<br />
award winners, new sponsor of<br />
the awards Hamilton Airport, and<br />
other supporters of the awards<br />
amongst the attendees.<br />
Photos by Barker Photography<br />
2.<br />
3.<br />
4.<br />
5.<br />
6.<br />
7.<br />
8.<br />
9.<br />
10.<br />
11.<br />
12.<br />
1. Adam Findlay, Tony Hunt, Tim Turner 2. Dr Heather Connolly, Andy Macleod, Don Good 3. Jono Peart, Hilton Joll, Stefan Davis, Jason Cowan, Matt Bolger<br />
4. Mark McCabe, Nicola Hedley 5. Dorothy Wakeling, David Mckie, Tony Begbie, Tim Macindoe 6. Ben Langley, Margaret Devlin, Kate Searancke, Don Good<br />
7. Peter Nation, Jamie Strange, Tim Macindoe 8. Vicky McLennan, Dr Heather Connolly 9. lmali Ilanco, Sarah Hogan, Karen Zhang 10. Karen Zhang, Paula<br />
Sutton, Nathan Orr, Ezra Hirawani 11. Joanne Heathcote-Rickman, Andy Macleod, Dr Heather Connolly 12. Mark Pearson, Rae Pearson, Dick Breukink
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
19<br />
94%<br />
of print readers<br />
talk about what<br />
they read in<br />
magazines or<br />
newspapers<br />
Book your spot in<br />
our next publication<br />
07 838 1333 info@dpmedia.co.nz<br />
Source: Neilsen Australia Consumer and Media View.<br />
Survey 3 2016 National 12 monthPrint readers have read any magazine in the past<br />
month OR any newspaper in the past 7 days OR any catalogue in the past 7 days
20 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
DESIGN BUILDERS CELEBRATES 30 YEARS<br />
A home built around you<br />
We design and build one-off architectural homes<br />
that aren’t based on existing plans, templates, or<br />
catalogues; instead, we work with you to create a<br />
unique home designed and built just for you,<br />
inspired by you.<br />
The homes we create are all different, but they<br />
start the same way: with a blank sheet of paper<br />
and a client who wants a great original home.<br />
You might think that a home designed and built<br />
the way you want is out of your reach, but with<br />
Design Builders, you can afford to think differently.<br />
Our process is built around you, including your<br />
budget.<br />
We’re excited about welcoming you to our new<br />
showhomes.<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong> Vision<br />
5 Rivercove Lane, Hamilton<br />
Open Saturdays and Sundays, 1-4 pm<br />
The Manor<br />
14 Calcutta Road, Pukekohe<br />
Open Saturdays and Sundays, 1-4 pm<br />
For a free, no-obligation chat call Jeff Marra at<br />
Design Builders <strong>Waikato</strong> today on 027 488 0044 or<br />
email jeff.marra@designbuilders.co.nz<br />
designbuilders.co.nz<br />
A home built around you
DESIGN BUILDERS CELEBRATES 30 YEARS<br />
Design Builders<br />
making dream homes<br />
come true for 30 years<br />
Design Builders recently celebrated 30<br />
years of designing and building beautiful<br />
custom homes.<br />
Every home crafted by<br />
Design Builders is<br />
built around a customer’s<br />
unique requirements, the<br />
views, the sun, their lifestyle<br />
and how they intend to interact<br />
Design Builders <strong>Waikato</strong> team: Vinny Hubbard, Ruth<br />
Butcher, Ally Leger, Emma Fenwick and Jeff Marra.<br />
with their new environment.<br />
They describe it as a home<br />
built around you.<br />
When founders Andy and<br />
Brenda Bell took the brand<br />
nationally, the <strong>Waikato</strong> was<br />
one of the first partnership to<br />
jump on board.<br />
Managing Partner Jeff<br />
Styled for Life - This 451sqm<br />
home has been designed for<br />
the needs of a growing family<br />
Marra says the opportunity to<br />
design and build unique homes<br />
from initial customer brief<br />
to finished home is a really<br />
rewarding experience.<br />
“The Design Builders’<br />
magic that’s happening in the<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong> is a result of the years<br />
that came before us. We’ve<br />
adopted that process of creating<br />
architecturally designed,<br />
affordable homes. It helps with<br />
what we deliver today and<br />
we keep evolving to meet the<br />
needs of our clients.”<br />
When Jeff says unique,<br />
he means it; Design Builders<br />
have no set plans because they<br />
understand that everybody is<br />
different.<br />
“Being part of a larger team<br />
means we can offer our clients<br />
so much more; from standing<br />
on a client site with a blank<br />
sheet of paper and being able<br />
to do the full design, the council<br />
process and then the build<br />
is a satisfying process to be<br />
involved in.”<br />
Not only is it rewarding for<br />
the Design Builders’ team, but<br />
Continued on page 22<br />
Jeff Marra – Design Builders<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong>’s Managing Director<br />
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22 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
DESIGN BUILDERS CELEBRATES 30 YEARS<br />
Design Builders making dream<br />
homes come true for 30 years<br />
From page 21<br />
Jeff believes it offers the client<br />
the ability to truly be part of<br />
designing and building their<br />
dream home.<br />
“The very first step with the<br />
client is getting to know them<br />
and what they want. Getting to<br />
know their home aspirations is<br />
a crucial step in the process.<br />
We want to know our client’s<br />
style, needs and budget so we<br />
can bring their home to life.”<br />
After all, it is the client who<br />
will be living with the choices<br />
made and Jeff knows that the<br />
collaboration between the<br />
Design Builders’ team and the<br />
client is the best way to get it<br />
right.<br />
“I’m a little bit of a romantic<br />
and believe that designing<br />
and building your own home<br />
should be one of those outstanding<br />
life experiences.”<br />
Design Builders combine<br />
the advantages of an architect<br />
with the buying power and<br />
efficiencies that group house<br />
Design Builders have a really great history of<br />
where we've come from, where we've been<br />
and where we going.<br />
A New Yorker in Hamilton - Inspired<br />
by the classic New York loft. The living<br />
spaces are open and generous<br />
builders deliver, and Jeff says,<br />
it’s how the team are able to<br />
make home design and building<br />
an ‘outstanding life experience’.<br />
Based in the Hawkes Bay<br />
support centre, the in-house<br />
design team is led by their<br />
resident architect and design<br />
manager who bring a perfect<br />
balance of creative flair and<br />
can-do practicality to every<br />
project.<br />
“Our philosophy really is<br />
to provide New Zealanders<br />
access to custom-designed and<br />
built homes” Jeff says.<br />
But it doesn’t stop with<br />
an architecturally designed<br />
home, Design Builders takes<br />
care of the whole process.<br />
From the highly experienced<br />
construction crew building<br />
to the highest possible standards<br />
right through to interior<br />
design experts’ décor advise, it<br />
all adds up to a beautiful and<br />
affordable custom home.<br />
“To make sure you enjoy<br />
an outstanding experience, our<br />
team work will with you all<br />
the way. We are creating real<br />
value for our clients, not only<br />
financially, but in how they are<br />
involved through the whole<br />
process of building the home<br />
of their dreams.”<br />
A builder of many years,<br />
Jeff was excited by the concept<br />
of offering one-off homes<br />
we’ve been and where we<br />
Proud suppliers of windows and doors to<br />
from one company when he<br />
signed up to the partnership in<br />
2010. It’s a concept that hasn’t<br />
stood still and continues to<br />
Continue to page 24 to<br />
view Design Builders<br />
latest showhome<br />
challenge the team.<br />
“Design Builders have a<br />
really great history of where<br />
we’ve come from, where<br />
going.<br />
The designs have<br />
evolved and changed over the<br />
Design years. Every Builders<br />
year does seem<br />
to get more involved and more<br />
detailed. And the standards<br />
always rise,” Jeff says.<br />
He’s proud of the latest<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong> showhome at 5 Rivercove<br />
Lane in Hamilton which<br />
recently opened to public<br />
viewing.<br />
The team have an enviable<br />
reputation for taking a stylish<br />
Proud suppliers of windows and doors to<br />
Design Builders<br />
Crafting beautiful homes.<br />
At Elle & Co Interiors we help you create a beautiful home that truly<br />
reflects you. We want you to experience that feeling of delight every<br />
time you walk through your door.<br />
We are proud to have partnered with Design Builders <strong>Waikato</strong><br />
Limited offering services such as:<br />
• Design concept<br />
• Interior and exterior colour consultation<br />
• Kitchen joinery colours, fixtures and fittings<br />
• Interior selections and specifications<br />
• Bathroom fixtures and fittings<br />
• Flooring<br />
• Wallpaper<br />
• Lighting<br />
• Joinery<br />
www.elleandco.co.nz<br />
Rylock <strong>Waikato</strong><br />
Frankton Aluminium 1982 1982 Ltd Ltd<br />
Sales@frankali.co.nz<br />
07 847 4680<br />
rylock.co.nz<br />
Do It Once Do It Right<br />
Proudly supporting<br />
Design Builders New Show Home<br />
0800 36 48 255<br />
DO IT ALL<br />
24 HOUR SERVICE | www.soel.co.nz<br />
your guarantee of excellence
DESIGN BUILDERS CELEBRATES 30 YEARS<br />
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
23<br />
Brent Tupaea<br />
Laser Plumbing Hamilton East<br />
Phone 07 858 4921<br />
hamilton.east@laserplumbing.co.nz<br />
www.laserplumbing.co.nz<br />
Proudly<br />
associated<br />
with Design<br />
Builders<br />
203037AA<br />
MANUFACTURE I SUPPLY I MAINTAIN I RETRO-FIT<br />
RESIDENTIAL I CUSTOM I COMMERCIAL<br />
Experts in all single & double glazing<br />
Riverside - The exterior timber<br />
cladding and coloursteel make this<br />
a striking contemporary home<br />
and imaginative approach to<br />
creating one-off originals.<br />
The beautifully clean exterior<br />
is enhanced by remarkable<br />
vertical and horizontal painted<br />
cladding. The spacious interior<br />
features timber and concrete<br />
flooring that combines textures<br />
to stunning visual effect. With<br />
a nod to the Mediterranean, an<br />
arch motif is used throughout,<br />
including in remarkable feature<br />
windows.<br />
“We decided to implement<br />
the arches when we started the<br />
design 18 months ago. In that<br />
time, we have really started to<br />
see arches trending. We like to<br />
think that we are at the heart<br />
of setting the new trends. Or<br />
putting something out there<br />
that’s different for people to<br />
consider, rather than just the<br />
same old, same old. We are<br />
look really looking forward to<br />
getting the feedback on this<br />
new showhome.”<br />
206022AA<br />
Proud to be associated with Design Builders<br />
5 Norris Ave, PO Box 10423, Te Rapa, Hamilton 3241<br />
www.cmglass.nz<br />
TOTAL CONCRETE<br />
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We specialise in everything from<br />
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Ribraft foundations<br />
Full contract box, supply and place<br />
The team at Total Concrete<br />
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associated with Jeff and<br />
MATT: 027 417 9086<br />
www.totalconcretesolutions.co.nz<br />
the Team at Design<br />
Builders<br />
Total Concrete Solutions<br />
Specialising in engineered ribraft<br />
and pod foundations (TC1, 2 & 3)<br />
totalconcretesolutions.co.nz<br />
Matt: 027 417 9086<br />
Think flooring? Think Floorboards. Simple.
