Business Rural Winter 2021

82 | Loyal clients like the ‘personal touch’ Russell Fredric RURAL SERVICES » MacKenzie Aviation S trong customer loyalty lies at the heart of family-owned topdressing business MacKen- zie Aviation which has been operating from Gore for nearly four decades. The company is owned by Ken and Pam MacKen- zie and operated by their son Kent. “We are locally owned and operated – that’s what people like, to have that personal touch. That’s always been my experience of the business and they are very loyal to that, our clients have 15a Hokonui Drive, Gore PO Box 172, Gore 9740 Phone: 03 208 9240 Email: admin@ocr.co.nz www.ocr.co.nz Pleased to support MacKenzie Aviation Ltd Mike Millard I Craig Carran I Nathan Heenan I Sarah Collie 25 Avon St, Gore | Proprieter ALLAN RIEPMA - 03 208 6380 For all your Machining & Welding Requirements Mackenzie Aviation’s Kent, Ken and Pam MacKenzie and loader driver Darren Barclay. been very loyal to us.” Covering mainly Otago and Southland, MacKenzie Aviation operates one aircraft flown by Kent, a “well proven” Fletcher FU-24 400hp with a one tonne load capacity. Ken began flying in 1971 and started flying as an agricultural pilot in 1974. After working as a topdressing pilot for 11 years, his former employer who had mentored him was wanting to retire so Ken took the opportunity to buy the business and renamed it MacKenzie Aviation. With a good knowledge of the region and of cli- ent’s farm’s, Ken was able to continue to provide an excellent service to the company’s loyal customers. When Ken was forced to relinquish his pilots license for medical reasons in 2016, Kent, who had held a commercial pilots licence, stepped into the cockpit to become the company’s sole pilot after gaining his agricultural rating. It is not easy to gain an agricultural rating due to a shortage of dual-control training aircraft and instructors, Ken says. On top of a commercial pilots rating which takes about 200 hours, an agricultural rating requires a further 80 hours as part of a comprehensive syl- labus to become a grade two ag-pilot. This was followed by an initial period of supervi- sion that Ken was able to provide. “There’s a good standard of training today and I’m very happy with that. It’s made a big differ- ence.” Kent has since accumulated about 1500 hours as an agricultural pilot. The scope of topdressing jobs varies consider- ably and the use of the TracMap GPS based system enables very accurate flying lines as well as proof of placement of fertiliser products. Care is always taken to place fertiliser a specified distance away from waterways. “(Jobs) all vary because some blocks are quite big and it depends on what you are putting on.” On some large properties there could be 100 tonnes of superphosphate or 500 to 600 tonnes of lime applied requiring 100 to 600 take-offs and landings over multiple-days. MacKenzie Aviation can apply a range of fertilis- ers from phosphate-based products to lime and minerals at any rate required. Ken and Kent, who come from farming back- grounds, take pride in the standard of their opera- tions and the service they provide to the agricultural sector and in turn being essential contributors to the New Zealand economy. Business has been buoyant over the past year and Ken is equally optimistic about the future with further aircraft acquisitions a possibility in the not too distant future. “We are locally owned and operated – that’s what people like, to have that personal touch. That’s always been my experience of the business and they are very loyal to that, our clients have been very loyal to us.”