Shock as Bay of Plenty 'institution' sold

One of Tauranga's biggest locally-owned companies, Todd and Pollock, has been sold, marking the end of a remarkable rags- to-riches story spanning 40 years.

The sale went unconditional yesterday - a week after emotions boiled over when owner Rex Pollock announced the news to his fiercely loyal staff.

Todd and Pollock has been sold to Auckland- based New Zealand Crane Hire, another major player in the industry throughout the North Island.

The sale includes the rights to the famous name, which has become synonymous with cranes, freight haulage and scaffolding.

Mr Pollock, 62, and wife and business partner Cheryl have retained the building and property development side of the business - now a much lower profile operation with only four tradesmen compared to the building firm which formed the base of his fortune before he branched into cranes in 1985 and haulage in 1990.

It was their close involvement in the $50 million joint venture Kingsview Resort in Durham St which proved that Todd and Pollock could still prosper while they remained at arms length.

The sponsorship of speedway at Baypark will continue until the middle of next year. Todd and Pollock has injected $2 million into Tauranga community organisations through sponsorships and donations.

Mr Pollock, arrived in Tauranga penniless from Taranaki over 40 years ago. He worked for and then went into partnership with builder Alan Todd, buying him out when Mr Todd retired in 1986.

At its peak under Mr Pollock, Todd and Pollock's annual turnover hit $40 million.

He would not disclose current turnover or the price paid by New Zealand Crane Hire, but said there would be no redundancies. All his staff would retain their positions.

He is well known for his personal commitment to staff which has even extended to helping them out with advice and money.

Mr Pollock said standing up in front of his 56 staff last Friday was one of the toughest things he ever had to do.

He said he was wiping away the tears - an emotion shared at the meeting among some of his oldest and most loyal workers.

They learned that Mr Pollock had received four completely unsolicited approaches from firms wanting to buy him out over the past 12 months, including an Australian company.

New Zealand Crane Hire, a firm with young hands-on directors, approached him just before Christmas, only a few weeks after he had spent $2.3 million on a new heavy-lift crane.

The Pollocks mulled it over as they relaxed at their Whangamata batch and things snowballed after that. It was a good business fit because NZ Crane Hire's equipment almost mirrored Todd and Pollock's.

Mr Pollock said another factor was that he knew there would be a lot of unhappy people if he sold to an overseas company.

Mrs Pollock said their staff was a big family and when the announcement was made they were devastated. "Some had tears in their eyes - there is a lot of loyalty."

Four staff had more than 20 years service and nearly all the rest had worked for him between five and 20 years.

"Going unconditional yesterday really hit Rex. To finally walk out that gate will be very, very hard," Mrs Pollock said.

Mr Pollock insists he still had a lot of life left in him and will continue as an industrial and commercial developer. He has three building jobs on the go and owns a number of other properties around town.

The Pollocks intend to take a break in Australia and also spend time on their new 43ft launch built by Tauranga's Oliver Marine.

- BAY OF PLENTY TIMES