| 57 ‘A great deal in a small town’ Geraldine ITM has been improving its fencing offering with a focus on the deer farming sector. Geraldine ITM REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT As the ITM family celebrated a challenging but successful year for suppliers and shareholders, handing out 12 awards at the annual ITM conference and awards night in Takapuna in August, Geraldine ITM celebrated its own success, bringing home the Operational Excellence Award for 2022. Geraldine ITM has been operating since 1993 when owners of the Geraldine Building Centre Geoff and Lynda Leary joined the ITM co-operative. Today it is owned and operated by the second-generation, Jason and Billie-Jo Leary, who are proud to provide their rural home-town with quality building supplies and genuine value. “There is no way Geraldine Building Centre could operate as a stand-alone business, so as part of a national co-operative we are able to be competitive, and allow our customers to get a great deal in a small town,” Jason says. “You don’t have to be in big cities to get good deals when you’re involved with a large co-operative as we are.” Jason puts Geraldine ITM’s success at the annual awards ceremony down to a new computer system which has improved the store’s reporting ability and allowed for the ITM support office to see and therefore rank Geraldine ITM’s results against those of all the other ITM stores nationwide, of which there are about 100. Jason and Billie-Jo were informed at the conference that Geraldine ITM was one of six stores in the running for the Operational Excellence Award, before being announced on the night that they had won. “It’s a huge honour and a privilege to be featuring that highly amongst all our peers. It’s a huge achievement.” T T Kelly Deeks Geraldine ITM’s performance saw it ranked top in two out of eight different categories, one of which was ‘Expenditure to Sales’. “We run very efficiently,” Jason says. “We are a small family business with four staff including Billie-Jo and I, so the owners are actually working in the business every day and there is a fair amount of care involved. A small team and a small business is easier to control, and having people who care really helps too.” Business in Geraldine is based around a thriving rural community in a very central and attractive location which sees a small but consistent flow of people moving into the area. “We don’t have the huge peaks and troughs like other boom and bust towns. Geraldine is a steady as she goes type place, and we are servicing the rural community which always hold up fairly well in boom and bust cycles.” Jason is sure things will quieten down in the coming couple of years as the effects of the recession and rising interest rates take hold, but reckons the farming sector will hold its end up, and Geraldine ITM will be there to help farmers out. Geraldine ITM has been improving its fencing offering over the past few years with a focus on the deer farming sector, and Jason says when building slows, fencing is a good diversification for the business. “There are some large deer farms here who are very good supporters of our business, along with others around the country also. It’s a great group of people to be involved with and to service.” Jason says his mum and dad made a fantastic decision to join ITM in 1993 and the years of hard work ever since has made the business what it is today. “Winning this award was a huge honour and we’re very proud of it.” sales@iplply.nz 0800 650 801 iplply.nz New Zealand manufacturers of quality plywood products Knowing what’s best in the long run Freeman Roo ng Timaru combines extensive local expertise and exceptional servicewith a broad and innovative product range, enabling you to enjoy the bene ts of best practical solutions and purchasing power. The team is predominantly a manufacturing supplier for new roofs, reroofs, sheds, factories, fencing etc but also o er free measure/quotes, take o s & professional advice services. Freeman Roo ng has your roo ng/cladding completetly covered - from ‘top to bottom’.
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