Brownmore Concrete owner Rex Podmore and Todd Maitland.
Concrete apprentice Todd Maitland is excelling in his studies and is working through the units in his apprenticeship despite having an intellectual disability, autism and being blind in one eye.
Maitland is a Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO) | Te Pūkenga concrete apprentice working at Brownmore Concrete in Waihī.
Before starting his apprenticeship, Maitland worked in a range of hands-on roles. When looking for further work experience, he started working one day a week in an unpaid capacity at his friend’s father’s business, Brownmore Concrete. But Maitland really impressed the team, and it wasn’t long before he was offered a paid part-time role while completing NCEA. This progressed into the full-time apprenticeship he is undertaking today.
Tina Maitland, Todd’s mother, said her son’s colleagues are great in supporting him to be the best he can be.
“They have welcomed Todd into the business and created a safe learning environment for him. He feels comfortable telling them when he doesn’t understand something, and they will happily go over it again until he masters the new skill or competency.
“The business also has a rule that no one is hired unless everyone agrees. We were really pleased when everyone said they would love to take Todd on board and help him through his apprenticeship.”
Rex Podmore, owner of Brownmore Concrete, said it is great to have Maitland on his team.
“Todd is a great apprentice who is always contributing. Just like everyone else, he deserves the opportunity to prove himself, and he has done that. We have really enjoyed learning his preferred ways of working and adapting how we do things to support him. Having Todd in our business is a huge advantage.”
Maitland said concreting is interesting and he really enjoyed being part of the team.
“It is great to learn new skills and work at Brownmore Construction. My BCITO training adviser Bill Airey is also fantastic at helping me through my qualification.”
Maitland also excels in other activities, especially on the sports field. He has played for the Tauranga Representatives, won the 2022 Freemasons National Summer Games, placed third at the 2023 Māori Basketball Nationals and is in the running to play for New Zealand in an Australian competition.
BCITO is encouraging more people from all backgrounds to consider a career in the trades.
Leading shipping container supplier Royal Wolf has expanded its operation in the Bay of Plenty to meet increased demand for container hire products and self-storage as the region’s population continues to grow.
Ongoing construction and infrastructure projects in the region, along with population growth, were driving demand for shipping container products, from dry storage and refrigerated containers to dangerous goods and portable buildings for the construction sector.
The demand has meant Royal Wolf has expanded to a new site at 353 Taurikura Dr in the Tauriko Business Estate to help it meet growing demand. It also has a dedicated 24/7 self-storage facility, with units ranging from 10 to 20 feet and a 20-foot refrigeration space to meet the need for storage in the region.
Royal Wolf NZ executive general manager Paul Creighton said the new facility increases capability, enabling the company to hold more stock in the region to increase efficiency and provide a wider range of container products.
“We will have more containers on the ground in the Bay and a greater variety of container products to meet the increased demand we are receiving from across a wide range of industries, including the construction and primary sectors and through to retail and self-storage.”
Customers in the Bay of Plenty will also have greater access to Royal Wolf’s innovative container products, including the Wolf Lock Safety container and Site Hub, a worksite solution providing site facilities where there is limited or no access to services. The Tauranga site will also undertake container modifications to meet customers’ bespoke needs.
“Having greater capacity out of Tauranga means we can have the right product on-hand to meet a customer’s needs and ensure quick and efficient deployment of containers to help them meet business challenges,” Creighton said.
Creighton said the facility was a huge step up for Royal Wolf’s Bay of Plenty business at a time when Tauranga as a city and the region as a whole continues to grow.
“The new facility is located in a hub well-placed to meet increased demand driven by not only population growth, but a buoyant commercial and business environment that continues to thrive in a challenging economic climate.”
Royal Wolf has 15 customer service centres around New Zealand, from Whangārei to Invercargill, and four dedicated self-storage facilities.
The company supplies containers across a wide range of industries, including infrastructure, Government, building and construction, through to retail, agri-business and intermodal. It also provides community groups, local grassroots organisations and sporting clubs with container products to support the work they do.
Business partners David Hart and Rodney Fong have come together as the owners of Ray White Tauranga.
