72 | RURAL SERVICES » Larsen Sawmilling Ltd / Mangonui Haulage Ltd Diversified hugely A multi-service operation Having quietly underpinned Northland’s rural economy for decades, and as farmers move more stock and demand more fertiliser and feed, Mangonui Haulage is feeling the benefit. The family business has expanded into a multiservice operation that now handles livestock, logs, aggregates, ready-mix concrete, water, and general cartage across the North Island. Mangonui Haulage director Sean Sparksman says the past year has been variable but the rural side of the business has been strong. “It’s been more up and down than normal,” he says. “At the moment it’s up and that keeps us busy. Farmers want fertiliser, maintenance, and livestock moved. It all helps.” Family roots and local knowledge remain Mangonui Haulage’s core strength. Sean’s father Dennis has been involved since 1980 and his vision for the company as an industry leader still shapes the business. “We were the first business in Mangonui to own a computer — besides the bank,” Sean says. “Dad’s presence gives our team stability and keeps operations grounded when work peaks.” The fleet and workforce are sized to match the diversity of contracts. The company runs about 50 staff, including 36 drivers, six mechanics, two engineers, and six dispatchers/administration staff. The vehicle mix includes seven livestock truck-and-trailer units, , 10 ready-mix trucks, 6 bulk trucks, 8 General Freight units and a water cartage unit. Mangonui Haulage also offers yard sales of builder’s mix, sand, drainage metal, cement, and bark for local customers. The business has deliberately broadened its revenue streams. Over the past decade the ready-mix operation expanded while the logging side scaled back. That shift has created a training pathway for drivers. “It’s a great place to train drivers up,” Sean says. He explained new recruits often start on Class 2 licences and progress to Class 5 while gaining experience delivering ready-mix to tight building sites. The investment pays off in skilled, local drivers who often come from farm backgrounds and choose to stay in the region. Operating in Northland brings unique costs and constraints. Sean points to roading as a constant drag on margins. “Our roads up here are third world,” he says. “Slips close routes like Mangamuka Gorge and if State Highway 10 is shut we’re cut off.” Poor surfaces add repair bills and increase maintenance downtime. Sean argues that road user charges and petrol taxes must be better matched by investment in resilient regional infrastructure. Technology has helped the company respond faster. Mangonui Haulage uses a Navman Wireless Online AVL system to monitor vehicles, manage fuel use, and dispatch the nearest unit. That visibility gives farmers accurate ETAs and keeps loads moving when deadlines matter. Despite the challenges, the business is confident in its role. Sean points to a stable core of experienced staff and to the company’s multi-faceted offering as reasons it can meet shifting demand across Northland. “We know the area like the back of our hand,” he says. “When clients need something moved they know we’ll get it done.” Home of Larsawn Manufactured Products and so much more. On site we have an electric Mahoe Sawmill and Gisborne's only Timber Treatment Plant. Have us mill your logs, dry and treat the timber to H3.2 or H4 hazard class. When it comes to product availability, knowledge and customer service, Larsawn really is your one-stop shop. Delivery options available. Call and ask us what we can do for you today! 77 Main Road, Makaraka, Gisborne 06 867 7135 admin@larsawn.co.nz TIMBER TREATMENT & MILLING GATES, FENCING & HARDWARE MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS STOCK FEED & DOG TUCKER OTHER PRODUCTS Right people, right place, right solutions Compliance, Accounting and Taxation Services Business and Strategic Planning Services Company Secretarial, Trustee and Estate Planning Family Owned Businesses Corporate Recovery and Insolvency Ayla Pene | Director | ayla.pene@pkffn.co.nz | +64 9 408 9366 Kayla Dean | Director | kayla.dean@pkffn.co.nz | +64 9 408 9366 pkffn.co.nz Larsen Sawmilling’s main business is now supplying farm inputs. They range from long-drops – “We’d sell 15 to 20 of those a year” – to rocking chairs and various types of gates, chook-houses and small sheds. These can be either ‘off the shelf’ or custom made to the client’s requirements, and include no fewer than four sizes of dog kennel. “You can have your Jack Russell in the smallest one, your hunting dog in the next, your huntaway in the one after that and your Great Bernard in the biggest.” John’s always expanding the range of Larsawn products, identifying new products and market niches and adding them to Larsen Sawmilling’s ever-expanding inventory. “We’re always coming up with something new,” John says, “and that drove our adopting our company motto of ‘More Than a Sawmill’ – the sawmilling is just the beginning. “I still enjoy it though it’s not a huge part of the business because these days we’re more focused on fencing, stock feed and the products we make – the sawmilling is actually the least productive part but the most satisfying. “Most of the timber we mill is rough-sawn, but we can process to requirements, including dressing, sizing and cutting to length. “A big market for our Larsawn products is DIY: we supply not only untreated but also three different types of treated timber used in retaining walls, decks and the like.” Rounding it all off, Larsen Sawmilling caters to home and commercial gardeners, offering such items as planter boxes, garden furniture, pegs - even a potting table. Hugh de Lacy Kelly Deeks Starting in 1989 with a 100% mortgage at a gut-churning 24% over the land and machinery he now owns outright, John Larsen of Gisborne’s Larsen Sawmilling has diversified hugely to become a major supplier of timber and farm inputs, even as he knocks on the door of 80 years of age. After a demanding upbringing in Dannievirke as the eldest of three children, John put himself through Massey University, emerging in 1972 with a Bachelor of Agriculture degree that he initially turned into soil conservation work with the then Catchment Board in Gisborne. He was lured away from that career by setting himself up with a mobile sawmill, and from that into a permanent mill at his Makaraka Road property. With the Gisborne regional forestry industry on the rise, his set-up as a custom sawmiller was timely, but he quickly expanded his vision for the company into being a manufacturer of wooden items for farms and animal husbandry, and then to being a one-stop-shop for farm supplies. Larsen Sawmilling still does custom milling work but the main business is supplying farm inputs - posts, gates, strainers, poles and half-round rails - which it backs up with stocks in its on-site showroom of staples, nails, wire, steel gates and gate hardware, along with electric fencing gear, culverts, alkathene fittings, water tanks and troughs. Dog tucker and animal feeds are a biggie. The company, with a staff of five, also designs and makes timber products on-site, all sold under the “Larsawn” brand.
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