24 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
DESIGN BUILDERS - NEW SHOWHOME<br />
Design Builders<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong>’s new<br />
showhome<br />
The latest Design<br />
Builders <strong>Waikato</strong><br />
showhome at 5<br />
Rivercove Lane<br />
in Hamilton<br />
Now open for viewing<br />
Proud to be associated with Jeff and the Team at Design Builders<br />
Passion for design, pride in personal service!<br />
www.highergroundlandscapes.co.nz | 021 984 879
Five PR<br />
opportunities for<br />
business today<br />
In just the last few months, we’ve seen the business environment<br />
change rapidly as New Zealand begins to open up once again,<br />
return to offices and ramp up business interactions. This has<br />
created some immediate communications opportunities that many<br />
organisations should be leveraging.<br />
The following is a list of<br />
five strategic communication<br />
opportunities<br />
that our team at HMC is currently<br />
experiencing.<br />
Desire for reconnection is<br />
strong<br />
As I talked about in my article<br />
last month, there’s a huge<br />
desire for reconnection –<br />
whether that be with staff, clients,<br />
business partners or our<br />
communities.<br />
As I mentioned in last<br />
month’s issue about planning<br />
for reconnection: we are<br />
human, and at a very basic<br />
level we all need connection<br />
to others to feel complete.<br />
We’ve always thrived in partnerships<br />
and groups, going<br />
right back to the dawn of time!<br />
Face-to-face interaction<br />
facilitates better engagement<br />
and connection both internally<br />
with staff, and externally with<br />
clients, partners, suppliers and<br />
others.<br />
Employment ‘brands’ are<br />
taking precedent<br />
I’m going to be so bold as to<br />
say, every organisation should<br />
be looking at what they are<br />
doing proactively to build<br />
their reputation as a great<br />
employer. Most businesses are<br />
in the throes of recruitment<br />
drives and are struggling to<br />
find great staff. The competition<br />
is fierce for quality people.<br />
That means it’s prime time<br />
to build up your business<br />
reputation and promote your<br />
PR AND COMMUNICATIONS<br />
> BY HEATHER CLAYCOMB<br />
Heather Claycomb is director of HMC, a Hamilton-based,<br />
award-winning public relations agency.<br />
company values in the eyes of<br />
potential recruits.<br />
People are ready for good<br />
news<br />
It’s no secret: we are all sick<br />
of hearing, watching and reading<br />
about the pandemic. After<br />
years of enduring a huge crisis<br />
together, we are ready for<br />
some good news!<br />
Take advantage of the open<br />
ears and eyes that are craving<br />
some positive stories right<br />
now. Relating to my last point,<br />
this is a great time to shed<br />
some positive light on your<br />
organisation – what exciting<br />
projects are you working on<br />
right now? What is your business<br />
doing others would like<br />
to hear about?<br />
Media remains an important<br />
channel to reach those<br />
who matter most to your<br />
business<br />
When it comes to telling your<br />
stories... media has always<br />
been – and very much still is –<br />
a great channel to reach your<br />
audiences.<br />
New Zealanders are all still<br />
turning to the media. Here are<br />
a few statistics that prove it:<br />
• Stuff and then NZ Herald<br />
are the 4th and 5th most<br />
visited websites in New<br />
Zealand. Trumped only<br />
by Google, YouTube, and<br />
Facebook which are 1,2,3<br />
respectively.<br />
• Over 1.3M people read the<br />
Herald online each week,<br />
while over 1.7M read Stuff<br />
online each week.<br />
• Around 630,000 of us tune<br />
into RadioNZ each week,<br />
while around 713,000 tune<br />
into <strong>News</strong>Talk ZB.<br />
In the PR business, we<br />
are using a range of different<br />
channels to get a business’<br />
news out to key audiences.<br />
And media remains a very<br />
powerful and influential tool<br />
for any organisation.<br />
Doing digital communication<br />
well is the key<br />
We know we are living in a<br />
digital world, so communicating<br />
through digital channels<br />
is crucial. While many businesses<br />
have known this for<br />
some time, there is a considerable<br />
number who are still not<br />
doing it well.<br />
It’s not just about social<br />
media: it’s your website,<br />
e-newsletter, email communication,<br />
video library on<br />
YouTube and much more.<br />
Or, here’s an idea: how about<br />
a podcast? You might not<br />
immediately think of a podcast<br />
as a ‘digital’ tool, but it<br />
provides great digital content<br />
you can get out to your audience<br />
through a range of channels.<br />
It’s important to be intentional<br />
with your digital communication.<br />
When scrolling,<br />
browsing and clicking, we are<br />
overwhelmed with posts fighting<br />
for a smidge of attention.<br />
It’s key to put yourself in the<br />
shoes of the people that matter<br />
most to your business and<br />
think about what they want<br />
to see and listen to, and how<br />
they would like to receive it.<br />
The immigration<br />
balancing act…<br />
The Government recently announced<br />
the rebalancing of immigration settings.<br />
It is fair to say this was not<br />
quite the immigration “reset” we had all<br />
been waiting on for the last 6 months,<br />
and when everything is weighed up, the<br />
final visa outcomes are likely to be little<br />
changed from what they were previously.<br />
The main announcement that the borders<br />
will fully re-open at midnight on 31<br />
July is hugely welcomed by everyone, and<br />
we can all now finally begin planning forward<br />
with the certainty that has been missing<br />
for the past 2 years. Families can now<br />
be reunited, employers can plan overseas<br />
marketing and recruitment, and schools<br />
can re-engage with their international<br />
communities.<br />
A key part of the rebalancing is the<br />
requirement for employers employing<br />
migrant workers to hold employer accreditation<br />
with Immigration New Zealand<br />
from 4 July this year, and applications<br />
for this accreditation opened on 23 <strong>May</strong>.<br />
Once employers are accredited then jobs<br />
must go through a “Job Check” before the<br />
work visa application can be undertaken.<br />
For most roles the Job Check requires the<br />
employer to evidence through job advertising<br />
that there are no NZers available.<br />
Roles which are on the new “Green<br />
List”, and roles where the remuneration is<br />
twice the NZ median wage (ie; $115,500),<br />
do not need to be advertised. The Green<br />
List comprises 85 specified roles designed<br />
to incentivise high-skilled healthcare,<br />
engineers, trade and tech sector workers<br />
to relocate to New Zealand. Roles on the<br />
Green List also provide either a fast track<br />
“straight to residence” pathway or a 2<br />
year “work to residence” pathway.<br />
Surprisingly, nursing and teaching<br />
roles, are both on the “work to residence”<br />
Green List, and are not eligible<br />
for “straight-to-residence”. The Minister<br />
defended this approach by saying that<br />
employers wanted these workers to work<br />
for them for two years before they moved<br />
on, after getting their residence. Clearly<br />
this outcome has been influenced by public-sector<br />
employers – surely the priority<br />
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
Richard Howard<br />
is to attract these workers to New Zealand<br />
in the first place, and if they do move on<br />
from their original employment, they<br />
are only going to move on to the same<br />
employment roles within New Zealand.<br />
New Zealand is still the winner here, but<br />
not if they can’t be attracted here in the<br />
first place!<br />
The Government also announced<br />
that 20,000 visa holders in New Zealand<br />
would have their visas extended<br />
by up to another 2 years. While this is a<br />
great news for those involved, it would<br />
seem this move is motivated as much by<br />
INZ’s need to minimise its own workload<br />
during a period of significant change,<br />
and high workload pressures. While we<br />
remain hopeful INZ can achieve its forecast<br />
processing timelines (eg: 10 days for<br />
an employer accreditation application)<br />
nobody is holding their breath!<br />
As the world faces an increasing skills<br />
shortage the competition to attract talent<br />
to New Zealand is higher than ever. The<br />
world has moved on while our borders<br />
were closed, and New Zealand is now<br />
well-behind the 8 ball in the market for<br />
talent. We need to wait and see if the<br />
“immigration rebalancing” enables New<br />
Zealand to recover some of this lost<br />
ground and if the “Our country needs<br />
YOU!” message hits the target…..<br />
25<br />
Level 2<br />
586 Victoria Street<br />
Hamilton 3204<br />
Level 3<br />
50 Manners Street<br />
Wellington 6011<br />
07 834 9222<br />
enquiries@pathwaysnz.com<br />
Level 2 Level 3<br />
586 Victoria Street 50 Manners Street<br />
Hamilton pathwaysnz.com<br />
3204 Wellington 6011<br />
07 834 9222<br />
enquiries@pathwaysnz.com
2.<br />
3.<br />
4.<br />
6.<br />
1.<br />
Luxon speaks<br />
at Hamilton<br />
event post-<br />
Budget<br />
National Party leader Christopher<br />
Luxon spoke to about 200 people at<br />
The Atrium at Wintec on <strong>May</strong> 23.<br />
In his post-Budget speech Luxon<br />
talked at length about New Zealand’s<br />
cost of living crisis and, after the<br />
event, spent time speaking to<br />
attendees. He said many he spoke<br />
to at the event raised their concerns<br />
with him about the impact inflation is<br />
having on the economy.<br />
5.<br />
7.<br />
8. 9. 10.<br />
11. 12.<br />
1. Hamilton City councillor Ryan Hamilton gets a selfie with Christopher Luxon 2. Guests at the Luxton breakfast 3. A packed Atrium 4. Christopher Luxon with the Chamber team L-R Liam Rodden, Jenny<br />
McGregor, Rob Finlayson, Imali Ilanco, and Don Good 5. Andrea Twaddle of DTI Lawyers 6. Stacey Martin of BNZ 7. Alex Whitehead of Deloitte chats with the Chamber’s Liam Rodden 8. Christopher Luxon<br />
with Hamilton City councillors Kesh Naidoo-Rauf and Mark Donovan 9. Former Hamilton mayor Andrew King 10. Stefan Davies of Deloitte 11. Aaron Rink (left) and Matt Stark 12. A packed Atrium
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
27<br />
Waipā wins PR award for long-term plan<br />
Waipā District Council were awarded<br />
Supreme Winner for their entry ‘What’s<br />
next Waipā?’ at the <strong>2022</strong> annual PRINZ<br />
Awards gala dinner held in Auckland<br />
recently.<br />
The ‘What’s next Waipā?’<br />
campaign flipped a routine<br />
legislative consultative<br />
process on its head and<br />
embarked on 17 months of<br />
targeted, innovative community<br />
relations work, inspiring<br />
Waipā residents to share their<br />
needs and wants for their district<br />
and engage in the development<br />
of council’s 2021-<br />
2031 Long Term Plan. The<br />
campaign also won Gold in<br />
the Community Relations and<br />
Engagement category.<br />
We started our longterm<br />
plan journey<br />
in March 2020<br />
with community<br />
BBQs to gather our<br />
community’s thoughts<br />
on their vision and<br />
strategic priorities for<br />
the district.<br />
PRINZ Awards Chief<br />
Judges, Denise Mackay<br />
FPRINZ, APR and Andrew<br />
Pirie, FPRINZ said this was a<br />
creative two-way communication<br />
programme that resulted in<br />
record engagement for Waipā.<br />
“When tasked with managing<br />
public consultation on<br />
a council’s long-term plan,<br />
many communications practitioners<br />
would be tempted to<br />
just ‘go through the motions’<br />
with a conventional approach.<br />
The judges were impressed at<br />
the innovative yet highly disciplined<br />
