Business North October 2021

64 | CONTRACTING Advance Dairy & Pump Backing Northland farm production Hugh de Lacy The Advance Dairy & Pump team. I f nothing else the Covid pandemic has high- lighted how essential Advance Dairy and Pump Ltd is to maintaining farm production in Northland, from the Auckland Harbour bridge to Kawakawa, and coast to coast. “Our work is very closely tied to the primary industries,” says Trevor Hutchinson, co-owner with wife Monica Hutchinson in Northland’s biggest milking, water and dairy effluent sys- tems provider. “A correctly functioning milking plant and stock water are crucial to animal health, be- cause what is routine maintenance today will become a health issue if not dealt with.” Monica and Trevor are born-and-bred Northlanders who returned home after 20 years working in the dairy industry in both the North and South Islands. They acquired Advance Dairy and Pump, which was founded in 2009, by amalgamat- ing Trevor Ryan Ltd with local firm Watkins Brothers. Based in Whangarei, Wellsford and Dar- gaville, the company employs 22 staff, mostly working on-farm but with a workshop and small retail shop at each depot. The core of Advance Dairy and Pump’s work is service and sales to rural industries, including dairy, beef, kumara and other crop farmers. Other key sectors the company services include agricultural and civil contracting - the latter taking in road maintenance, landscap- ing, and plant and fertiliser spreaders. “The work we do ranges from hydraulic hose repairs (Wellsford only) to supplying buffalo milking plant, solar water pumping systems, whole-farm water filtration systems, dairy farm automation for herd management, water reticulation design and installation, and trenching,” Trevor Hutchinson says. The company boasts the exclusive North- land dealership for De Laval milking machin- ery, while Grundfos water pumps, Yardmaster effluent systems and Ryco hydraulics – the latter available in Wellsford only – are other top brands in its inventory. “We source, sell and service any type of water pump, all dairy farm milking and efflu- ent equipment, water filters, tanks, pipe and fittings,” Trevor says. The Wellsford depot also offers an Ezi-Swap gas bottle service, while, in response to recent crippling droughts in Northland, the current big seller at all three branches is solar water pumping systems. As an essential service, Advance Dairy and Pump was able to continue to operate during “The level of demand is consistent and often urgent – cows don’t recognise after- hours or weekends.” the various levels of Covid restriction, but the business has been buffeted by the pandemic in other sways. “A main challenge is maintaining physical distancing in limited space and travelling between farms,” Trevor says. “Sourcing urgent parts can also be difficult, which can result in animal welfare concerns. “Freight costs and accessibility are also a problem, and we face constant price changes, but the level of demand is consistent and of- ten urgent – cows don’t recognise after-hours or weekends.” Beyond Covid, Advance Dairy and Pump is coping with ever-tightening constraints from overseas markets on milking plant standards, which include new ones coming in soon for milking machine testing. “The new regime will provide more accu- racy for the farmer – which is better for the cow – but it may initially be perceived by our customers as an extra and unnecessary cost, which is not necessarily the case,” Trevor says. Our range includes: • Automotive: mineral, synthetic and synthetic blend engine oils, coolants, auto trans fluid • Trucking: industrial gear, transmission, super diesel oils • Marine: two-stroke, inboard and outboard oils • Forestry: chain-bar, grease, hydraulic oils • Motorcycle: two and four-stroke engine oils • Classic and vintage: mono and multigrade engine oils with full zinc • Agricultural: shearing plant, rotary vacuum pump, hydraulic, gear oils • Cleaning products: hand cleaner, car, truck and tractor wash, degreaser, all-purpose cleaner Check out our website for our full product range and specifications AN UNRIVALLED RANGE OF LUBRICANTS, COVERING ALL SECTORS AND PROUDLY BLENDED HERE IN NZ