INDUSTRY PEOPLE
OLD SCHOOL STILL RULES
The HPL Distribution story.
Along a side road just off State Highway 1 south of
Whangarei, sits a small New Zealand-owned company that
rubs shoulders with big business.
Up the driveway there are parked huge excavators; big boys
toys, until you get to a small office building and then a larger
hangar-style structure in which maintenance and repairs are
carried out.
The site is not big enough for the operation anymore, and
soon the machinery will move further south.
Inside the office building, the jug is boiling and the gingernuts
are placed on the table as Jimmy and Scott Daisley begin to
talk about their recent visitors.
It’s easy banter, and they dive right in.
“We warned them at dinner time the other night: ‘Don’t be
like us’.”
They are talking about the visit from the head of Kato Works,
Mr Kato himself. As we’ll see, Kato Works works closely
with HPL Distribution in a tight business relationship.
They refer to a dinner where they discussed business
practices in New Zealand and Japan; policy changes, and
the way that small-to-medium businesses are impacted by
so-called ‘helpful’ legislation.
Their Japanese guests were keen to discover why the
Daisleys were giving this warning. “Why wouldn’t they like
A Kato 20-ton machine. HPL Distribution deals in Big Machines
to be like New Zealand?” they wondered.
from Kato Works in Japan.
“We think there’s some good common sense ways to
The government has done some good things for the country,
do things in this country. But governments sometimes
says Jimmy. It’s the logic and common sense
put roadblocks in the way. Our guests were
really keen to know, so we gave them some “We warned them at dinner behind some of the decisions that makes them
time the other night: don’t shake their heads in wonder.
examples,” says Jimmy.
be like us.”
The dinner ended well, and all the Daisleys were
What transpires is a truly hilarious account, at
trying to do was to illustrate how seemingly straightforward
stand-up comedy quality.
practices can become so complex in the face of bureaucracy.
“I said ‘I’ve got a block of land and I’m allowed to cut down
a Totara, chop it up and burn it. But if I cut it into bits of
Having Mr Kato come to New Zealand to visit has been
board to build a shed, I can’t do that without permission
wonderful says Jimmy. It is highly unusual for the President
first.’ ”
of a company to make that journey, but the Daisleys say that
the firm loves New Zealand and particularly loved Northland.
“The seatbelt laws are a major. A $175 fine if you don’t strap
your child in. If I don’t strap the dog onto the back of my
What’s not to love? It’s a short journey up to the Bay of
ute, it’s a $300 fine. So, we’re in effect saying that a dog is
Islands where you can feast on shellfish the size of your
more important than a child? Also buses aren’t required to
palm, not your thumb, like the stuff they get in Japan. The
have seatbelts.”
winemaking is particularly popular, too and in general, the
The humour spills over as both Jimmy and Scotty use the
hospitality is second to none. Mr Kato and co were taken to
fingers to the temple and simultaneously declare “stupidity!”.
Auckland to visit the Õrãkei Marae, the Sky Tower and other
sites of significance to Auckland.
Of course they are not decrying the government as a whole.
This is a monthly series on businesses in our industry. We profile one business per month to find out how our hard-working
business owners, employees and contractors manage to run these specialist businesses and what makes them tick in the
New Zealand trade business environment. These are the stories of our CAM people.
w w w. c a m m a g a z i n e . c o . n z
CAM December 2019
81