way the Waipā District<br />
Council team sought to<br />
address a well-known national<br />
issue – getting the community<br />
engaged in local government<br />
planning.<br />
“Supported by a strategy<br />
that put listening ahead of<br />
speaking and implemented<br />
through a range of inventive<br />
communications and engagement<br />
techniques - Councillor<br />
Speed Dating anyone? - implemented<br />
in a Covid-19 environment,<br />
the team delivered<br />
results not only for the council,<br />
but importantly, for the Waipā<br />
community.”<br />
The judges were impressed<br />
by the depth of planning<br />
involved to reach hard-to-engage<br />
community segments, as<br />
well as the detailed focus on<br />
results – even down to measuring<br />
the numbers of ice creams<br />
and sausages the community<br />
Waipā <strong>May</strong>or Jim Mylchreest (left) and chief executive Garry Dyet<br />
sign off on Waipā’s 2021-2031 award-winning Long-Term Plan.<br />
consumed as indicators of<br />
engagement!<br />
“The project easily<br />
exceeded the council’s expectations<br />
on engagement and<br />
participation. Perhaps the most<br />
significant outcome is how this<br />
work has become an exemplar<br />
for other councils across<br />
the motu to consider when it<br />
comes to enhancing community<br />
buy-in.”<br />
Waipā District Council<br />
chief executive Garry Dyet<br />
says the awards showcase a<br />
council commitment to inviting<br />
the community to be<br />
involved early in complex and<br />
long-term discussions.<br />
“We started our longterm<br />
plan journey in March<br />
2020 with community BBQs<br />
to gather our community’s<br />
thoughts on their vision and<br />
strategic priorities for the district,”<br />
he says.<br />
“Then in 2021, we held<br />
lots of community events,<br />
including coffee with the<br />
mayor, speed dating with the<br />
councillors and drop-in sessions<br />
to truly connect with our<br />
community in ways that really<br />
resonated with our residents. It<br />
was a lot of effort, involving a<br />
lot of people across the organisation.”<br />
“Having meaningful<br />
engagement with our community<br />
shapes the way Waipā<br />
moves forward and our communications<br />
and engagement<br />
team created the opportunities<br />
for many of those conversations.<br />
I’m very proud of this<br />
award, it is well deserved.”<br />
The award recognises<br />
projects or programmes that<br />
improve or establish mutually<br />
beneficial relationships with<br />
communities in which the<br />
organisation operates.<br />
The PRINZ Awards recognise<br />
excellence in the New<br />
Zealand’s public relations and<br />
communications industry, promoting<br />
continuous improvement,<br />
and celebrating best<br />
practice. This year’s awards<br />
attracted 86 entries.<br />
Feedback is your friend, not foe!<br />
When did you last tell<br />
one of your team<br />
what an excellent<br />
job he or she is doing? Positive<br />
feedback is a critical element<br />
in high performing businesses,<br />
but often managers don’t feel<br />
comfortable giving praise.<br />
Similarly, we appear to have<br />
PEOPLE AND CULTURE<br />
> BY SENGA ALLEN<br />
Managing Director, Everest – All about people TM<br />
www.everestpeople.co.nz<br />
even more of a dislike to giving<br />
constructive feedback or<br />
suggestions to improve work<br />
performance. Many of our<br />
clients tell us they don’t feel<br />
comfortable giving any form<br />
of feedback – they say it takes<br />
too much time, feels insincere,<br />
or often just gets in the way of<br />
day-to-day activities. Surely, I<br />
don’t have to praise someone<br />
every time they do something<br />
they are paid to do? They must<br />
know I appreciate them!<br />
However, they are missing<br />
a valuable business-boosting<br />
opportunity. Few things will<br />
do more to build trust, boost<br />
morale among the team than<br />
ongoing, authentic, and yes,<br />
positive feedback. More on the<br />
constructive stuff soon…..<br />
As human beings we are<br />
hard wired with a negative<br />
lens. It takes a conscious effort<br />
to think positively, look for<br />
positives in people and recognise<br />
“good or great” in our<br />
environments. Alas though,<br />
the counter to this wiring is<br />
that us humans have an innate<br />
need to seek feedback on how<br />
we are doing. If we don’t<br />
receive it, we tend to make up<br />
information to fill the void –<br />
and it’s always negative. We<br />
are such complicated beings<br />
us humans!<br />
So, what are the benefits of<br />
actively giving positive feedback?<br />
Firstly, it prevents those<br />
destructive information gaps<br />
I mentioned before. It most<br />
definitely strengthens relationships<br />
between employees and<br />
their supervisor; undoubtedly<br />
it will improve the quality of<br />
work and increase accountability<br />
for outcomes but overall,<br />
the most impact feedback<br />
creates is the generation of a<br />
higher-performing work environment.<br />
Yes, that’s right – the<br />
more positive feedback you<br />
identify and give to individuals<br />
– the greater their output<br />
and engagement with your<br />
business.<br />
If you’re a novice at giving<br />
positive feedback – perhaps<br />
you might want to start with<br />
small steps – look for things<br />
that individuals are genuinely<br />
doing well, take a moment to<br />
pause, and then say something<br />
simple like, “John, I really<br />
like the relationships you’ve<br />
created with our clients – I<br />
know they appreciate it –as do<br />
I”. Or words to that effect! It<br />
doesn’t take long to warmly<br />
recognise someone’s efforts.<br />
There are oodles of positive<br />
experiences happening at work<br />
every single day but the good<br />
old human in us typically only<br />
spots the negatives and jumps<br />
on those!<br />
Speaking of constructive<br />
feedback – it’s a topic that gets<br />
avoided like the plague. It’s<br />
too hard, we don’t like to upset<br />
people, we don’t know how<br />
the other person will react, it’s<br />
easier just to ignore the bad<br />
behaviour or error and hope<br />
that it doesn’t happen again.<br />
Any of those sound familiar to<br />
you? Given that positive feedback<br />
creates a high performing<br />
work environment, what do<br />
you think the impact of not providing<br />
constructive feedback<br />
is? Ignoring bad behaviour or<br />
mistakes tells the rest of your<br />
team that behaviour is acceptable<br />
and worse still, endorsed<br />
by management; it reassures<br />
the individual who needs the<br />
feedback that their behaviour<br />
is OK but most worryingly it<br />
reduces your effectiveness as<br />
a leader.<br />
Seize those opportunities to<br />
identify positive behaviours,<br />
tell team members when they<br />
are doing something well and<br />
jump on those small issues that<br />
can lead to larger monsters if<br />
not dealt with. Feedback is<br />
most definitely your friend<br />
and should not be feared. Start<br />
practicing today and notice<br />
how much more effective you<br />
can become as a leader in your<br />
business.
MORTGAGE FUND<br />
INVEST + IN THE DU VAL<br />
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WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
29<br />
Lodge Real Estate issues first-home<br />
buyer FOMO caution<br />
As property sales plummet and first home<br />
buyers move from a fear of missing out<br />
(FOMO) to a fear of paying too much, real<br />
estate agents are warning that a lull in the<br />
market is the best time to buy.<br />
Lodge Real Estate director<br />
Jeremy O’Rourke<br />
says Hamilton experienced<br />
one of its slowest<br />
months in April with only 192<br />
properties changing hands and<br />
very few of them to first home<br />
New EV chargers Powering Te Awamutu<br />
Work has started on<br />
the installation of<br />
new Hikotron electric<br />
vehicle (EV) chargers in<br />
Te Awamutu, to support the<br />
growing number of electric<br />
vehicles in Waipa¯. The two<br />
alternating current (AC) chargers<br />
will be installed in the car<br />
park of the Te Awamutu Events<br />
Centre facing Mahoe Street<br />
and will provide four user-pays<br />
charging spaces for the community.<br />
Council’s transportation<br />
manager Bryan Hudson said<br />
it was great to see the muchneeded<br />
EV chargers being<br />
installed in the district with the<br />
increase in EV usage.<br />
“Expanding the local EV<br />
network is part of council’s<br />
buyers. The latest figures from<br />
REINZ also show sales have<br />
plummeted 32.5 percent annually<br />
and monthly prices are<br />
down with fewer homes sold<br />
in every region of New Zealand.<br />
commitment to reduce the<br />
environmental impact of the<br />
district’s transport system.”<br />
With the electrical connections<br />
now in place in Te<br />
Awamutu, Hikotron will begin<br />
installing signs and road markings<br />
over the coming days<br />
and once testing has been<br />
completed, the chargers will be<br />
ready for use.<br />
“Hikotron successfully<br />
installed two EV chargers in<br />
Cambridge which have been<br />
in use since 5 April 2020. They<br />
are located in the Duke Street<br />
carpark near Cambridge’s New<br />
World supermarket,” Hudson<br />
says.<br />
“The locations in both<br />
towns were selected due to<br />
their proximity to electricity<br />
“First home buyers are<br />
listening to the news and<br />
the advice of their parents,<br />
and they no longer have that<br />
urgency or fear of missing out.<br />
They’re taking a wait and see<br />
approach, but when there’s a<br />
lull in the market, that’s the<br />
best time to buy,” Jeremy says.<br />
He says there are four<br />
factors interfering with the<br />
property market, including<br />
changes to the Credit Contracts<br />
and Consumer Finance<br />
Act which had put the squeeze<br />
on first home buyers when<br />
supply and the town centres<br />
for easy access, without taking<br />
up prime parking spaces in the<br />
main street.”<br />
Hudson said the new EV<br />
chargers also have good lighting<br />
for 24-hour use and have<br />
low traffic speeds, creating a<br />
safe environment for drivers<br />
when charging their vehicles.<br />
The new Hikotron chargers<br />
use alternating current, so drivers<br />
can expect charging to take<br />
longer than the existing direct<br />
current chargers on Scout<br />
Lane. Hudson recommended<br />
users make the most of the<br />
additional time to shop local<br />
and explore the district.<br />
“These new AC chargers<br />
are aimed at local electric<br />
vehicle users who want to<br />
obtaining loans.<br />
The other three factors<br />
however were likely to see<br />
demand for properties increase<br />
again as more New Zealanders<br />
return home from overseas in<br />
coming months, immigration<br />
re-starts from August, and<br />
rents continued to rise.<br />
“All these people returning<br />
to New Zealand will eventually<br />
be looking to buy. It’s a<br />
good opportunity now for first<br />
home buyers to buy without<br />
competition. Hamilton is a big<br />
city, but they may not have<br />
that same opportunity in a few<br />
months’ time,” Jeremy says.<br />
The continuing upward<br />
pressure on rents is just<br />
another reason for those who<br />
can get the finance to get into<br />
their first home, Jeremy says.<br />
“We understand that first<br />
home buyers have gone past<br />
the stage of FOMO – the fear<br />
charge up while they are in<br />
town, rather than visitors passing<br />
through who typically want<br />
to charge up quickly and continue<br />
their journey. The chargers<br />
will also be a valuable<br />
asset to local businesses or residents<br />
wanting to charge their<br />
vehicle, as they will now have<br />
a place to do this close to the<br />
