50 | “I’ve seen them being planted and I’ve seen them being managed well by others. It’s a privilege to see that.” FORESTRY Port Blakely 25 years on, sap flows through his veins Richard Loader Andrew Cocking, South Island regional manager, can lay claim to being Port Blakely’s longest serving employee. Not everyone can measure the longevity of their career with the lifecycle of a mighty tree, but Andrew Cocking can. Based in Timaru, Andrew is Port Blakely’s Southern Regional Manager, overseeing 33,000 hectares of forestry estate, much of which is Douglas fir. After a quarter of a century’s service with Port Blakely, a career that commenced in the North Island after graduating with a Diploma in Forestry Management (Business), Andrew can lay claim to being the company’s longest serving employee. “It has been a very fulfilling career. What I find really satisfying is the Douglas fir tree farms that I was part of in the late ‘90s. “I’ve seen them being planted and I’ve seen them being managed well by others. It’s a privilege to see that. Those trees will be harvested in another twenty years, completing a forty-five year rotation. Will I see those trees being logged? Well possibly not, but I won’t be far off.” Growing up in Rotorua during the ‘70s and ‘80s, Andrew initially joined the Justice Department with visions of becoming a policeman. Disillusioned from that career, Andrew spent several years on an OE, before returning to home town Rotorua in 1994 at a time when forestry was booming and he witnessed the positive impact the industry was having in the community. Andrew’s decision to enter forestry study in Rotorua coincided with US based family business Port Blakely commencing operations in New Zealand and he managed to secure internships during the summer breaks. “I was a known entity to them before I graduated,” says Andrew. “I started working for Port Blakely full time the Monday after graduation. “At that stage I was looking after the silvilculture side of the business, mainly pruning and planting operations on Matakana Island. In that first year Port Blakely had started South Island establishment operations and there was a tag-team operation between myself, a forester in Tauranga and the Managing Director.” With his wife and two young daughters, Andrew moved to the South Island in 1998 to manage the Douglas fir establishment programmes, expanding from 1 million seedlings in 1997 to 4.5 million in 1998 and 4.0 million in 1999. “Some of the silviculture contractors involved during this exciting period are still contracting to Port Blakely today, which reflects the very strong relationship Port Blakely has with its contracting workforce. “Even now in the logging side of the business we have businesses passed from father to the son while contracting to us. Relationships are everything in this business.” 0- /2**,1*/7' 027 235 9298 mattj@mjlogging.co.nz Working throughoutMid&South Canterbury, NorthOtago and Mackenzie districts. Modernmachinery andmachines to t all size tree harvesting jobs. MJ Logging have proudly beenworking for PBL for 8 years. By the end of 2000 Port Blakely had bought 12,000 hectares of production forests off Ngai Tahu, transitioning from an establishment forest company to a full working forest company and bringing with it the need to manage a more diverse range of contracting operations. “That meant more staff and I was fortunate enough to be given the role of South Island Regional Manager, with full responsibility for all South Island Operations leading a very capable team.” After 25 years in the industry Andrew sees no reason to leave and being a leader at Port Blakely is a privilege. “It’s a family company and they’re really passionate about their responsibility to sustainable management and land stewardship. They respect the communities in which the forests are located – they walk the talk. The industry and Port Blakely have been good to me and my career, which to date has been very dynamic and challenging. Best of all its the people I work with that make it fulfilling. We have young people coming through the company who are the future and they come with plenty of energy. “But the older foresters like me need to continue pass on their knowledge and wisdom.” When you measure your career in the life-cycle of a Douglas fir, how can you be anything but sage.
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