72 | Powering ahead in Timaru Sam sees good potential for growth in solar installations. Tonkin Electrical Solutions T T Russell Fredric Martin Excavating & Contracting Personal values underpin operation T T Kelly Deeks CONTRACTING After just over a year of being in business, Tonkin Electrical Solutions was nominated by an unknown client for the South Canterbury Chamber of Commerce Business and Community Excellence Awards. In January 2024, sole owner/operator Sam Tonkin, who has 13 years’ experience in the trade, donned his tool belt with a vision to run his business based on a high level of customer service first and foremost. “I primarily do mostly residential and light industrial work currently, new builds, heat pump installation, solar, renovations and general maintenance,” Sam says. He has built a client base through word-ofmouth referrals, family and friends, and by establishing working relationships with a couple of builders and a rental property agency. Sam is supported in the business by his wife Brooke, who helps part-time with the administration, and he has worked hard to build the business on promptness and quality work, along with going the extra mile in dealing with clients and potential clients. “I regard customer service quite highly over everything else,” he says. An example is that Sam is happy to meet with people at their own convenience, including outside normal work hours, to discuss their project. He doesn’t know who submitted the award nomination, which ultimately resulted in Tonkin Electrical Solutions being a finalist. “I was pretty chuffed with getting nominated considering that I’d only just been in business at the time for just over a year, because there’s a lot of amazing businesses around as it is. To be nominated and to be a finalist is a pretty big achievement, and it’s also good exposure.” Sam sees good potential for growth in solar installations, especially as people look for a way of alleviating the cost of power bills, as well as wanting them for environmental reasons, and he has settled on the suppliers of two different brands. “All the materials I use are based off of personal experience with them, and also warranties. Everything I use has a much better warranty compared to others, and their customer service is also a lot better.” For Adam Martin, managing director of Martin Excavating and Contracting, running a successful business in Rakaia and Mid Canterbury has been about seizing opportunities, backing himself with bold investments, and always staying true to his values. What started as a side hustle helping friends prepare house sites has, over 15 years, become a respected contracting business with 12 staff, its own quarries, and a reputation for providing end-to-end solutions for farmers, developers, contractors, and roading companies across Mid Canterbury. “Right now, I’m just organising aggregate for a roading job,” Adam says, illustrating the dayto-day demands of a business that has grown into a vital part of the region’s infrastructure and rural development. As a qualified panel beater, he returned home to the family farm after his father passed away suddenly. For similar reasons he has settled on heat pump brands Fujitsu, Mitsubishi and Toshiba. For an average household, Sam recommends installing an eight kilowatt system, which can be linked directly to the grid, or a hybrid system with batteries for storage. Tonkin Electrical Solutions can install heat pumps and heat-pump systems for any situation. Multiple split systems are ideal for homes with limited space, or for controlling individual room temperatures, using one outdoor unit to serve multiple indoor units. Split systems, comprising one indoor unit to one outdoor unit are ideal for heating and cooling individual rooms and compact spaces, while ducted systems are designed to heat and cool an entire home. Looking ahead, Sam has plenty of vision for growing the business and for his personal development as a business owner and future employer, with a view to potentially taking on his first employee next year. “I’m wanting to build a bit more infrastructure in terms of training and personal knowledge. I’ve just passed my electrical inspectors exam, so I’m just in the process of submitting that and getting my licence.” Once he got the farm running smoothly, he found himself looking for a new challenge. “My dad had a couple of old diggers and a tip truck, and I started tinkering with them. A lot of my mates were builders, so I spent weekends helping them with house sites,” he says. “One of the housing companies approached me, and the rest is history.” The trajectory of the business shifted when Adam recognised the volume of material he was purchasing from quarries. He approached a local quarry owner about a buyout, and soon after, Martin Excavating and Contracting had its own quarry operation. In 2020, Adam expanded again by purchasing Methven Shingle Supplies, securing three to four extraction areas across Rakaia and Methven. “It’s great being able to keep everything inhouse,” he says. “We can put in new tracks on a farm, do the house site, and supply all the aggregate ourselves. From tennis courts, civil sites to horse arenas, we’ve covered it all.” Want that relaxed landlord feeling? We make it possible Blackham & Co Real Estate Licensed Agent REAA 2008 03 687 1257 Let’s talk. TIMARU | TEMUKA | GERALDINE | WAIMATE | OAMARU PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Tonkin Electrical Solutions Ltd providing reliable honest work throughout South Canterbury & the McKenzie country, providing basic electrical services to heat pump installations, solar, ventilation, new builds, renovations, lighting design & installations, electrical faults & repairs, light industrial and commercial touts. No job is too small! Sam Tonkin: 027 764 9484 | sam@tonkines.co.nz RESIDENTIAL / COMMERCIAL / LIGHT INDUSTRIAL Alexanders are proud to support Martin Excavating & Contracting E 0800-841-400
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