Business South March 2021

| 29 REGIONAL NEWS Otago Business Awards - Southern Furniture Movers The Little Company that Could… T T Russell Fredric Big win: Southern Furniture Movers were named as winners of the Excellence in Distribution and Logistics category at the 2020 Westpac Otago Business Awards. D unedin company Southern Furniture Movers’ owner Teressa Grigg is gob- smacked to have won a 2020 Westpac Otago Business Awards over competitors who have global operations. Southern Furniture Movers were named as winners of the Excellence in Distribution and Logistics category at the awards event on November 13. Teressa says entering the competition alongside industry giants was daunting, but, in a story resembling The Little Train that Could, the company and its team epitomises the literary lesson of the value of optimism and hard work. “We are just a little company, it’s not something I expected to win or to even be a finalist,” Tessa says. “I knew we were a finalist against Main - freight and DHL, they’re both global business- es and they’re very successful at what they do, so to be up against them was quite daunting.” Despite her amazement, Teressa acknowl- edges the award recognition is the icing on the cake of a nationwide success story of starting with one small truck with her former husband and $4500 of capital in 2010 while she was on maternity leave with her third child. The pair both had experience in the indus- try and unexpectedly started the business when her former husband was made redun- dant, but with the offer of buying the furniture delivery truck he drove, delivering for just one existing retail client which became the genesis of the business. Just six weeks later in October 2010 a fur- ther business offer comprising another three trucks and additional staff came up at short notice as a result of a colleague having an accident. In what was a harbinger for the company’s long term future, another truck had to be add- ed in January 2011 due to customer demand. This growth was based on an ethos of mak- ing transport easy, along with being relational and honest with clients, values which continue to be core to the company’s operations today. “More and more of the local stores were hearing about us and they had been having issues with their [existing] carrier so they started shifting over to us.” Today the company has a fleet of 16 trucks covering the length of New Zealand. “Southern Furniture Movers is the biggest transport company in the South Island owned by a woman, so that’s pretty special too.” Southern Furniture Movers provides a broad range of freight, storage and logisti- cal services and has branches in Dunedin, Christchurch and Auckland. These branches are MPI Approved Transitional Facilities for devanning import and domestic containers for distribution. Despite this diversity a good percentage of it’s operations have remained close to its core business of delivering furniture for retailers, demand which resulted in the need for an inter-island service, facilitated by a new MAN semi furniture truck and trailer, one of only three of its capacity in New Zealand. Teressa has worked hard on creating a sense of family in the business and also sees each staff member not as an individual but as representing a family unit. The company’s investment in staff, including encouraging them to advance their career, also pays of in loyalty; some have been with the company for up to 10 years after starting in their teens. Do you want massive financial breakthroughs in your business and your own customized roadmap for success? Can you imagine being dominant in your industry? www.ikulutuservices.com/roadmap • Email – hello@ikulutu.com • Phone – (03) 479-3897 Proud to support Teressa Grigg and her team at Southern Furniture Movers over the last 8 years in achieving their goals