World Cup pays dividends for bat-maker

James Laver says he is still learning as each block of wood is different.

Waipawa's not the first place you'd think would be home to an internationally renowned business, but it's familiar territory to cricketers the world over.

From a small beige building at the southern end of the township, Laver & Wood has for the past 10 years been producing and selling handcrafted bats. Clients range from big-name international cricketers such as Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara through to 8-year-old kids starting out in the game.

With the summer approaching, things are hotting up in the workshop, building on New Zealand's recent success in the World Cup.

"The World Cup was a huge boost for us and helped put us on the map," says master craftsman James Laver, who's been making bats since the mid-1990s.

"There will be continued spin-offs from that and the fact New Zealand did so well and won a lot of fans in how they played and their attitude."

New Zealand is particularly popular with Indians, who provide 60 per cent of customers around the world, says Laver.

The company produces about 1800 bats a year, 90 per cent exported, through a process that matches the player with a bat specific to their age, height, build, wickets and skill level.

The process starts with a raw block of imported English willow, cut down to size with a circular saw, the blade pressed and hardened, the splice cut and handle fitted.

The shape is carved into the bat with draw knives and planes, sanded, polished and the sticker placed.

Laver & Wood's styling comes with the draw knife and planing process - and reading the wood, says Laver.

"There's a lot in each piece of wood that's so different - the grain structures and density, it's a constant learning process even though I've been doing it for 25 years now."

Laver started as a construction engineer in England but, in the recession in the early 1990s, decided to look for something else, stumbling across an apprenticeship and then a job as a production manager for a bat-maker.

Coming to New Zealand in 1998 with wife Nicola, he moved to Waipawa and was introduced to George Wood, going into partnership before striking out on his own in 2004.

Being based in Waipawa suits him.

"Most of our business is conducted through the website and social media and we enjoy the lifestyle here. Because we are out of the way, we don't have to manage foot traffic."

The internet can be a challenge in a small community. "Three years ago they ripped up the roads and put in fibre but it's been left hanging in a bundle - it's the bane of our lives."

Laver & Wood is, however, a true blue Hawke's Bay company.

"We have built this business out of Hawke's Bay and are keen to stay here."