14 | T T Rosa Watson Turners bringing its brand to Timaru Construction is underway on the old Doncaster Hotel site at Washdyke, which is 4500sqm. South Canterbury: Turners Automotive - Henderson Building REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Used car giant Turners Auto Retail is setting up shop in Timaru in a large-scale project that will bring more automotive options to the city’s used car market. The company purchased the old Doncaster Hotel site at Washdyke, which is 4500sqm and construction on a new purpose-built yard is underway. National property manager Marc Wells said having set up premises in most major centres across the country, it was now looking at centres in the 70,000 to 80,000 population range. They recently opened stores in Nelson and Rotorua. “So, we are working at that next level down, and recognised South Canterbury as an opportunity.” They started the search for a premises in the city around four years ago and it took a while to find the perfect location. And they found it at the old Doncaster Hotel site. It was owned by local businessman Leo Leonard, where he operated his business Leo Leonard Motors from, having purchased the site when Doncaster Hotel shut its doors in August 2009 after 149 years. Marc knew the owner, Leo Leonard, from previous dealings with him in his former role at Turners. Leo had run a used truck business there.“He was thinking about retiring so we managed to put a deal together.” The property ticked all the boxes, with visibility from State Highway 1, and it was a corner site. It was also a good fit for the size of the Timaru market. The next thing was to find a construction firm that could carry out the construction of the site. “Once we’d got through securing it and working through design and consulting and those sorts of things, we went out to tender.” They based their search on a number of criteria, including reputation, price and capability, ultimately landing with Henderson Building. He said the company had been capable and professional on the job. “They’re fairly wellknown in South Canterbury. They do commercial construction, which is what we sort of look for. We identified they were good fit given their reputation and experience.” The Hotel was pulled down for a whole new building to be constructed. It is due for completion in late October, with a “soft launch” opening of the dealership in mid-November, Marc said. “If all goes well, we’ll be looking to get a practical completion at that date.” They would then begin working on setting up the premises and going through the recruitment process. Six staff will be recruited initially and the team will grow from there. “If it goes well, they’ll employee some more beyond that.” Marc said the key difference between Turners and other used car dealers was the sheer scale of the company. “We’re more of a supermarket for cars, rather than the corner dairy.” He was confident it would be a successful venture. “When we move forward, we are confident it’ll go well, and it’ll give us a desire to look at other areas of New Zealand where we can continue our footprint.” “The feedback from what we hear is pretty good. We tend to find that we offer something quite different to the local community. And people know who we are before we come.” He said Turners was proud of its reputation and “making sure we’re doing the right thing by the local community.” Turners as a car company evolved out of Turners and Growers 55 years ago. Turners Auctions ran for over 40 years before transforming into the modern company it is today offering a dealership experience as well as auctions across 20 branches nationwide. Eleccom Design Ltd represents a team of specialist electrical engineers and designers that offer professional consul�ng services for the building services industry. c 021 555 570 | p 03 423 9266 | e design@eleccom.co.nz | w www.eleccom.co INNOVATIVE | SUSTAINABLE | DESIGN Ph: (03) 688 53 58 | WWW.AOTEAELECTRIC.CO.NZ • ELECTRIC • COMMUNICATIONS • SECURITY • DOMESTIC • COMMERCIAL • FIRE • INDUSTRIAL • HEAT PUMPS • THERMAL IMAGING • INSPECTIONS Thewindow For ideas and advice about our exceptional windows and doors, talk to FairviewTimaru ph 03 688 7248 or visit us at 30 Washdyke Flat Road, Timaru. HENDERSON BUILDING 30+ years experience building award-winning homes. 40 Treneglose St, Timaru 03 688 7057 info@hendersonbuilding.co.nz
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