18 | Maisey Group T T Virginia Wright 80 years of growth and innovation “We’ve built businesses with strong synergies, often creating or acquiring operations to support others. We grow them and occasionally sell to reinvest in new opportunities.” REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Customers are at the forefront of our priorities, W W W . V U L C A N . C O Your trusted, customer focused supplier of carbon, stainless, engineering steels and aluminium. Vulcan proudly support the Team at Maisey Group This year marks 80 years since John Maisey’s father, Robert, laid the foundations of what would become the Maisey Group. In 1946, alongside Charlie Forlong, he established Forlong & Maisey Ltd, a tin and chrome plating plant that would seed decades of growth and diversification. John joined the business in 1962 at just 16 years old starting as the lowest-paid junior. Over the next two decades he worked his way through the ranks as the company expanded and in 1982 he was appointed Group Manager. From there his entrepreneurial instincts, deep industry knowledge, and practical experience helped drive the group’s evolution into a wide range of associated industries, including electro-galvanising, anodising, powder coating, metal fabrication, plastic component manufacturing and precision machining. Now, as both John and the Maisey Group celebrate their 80th year, he remains actively involved in the business. His wife Robyn, a fellow director, has also been integral to the company’s journey since their marriage 60 years ago. Family ties remain a defining feature of the organisation. Their elder daughter, Renee Beere, leads the Property Investment division, while her sister Amber serves as Chief Operating Officer. Their cousin Matthew Keightley is also part of the senior leadership team overseeing three divisions within the group. Meanwhile Peter Adam, married to another cousin, Sarah, manages Wilden Station, the 2,000-hectare sheep and beef farm John purchased in Central Otago in 2000. “Before he joined the family business, my father wanted to be a vet,” Amber explains. “Buying the farm fulfilled a lifelong dream. It’s his passion. He loves spending time there. Agriculture is a big part of what we do.” That willingness to pursue opportunity has long defined the group’s strategy. Over the years, Maisey Group has acquired a number of its customers’ businesses and helped take them to the next level, whether through exporting or offshore manufacturing. “The definition of an entrepreneur is someone who sees an opportunity and takes it,” says Matthew. “That’s what John has done time and again. We’ve built businesses with strong synergies, often creating or acquiring operations to support others. We grow them and occasionally sell to reinvest in new opportunities.” A clear example is the purchase of animal health specialist Instrument Supplies Limited (ISL) in 1982. The group later established Elite Polymers and Precision Machining to support it, leading innovations such as a plastic animal drench gun and the development of a cleanair facility. ISL was ultimately sold in 2015 into a growing market. Elite Polymers has since also been divested while Precision Machining has transformed into a world-class operation servicing many industries including a growing aerospace market. The group continues to invest in its core capabilities. Two years ago it undertook a significant upgrade of Powder Spec, its 50-year-old powder coating division, which originated from the company’s early metalfinishing operations. Today the business believes it operates one of the most advanced powder coating plants in the Waikato. Its long-standing connection to the agricultural sector is equally evident. In 2000 Maisey Group acquired Industrial Wheels using proceeds from the sale of another business. The company both imports and manufactures products to support agricultural equipment and remains the only manufacturer of its kind in Australasia producing wheels for fertiliser spreaders, calf trailers and calf feeders. Looking ahead the next generation of leadership, Renee, Amber and Matthew, work alongside John, Robyn and independent director Phil Taylor to shape the group’s future. Their focus is on the next five to ten years, guided by the strong relationships with customers and professional partners that have underpinned the company’s success for decades. Maisey Group defines its brand through three words: Experience, Enterprise, Excellence. Under John’s leadership those principles have consistently guided the business. Today the wider team is committed to carrying that legacy forward, continuing to identify new opportunities, while honouring the vision that has sustained the company for 80 years and will shape it for generations to come. First established as Forlong and Maisey in 1946, Robert Maisey and Charles Forlong founded an electroplating workshop in Anglesea Street, Hamilton.
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