of missing out. If they miss<br />
out on something today, the<br />
attitude is that they will find<br />
something tomorrow. In six to<br />
eight weeks’ time that may be<br />
quite different.”<br />
town centre.”<br />
To use the chargers, EV<br />
drivers will need to download<br />
the Hikotron mobile app from<br />
Google Play or the Apple Store.<br />
After scanning the QR code on<br />
the chargers, users can plug in<br />
their vehicle, and tap on ‘Start<br />
charging’ to begin. Charging<br />
cables are locked in until the<br />
user elects to ‘end charge’ so<br />
they can’t be unplugged while<br />
users are away.<br />
The Hikotron app also<br />
allows users to locate the<br />
nearest available charger,<br />
monitor how much power is<br />
being drawn while charging,<br />
and make payments. The app<br />
works across all chargers in<br />
the growing Hikotron public<br />
network.<br />
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WAIKATO INNOVATION PARK<br />
The SkyPoint Building marks the beginning<br />
of more growth for <strong>Waikato</strong> Innovation Park<br />
CREATIVITY AND<br />
INNOVATION<br />
FOR YOUR PROJECT<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong> Innovation Park’s newest addition,<br />
The SkyPoint Building is testament to the<br />
success of the innovation hub that began<br />
life 17 years ago.<br />
And there’s more to come<br />
with 16 buildings blueprinted<br />
for the Ruakura<br />
site to align with the Park’s<br />
vision to foster business growth<br />
and innovation, CEO Stuart<br />
Gordon says.<br />
“The growth at the Park is a<br />
sign both of Hamilton's growth<br />
and of business development<br />
in the <strong>Waikato</strong>. With over 60<br />
companies presently based at<br />
the Park with 750 employees,<br />
we have created a community<br />
which is successfully delivering<br />
high value jobs and technology<br />
exports for New Zealand.”<br />
Named after the Hamilton<br />
IT and communications integration<br />
specialists SkyPoint<br />
Technologies, Gordon says, to<br />
point to the growth of the Park<br />
We wanted our entranceway to stand out<br />
because Ruakura Road will become a major<br />
entrance to Hamilton from the expressway.<br />
and the growth of SkyPoint in<br />
the <strong>Waikato</strong>.<br />
“They were tenants here<br />
from the beginning in the old<br />
building and have really grown<br />
their presence in Hamilton, the<br />
greater <strong>Waikato</strong> and further<br />
afield.”<br />
A grand new entranceway<br />
was designed by Edwards<br />
White Architects to be a beacon<br />
to the Park from Ruakura Road<br />
and the lane is now a protected<br />
landscape given its more than<br />
80-year plane tree avenue.<br />
“We wanted our entranceway<br />
to stand out because Ruakura<br />
Road will become a major<br />
entrance to Hamilton from the<br />
expressway.”<br />
Along with this new<br />
building a new road was constructed<br />
to give long term<br />
access for future buildings and<br />
parking for existing tenants<br />
Working with Tainui Group<br />
Holdings, the Park received<br />
Project - <strong>Waikato</strong> Innovation Park
WAIKATO INNOVATION PARK<br />
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
31<br />
approval from Kiingi Tuuheitia<br />
and the Ruakura Tangata<br />
Whenua Working Group to<br />
name the road Waihanga Lane,<br />
which means ‘to create, build,<br />
develop, generate, make’.<br />
The SkyPoint Building was<br />
designed by Edwards White-<br />
Architects and constructed by<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong>-based Foster Construction,<br />
and, with the official<br />
opening being thwarted<br />
by Covid a number of times.<br />
Tenants began moving into<br />
The SkyPoint Building in July<br />
2021.<br />
The $14 million, 3000 sqm<br />
building houses seven businesses,<br />
as well as a 390 sqm<br />
space for events which can hold<br />
over 200 people and a conference<br />
room with capacity for 80<br />
people.<br />
A shared, collaborative<br />
space provides a place to discover<br />
useful connections, build<br />
relationships and partnerships<br />
and find new opportunities.<br />
Weave Eatery, the latest<br />
project by award winning operators<br />
Lisa and Brent Quarrie of<br />
Hayes Common will provide a<br />
hub for catch ups over coffee<br />
and food.<br />
The eatery is also the ideal<br />
place to hold meetings, introduce<br />
new tenants, and for businesses<br />
to get together to have<br />
coffee and lunch. It is already a<br />
“must do eatery” for the public.<br />
Designed by Designwell,<br />
Weave is the central meeting<br />
point within SkyPoint<br />
and hosts a range of seating<br />
options for the different<br />
ways people meet - banquette<br />
seating, high tables, a dining<br />
table and perching spots for<br />
takeaway coffees.<br />
The event and conference<br />
space at <strong>Waikato</strong> Innovation<br />
Park, and Weave Eatery are<br />
open to the public. The Ruakura<br />
Conference Centre offers<br />
comfort, convenience and a<br />
welcoming atmosphere with<br />
everything provided for, from<br />
cutlery to audio-visual equipment<br />
and technology, with<br />
on-site support available.<br />
“We consider Fosters to be our partners<br />
”<br />
on this journey. We’re confident they have<br />
the capability to deliver on our vision.<br />
Stuart Gordon, CEO <strong>Waikato</strong> Innovation Park<br />
When the purpose and values of our clients align with ours,<br />
extraordinary outcomes are achieved.<br />
FOSTERS.CO.NZ . 07 849 3849
32 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
WAIKATO INNOVATION PARK<br />
Dreaming big brings success<br />
for SkyPoint Technologies<br />
A small team with a big dream back in<br />
2014, SkyPoint Technologies now occupy<br />
the latest build at <strong>Waikato</strong> Innovation Park,<br />
and they are proudly the namesakes of the<br />
state-of-the-art building.<br />
Weave Eatery<br />
provides hub<br />
of fine food<br />
and coffee at<br />
SkyPoint<br />
Weave Eatery is the<br />
latest project by<br />
award-winning operators<br />
Lisa and Brent Quarrie,<br />
of Hayes Common at <strong>Waikato</strong><br />
The early days were an<br />
exciting opportunity<br />
for founders David and<br />
Penny Covic along with their<br />
friend Roger Salisbury.<br />
“We had an amazing team,<br />
a fantastic office space which<br />
included farm views here at<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong> Innovation Park –<br />
and we were making this start<br />
without a single customer,”<br />
Penny says.<br />
SkyPoint design, implement<br />
and support computer<br />
networks and telephone systems<br />
for organisations of all<br />
sizes. This includes Microsoft<br />
cloud hosted servers or local<br />
storage solutions, data management,<br />
disaster recovery,<br />
security, CCTV, conferencing,<br />
and communications.<br />
It has been an amazing<br />
journey; forming strong partnerships<br />
with customers and<br />
suppliers throughout New<br />
Innovation Park’s new building<br />
SkyPoint.<br />
With a focus on fresh, seasonal<br />
food, Fair Trade coffee<br />
and local suppliers, the cafe<br />
Zealand and beyond, Penny<br />
says.<br />
“We have been humbled by<br />
the readiness of our customers<br />
to refer new opportunities<br />
to SkyPoint. These referrals<br />
have also included some of<br />
the team members working<br />
alongside us today.”<br />
They chose to base their<br />
business at the Park due to<br />
its ‘campus’ friendly environment,<br />
the rich innovation and<br />
collaborative nature of their<br />
fellow tenants.<br />
“Over the years we have<br />
seen these qualities consolidate<br />
and grow, SkyPoint and<br />
its team have always been<br />
made to feel welcome and<br />
respected. We have a lot of<br />
fun together with the Park<br />
team and its tenants; it’s a<br />
very unique environment.”<br />
Alongside their business<br />
growth came an ever-expanding<br />
team and the original Sky-<br />
Point office in the Gallagher<br />
building simply became too<br />
small.<br />
“The Park quickly kicked<br />
into action, working with us<br />
to find our next suitable office<br />
space.” At the same time a<br />
new building project at the<br />
Park was about to commence<br />
and it soon became an obvious<br />
choice for David and Penny<br />
to confirm space in the new<br />
building.<br />
“What an exciting day confirming<br />
with our team that the<br />
next shift would be into the<br />
top floor of the brand-new<br />
building. The icing on the<br />
holds strong to the values<br />
the dynamic food duo have<br />
become known for.<br />
Designed in collaboration<br />
with Designwell and Area<br />
Design, the eatery fitout and<br />
branding make reference to<br />
its location at the centre of the<br />
new building at the park and<br />
provides ‘‘the common connecting<br />
point; a place where<br />
people and businesses can<br />
come together to share ideas,<br />
connect and mingle.”<br />
The beautiful new eatery<br />
celebrates texture with pops<br />
of colour, a range of seating<br />
options for the different<br />
ways people meet - banquette<br />
seating, high tables, a dining<br />
table and perching spots for<br />
takeaway coffees, providing<br />
a lovely calm space to enjoy<br />
while deciding what to order<br />
from the daily cabinet of fresh<br />
bakes.<br />
If you've got time to linger,<br />
you can choose from a seasonally<br />
inspired all day menu.<br />
Start your day with Winter<br />
Oats topped with poached<br />
pear, roasted rhubarb, brown<br />
sugar crumb, pistachio, or<br />
indulge in Eggs Benny taken<br />
cake was the surprise news<br />
to the team that SkyPoint had<br />
been offered the naming rights<br />
and the SkyPoint Building<br />
would be our new home for<br />
years to come. The team are<br />
so proud to have their name on<br />
the building and love the fresh<br />
new office space,” Penny says.<br />
Being a part of a vibrant<br />
business community is key<br />
to good business, and Sky-<br />
to the next level with smoked<br />
ham hock, cheddar, mustard<br />
croquette, poached eggs, hollandaise,<br />
house made corn<br />
salsa. For lunch the options<br />
continue on the menu Salmon<br />
& Spuds - crispy potatoes,<br />
Weave smoked salmon,<br />
poached eggs, green goddess,<br />
pickled red onions furikake or<br />
try their award-winning Melt<br />
Point is delighted with the<br />
added profile the new building<br />
brings.<br />
“The quality of the building<br />
and facilities is enjoyed<br />
by our team and customers<br />
alike. We are so grateful for<br />
all the Park adds to our business.<br />
It’s wonderful to be in<br />
an environment that not only<br />
supports you but encourages<br />
big dreams!”<br />
Challenge toastie - Chipotle<br />
braised pork, smokey cheddar<br />
jalapeno cream, Clevedon<br />
Oaxaca stringy cheese, corn &<br />
lime salsa on Volare turmeric<br />
sourdough.<br />
There's also a cabinet which<br />
changes daily, with everything<br />
made onsite by the talented<br />
team in the kitchen headed by<br />
Ashley Brodie - well known<br />
SkyPoint’s core strengths<br />
include their team, skills and<br />
a collaborative approach to<br />
customer and supplier partnerships.<br />
Their vision is to be<br />
able to make a real difference<br />
to those they serve. They seek<br />
to be an intentional contributor<br />
to the community and have<br />
a heart for those organisations<br />
making a difference within<br />
New Zealand.<br />
for her fresh, beautifully presented<br />
food.<br />
The team at Weave will also<br />
bring their flair for fabulous<br />
food to provide catering for<br />
events of all sizes. And at the<br />
helm of events and operations,<br />
Sam Immers brings years of<br />
experience in the catering and<br />
event industry, and knows how<br />
to throw a great party!
