98 | nzdairy RURAL SERVICES » Read Industrial Mixing business with family Di Malcolm Directors Phil, Steve and Noel Read. • to page 100 Who says you can’t mix business with family? Read Industrial – formerly known as Direct Supply and L Read and Son Ltd – has manufactured, serviced, and installed milking machines for New Zealand’s dairy industry for a century. But more than that, there are now five generations of this family involved in one of New Zealand’s last family-owned and operated milking machine manufacturing companies. Read Industrial is perhaps historically best known for its Read slide pulsator. There are arguably more cows milked in New Zealand on these simple, effective and durable pulsators than any other brand. Read Industrial is based in Rangiora – 30 minutes from Christchurch. It employs 55 people and remains unphased by multi-national companies working competitively within New Zealand’s busy dairying landscape. There are 17 Read’s dairy dealers throughout the country. It is also on the automation train, and it remains a cutting edge choice for its dairy customers. Read Industrial has also managed to juggle its humble, family-based approach with a determined additional push into general-purpose engineering, fabricating and casting componentry. There is not much that this engineering company cannot do. It has three foundries on-site. It manufactures and supplies irrigation components to around 144 stores throughout the country, in addition to supplying its off-shore customers. Other works include casting batch parts for other businesses, such as jet boat impellers and high-end bespoke artworks. Its 79-year-old patriarch, Noel, and his wife, Colleen, continue to inspire and amaze their family. The humble and kind methodology Noel is well-known for has affectionately been dubbed “the Read way”. Noel not only defies Father Time, he brings knowledge, forward-thinking and patience to what is increasingly a supportive role. He is at the factory by 7am every day, and as long as he is “home to see the news”, he’s happy. Sons Steve (and wife Jenny) and Phil (and fiancée Lisa McKenzie) all work shoulder-to-shoulder in the business, along with Steve and Phil’s sister, Tania. Their children are now also taking on roles. Both Steve (Factory Manager) and Phil (Sales Manager) have worked in every aspect of the business, and are as comfortable in overalls as they are sitting in the office. They have also been branded with the Read’s likeability chip, and credit much of that to their parents. Noel and Colleen’s four children grew up amongst approximately 30 foster children who were welcomed to the Read’s family home at different times – mostly for short stays – but some spent up to 18 years with the family. That sense of belonging is equally extended to Dairy Plant Distributors Water Pump Sales & Service Allan Oliver Ph (07) 884 7855 - 24 hours 5 Lipsey Street PO Box 53 Te Aroha 3320 E: piakorural@xtra.co.nz Engineering • Pumps • Irrigation • Marine SupportingMarlborough for 83 years McArtney Street, Blenheim • Phone 03 578 4299 • sales@cuddon.co.nz • cuddon.co.nz Our service technicians are factory trained to keep your system running trouble-free from start-up until your last application of the growing season. Give us a call and we will send one of our highly qualiǻIH XIGLRMGMERW XS ]SYV ǻIPH JSV I\GITXMSREP WIVZMGI PLUS CERTIFIED PLATINUM PLUS CERTIFIED ROVEN EADERS IN NMATCHED ERVICE P L U S + + 03 308 6022 30 JB Cullen Drive Ashburton Business Estate RIÀFH#UD\PD\QH FR Q] ZZZ UD\PD\QH FR Q]
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=