Plumber of year award 'icing on cake'

Rod Miller, managing director of plumbing firm Water-Mart Wairarapa in Masterton, has been named Master Plumber of the Year 2013.

He said the recognition was a major boost and the "icing on the cake".

"I guess it sorts of tops off my career really," he said. "I've been in [the industry] since I left school and this award is probably the icing on the cake."

Mr Miller received the award last Friday at the Master Plumbers Gala Awards Dinner, which is held each year on the final night of the master plumbers, gasfitters and drainlayers New Zealand annual conference.

The national award is judged on key areas such as customer service, marketing, business performance and industry commitment, and Mr Miller said he was delighted that Water-Mart Wairarapa ticked all the boxes.

"I think it's a huge boost. They critique every aspect of the business from customer support to delivery of service and everything else," he said. "I'd like to think it shows we are doing reasonably well."

Mr Miller has operated the company for the past 20 years and he said his team carry out a diverse range of domestic, commercial and maintenance work to a very high standard. "From handling the plumbing project for the new Masterton hospital to changing a ballcock, there's nothing this team of 47 doesn't do," Mr Miller said. The local firm has about 40 vans on the roads covering Wairarapa and Mr Miller said the company name is well-known in the region.

Master Plumbers chairman John Leen presented the award to the managing director and congratulated the company on their success.

"The Master Plumber of the Year Award recognises business excellence and Water-Mart Wairarapa is a thoroughly deserving winner," he said.