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
33<br />
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34 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
New initiative draws on<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong> business alumni to<br />
inspire upcoming leaders<br />
The <strong>Waikato</strong> Chamber of Commerce has launched a new initiative<br />
to better connect today’s business community with the vast<br />
knowledge and wisdom of the previous generation of <strong>Waikato</strong><br />
business leaders<br />
Known as alumni, the<br />
select group will be by<br />
invitation only, with<br />
people tapped to join based<br />
on their personal career background<br />
and contribution to the<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong>, national or international<br />
business community. In<br />
recognition of the significant<br />
role played in their partner's<br />
career, spouses of alumni<br />
members are also eligible to<br />
join.<br />
Designed for retired business<br />
and professional people,<br />
it enables them to continue<br />
contributing to the prosperity<br />
of the wider <strong>Waikato</strong> business<br />
community through engagement<br />
with current chamber<br />
members, allows them to<br />
remain up-to-date with the<br />
world of business, and provides<br />
opportunities to network<br />
and socialise with former partners,<br />
friends, and competitors<br />
from their time in business.<br />
Chamber CEO Don Good<br />
believes the initiative will<br />
bring wide-ranging benefits to<br />
the business community.<br />
“When you think of the<br />
combined experience, knowledge<br />
and connections this<br />
group of people have, this is<br />
something we want to ensure<br />
is available for our members<br />
and the wider business sector<br />
to tap into. We know that<br />
many of these people want to<br />
give back to the community<br />
that raised them and continue<br />
to have a voice in this community,<br />
and the alumni membership<br />
is the perfect vehicle<br />
for them to do so. Our other<br />
motivation for creating this<br />
group is to give the alumni an<br />
opportunity to keep in touch<br />
with the ever-changing business<br />
world. We plan to hold<br />
regular events throughout the<br />
year which will give them the<br />
opportunity to connect, learn,<br />
and inspire our members.”<br />
Membership, which is<br />
non-voting, brings with it<br />
an opportunity to participate<br />
in and contribute to various<br />
chamber activities, as<br />
well as enjoy specific events<br />
organised for alumni. The<br />
alumni will also be involved<br />
in nominating inductees to<br />
the <strong>Waikato</strong> <strong>Business</strong> Hall of<br />
Fame. This year’s inductees<br />
are Sir Robert Mahuta and<br />
Sir Dryden Spring, with the<br />
induction gala dinner to take<br />
place on September 2.<br />
When you think<br />
of the combined<br />
experience,<br />
knowledge and<br />
connections this<br />
group of people<br />
have, this is<br />
something we want<br />
to ensure is available<br />
for our members and<br />
the wider business<br />
sector to tap into.<br />
The alumni initiative has<br />
been driven by an interim<br />
committee which currently<br />
includes former GM of<br />
Novotel and ibis Hamilton<br />
Dick Breukink, BNZ regional<br />
manager small business Grant<br />
Robson, who is also a former<br />
chamber board member,<br />
and former Deputy <strong>May</strong>or of<br />
Hamilton Gordon Chesterman.<br />
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WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
35<br />
Do it yourself, Jonesy<br />
Those cute kids in the Mitre10 sandpit<br />
captured our hands-on, give-it-a-go spirit<br />
to a tee. But for your advertising and<br />
design, is DIY ever an option?<br />
I<br />
have a confession to make.<br />
I love to play on Canva –<br />
the online tool for simple<br />
graphic design. There, I’ve<br />
risked the dismay of my professional<br />
graphic designer friends<br />
and said it.<br />
I understand the basic principles<br />
of good graphic design: the<br />
value of clear space, the power<br />
of good typography, the impact<br />
of a compelling photo. So, with<br />
so many easy-to-use tools readily<br />
available to us now, why<br />
wouldn’t I give it a go?<br />
Some friends and I recently<br />
clubbed together to give our<br />
friend a memorable weekend<br />
away. Relishing the opportunity,<br />
I leapt onto Canva to create a<br />
voucher. My friends were happy<br />
but I knew it had many flaws.<br />
If it was the retaining wall our<br />
Mitre10 kids were building, it<br />
would have collapsed in a heap.<br />
Small businesses everywhere<br />
have frequent demands<br />
for quick new messages, particularly<br />
if they are active on social<br />
media, and need to stand out<br />
from the clutter with something<br />
that looks good.<br />
When images have a short<br />
shelf or screen life, it’s hard<br />
to justify heavy investment,<br />
so online tools and apps have<br />
rapidly evolved to fulfil that<br />
need. But that doesn’t mean the<br />
outcome is always going to be<br />
appropriate for sustained marketing<br />
or important campaigns.<br />
I’ve also noticed a rise in the<br />
use of professional design tools<br />
(InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop)<br />
by staff with no formal<br />
design training. YouTube to find<br />
out how to do anything, right?<br />
Well, maybe, but be honest with<br />
yourself, I say.<br />
It could end up like a disaster-prone<br />
episode of a renovation<br />
or self-build programme,<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong> brewery makes New World<br />
Beer & Cider Awards top 30<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong> brewery Bootleg<br />
Brewery Company<br />
made the New<br />
World Beer & Cider Awards Top<br />
30 with their Bootleg T-Straight<br />
Burnout Smokey Stout. Local<br />
independent brewery producing<br />
boutique small batch beers, the<br />
taproom and brewery is located<br />
at the historic Matangi Dairy<br />
Factory near Hamilton.<br />
like Grand Designs. Like the<br />
owner who’d once knocked<br />
down a wall to make a kitchen<br />
diner so reckons, with a bit of<br />
Googling, he can build a 4-bedroomed<br />
luxury house in a ridiculous<br />
timetable and on a budget<br />
of small change.<br />
We know from the initial<br />
conversation around his plans<br />
that something will go wrong.<br />
Eventually, they’re in by the<br />
Christmas two years after the<br />
deadline and the costs have spiralled<br />
out of control.<br />
Admittedly, this unsurprising<br />
scenario isn’t always the<br />
case. There are plenty of people<br />
who can genuinely surpass<br />
expectations and create a masterpiece.<br />
We’re growing up more tech<br />
savvy and pick up new technologies<br />
easier, so learning specialist<br />
design software may not be<br />
a challenge. However, doing it<br />
right is different to doing it well.<br />
Even after three decades,<br />
the absolute greatest pleasures<br />
in my work is often when a<br />
designer shows me a new piece<br />
of marketing or advertising collateral<br />
for the first time. When<br />
briefing in a piece of design,<br />
you’ll have a vision of what it<br />
might look like and perhaps<br />
some practical ideas of what<br />
you might like to see. But the<br />
skill of a really good designer<br />
is taking those ideas and turning<br />
them into something special.<br />
Sometimes they take an<br />
idea and come up with a concept<br />
that surprises and delights.<br />
And when you can see how it<br />
perfectly connects what you<br />
want to express to what your<br />
audience will relate to, and it’s<br />
something a bit different too,<br />
it’s pure joy. I’ve been moved to<br />
tears on many occasions thanks<br />
to smart and considered design.<br />
known names alongside heritage<br />
brands like Steinlager, and popular<br />
craft breweries like Panhead<br />
and Sawmill, who continue to<br />
experiment and perform at the<br />
Accelerating success.<br />
But it’s equally true of much<br />
simpler things. For example,<br />
with sales materials that are<br />
more information heavy, it’s<br />
often the finer details and clever<br />
design techniques that can make<br />
the world of difference.<br />
I once found myself in a<br />
reception area beside a wall of<br />
brochures, highlighting a range<br />
of the company’s services. From<br />
a distance, they looked consistent<br />
– same colour banner at the<br />
top, same basic layout. Then I<br />
got closer. There were different<br />
fonts being used for headings.<br />
Many of the photos were too<br />
low resolution for print so had<br />
come out blurry. Text over pictures<br />
was nigh on impossible to<br />
TELLING YOUR STORY<br />
> BY VICKI JONES<br />
Vicki Jones is director of Dugmore Jones, Hamilton-based brand<br />
management consultancy. Email vicki@dugmorejones.co.nz<br />
top of their game.<br />
“Whether you are keen to<br />
try a perfect example of your<br />
favourite style of beer, explore<br />
something new, or just sample<br />
read. And so it went on.<br />
“I’m so glad to have finally<br />
got these all done,” the owner of<br />
the business said. He had done<br />
them himself and it had taken<br />
him months, he told me, as he<br />
acknowledged that it probably<br />
wasn’t quite the most productive<br />
use of his time.<br />
If it’s a “pretty big job”, or<br />
just something that needs to be<br />
done well, think carefully as<br />
you decide to DIY or “get some<br />
bloke in”, and consider the consequences<br />
of getting it wrong.<br />
Be honest about if you genuinely<br />
have the time and skills<br />
to attempt it yourself or if an<br />
expert hand is the more sensible<br />
option<br />
something from another part of<br />
the country, the Top 30 is a go<br />
to list that you can be confident<br />
choosing from,” Donaldson<br />
says.<br />
the Top 30 is a go to<br />
list that you can be<br />
confident choosing<br />
from<br />
Born in 2016, the brewery<br />
has successfully brewed more<br />
than 40 signature craft beers.<br />
Judge chair Michael Donaldson<br />
says this year’s Top 30 is a<br />
showcase of some of the best<br />
brewing talents and innovators<br />
in the country.<br />
“It’s great to be able to celebrate<br />
these new and less-widely<br />
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36 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
HR, MANAGEMENT AND RECRUITMENT<br />
<strong>2022</strong> Directors Fees Commentary<br />
<strong>2022</strong> marks the 30th year of the annual<br />
publication of this survey; this makes it<br />
the longest running Directors Fee survey<br />
in New Zealand. We are thrilled to have<br />
reached this milestone and to have<br />
informed so many organisations over the<br />
years on director fee rates.<br />
This last year has seen a<br />
bounce back in terms of<br />
economic recovery, however<br />
it is clear that not all sectors<br />
have experienced increased<br />
growth and consumer activity -<br />
the tourism and hospitality sectors<br />
are continuing to feel the<br />
pressure both in terms of consumer<br />
demand and staff shortages.<br />
Supply chain and talent<br />
shortages are also dramaticly<br />
impacting most organisations.<br />
It is also clear that organisations<br />
are going to have to learn to live<br />
with the pandemic for some<br />
time.<br />
All this increased risk and<br />
uncertantiy has only added<br />
to the workloads of directors.<br />
Interestingly, the majority<br />
of directors indicated that<br />
risk management issues have<br />
been the biggest contributor<br />
to increased time commitment<br />
by boards. As a result, directors<br />
have noticed that they are<br />
spending less time on strategic<br />
planning, which the majority<br />
view as the area where boards<br />
should focus their time.<br />
Last year, we noted a fall in<br />
fee levels over the previous 12<br />
months, reflecting the impact<br />
of the pandemic. This year we<br />
have seen a return to positive<br />
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Temporary<br />
Recruitment<br />
movement, but only in the private<br />
sector. In the public sector,<br />
we have seen zero movement<br />
and, as a result, the overal general<br />
market figures are showing<br />
a median market movement of<br />
zero. In the private sector overall<br />
we have seen a 2.8 percent<br />
increase in fees. Listed organisations<br />
have seen a median<br />
market movement of 5.7 percent<br />
and there has also been<br />
strong market movement in the<br />
property investment/development<br />
and transport/frieght and<br />
storage sectors (8.7 percent and<br />
10.3 percent respectively).<br />
As a result of the continued<br />
pay restraint in the public sector,<br />
we have seen an increase in the<br />
gap between private and public<br />
sector fees. As the following<br />
graphs clearly demostrate,<br />
this gap in fees becomes more<br />
pronounced as the revenues<br />
increase. Given the challenges<br />
now faced by board members,<br />
the public sector may struggle<br />
to recruit and retain key talent<br />
into their boards. Interestingly,<br />
the lower board fees within the<br />
public sector will also be contributing<br />
to the gender pay gap<br />
we see within the overal director<br />
fee database. While the public<br />
sector shows a far greater<br />
Permanent<br />
Recruitment<br />
Executive<br />
Recruitment<br />
representation of female board<br />
members, these board members<br />
are paid significantly less than<br />
their private sector counterparts.<br />
Gender<br />
We have seen another small<br />
increase in the gender balance<br />
on boards as compared to 2021.<br />
Twenty four percent of Chairs<br />
and 38 percent of Directors<br />
(23 percent and 37 percent in<br />
2021) are now represented by<br />
females. Central Government<br />
has the greatest representation<br />
of female directors; however,<br />
of note is the engineering sector<br />
which has an impressive 50 percent<br />
representation of female<br />
directors. The private sector<br />
has again improved its female<br />
representation on boards with<br />
an increase from 26 percent to<br />
30 percent in <strong>2022</strong>. There is a<br />
clear link between equal gender<br />
representation of board members<br />
and lower overall pay gaps<br />
within organisations. It is therefore<br />
encouraging to see the representation<br />
moving in the right<br />
direction.<br />
Finally, in our discussions<br />
with Board Chairs over the past<br />
12 months, we note that organisations<br />
now consider operating<br />
within a pandemic environment<br />
as the new normal. Moving forward<br />
we would expect director<br />
fees to continue to increase<br />
over the next 12 months. It will,<br />
however, be interesting to see<br />
whether the increased wage<br />
pressure and talent shortages<br />
will result in a relaxing of the<br />
pay restraint within the public<br />
sector.<br />
Industrial<br />
Recruitment<br />
07 839 3685 | www.assetrec.co.nz<br />
Cathy Hendry, Managing Director – Strategic Pay<br />
Managing recruitment<br />
needs in the hybrid<br />
workplace<br />
Hybrid working looks set<br />
to be the new norm, but<br />
what impact does that<br />
have on company culture and<br />
what does it mean for an organisation’s<br />
recruitment strategy in<br />
<strong>2022</strong>?<br />
Asset Recruitment’s Permanent<br />
Recruitment Specialist,<br />
Judith Bright discusses<br />
positioning excellence in a<br />
hybrid world.<br />
Once bustling office spaces<br />
now have only half of all desks<br />
inhabited, half of all staff carparks<br />
full, and half the number<br />
of coffee cups used on any<br />
given day. Today’s new norm is<br />
that of the hybrid workplace to<br />
ensure the health and wellbeing<br />
of staff and the smooth delivery<br />
of projects with minimal disruption<br />
and delay.<br />
But what impact does this<br />
new way of working have on<br />
team culture, and is virtual<br />
recruiting the new norm?<br />
MANAGEMENT in the hybrid<br />
workplace<br />
Team engagement is critical for<br />
company culture. A 2015 study<br />
of manager-led teams reported<br />
improved workplace engagement<br />
when daily interaction<br />
between managers and teams<br />
occurred.<br />
“In many New Zealand<br />
workplaces, managers are<br />
extremely accessible,” explains<br />
Judith. “It’s one of the benefits<br />
of the small-to-medium sized<br />
businesses that populate the<br />
New Zealand landscape. But<br />
that accessibility needs to continue<br />
even when managers and<br />
direct reports aren’t working<br />
in the same space. Lose that<br />
communication and workplaces<br />
will lose engagement, trust and,<br />
ultimately, staff in a tight labour<br />
market.”<br />
Communication is an essential<br />
tool in managing the effectiveness<br />
of hybrid workplaces.<br />
“Robust and consistent internal<br />
communication, encouraging<br />
collaboration among different<br />
teams, and delegation of tasks<br />
can help to ensure employees<br />
feel up-to-date on company<br />
projects, recognised for their<br />
contribution, and a valued part<br />
of a company they enjoy working<br />
for,” Judith says.<br />
“Regardless of the hybrid<br />
look of a workplace, employees<br />
will be more productive when<br />
they feel informed and trusted<br />
to do the job they’re employed<br />
to do.”<br />
RECRUITMENT in the hybrid<br />
workplace<br />
A change in workplace settings<br />
also brings different challenges<br />
for staff recruitment and retention,<br />
but recruiting in the hybrid<br />
workplace can still achieve<br />
desired outcomes.<br />
“The hybrid workplace<br />
has demanded more from HR<br />
and, in some instances, it has<br />
exposed gaps in an organisation’s<br />
recruitment strategy,”<br />
explains Judith.<br />
“With a tight labour market<br />
adding to the challenges, organisations<br />
really do need to think<br />
outside the box when it comes<br />
to online recruitment. Attendance<br />
of online job fairs will<br />
help gain organisational awareness<br />
to a new group of potential<br />
candidates; active use of social<br />
media channels will also help to<br />
build profile.”<br />
“And, when it comes to<br />
shortlisting, interviewing and<br />
welcoming new recruits to a<br />
team, processes, systems, technology<br />
and tools are integral,”<br />
she says.<br />
Judith also shines light on<br />
the importance of clearly articulating<br />
the difference between<br />
hybrid workplaces and flexible<br />
working. “Hybrid working<br />
is the mix of office-based and<br />
home-based work many organisations<br />
have had to adapt too;<br />
flexible working on the other<br />
hand is determined by when an<br />
employee works to get the job<br />
done.”<br />
The hybrid workplace certainly<br />
offers some exciting<br />
prospects for staff recruitment<br />
and engagement, but as the past<br />
couple of years have shown, it’s<br />
how we adapt to the changes<br />
that will determine success.<br />
Looking to position excellence<br />
in a hybrid workplace? Speak<br />
with the Asset Recruitment<br />
team today.