Fong had been a part-owner of Ray White Tauranga since 2011, alongside Ian and Rachel Grindle, where they operated as the only sales staff.
David Hart owned Ray White Bayfair and Te Puke, and in August last year, Fong came on board as a principal.
Hart said it was a natural step to purchase the Ray White Tauranga business.
“I have known Rodney for 15 to 16 years in his roles as a salesperson, [before] becoming a business owner himself,” he said.
“I have owned Bayfair, Te Puke and Tauranga Commercial during this time, and Rodney had been associated with the Bayfair, Te Puke and commercial offices as an auctioneer for our team.
“Rodney took a 50 per cent shareholding in the three offices almost 12 months ago, so when Ian and Rachel decided to step back, it was a great opportunity to buy the Tauranga office as well.”
Fong said a big focus for Ray White Tauranga over the next 12 months will be recruitment.
“We feel confident that we can provide a great environment for our salespeople to thrive,” he said.
“We would like to establish ourselves as a leading office, with the best systems for our salespeople and the best culture.
“We want to be known for having good, ambitious, hard-working people in our team.”
Ray White New Zealand chief agency officer Treena Drinnan congratulated Hart and Fong on the new Tauranga business partnership.
“David and Rodney have been successful business owners in the Ray White family for some time,” she said.
“It’s exciting to see them come together and continue their partnership by expanding to Ray White Tauranga, which is a complementary addition to their existing business.
“I look forward to witnessing all they achieve in the future.”
Shared office provider Bad Company opened its doors in 2017 to what is now a 300sq m space in the heart of Mount Maunganui.
Now in its sixth year of operation, the next evolution of the ‘destination workplace’ company has introduced what it believes to be one of the first franchise models for the co-working space business, offering three shared office spaces in Mount Maunganui, Wānaka, and now Hawke’s Bay.
The new Hawke’s Bay office is located inside an Art Deco building in the Hastings CBD that was fortunate enough to not be impacted by the devastating floods earlier this year. Owner Belinda Williams, who is opening the Hawke’s Bay location, held off the refit for a week to ensure she could volunteer in the community during that time.
It has two boardrooms and separated ‘private’ office areas, as well as a kitchen and amenities, and will provide a welcome option, interim or permanent, for business owners in the hard-hit region.
Even in 2017, before the whisper of a Covid-19 pandemic had been uttered, Kiwis were turning their heads towards greener pastures and a greater work/life balance. Co-working spaces were already a well-known trend in urban centres, but with professionals relocating to rural areas, there was a dearth of shared office offerings.
Enter Bad Company founder Tori Taylor. Taylor began her mission to create a community-focused workspace that offered co-working and collaboration with other like-minded individuals, taking the isolation and disconnection out of the usual start-up, sole contractor and small business work environments.
Moving to Mount Maunganui from Auckland in 2016, Taylor immediately noticed a gap in the market. For a community-minded town, there were few options available to the independent businesspeople in the area.
Part of Taylor’s move out of New Zealand’s largest city was to prioritise her health and wellbeing, professionally as well as personally.
Bad Company’s model is targeted at the burgeoning rural locations, with no current plans to enter any of Aotearoa’s main cities.
“We’re on a mission to create community-focused workspaces that offer co-working and collaboration with other like-minded characters, enhancing each other’s offering and providing supportive creators,” she said.
“Afternoon banter and tunes are just an added bonus. We want people to feel welcome and included – coming straight from the beach? Need to bring your pup or feel like channeling your inner DJ? It all happens at Bad Company. The vibe is very much ‘come as you are’. It’s relaxed.”
Offering a variety of workstations to suit individual needs, such as monitors for dual screens, and knee chairs for those focused on core and spine health, Bad Company also has private call and meeting rooms available for more confidential requirements and client meetings.
Bad Company Wānaka is now home to 16 desk spots, housing permanent and part-time businesses.
A scotch egg dish and pyramid-shaped pasta have both proven a hit during the Coastal Bay of Plenty’s annual foodie festival.
The winners of the Plates of Plenty Challenge have just been announced, with Pāpāmoa cafe Pearl Kitchen receiving almost a third of all the public votes cast to claim the People’s Choice Award.
