64 | Impressive fleet of 16 John Deere tractors Aimee Wilson Hermansen Contracting Ltd has been in business almost 35 years, based in the small North Island town of Norsewood - home of the famous sock brand. Kevin and his team cover everything from cultivating and drilling to baleage and silage, and run an impressive fleet of 16 John Deere tractors. They are also very fond of Claas harvest equipment. The Hawkes Bay has had challenging weather in recent years, keeping farmers and contractors on their toes, and they have to keep diversifying the business to keep up with the constant changes. When Cyclone Gabrielle hit, Hermansen Contracting was able to use its strong team, along with about 80 other contractors, to help people in the Pukatapu district to try to recover again and get back up and running. The slightly cooler summer across New Zealand this season has also impacted the rural sector, and Hermansen Contracting Ltd was still yet to start haymaking in mid-January, which was unusual for this time of year. “You are constantly trying to battle the weather and the workload, but we enjoy helping people with their farms.” Over the past 10 years the business has also moved into silage expanding the business even more. Most of the tractors are fitted with GPS for precision, and so they can see exactly what paddocks were being worked on at any given time. Many of their clients are dairy farmers, but they also do a bit of work on sheep and beef farms as well, as the industry started to recover from a tough few years. Many of their clients are dairy farmers, but they also do a bit of work on sheep and beef farms as well. RURAL SERVICES » Hermansen Contracting Ltd 8x4 Kevin has been running a lease block to graze dairy cows, grow his own beef, and processes peas for McCains as well as a bit of barley when he finds the right ground. The company employs a lot of overseas staff, particularly from England, and the challenge for his business was ensuring they had qualified people to do the work. Two of his employees had been with him for 22 years and they always looked after their crew – three to five nights a week they receive a meal when they had to work late. “We try to only work daylight hours but we find it’s very important to look after your team.” Kevin loves the industry and all of his loyal clients because no two days are the same and they are always working somewhere different. DIESEL ENGINE TUNING Chris Burnell (Founder & Managing Director) 027 471 1173 dpsl@xtra.co.nz dieselperformancesolutions.co.nz SCR/DPF/EGR Problems? Call us for more info Richard Harrison-Lee DPS (Canterbury) Ltd Upper SI 027 608 9394 richard@dpscanterbury.co.nz Edwin Wiegersma DPS South Ltd 027 637 7784 edwin@dpssouth.co.nz John Panter DPS Northland 027 732 7783 dpsnorth.nz@gmail.com Mark Hohneck DPS Lower NI 021 424 009 mark@dieselperformancesolutions.co.nz • to page 65 Proudly Supporting Hermansen Contracting for 20 plus years. 021 621 152 angela@onallaccounts.co.nz
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=