HR, MANAGEMENT AND RECRUITMENT<br />
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
37<br />
Aligning<br />
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SP154 <strong>Business</strong>North_March <strong>2022</strong>_art.indd 1<br />
5/04/22 6:00 PM
38 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
Waipā Here's leading how<br />
Here's <strong>Waikato</strong>’s how<br />
BUDGET <strong>2022</strong><br />
commercial boom<br />
It’s a great feeling to learn that Waipā is once again leading<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong> region’s commercial boom according to data just<br />
released by Quarterly Economic Monitor.<br />
Dr Gaurav Sharma<br />
MP for Hamilton West<br />
gaurav.sharma@parliament.govt.nz<br />
Follow me on Facebook.com/gmsharmanz<br />
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andrew.whyte@linkbusiness.co.nz<br />
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The airport precinct Tita-<br />
- A new short term cost of living payment, for people earning less than $70,000 who don't<br />
already receive the Winter Energy Payment.<br />
REGION<br />
- An extension commercial nium to Park the is our fuel trump card tax for cut, ing strong reduced employment road growth charges and half price public transport.<br />
growth has continued<br />
Half with gusto price even public numerous transport<br />
local, national and<br />
for compared Kiwis kiwis to on the New low Zealand income. incomes.<br />
commercial activity. It hosts and a low unemployment rate<br />
-<br />
international businesses. Master<br />
planning is underway to for make <strong>Waikato</strong>. sure Kiwis are paying a fair price at the<br />
average and other parts of<br />
- Action on supermarkets, checkout.<br />
Waipā’s<br />
during the pandemic. That’s<br />
demonstrated by the wave of<br />
building and resource consents<br />
submitted to the council<br />
in 2021 with a capital value<br />
of $456 million. Over the last<br />
year, in terms of commercial<br />
growth, Waipā<br />
outperformed the rest of the<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong> and New Zealand<br />
as more investors realise the<br />
unique potential our district<br />
has to offer.<br />
infrastructure to connect with<br />
the rest of Cambridge including<br />
options to walk, cycle or<br />
bus to Cambridge CBD and<br />
also Hamilton City and sur-<br />
With Budget count. <strong>2022</strong>, The latest we're Economic<br />
With Budget<br />
also and<br />
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with the we’re town. also We’re delivering: building<br />
• Lifesaving healthcare with more rounding areas.<br />
• Lifesaving healthcare with more paramedics and<br />
and ambulances.<br />
A diverse ambulances.<br />
economy has<br />
helped create economic resilience<br />
for the district during<br />
• More medicines and treatments with a • More medicines and treatments funding boost for Pharmac. with a record funding boost for Pharmac.<br />
COVID-19. Waipā has<br />
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Working consistently for of Families course more employment. and superannuation,<br />
On the topic of employ-<br />
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sale and providing the experienced<br />
advice to best structure<br />
your departure”.<br />
Various factors can influence<br />
the necessary time to<br />
prepare your business for<br />
sale, working together with a<br />
<strong>Business</strong> Broker that will add<br />
Significant development<br />
is earmarked for Cambridge<br />
West including a new retire-<br />
choose to live in Cambridge<br />
is due to its village feel, so it’s<br />
important residents in the new<br />
development feel physically<br />
ness is likely to be one of the<br />
most pivotal transactions of<br />
your life!<br />
Despite the last two years,<br />
buyer and seller confidence<br />
is definitely returning. The<br />
country’s borders are reopening<br />
and people are traveling<br />
est impacts of the pandemic<br />
compared with other districts<br />
and regions in New Zealand.<br />
Current indicators show that<br />
Waipā ’s diverse and stable<br />
economy is showing no signs<br />
of slowing down.<br />
Food, farming, manufacturing<br />
and technology are at the<br />
heart of our flourishing economy.<br />
Many businesses have<br />
relocated to Waipā because<br />
of its agile workforce, excellent<br />
lifestyle, high standard of<br />
education and opportunities in<br />
the commercial and industrial<br />
sectors. With dedicated commercial<br />
sites in Cambridge,<br />
sales market.<br />
“While there is plenty of<br />
talk in the media about rising<br />
linkbusiness.co.nz/WK00252<br />
Reuben Silby 021 133 0624<br />
reuben.silby@linkbusiness.co.nz<br />
interest rates, historically these<br />
remain on the low side when<br />
compared with past decades.<br />
This means there are plenty<br />
of options for business buyers<br />
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
FROM THE<br />
WRITTEN BY<br />
JIM MYLCHREEST<br />
Waipā District<br />
Council <strong>May</strong>or<br />
Te Awamutu and the Airport,<br />
businesses can make the most<br />
of our proximity to major city<br />
centres and New Zealand’s<br />
economic golden triangle<br />
(Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga).<br />
The council’s vision is<br />
Waipā Home of Champions,<br />
building connected communities.<br />
We are focused on creating<br />
communities that are<br />
attractive for people to live,<br />
work, play and invest in. It<br />
must be working because the<br />
LINK <strong>Business</strong> Brokers helping<br />
· Profit from the building boom<br />
· Admin and people based<br />
· Franchise support<br />
linkbusiness.co.nz/WK00250<br />
Scott Miller 027 301 6543<br />
scott.miller@linkbusiness.co.nz<br />
Success In Engineering! $495,000<br />
Bay of Plenty<br />
· Specialising in joining, cutting & milling<br />
· Great qualified & experienced staff<br />
· Equipped with CNC cutting & milling<br />
machinery<br />
· Diverse and interesting projects<br />
linkbusiness.co.nz/WK00241<br />
Andrew Whyte 022 097 0065<br />
andrew.whyte@linkbusiness.co.nz<br />
More buyers are<br />
looking for quality<br />
businesses, a great<br />
time to exit yours<br />
Authorised by Dr Gaurav Sharma MP, Parliament Buildings, Wellington<br />
39<br />
If you’ve been thinking about selling, start by<br />
contacting looking to us acquire for a confidential funding and discussion. New Zealanders through their<br />
service debt,” Johnson says later years.<br />
In recent times younger “With more buyers now<br />
Kiwis have identified the looking for quality business it<br />
need to LET’S take TALK control of their might just be the right time to<br />
own financial destiny in a exit yours,” he says.<br />
way that previous generations<br />
0800 225 999<br />
If you’ve been thinking<br />
didn’t. Increasingly, the aspirational<br />
desire to build equity<br />
independently has replaced<br />
universal reliance on a government-issued<br />
pension to see<br />
Waipā population is growing<br />
as more people recognise our<br />
district as a hidden gem. And<br />
who can blame them? People<br />
love our community spirit, laid<br />
back vibe and boutique townships<br />
brimming with character.<br />
Economists from Westpac<br />
agree. They have placed Waipā<br />
in the top five future hot spots<br />
in New Zealand for people to<br />
live, work and invest.<br />
Waipā District Council<br />
intends to keep leading the way<br />
by supporting business investment<br />
and commercial opportunities<br />
in our district. It’s all<br />
about creating an ecosystem in<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong>’s heartland, designed<br />
to help our new and existing<br />
enterprises prosper. Our team<br />
is busy designing frameworks<br />
to keep up with the ‘boom<br />
momentum’ we are currently<br />
experiencing. So, keep an eye<br />
out for savvy new initiatives<br />
over the coming months such<br />
as the Economic Wellbeing<br />
Strategy and the Waipā Community<br />
Spatial Plan.<br />
All LINK NZ offices are licensed REAA08<br />
about selling, start by contacting<br />
LINK <strong>Business</strong> Brokers<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong> for a confidential discussion.<br />
0800 225 99
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
39<br />
Here's how<br />
This builds on a range of measures we've taken to ease pressure, including increases to<br />
Working for Families and superannuation, free school lunches, the Winter Energy<br />
Payment and more.<br />
“The whole Fosters package<br />
With Budget <strong>2022</strong>, we're<br />
With Budget<br />
also<br />
<strong>2022</strong>,<br />
delivering:<br />
we’re also delivering:<br />
is excellent.”<br />
• Lifesaving healthcare with<br />
• Lifesaving<br />
more<br />
healthcare<br />
paramedics<br />
with more and ambulances.<br />
and ambulances.<br />
• More medicines and treatments with a • More medicines and treatments funding boost for Pharmac. with a record funding boost for Pharmac.<br />
• Up to 38,000 more apprentices, by • Up to 38,000 more apprentices, Apprenticeship Boost. by extending Apprenticeship Boost.<br />
Luxury real estate brand New Zealand<br />
Sotheby’s International Realty are the newest<br />
business to open their doors at Fosters<br />
Tamahere Village development. Director Russell<br />
Thomas and his wife Angela, both leading sales<br />
agents in the Tamahere area, are thrilled to<br />
Well Known Joinery $350,000<br />
Bay of Plenty/Coromandel<br />
have a bespoke · Assets $256k & Stock new $51k office included at the centre of the<br />
· 50% rent paid until March 2023<br />
community. · Growth opportunities<br />
· Excellent Vendor assistance<br />
A community-focused commercial and<br />
linkbusiness.co.nz/WK00126<br />
recreational space Rick Johnson for the 021 991 growing 485 Tamahere<br />
rick.johnson@linkbusiness.co.nz<br />
neighbourhood, the Village is a mix of amenities<br />
including recreational facilities, health services,<br />
Taupo<br />
eating places, · Opportunity to professional start working for yourself! services, and retail<br />
space.<br />
Physiotherapy By The Lake $120,000<br />
· Retiring partner offering vendor assistance<br />
· Long established, successful practice<br />
· $120,000 is for a 50% share<br />
“Tamahere Village was a good fit for both<br />
linkbusiness.co.nz/EL03509<br />
Sotheby’s and our Tony own Andrew 021 personal 938 560 brand” says<br />
tony.andrew@linkbusiness.co.nz<br />
Russell. “The development has been so well<br />
received by everyone and the Village has<br />
Hamilton<br />
a great · vibe. Skilled and We’re established staff really pleased with the<br />
· Standout marketing, large customer base<br />
opportunity · Growth potential to add to produce a real other products estate office with<br />
· Plans & patterns all part of the IP<br />
community-based agents in such a fantastic<br />
location.<br />
Step Up In Engineering! $225,000<br />
linkbusiness.co.nz/WK00238<br />
Andrew Whyte 022 097 0065<br />
andrew.whyte@linkbusiness.co.nz<br />
Here's how<br />
BUDGET <strong>2022</strong><br />
Dr Gaurav Sharma<br />
MP for Hamilton West<br />
will help Hamilton West with<br />
the cost of living:<br />
- A new short term cost of living payment, for people earning less than $70,000 who don't<br />
already receive the Winter Energy Payment.<br />
- An extension to the fuel tax cut, reduced road charges and half price public transport.<br />
- Half price public transport<br />
for Kiwis kiwis on low income. incomes.<br />
- Action on supermarkets, to make sure Kiwis are paying a fair price at the checkout.<br />
gaurav.sharma@parliament.govt.nz<br />
Follow me on Facebook.com/gmsharmanz<br />
