18 | “Because Nelson’s population is spreading hugely toward Richmond we had been thinking of the benefits for our customers that would come from opening a new service facility there.“ Houston Group expands The Houston Motor Groups new four bay service centre in Richmond. Tasman: Houston Motor Group T T Sue Russell REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Your Technology. Edge. Proudly Supporting Houston Motors Blenheim Local Service Local Support Local Satisfaction There’s a reason we have over 700 happy customers. We’ve got their businesses working smarter with technology that does what it should. But more than just the latest tech, we love meeting our customers’ needs. It’s what gets us up in the morning, or in the middle of the night if need be. Local Service : Outstanding People Managed Print & Scan | Business Automation | Meeting Rooms & Digital Displays 0800 867 426 | support@copierco.nz | www.copierco.nz Houston Motor Group has expanded its footprint in the top of the South Island, with the opening in November of a newly constructed four bay service centre in Richmond. Owner Andrew Norris says the decision to invest in the facility made good sense for lots of reasons. “We already had a dealership and extensive history in the Nelson region. I was employed by Houston Motors in 1996 and during the following 10 years progressed to owning the dealership. Because Nelson’s population is spreading hugely toward Richmond we had been thinking of the benefits for our customers that would come from opening a new service facility there. It’s great to see we’ve finally achieved that goal,” Andrew says. Houston Motors currently represents Mitsubishi, Jeep and Ram in the top of the South Island. In Blenheim, Houston Motor Group has two yards; a second-hand run by Andrew’s son Ben where between 40-60 cars are displayed for sale. The other Mitsubishi dealership is located at 42 Scott Street, which Andrew has owned since 2005. At the new centre in Richmond Mitsubishi, Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge, Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat brands are serviced, though the workshop will attend to any make of vehicle. Located at the bottom of Richmond directly across the road from a massive new home housing development in the lower Richmond area, the new workshop is in a prime position to cater for motor vehicle and motor home servicing. The new garage/workshop centre was built by Coman Construction, who have also been responsible for creating the nearby subdivision. Andrew says that given Nelson is somewhat confined between hills and has very little flat land that can still be built on, future development lies out in Richmond/Hope areas. “All the major retailers and shopping centres are out in Richmond now whereas Nelson seems to be more about cafes and bars. This is where new subdivisions will be built.” Asked how the project went to establish the new service centre in Richmond Andrew says it came together relatively quickly. Giving an overview of the whole operation in the region, Andrew says he now has a large team of professional people in the Blenheim, Nelson and Richmond areas who are available to assist customers with virtually any motoring requirement. “We invest a great deal in ongoing training for our employees as technology evolves. We’ve fully embraced the PHEV/hybrid and electric vehicle era as new vehicles increasingly take up these forms of power.” Andrew is convinced the investment in the new service centre in Richmond will future-proof Houston Motor Group in the region for years to come. “We know that the Richmond area will only continue to grow as shopping and service businesses establish here, to support the growth in population, so it was strategically the right decision to lead the way with the service centre in the town.”
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