80 | nzdairy Regulations making industry nervous There’s an almost palpable air of caution in the South Taranaki dairy industry, and Gary Wallace feels in sympathy with it as he guides his longestablished Hawera milking machinery servicing and sales company, Better Dairy Solutions, through a tense time. “I’m like the industry at the moment: I’m being extra careful, extra cautious as we try to deal with the impact of the Government’s three-waters regulations,” Gary says. And that’s just one of several issues making the industry nervous, and while Better Dairy Solutions is still ticking over nicely, Gary’s staying watchful. Better Dairy Solution has been servicing the South Taranaki dairy industry for 30 years, and Gary was on the staff for more than half that time before buying the company outright four years ago. He and wife Fiona started out as dairy farmers, moving through the ranks of dairying to end up sharemilking on a farm on the outskirts of Hawera. But they were looking for a new challenge so, after trying engineering for a year, Gary found it wasn’t 100% the right fit, so he joined a local DeLaval company & found his niche, working in a variety of roles before buying Better Dairying Solutions in 2019. Taranaki is synonymous with the dairy industry, but more than 60% of it is actually sited in South Taranaki, which has Hawera as its hub. The core business of Better Dairy Solutions, which has a staff of six but is looking for more, is the planning, sales, installation and maintenance of effluent systems and water pumps – and, in the wider market, selling and servicing pools and spas. Better Dairy Solutions also manufactures its own line of teat-spray equipment which it has been selling throughout the country under the TeatSafe brand. The company’s premises in Glover Road features a well-stocked retail shop catering to dairy farmers, and to the general public in the pool and spa sector. The servicing and installation of milking equipment is carried out by the company’s on-call trades people with a fleet of Rangers & Hiace vans. Their qualifications include Milk Pumping Trade Association certification to carry out milk machine testing. The uncertainty in the dairy industry is comHugh de Lacy Better Dairy Solutions has been servicing the South Taranaki dairy industry for 30 years. DAIRY SERVICES » Better Dairy Solutions Great Quality and Great Value info@sema.co.nz www.sema.co.nz Specialists in the design and manufacture of variable speed Milk, Vacuum, Water and Effluent Pump Controllers 3 Year Warranty on all our products Better Dairy Solutions proudly supplied by PoolWise Limited, NZ owned & operated. orders@poolwise.co.nz 09 527 0753 www.poolwise.co.nz Rotary Platform Servicing • Platform Maintenance - All Brands • Wear Strip Resurfacing • Mechanical Repairs • Welding • General Engineering • Rust Repairs 24/7 Breakdown Service BOOK NOW 06 764 6008 52 Victoria Street, Kaponga 4679 PlatformW.O.F From$135 pounded by the Covid-driven problems of ruptured supply chains, escalating costs and staff shortages, Gary says. “Everyone is being very careful and putting off investment in the industry until these problems are worked through. “When we are more adequately staffed we will be able to push the manufacturing and sales of our TeatSafe teat-spraying system more.” The TeatSafe system, which is manufactured on-site, is designed so that farmers can install it themselves, and it has met a ready market since Gary purchased it outright two years ago. Gary’s taken it round the North & South Islands, and It’s just the sort of product crying out to be launched/marketed on a bigger scale into the national market. But not yet. “I’ll wait until the outlook becomes a bit more positive before I put any more money into it,” Gary says.
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