Inspired by a box of locally produced ingredients, their dish featured a bacon and maple scotch egg served with a sauteed mushroom medley, truffle mushroom foam, crispy potato, rocoto romesco and a Parmigiano and Madeira jus.
Pearl Kitchen head chef Nigel Reid said they sold about 400 servings of the dish throughout the 10-day Flavours of Plenty Festival from March 24 to April 2.
“We really thought about the ingredients in the Plates of Plenty Challenge box and wanted to represent them well. Scotch egg was perfect for our breakfast/lunch demographic – and who doesn’t love a scotch egg!”
Meanwhile, Alma Eatery in Ōmokoroa caught the attention of the Plates of Plenty Challenge expert panel, earning the Judge’s Choice Award for its fagottini con funghi e tartufo.
Their dish featured pyramid-shaped pasta stuffed with mushrooms, Grana Padano cheese, ricotta, and herbs, served with truffle butter consisting of roasted hazelnuts, sliced truffle, pekepeke-kiore and truffle salt.
Alma Eatery co-owner and head chef, Marco Velickovic, said his whole team helped perfect the dish before its release.
“It means a lot that people within the hospitality sector recognise what we’re doing.
“The dish sold out most days [during the festival]. We’re even planning to add the dish to our menu, going forward.”
It’s the second year that the culinary challenge has been held during the Flavours of Plenty Festival, which is organised by Tourism Bay of Plenty.
Each of the 12 Plates of Plenty Challenge entrants received a box containing mushrooms, sausages, chocolate hazelnut butter, truffle salt, limoncello, chilis and eggs, and were tasked with using at least three of the items to create a bespoke dish for the festival.
Pearl Kitchen and Alma Eatery received vouchers donated by Southern Hospitality, worth $400 and $600 respectively, for their award-winning efforts.
Oscar Nathan, general manager at Tourism Bay of Plenty, said the challenge was designed to establish and encourage beneficial partnerships between the region’s innovative foodie producers and respected hospitality businesses.
“We were impressed with the creativity and culinary skills displayed by all 12 of the eateries that entered, and it was great to garner the support of the seven local producers who enthusiastically submitted their best ingredients during the challenge.
“It’s been exciting to see foodie producers, hospitality venues, tour operators and event organisers coming together during our first two annual festivals to showcase our region’s spectacular range of edible offerings. We’re very keen to ensure that the Coastal Bay of Plenty earns its rightful place on the national and international culinary tourism scene.”
A mixed performance in the first three months of 2023, and the end of the summer peak season, has produced mixed results across the retail sector and presents a challenging start to the year, says Retail NZ’s latest Retail Radar report.
Retail NZ chief executive Greg Harford said retailers across the country have had a mixed start to the year, with many in the North Island being impacted by weather events and the vast majority impacted by external pressures driving price increases.
The latest Retail Radar report showed 36 per cent of members met their sales target and 44 per cent did not meet expected sales targets.
Confidence continues to remain comparable to the previous quarter, with almost half of retailers not expecting to meet their sales targets in the next three months, the report said.
“Auckland’s flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle were significant issues, as the impacts of the lack of sales and damage to road and infrastructure were felt,” Harford said.
“External cost pressures outside of retailers’ control continue to drive up prices. Price rises are driven by factors like supplier costs, wage increases and increases in rent. Insurance price increases have also been noted as a newly building contributor to higher prices.”
But, he said, as expected and signalled in the last quarter, inflation continues, with 68 per cent of retailers increasing their prices in the last three months at an average of 5.4 per cent, which is down on the forecast 7.1 per cent.
Harford said unsurprisingly, given the April 1 minimum wage increase, the biggest issue facing retailers in the last three months has been factoring in the wage increases, with inflation continuing to impact all businesses, as is the lack of consumer spending.
“All this contributes to 28 per cent of retailers being either unsure or not confident they will survive the next 12 months – similar to the previous quarter.
“Retail NZ is asking Kiwis to ensure you support your local retailers at this time, and shop locally, or from a New Zealand website, throughout these coming months.”
The business digest has been compiled by press releases.
The wishing tree appeal is in its 31st year and the need for it 'has never been greater'.