72 | Over the last decade, in addition to providing bulk fuel supply, onsite diesel supply and fuel storage solutions, Waitomo has established 54 fuel stops, catering to retail customers, along with another 23 diesel stops for trucks. Waitomo Group ENERGY MARINE Richard Loader Dunedin · Queenstown • • 09 276 5353 neil@tankerengineering.co.nz 202 James Fletcher Drive, Otahuhu www.tankerengineering.co.nz Bulk Liquid Transport Engineers Aluminium& Stainless Fabricators Agile, innovative and future-focused, 100% Kiwi-owned Waitomo Group is a market disrupter, focussed on delivering choice and fairer prices at the fuel pump to its continually growing customer base in both the North and South Islands. On the 13th of June this year, Waitomo celebrated its 75th birthday, with the company founded by ‘Diamond’ Des Ormsby who tightly held a philosophy of ‘People, Performance and Price. The story of Diamond Des reminds us that there are people who wonder what has happened, people who watch things happen, and people who make things happen. Diamond Des and the Ormsby family fall strongly into the camp of the latter — for the benefit of all Kiwis. A well-known identity and respected businessman in hometown Te Kuiti, Des acquired the handle ‘Diamond’ because of his success in business, which he enjoyed by smoking cigars, dressing smartly, and driving luxury European cars. Entrepreneurial by nature, Des built several businesses, most memorable of which were Waitomo Lime and Waitomo Transport, established in 1947. When Waitomo Lime was sold to Dalgetys, it was New Zealand’s largest marketer of lime. In today’s language, Des ‘pivoted’ towards the growth opportunity he saw in Waitomo Transport, which had the agency for the distribution of Mobil products in the King Country. 1989 was the company’s next key milestone when it re-branded to Waitomo Petroleum and entered into a joint venture with Mobil. Exiting the JV in 2003, the Ormsby family took full ownership of the business, which was based on commercial fuel delivery to the industrial heart of New Zealand, as well as delivering fuel to farm businesses. But it was 2012 when opportunity for a low-cost fuel supplier and technology enabled real step-change and diversification with unmanned retail fuel sites, where motorists could drive in, fuel up and pay at an outdoor terminal. That same year, Waitomo’s first unmanned fuel stop was opened in the small farming settlement of Te Uku, on the road between Hamilton and Raglan. Rebranding as Waitomo — Kiwis fueling Kiwis – the business has continued to develop around Des’ core values of —People, Performance and Price. Over the last decade, in addition to providing bulk fuel supply, onsite diesel supply and fuel storage solutions, Waitomo has established 54 fuel stops, catering to retail customers, along with another 23 diesel stops for trucks. All fuel stops are unmanned. “Our northern most site is Paihia, and the southernmost sites are two in Dunedin,” says Chief Operating Officer Simon Parham. “We opened our first site in the South Island in December 2019 — Waitomo Fitzgerald Avenue in Christchurch, and there are now two other Christchurch sites, “Woolston and Cranford Street. Most of our sites are in the North Island, but we’re looking at growing our business further into the South Island. We’re about to start development of a site in Timaru and will continue to investigate other options as they come along. “We want to build sites where the people are and create that network so that it can also cater to our commercial customers. We are also expanding our North Island sites as well.” Simon says while there really hasn’t been any forecourt service for motorists in New Zealand for twenty years or so, the customers’ decision to use Waitomo when filling their tanks is based upon great pricing, great locations and the company is easy to use. “People do have different shopper missions — sometimes they might want a pie or a coffee, while others just want to get the fuel and get going. Our average transaction time is two minutes-twenty seconds. “It’s a nice in and out transaction, especially when there is still nervousness around Covid, and now the flu. You can stay in your own bubble, and the fuel is at a fair price. We’re now one of the very few Kiwi-owned fuel companies left, and the Waitomo brand really resonates with people. People can see what Waitomo has done and if there’s a Waitomo around, they can be assured of a fair price. Our app allows in-vehicle contactless payment and gifting. “They are the things our customers really like, and they are voting with their cars. We also have two unmanned contactless car washes, and we will be opening one in Petone and building another in Ruakura.” Waitomo continues to be 100%-owned by the Ormsby family and has been through three generations of family management, with grandson Jimmy Ormsby now holding the mantle of Managing Director. Jimmy joined Waitomo in 2003 and progressed through the business, championing the rapid national expansion, particularly through unmanned fuel stops. While Jimmy’s father, Grey, stepped down from the Board three years ago, he continues to attend meetings as the official and well-respected kaumatua. The company now employs 80 staff, of which 40 are drivers and the rest in support roles. “We have the scale now where people can join the team and progress through different support functions — whether that’s through finance and administration, or going into sales and coordination roles, then moving into management,” says Simon. “How do we bring people through the business is high in my mind. It’s easy to look outside, but I think it’s more important to look internally.” Looking to the future, Waitomo thrives within a sunset industry but is already looking at what the next energy form is, and is working in partnership with Hiringa Energy to roll out New Zealand’s first hydrogen refuelling network. “The first site is under construction in Palmerston North and we’re working on another three sites in the initial network. At this stage, hydrogen is more for your large heavy fleet, because that’s where your biggest opportunity is for decarbonisation in terms of transport. It’s those big heavy diesel trucks that do a lot of kilometres up and down the country. There’s still a lot to be fleshed out in respect to future fuels and what they might be. “With the next generation of fuels I think we will see decentralisation of the big refineries in the Asia-Pacific where fuels are shipped to New Zealand. You might see more investment in renewable gasification projects that will be different for each country. “Australia will have a different solution to New Zealand, and New Zealand will have a different solution to Europe and that will be based on what is naturally available in that country. “There are a lot of different ways that renewable fuels can be created and part of that is the energy source to create it from — and that will vary country to country. Could be it a woody bio-mass solution, for example?” Fairer prices at pump the focus
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