48 | to page 50 FORESTRY PF Olsen Ltd: 50th Anniversary Marginal land ripe for trees from page 46 Above: inset - company founder, Peter Olsen; below, current CEO Ross Larcombe at the Seed orchard - 1996. “You become very close your customers over that 28 – 30 year plus period, and it becomes more than just a business relationship. “There are some clients that we initially had a relationship with their parents and now its moved onto the second generation. “Our contractors are also an extension of PF Olsen. “If people feel PF Olsen has done a good job, it’s more that our contractor has done a good job. It is very much a partnership relationship with our contractor workforce.” Regional offices are based in Rotorua, Gisborne, Waipapa, Whangarei, Napier, Masterton, Wellington, Whanganui, Nelson, Blenheim, Christchurch, Timaru and Dunedin. Around 47 staff are also based throughout Australia, mainly involved in agricultural management transitioning land out of forest and into agriculture. Peter died in 1999 leaving behind a legacy of not just developing his company but contributing to New Zealand’s forestry industry, and that now reflects on many of the company’s staff that serve on industry boards, particularly in respect to the environment and health & safety. Now predominantly owned by staff and exstaff, which Scott says underlines a real sense of ownership and wanting to do the right thing for the company, PF Olsen Ltd has enjoyed on-going management stability with only four CEO’s since its foundation. When Peter died the mantle of senior leadership was taken over by Peter Clark who had worked very closely with Peter Olsen. “When Peter retired in 2018 Te Kapunga Dewes was engaged as CEO until 2020 when Ross Larcombe was appointed. Ross has worked for PF Olsen since he left University over 30 years ago. “Many of our team have worked their way up through the company.” PF Olsen’s core customer base includes farmers, councils, investors, Iwi and a number of government agencies like Pamu — previously known as Landcorp — one of the company’s oldest clients. Proud to be in partnership with PF Olsen Ltd
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