Authorised by Gaurav Sharma MP, Parliament Buildings, Wellington<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong> Electrical <strong>Business</strong> $1,550,000<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong><br />
Angela & Russell Thomas, NZSIR <strong>Waikato</strong><br />
“Being a brand-new office, we had a blank<br />
canvas to work with. And, with the help and<br />
Take control of your future.<br />
know-how of the Fosters team, we’ve been<br />
Buy your own business.<br />
able to create an office that’s ideal for the way<br />
we like to do business. It’s welcoming, open,<br />
practical, and sophisticated – matching our<br />
initial concept exactly.”<br />
· Operating 25+ years, wide range of clients<br />
· Experienced, qualified staff & apprentices<br />
· Cash surplus to working owner over $600k p.a.<br />
average over last 3 yrs<br />
0800 225 999<br />
LINKBUSINESS.CO.NZ<br />
Transparency, honest and time · Franchise management<br />
support<br />
are keywords that Russell now associates with<br />
linkbusiness.co.nz/WK00239<br />
Fosters, Alanah Eagle 021 along 606 345 with ease of communication and<br />
flexibility.<br />
· Fantastic reputation, years of high profitability<br />
· Asking $1,550,000 + stock<br />
alanah.eagle@linkbusiness.co.nz<br />
Flooring <strong>Business</strong> $475,000<br />
Taranaki<br />
“The whole Fosters package is Bay excellent. of Plenty They<br />
have exceeded our expectations · Great qualified with & the experienced staff<br />
service provided and the processes machinery they have<br />
· Diverse and interesting projects<br />
in place. Nothing is ever too much of an issue.<br />
linkbusiness.co.nz/WK00251<br />
Based Therese Bailey on 021 our 707 641 experience, we would certainly<br />
work with them again.”<br />
· Full support from the franchise<br />
· Commerical & Residential work<br />
· Trading 5 1/2 days per week<br />
· Steady growth, good pipeline of future work<br />
· Asking $475,000 + stock<br />
therese.bailey@linkbusiness.co.nz<br />
Pizza Restaurant With Catering $117,000<br />
will help Hamilton West<br />
with the cost of living:<br />
Hamilton<br />
· Premium Pizza Restaurant in Hamilton<br />
· Growing Sales, Superb Fitout (near new)<br />
· Great lease terms, Tangible assets $80k<br />
· Renowned brand with growth potential<br />
linkbusiness.co.nz/WK00249<br />
Scott Miller 027 301 6543<br />
scott.miller@linkbusiness.co.nz<br />
Building & Construction $140,000<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong><br />
· Work placement of apprentices<br />
· Profit from the building boom<br />
· Admin and people based<br />
linkbusiness.co.nz/WK00250<br />
Scott Miller 027 301 6543<br />
scott.miller@linkbusiness.co.nz<br />
Success In Engineering! $495,000<br />
· Specialising in joining, cutting & milling<br />
· Equipped with CNC cutting & milling<br />
linkbusiness.co.nz/WK00241<br />
Andrew Whyte 022 097 0065<br />
andrew.whyte@linkbusiness.co.nz<br />
More buyers are<br />
looking for quality<br />
businesses, a great<br />
time to exit yours<br />
Authorised by Dr Gaurav Sharma MP, Parliament Buildings, Wellington<br />
Unique Vehicle <strong>Business</strong>! $720,000<br />
Taranaki<br />
· Agriculture-related vehicles<br />
· Long-established, diverse and loyal customers<br />
· Qualified skilled staff<br />
· Strong turnover and profitability<br />
linkbusiness.co.nz/WK00242<br />
FOSTERS.CO.NZ Andrew . 07 Whyte 849 022 097 3849 0065<br />
andrew.whyte@linkbusiness.co.nz<br />
Roll Into Your Future $500,000<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong><br />
· Longstanding tyre fitting & repair business<br />
· Profit to working owner $190k+ p.a.<br />
· Excellent location, commercial focus<br />
· 25+ year operation<br />
linkbusiness.co.nz/WK00252<br />
Reuben Silby 021 133 0624<br />
reuben.silby@linkbusiness.co.nz<br />
If you’ve been thinking about selling, start by<br />
contacting us for a confidential discussion.<br />
LET’S TALK<br />
0800 225 999<br />
All LINK NZ offices are licensed REAA08
MAY/JUNE VOLUME 30: ISSUE 5 <strong>2022</strong> WWW.WBN.CO.NZ FACEBOOK.COM/WAIKATOBUSINESSNEWS<br />
Nau Mai R ā bringing<br />
power to the people<br />
“The whole Fosters package<br />
is excellent.”<br />
Aotearoa's first kaupapa Māori energy retailer Nau<br />
Mai Rā is empowering Kiwi’s living in power poverty.<br />
Hamilton-born co-founders<br />
Ezra Hirawani (Te curve understanding how we studying anymore,” he laughs.<br />
“It was a steep learning even realised that I wasn't<br />
Āti Haunui-a-Paparangi/Ngāti<br />
could apply this approach They were determined that<br />
Rangi/Ngāpuhi/ into a power industry that saw the business would stand on<br />
Ngāti Hako/<strong>Waikato</strong>-Tainui) consumers as money making its own merits and in the early<br />
and Ben Armstrong (<strong>Waikato</strong><br />
Tainui/Ngāti Hine) are putting<br />
people before profit and funnelling<br />
money back into funding<br />
initiatives that benefit whānau.<br />
Nau Mai Rā uses a pay it<br />
forward model where customers<br />
pay a portion of their power<br />
opportunities rather than as<br />
whānau and people.”<br />
In most cases, Ezra says,<br />
their customers pay the same or<br />
less than they would be charged<br />
by other suppliers.<br />
Founded in 2019, the pair<br />
have worked hard to maintain<br />
stages went about quietly signing<br />
up customers and making<br />
tweaks along the way.<br />
“We just had to make sure<br />
that the product could stand on<br />
its own without any cool story,<br />
any marketing pizazz. That we<br />
could sell power at a cheaper<br />
the integrity of Nau Mai rate to a family, and then use<br />
bill towards a marae, kura or to<br />
the whānau fund Luxury which helps real Rā estate whilst learning brand about New the Zealand<br />
that power bill to fund each<br />
pay the power bill for vulnerable<br />
families. Sotheby’s ness.“We International have been more Realty pub-<br />
are One the of their newest first projects<br />
cut-throat power supply busi-<br />
project.”<br />
“We discovered business that there's to lic facing open in last their two years doors year at was Fosters to purchase a 49-seater bus<br />
over 130,000 households and have acquired customers for a low decile kura (school) in<br />
here in Aotearoa Tamahere that suffer in slowly Village in different development. regions as Otangarei. Director Russell<br />
energy hardship or power poverty;<br />
that a massive Thomas problem,” and started his with wife learning Angela, the com-<br />
both a community leading will pay sales their bills<br />
we’ve tested the product. We “This was proof to us, that if<br />
Ezra says.<br />
agents in the<br />
plexities<br />
Tamahere<br />
of the industry<br />
area,<br />
and<br />
are<br />
with us,<br />
thrilled<br />
we can actually<br />
to<br />
drive<br />
Basing their business model understanding how we can impact back into the community,”<br />
centre he says. of the<br />
around the tuakana-teina have relationship<br />
where an older family twist on it.”<br />
Seeing the joy on the stu-<br />
a bespoke have our own new twist office indigenous at the<br />
member supports community.<br />
and mentors Although based in the dent’s faces when they had<br />
someone younger, Nau Mai Rā <strong>Waikato</strong>, Nau Mai Rā is only their first bus ride was the proof<br />
customers are helping their fellow<br />
customers who<br />
just beginning to get their product<br />
out to their local market.<br />
that what they were doing<br />
A<br />
are<br />
community-focused<br />
experiencing<br />
hardship. recreational It space was a conscious for the decision growing difference Tamahere<br />
in people’s lives.<br />
commercial<br />
was working<br />
and<br />
and making a<br />
“We wanted to apply the to test markets outside of their “From that moment we just<br />
tuakana-teina approach, neighbourhood, where patch in order the to Village get genuine is a continued mix of to amenities<br />
build and now we<br />
we worked with those who feedback about what they had have elevated just over 2000<br />
could afford to pay including for their recreational to offer. facilities, people health out of services,<br />
energy hardship,<br />
power to support eating those who places, “If I professional sign my mum up, she’s services, and it is and starting retail to snowball<br />
couldn't. And doing so in a way always going to say, ‘son it’s now,”<br />
where we did no harm space. to those amazing’. I was probably a People are at the heart of<br />
who could afford to pay for<br />
that,” he says.<br />
year and a half into Nau Mai<br />
Rā might have before my mum<br />
Ezra and Ben’s business model;<br />
they make bill paying easier by<br />
“Tamahere Village was a good fit for both<br />
Sotheby’s and our own personal brand” says<br />
Russell. “The development has been so well<br />
received by everyone and the Village has<br />
a great vibe. We’re really pleased with the<br />
opportunity to add a real estate office with<br />
community-based agents in such a fantastic<br />
location.<br />
“Being a brand-new office, we had a blank<br />
canvas to work with. And, with the help and<br />
know-how of the Fosters team, we’ve been<br />
able to create an office that’s ideal for the way<br />
we like to do business. It’s welcoming, open,<br />
practical, and sophisticated – matching our<br />
initial concept exactly.”<br />
Transparency, honest and time management<br />
are keywords that Russell now associates with<br />
Fosters, along with ease of communication and<br />
flexibility.<br />
Ezra Hirawani.<br />
“The whole Fosters package is excellent. They<br />
have exceeded our expectations with the<br />
service provided and the processes they have<br />
in place. Nothing is ever too much of an issue.<br />
Based on our experience, we would certainly<br />
work with them again.”<br />
sending smaller more frequent<br />
bills, customers are signed in to<br />
a contract and have the freedom<br />
to move should they choose,<br />
and they don't charge whānau<br />
Angela & Russell Thomas, NZSIR <strong>Waikato</strong><br />
daily fixed cost in addition to the industry average is around<br />
their bills.<br />
15. And that is largely because<br />
“We've had a very low bad we're not as big as the other<br />
debt percentage. We're sitting<br />
around at two percent. I think Continued on page 3<br />
FOSTERS.CO.NZ . 07 849 3849
KEEPING UP<br />
WITH SERVICE<br />
CHANGES IS<br />
IMPORTANT<br />
ince opening its original used<br />
motorcycle sales and service store in<br />
S1978, the changes in how motorcycles<br />
are serviced are astounding says Road<br />
and Sport co-owner Barry Sproule,<br />
“In the Seventies, there might have been<br />
old and seizing clutch and throttle cables<br />
hanging vertically, and every morning the<br />
apprentice would feed drops of Penetrene<br />
or light oil down inside the casing to<br />
eventually free them up. We hoped they’d<br />
work again, as did our customers.”<br />
Mechanics had excellent skills with every<br />
tool from a hammer to a micrometer,<br />
but workshop electrics were limited to a<br />
voltmeter and not much else.<br />
One thing Barry has always had in<br />
the service area was – and still is – a<br />
fully operational, well equiped service<br />
workshop, using the latest technology<br />
equipment and recently with the addition<br />
of a digital machine lathe, replacement<br />
or custom parts can now be repaired or<br />
made from scratch with thousandth-ofan-inch<br />
accuracy in house.<br />
The all-encompassing change since then<br />
is the computerisation of the motorcycles,<br />
and the diagnostic tools and equipment.<br />
“Today our diagnostic computers,<br />
proprietary units built, programmed,<br />
supplied and updated by Harley-<br />
Davidson, can tell us nearly everything<br />
about a motorcycle’s operation,” Barry<br />
says. “It saves a customer so much time!<br />
Most faults can be identified instantly<br />
and accurately, and these factory H-D<br />
computers are only at authorised Harley<br />
