Business Central July 2021

42 | Attitude, enterprise the key to Akitio The historic woolshed at Akitio Station; the Kight family’s roots in the Southern Hawke’s Bay locality of Akitio stem back to 1876. T from page 40 Tararua - Akitio Investments REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT “So there’s a mix of what is called pre ’90 and post ’89 forests as far as the emissions trading scheme is concerned,” says Ed. “Each year we harvest an area of trees with a lot of planting and silviculture going on. “We also collect carbon credits on an annu- al basis. This year we will harvest close on 100 hectares, with 60,000 – 70,000 tonnes coming off the property, but we’re rolling around to a point where we will harvesting 80 hectares a year.” Harvesting operations have been contract- ed out and while independent forest manage- ment companies have been used to organise the marketing of the logs, Ed is now undertak- ing that himself. “We’re just in the process of setting up our own forest management business which will deal with the Akitio portfolio as well as a num- ber of other plantations. Some logs will go to the local mills and some will go to export.” Akitio Trucking, a log transport business, has its origins back to the 2008 harvest when Ed struggled to get logging trucks to come in. “That made the forestry contractor grumpy and it made me as the forest owner pretty grumpy. “So I bought a couple of ‘very experienced trucks’, put a couple of contract drivers on and it all went well. I was going to park the trucks and wait for next year’s harvest. “But the drivers asked if I could find more work for them. So that is what we did and we grew from two trucks to six truck, and then six trucks with two owners drivers.” At that point there was accompany struc- ture and Akitio Trucking was born. An opportunity then arose to buy a logging fleet in Masterton, increasing the fleet by a further thirteen trucks. Ed called his son-in-law who was living in Singapore at the time and who had a very strong interest in forestry, and asked if he would be interested in running the business. “He and my daughter returned from Singa- pore and he is now the General Manager. “So we’ve gone from nineteen logging trucks and we’re upgrading the fleet all the time. “Along with a whole lot of owner driv- ers we’re dispatching 35 – 40 trucks a day throughout the Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu and Wairarapa.” Reflecting on his life and what has under- pinned his successes over the years Ed says it has been about dogged determination, a willingness to adapt, not being afraid to take risks, and having a very supportive wife and family alongside him. OURMISSION Improved nutrient utilisation with more efficient products Improved farm production and profitability Improved environmental sustainability 0800 43 42 54 dickiedirect.co.nz P.O. BOX 441, Waipukurau Tel. 06 858 8841 Fax. 06 858 8845 E. benallen.transport@hotmail.co.nz For all your livestock transport requirements Napier (06) 835 8939 | Hastings (06) 873 8770 | www.langleytwigg.co.nz We are proud to support the Akitio Group and congratulate them on all their success and achievements • Corporate and Commercial • Developer conveyancing • Subdivisions • Residential, Commercial & Rural Property • Estates and Wills • Trusts and Succession • Relationship Property • Maori Land • Employment Please call us for a free, no obliga �o n assessment of your trees. We will maximise the return on your Forest Office: 06 327 5263 | John Turkington: 0274 458 410 | Email: john.turkington@xtra.co.nz John Turkington Forestry | 252-254 Broadway | P.O Box 98 | Marton • Harvesting • Log Marketing • Forest Management • Carbon Forestry • Forest Valuation • Establishment • Silviculture • Earthworks • Resource Consents