46 | CONTRACTING Recreational Services: 30th Anniversary A business built on relationships Karen Phelps Recreational Services is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. By focusing on relationships Recreational Services has built a multi-million dollar business that this year is celebrating 30 years of successful operation. “The way we do business is about relationships,” explains managing director Brett Turner. “This involves internal relationships with staff as well as relationships with our clients. Our staff work with us as opposed to for us and we value their input. Our customers enjoy working using Recreational Services because we work with them to achieve the desired result.” Recreational Services provides specialist management and maintenance of parks, turf and facilities spanning councils, stadiums, schools, golf courses, cemeteries, reserves, graffiti removal and specialist sports field construction and renovation projects. Brett and Natalie Turner started the company in 1992 and since then Recreational Services has grown to become New Zealand’s largest parks specialist, from having six employees to an established presence across 14 council districts backed by a team of 600 employees. A recent significant development has seen the company merge with two Australian businesses, Green Options and Skyline Landscapes. Recreational Services marketing and communications manager Carla Reinke says that each of the companies has its own strengths and expertise and bringing these together provides a completely unparalleled depth of service to customers. Recreational Services continues to operate as before and remains strongly family oriented. “Being a family-oriented company means the business has been built on solid and traditional foundations,” says Brett. “We’ve got a real passion to do things right for both our staff, the industry and our clients.” When it comes to clients he says that Recreational Services is continually looking at how it can add value – something that has been the cornerstone of its longevity and success. Carla says that the merger also brings opportunities for sharing industry knowledge, best practices, innovation and sustainability - an area where Recreational Services has already placed lot of energy and financial investment. “In New Zealand, Recreational Services has been at the forefront of bringing many firsts to the parks industry and we are excited to continue innovating – including a drive Proudly supporting Recreational Services Solving unique problems with custom engineering solutions P (09) 273 0100 | Simon 021 644 600 E reception@randhengineering.co.nz W randhengineering.co.nz We’re a custom engineering solutions provider. Every job is di erent because each of our clients needs a solution to their own unique problem. With our extensive manufacturing experience in customised truck body building, agriculture, architecture, commercial machinery & construction we are confident that we can deliver superior engineering projects, of any size, on time and on budget. 35+YEARS OPERATING 10,000 SOLUTIONS PROVIDED 100%COMMITMENT “Being a family-oriented company means the business has been built on solid and traditional foundations.” Sustainable focus - page 48 to become carbon neutral,” she says. “We continue to invest in sustainability including technology.” An example is the company’s use of EROAD, which helps the fleet team track assets and costs while reducing speeding and fuel consumption. It’s also helped improve health and safety. Carla says the milestone of reaching 30 years of successful operation is made all the sweeter by the positive impact the company has had over decades on communities all around New Zealand. “The profound impact we’ve had in the community, by not only doing what we do best, but also seeking to add further value by supporting local charities and groups where we see opportunities, is significant and makes what we do even more worthwhile,” says Carla. Brett says this philanthropic side of Recreational Services is a natural extension of the work it does and the focus has always been on building a company culture that supports and celebrates people. “We’re working with councils and their customers are the community. So for us it is a natural extension to reach out to the wider community when we can such as our involvement with Blue Light, which works in partnership with the police to deliver an extensive range of youth programmes and activities.” Carla says Recreational Services’ success has been built on always aiming to do its very best. “We have high expectations of ourselves because that’s what our clients deserve. We’re constantly ensuring that we deliver outstanding service. “We believe that people are key. You don’t build companies; you build people and they’ll build the company for you. We’re very collaborative and solution-focused, continually improving and trying to do better. With Covid-19 we’ve really seen the importance of what we do and how vital our parks and open spaces are for our health and wellbeing.”
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