dealers.”<br />
Barry’s early history in motorcycling<br />
was in service departments, and he<br />
still keeps abreast of each new engine<br />
and motorcycle as they’re released.<br />
“Technician training is everything. Our<br />
techs must be factory certified, and<br />
their training from the Motor Company is<br />
ongoing… almost endlessly,” Barry says.<br />
After a great deal of effort and training,<br />
technicians can reach master level from<br />
Harley-Davidson’s own Harley-Davidson<br />
University (H-DU).<br />
The existence of H-DU at all shows how<br />
seriously the factory is about dealership<br />
service departments being the best in the<br />
industry, Barry says.<br />
“Even a master level technician is<br />
continually required to upgrade and recertify,<br />
not just on diagnostics and engines,<br />
but for the entire motorcycle… brakes,<br />
suspension, everything.”<br />
Road and Sport’s three recent Dealer of<br />
the Year awards show that the store’s<br />
technician training, performance and<br />
customer feedback are indeed working<br />
together to create a reliable, top quality<br />
service department.<br />
There are other arrows in the Road and<br />
Sport service arsenal too. Firstly, as<br />
mentioned earlier, the machine shop is<br />
now using the latest digital lathe, and other<br />
best-quality machinery. That goes handin-hand<br />
with the next important part of the<br />
service are - building high-performance<br />
race and road engines and custom<br />
motorcycles.<br />
This has always been a passion for Barry<br />
and the team. Complete engines, or Stage-<br />
Kits from Harley’s genuine performance<br />
brand Screamin’ Eagle, and from other<br />
reputable brands such as S&S, are being<br />
installed every week, as customers trust<br />
the dealership’s experience and ability in<br />
high performance work.<br />
That’s also why there’s a Dynojet<br />
dynamometer in the store, for perfect<br />
computer-controlled tuning of highperformance<br />
engines. Barry and some<br />
of his staff regularly drag race their bikes<br />
(and win), partly to test performance<br />
parameters for future engine builds instore,<br />
but mainly (of course) because it’s<br />
addictive fun!<br />
The service equipment is replaced when<br />
necessary to ensure that it’s the best<br />
available. Not long ago the tyre changing<br />
machine and wheel balancer was swapped<br />
out for a new one, with features to prevent<br />
any damage to wheel rims, and of course<br />
precision computerised balancing.<br />
Barry is adamant the key aspect of the<br />
success and quality of the Road and<br />
Sport service department is training,<br />
and care. “Our service area is equipped<br />
with heat pumps for year round comfort<br />
and special rubber tiled flooring and<br />
exhaust extraction also helps to provide<br />
a very comfortable and safe working<br />
environment,” he says.<br />
“We train by following Harley’s lead,<br />
their innovations, their upgrades…<br />
and we add our own training from 44<br />
years of experience and 32 years of<br />
Harley experience. Plus, we care. The<br />
motorcycles are someone’s pride and joy,<br />
and we never forget that. It will leave here<br />
better than it came in.”<br />
ACCESSORIES AND PARTS PERSONALISE THE BIKES<br />
ne of the unique characteristics of<br />
Harley-Davidson motorcycles is that<br />
Ono two seem to look the same. While<br />
the Harley models come out of the crates<br />
and are identical except for colour, once the<br />
bike’s new owners get into the customising<br />
job the changes can be astounding!<br />
The incredible range of Accessories<br />
available from H-D Motor Company fill an<br />
800-page catalogue!<br />
After 32 years selling Harleys, Road<br />
and Sport know the Accessories game<br />
backwards, forwards, and top to bottom.<br />
Whatever a customer’s vision for his or her<br />
motorcycle is, Parts and Accessories (P&A)<br />
manager Blair and the team can find the<br />
right items to make it real.<br />
And the variety of ideas, dreams, plans and<br />
hopes that the P&A team encounters is as<br />
wide and endless as the sky, dealership<br />
owner Barry Sproule says. “Some customers<br />
want all black, some want all matt-black,<br />
some want all chrome. Some people ride to<br />
tour long distances so we add extra luggage<br />
capacity in saddlebags, top boxes, luggage<br />
racks, and also touring windscreens. Did we<br />
mention the new touring seat that warms<br />
you up in the cooler months and cools you<br />
down in the hotter summer months?”<br />
Of course, for some riders a stripped back,<br />
minimalist look is what they envision and the<br />
team can make those Harley dreams come<br />
true. “Lower suspension, higher suspension,<br />
very beautiful factory custom items in<br />
matched collections to fulfill a consistent<br />
form and look from end to end… black or<br />
chrome, we’ve done it all and we can keep<br />
doing it.”<br />
Blair and his team are also experts in many<br />
of the after-market accessory brands<br />
which orbit around the Harley-Davidson<br />
industry. “Vance & Hines, S&S, Hammerdown<br />
or World Class Fabrications NZ-made<br />
handlebars, all of these – and other brands<br />
too - make exceptional quality products, so<br />
if customers want these, we’ll supply them<br />
happily,” Blair says.<br />
The business has a tremendous turnover in<br />
genuine service parts – from filters, oils, tyres,<br />
gaskets and seals to batteries and thousands<br />
of other parts are always available over the<br />
counter or on courier delivery.<br />
Best of all, according to the P&A team<br />
and Barry, are performance engine builds.<br />
“Customers have different needs or<br />
desires for their bike’s performance. All the<br />
horsepower at the top of the rev-range,<br />
or tons of torque in the mid-range, or just<br />
a little more of both to get past the semitrailers<br />
quicker… it doesn’t matter what, we<br />
can do it precisely.”<br />
The dealership has an in-house<br />
Dynamometer, and many years of saved<br />
horsepower and torque charts and printouts<br />
from many hundreds of engine builds. From<br />
the team’s experience and knowledge,<br />
the correct items are selected to fulfill any<br />
customer’s needs.<br />
It’s also an ever-evolving field; Harley’s<br />
Screamin’ Eagle Performance division is<br />
endlessly releasing new parts, and these<br />
are tried on the store’s shop-custom builds<br />
so that – again – accurate information is<br />
obtained and customers can rely on the<br />
advice that Road and Sport give them.<br />
All the P&A staff are required to complete<br />
comprehensive training from Harley-<br />
Davidson University too, right up to master<br />
level. Blair says that this ensures that<br />
everyone is up to speed immediately with<br />
new products, such as the most recently<br />
released Revolution Max all-new engine, the<br />
Pan America Adventure Tourer, the Sportster<br />
S, electric LiveWire, and the very new<br />
release of the Nightster.<br />
As with everything at Road and Sport,<br />
it’s enthusiasm which drives the P&A<br />
department, and passion for the Harley<br />
brand. All the store’s departments and staff<br />
share in, and are proud of, the dealership’s<br />
three Australasian Dealer of the Year awards.<br />
And they want more!<br />
381 Te Rapa Road, Hamilton (07) 958 1400 www.roadandsport.co.nz
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APPAREL AND MOTORCLOTHES – RIDING<br />
OR CASUAL WEAR FOR EVERYONE!<br />
I<br />
n 1990, when Road and Sport joined the<br />
Harley-Davidson dealership network,<br />
there were ‘new kids on the block’ in<br />
motorcycling. These kids were named<br />
MotorClothes and Collectibles, and they<br />
changed the two-wheeled world.<br />
H-D Motor Company had introduced<br />
MotorClothes just two years before in 1988,<br />
a brave move in an industry focused on<br />
engines, sprockets, primary chains, and<br />
tyres, just to name a few things.<br />
While motorcycle stores always sold<br />
leather jackets and riding boots,<br />
MotorClothes expanded those products<br />
into stylish men’s and women’s ranges with<br />
a much wider variety available. But the<br />
really unexpected jump was to offer vast<br />
ranges of fashion and casual clothing.<br />
The goal of seeing the Harley-Davidson<br />
brand on customers and riders when<br />
they’re NOT on the bike had proven<br />
massively successful in the USA, Australia,<br />
and Canada… even in the two short years<br />
before Road and Sport joined the team.<br />
Shelley Sproule, half of the Road and<br />
Sport ownership team with husband<br />
Barry, carefully checked out the in-depth<br />
information about MotorClothes from H-D<br />
and the distributor at the time Morgan and<br />
Wacker. Shelley saw the potential glowing<br />
like a neon sign, and took the dealership<br />
into the new clothing and collectible areas<br />
in a serious way!<br />
“I thought there’s no sense in nibbling<br />
at it. So, we assessed the enormous<br />
product range carefully, ordered an<br />
impressive selection of riding gear, apparel,<br />
homeware, and collectibles, and built<br />
an entire new department in the Te Rapa<br />
store.”<br />
“We were the classiest clothing shop in<br />
Hamilton, and maybe we still are.”<br />
The growth of MotorClothes (now called<br />
apparel and merchandise) has never really<br />
slowed, showing that Shelley’s research<br />
and instincts were spot-on.<br />
“Everyone wants that famous Harley brand<br />
on their clothing somewhere and the<br />
casual clothing has fanned out into the<br />
non-riding community for all of our 32 years<br />
with H-D. And it should too! It’s stylish,<br />
keeps up with current trends, and the<br />
product quality has always been excellent,”<br />
she says.<br />
Harley was also the first motorcycle<br />
manufacturer to seriously and consistently<br />
offer large ranges of riding gear and<br />
clothing, especially for women. The cut,<br />
the features, sizing, the placements of<br />
different fabrics and the accessibility of<br />
various pockets and the like, are designed<br />
by women riders, for women riders.<br />
Over the years, the immutable core has<br />
always been riding gear, tough, innovative,<br />
using leather and new high-tech fabrics.<br />
Because the apparel designers at Harley<br />
are riders designing for riders, features<br />
from the concept to the smallest detail are<br />
purposeful.<br />
Expansion areas have also taken Harley<br />
into homeware, children’s apparel,<br />
backpacks and bags, belts, wallets and<br />
purses, casual footwear, denim jeans, toys<br />
and model bikes, and SO much more!<br />
Just like the service technicians and parts<br />
staff, the apparel and merchandise staff<br />
are required to undertake many training<br />
courses and modules through Harley-<br />
Davidson University.<br />
“The Apparel people must know about<br />
their products, and the training teaches<br />
them the big pictures of safety, comfort,<br />
and materials selection, as well as<br />
the smaller ins-and-outs of pockets,<br />
waterproofing, removable liners for<br />
warmth, tech-storage pockets and outlets<br />
for phone. I could go on, but it’s all the<br />
details that Harley is so good at adding<br />
into the gear,” Shelley says.<br />
“Our team members can reach H-DU<br />
master level, just as a technician can, and<br />
it’s ongoing. There are new courses every<br />
year.”<br />
Shelley and Barry are proud that the<br />
Apparel and Merchandise department is<br />
as successful – and important – as New<br />
H-D Sales, Genuine Parts, Accessories<br />
and Service in contributing to the three<br />
Australasian Dealer of the Year awards won<br />
by Road and Sport in just the last five years.<br />
381 Te Rapa Road, Hamilton (07) 958 1400 www.roadandsport.co.nz