Pioneer carpet maker mourned

George Alfred McKendrick, a pioneer of the New Zealand carpet industry, has died, aged 78.

The managing director of the carpet company Godfrey Hirst, he was born in Auckland in 1920 and started manufacturing carpet from his Epsom home.

Now his company is one of the largest woollen carpet manufacturers in the world, with annual turnover of $377 million.

Mr McKendrick set up a number of companies during his career, including Knightsbridge Carpets, Kensington Carpets and a glass factory in Whangarei, which has since closed.

He purchased Australian-based wool mill Godfrey Hirst in 1966 and converted it into a carpet manufacturer. Today the company employs 1500 people in New Zealand and Australia, operates 10 factories and exports carpet to 20 countries.

The company is the single largest buyer of New Zealand wool, purchasing almost 8 per cent of annual production.

His son Kim McKendrick, who has taken over as chief executive of Godfrey Hirst, said yesterday that his father would be remembered as an inspiring businessman who motivated staff through his passion for the wool and carpet industries.

"He was active in the business up until last week."

Mr McKendrick, who was a keen game fisherman and yachtsman, also leaves a daughter, Lyndsay, and wife, Shirley.

He died on Saturday.