40 | More services on offer The new truck facility includes brake rollers, service pits and diagnostic equipment. Auto Super Shoppes Morrinsville T T Russell Fredric Ōtorohanga Kiwi House Emphasis on conservation T T Bernadette Cooney REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Thirty years after Allan Clark and his late wife Penny opened their workshop, Auto Super Shoppes Morrinsville has developed into a 24-person automotive business offering a comprehensive range of services. “We opened the doors to a new business mainly focusing on light diesels and utes, that sort of thing,” Allan says. The original focus soon expanded to accommodate truck servicing, and an existing building was modified before a larger workshop was built alongside it about two years later, separating car and light commercial work from the truck workshop. A suitable industrial site became available in about 2019, allowing Allan to develop a purpose-designed facility. The business has been at its Avenue Road North site for three years, with separate facilities for car and light commercial servicing and heavy vehicle work. The new truck facility includes brake rollers, service pits and dedicated diagnostic equipment, while a VTNZ station attached to the building provides a convenient location for certificates of fitness and necessary repairs. The car and light commercial workshop has eight hoists and handles servicing and repairs across all makes and models, including timing chains, cam belts, suspension and brakes. Top-of-the-line scan tools and diagnostic equipment can calibrate advanced driver A recovery and research base for critically endangered native species for more than 50 years, Ōtorohanga Kiwi House has completed the first areas of a $20 million redevelopment, which will transform the centre into the world’s first Living Building Challenge accredited wildlife park. Home to more than 400 native species, including 11 kiwi currently, the redevelopment is designed to strengthen the centre’s conservation work and breeding programmes, enhance the visitor experience and operate as a worldclass example of regenerative tourism. The completion of the $4.5 million first stage marks a new chapter for the North King Country attraction, which breeds threatened native wildlife back from near extinction, and supports recovery programmes across New Zealand, resulting in hundreds of kiwi and other taonga species being returned to their natural habitats. Funding for stage 1 included $2 million from Kānoa’s Regional Infrastructure Fund and a $2 million long-term loan from Ōtorohanga District Council. James Hardie New Zealand was also a significant contributor. Ōtorohanga Kiwi House Trust chairperson, Kim Ingham, says the exciting development will allow the charitable trust to continue its work well into the future. “For more than 50 years, the Kiwi House has been dedicated to protecting New Zealand’s most threatened native wildlife, working alongside the Department of Conservation, local mana whenua – Mōkau ki runga with the wētā, and restoring populations of endangered native species including kiwi and other birds, tuatara, pāteke and Māhoenui giant wētā,” says Kim. “It’s critically important that this work continues to be done well, and the kiwi house staff are doing an incredible job at that. When completed, this new infrastructure investment will transform the Kiwi House into a worldclass Living Building Challenge accredited wildlife park.” Living Building Challenge accreditation applies stringent sustainability principles to the design of facilities, for the benefit of both wildlife and visitors. ENABLING BETTER BUSINESS 0800 888 055 diprosemiller.co.nz WE ARE A CHARTERED ACCOUNTING FIRM WHODOESN’T JUST TICK BOXES, WE LOOK OUTSIDE THEM. Offering a comprehensive, wide range of automotive repairs on all vehicles We are New Zealand’s mechanic • WOF ( while you wait by appointment ) • Servicing • Diagnostic / Repair • Tyres and wheel alignments MORRINSVILLE accounts@autotechnics.co.nz | 07 889 0015 91 Avenue Road North, Morrinsville assistance systems such as lane departure, autonomous emergency braking and active cruise control. European vehicles are a particular area of specialisation, with equipment capable of downloading vehicle data and sending it to manufacturers for software updates. “We pride ourselves on keeping our staff up to date. The industry is changing so rapidly and staying ahead of those advancements is critical.” There are 20 staff in the workshop across the car and truck sides, with a further four employed at a nearby tyre shop owned by the business. A four-person administration team supports the business. Joining the Auto Super Shoppes community has been another significant part of the business’s development. The Morrinsville workshop was one of the first outside Auckland to join the invitation-only network and has now been a member for 19 years. Both Allan and Penny served on the Auto Super Shoppes advisory board of directors. The network provides access to peer knowledge, training, nationwide advertising and greater purchasing power with suppliers, alongside expectations around workshop standards, staff training and ownership. A large automated truck wash, owned by Allan’s son Nate, complements the workshop site, while another son, Jacob, is a workshop administrator. The approach aims for buildings that generate their own energy, harvest water, avoid toxins, and support surrounding ecosystems. It also incorporates mātauranga Māori and a regenerative and sustainable design, working towards a model that restores nature rather than simply minimising environmental harm. Upgraded facilities include the James Hardie Animal Nutrition and Enrichment Centre, which features two commercial kitchens and butchery, a Māhoenui giant wētā breeding facility, an animal hospital, and medium and large animal holding and training aviaries. The facilities will help improve animal nutrition, healthcare, quarantine and husbandry, providing a strong foundation for the Kiwi House’s conservation work. The visitor experience will also be enhanced through more immersive educational opportunities. More than 53,000 people visited in the year to May 2026, with international tourists accounting for about 85% of visitors. Ōtorohanga Kiwi House hopes to benefit from stronger tourism partnerships within the wider tourism radius, which includes Hobbiton at Matamata and the Waitomo Caves. “We’re situated beautifully between those two places, so we are on the natural tourist route,” says Kim. “We want to be a stronger part of that route, so the vision is when we fully finish the development, we can hit the long-term target of 100,000 to 110,000 visitors annually.” Upgraded facilities include a Māhoenui giant wētā breeding facility.
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