46 | Business on the up and up RT Heat Pumps and Electrical Ltd is growing rapidly. T T Virginia Wright Rural cartage and contracting the right way Middle Hills Contracts T T Ange Davidson CONTRACTING RT Heat Pumps & Electrical RT HEAT PUMPS & ELECTRICAL 027 565 6734 | rtheatpumps@gmail.com www.rtheatpumps.co.nz HEAT PUMP INSTALLATION · HEALTHY HOMES · RESIDENTIAL ELECTRICAL SERVICES · COMMERCIAL ELECTRICAL SERVICES · HEAT PUMP SALES Proud to be working with RT Heat Pumps & Electrical Ltd www.adeptaccountants.co.nz For down to earth advice phone 06 348 2333 A gap in the refrigeration market encouraged registered electrician Ryan Thomas to start his own company specialising in heat pump sales, installations and repairs, along with the full gambit of electrical services. Two years on, RT Heat Pumps and Electrical Ltd is growing rapidly thanks to an ever-increasing demand for heat pumps as a primary heat source for both new builds and retro fits of older homes. “Heat pumps are quick to install, clean, easy to use and maintain. They can be placed up on a wall out of the way and aren’t a fire risk. People are also choosing heat pumps for cooling in the summer months,” says Ryan. As no house is the same, Ryan and his team will provide bespoke solutions to heating and electrical work to ensure they meet their client’s needs. For new builds that are well insulated and double glazed, a ducted system can work well, while an older single glazed house, may benefit from multiple separate heating units to cope with the home’s thermal disparities. “We really listen and care about our clients wants and needs and will give real advice, even if it means we talk ourselves out of a job,” laughs Ryan. “We won’t sell clients something that doesn’t work, and we don’t take any payment until they are totally satisfied with the job.” Working out of Waipukurau in Central Hawke’s Bay, Middle Hills Contracts came into being 30 odd years ago as a natural progression of sheep and beef farmers’ Rod and Margot Parsons having their own trucks and tractors to meet the family’s rural cartage needs on the farm. This gave the business its name; carting wool, fertiliser stock and so on. It gradually expanded into contracting out their services for making hay, bailage and cultivation work, grass and maize silage, and small grain harvesting, with their transport capacity growing as needed. Today Middle Hills Contracts has a fleet of 20 trucks split half and half between 10 rural trucks and 10 log trucks, thanks to an opportunity that came up about six years ago to put some log trucks on the road with one of their existing agricultural clients. A dairy farmer had a block of trees being harvested at a time when there was a shortage of trucks and Middle Hills Contracts stepped up to fill the gap. When the harvesting in that forest ceased the Forest Management Company involved were happy to keep the Middle Hills truck busy carting logs from other forests being harvested. In the following six years the log transport side of the Middle Hills Contracts business has grown along with the growing volume of wood coming out of the North Island’s East Coast, underpinned by their strong relationships with these and other longstanding customers. It’s a family run business and they still farm around 600 acres of predominantly cropping land around the house and office workshop complex on Ashburn Farm where the dayto-day running of Middle Hills Contracts now happens. The biggest part of the business is still agricultural contracting with the log transport business running alongside. Ben Parsons (28yrs) came back from a few years of studying, mixed with professional rugby playing, at the right time to move from rural contract driving to working alongside his older brother Tom as the log transport side of the business started up. Ben’s role grew into that of Transport Manager as Tom’s time was increasingly absorbed by his professional rugby career. “We try and keep things as consistent as we can to keep all the trucks out on the road every day, to keep earning, and keep everyone employed.” While initially focusing on heat pumps, electrical work is now the biggest part of the business and is tailored to meet a variety of needs. The team of three are in demand for anything from changing sockets or installing a spa pool, to a full rewiring of a house and commercial work. Complexity of a job can be wiring a rental property where the electrical work needs to be straightforward and easily replaceable, to wiring a Smart Home with unlimited options for data automation that can be operated from a clients cell phone. Electrical panel upgrades for commercial locations are proving essential as technology rapidly advances and demands on power increase, as is comprehensive rewiring of a commercial building’s electrical system to upgrade and increase efficiency. Good lighting not only improves a commercial premise’s appearance, safety and energy efficiency, it also improves employee productivity. A new website for the business is proving a valuable marketing tool and Ryan is able to sell most brands of heat pumps at very competitive prices. Knowing that the installation and service of a new heat pump will be carried out by the people you purchased it from, closes the gap and guarantees the product. Based in Whanganui, Ryan is working on sites around the lower North Island and as far as Tauranga. “From a managerial point of view there’s a lot to do around the health and safety protocols needed in what is a hazardous industry. “We want to be sure we’re the best we can be in terms of having the right procedures in place so that our drivers are aware, and know what they’re doing, and go in and out of a forest and get home at the end of the day safely and unharmed,” says Ben. The ups and downs of the log transport business closely follow the ups and downs of the broader log export business and Ben’s grateful to have a broad enough base of steady customers, with enough variety of work, to weather the inevitable boom and bust cycles. “We try and keep things as consistent as we can to keep all the trucks out on the road every day, to keep earning, and keep everyone employed.” Thanks to the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle, especially in the Northern Hawke’s Bay region, and the widespread damage to the roads the trucks would normally use, keeping things consistent will be more of challenge than usual for the foreseeable future. The logs in parts of the region that are no longer accessible will have to wait until the roads become passable and in the meantime Ben’s adapting to the new situation to make the most of what they can still do. Southern Hawke’s Bay is still accessible and with two of their fleet set up to be versatile he has the option of switching their loads. “We can remove all the logging gear and put other set-ups whether that’s tanks, or a flat deck or a stock crate,” explains Ben. Working closely with other key carriers and with customers to manage volumes he’s confident they can maintain the day-to-day running of the business to make sure everyone has loads to carry.
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