INDUSTRY PEOPLE
“Service is second to none, good product is
key. You also need to be able to sell yourself
and your product. This comes about by being
friendly, helpful and following up any issues.”
“You’ve got to know your product,” he says and
“people instantly know if you’re the real deal, or
not.”
As we walk around the property, there’s a couple
more sheds and inside one is a collection of
classic Mopars and his 1960 2-door Falcon
race car. Gary has been heavily involved in the
pre-’65 racing over the years, as a driver and
President (now immediate past President) of the
South Island chapter.
The shed is all about the Fords and Mopars,
and there’s memorabilia in abundance showing
years of petrol-head mania. It seems that Gary
has a bit of rubber in his veins after all.
Gary has branched out into undercarriage supplies including rollers.
is aging and the funeral sector is now a whopping $256
million dollar industry.
According to the Funeral Directors’ Association of New
Zealand, there are around 200 businesses operating in
this country. There is a marked demand for eco-friendly
caskets now, as we all try to address the ongoing human
footprint on the planet.
The five-year plan is to have both the rubber
tracks business and a full funeral service up-
and-running. The combined skills of the Shaws is so
strangely different, but they’ve brought them together
so well.
They have found an incredible work-life balance, and
have been savvy in playing on their best personal and
vocational qualities.
Citizens Advice estimates that the cost of the
average funeral is around $8000-$10,000, a huge
and often sudden cost for a family. Gary and Di
aim to reduce that cost, much of which is often
tied up in the casket itself.
The caskets themselves are carefully crafted,
and the design steers away from the traditional
brass-handled, polished-wood numbers of old.
As Gary says, nothing looks more ‘final’ than that.
These caskets retain the formality expected by a
family but at the same time allow those on a lower
income the same dignified farewell as others.
They bought the business this year and there has
been a steady demand for the caskets and the
couple hope to expand the business to fit around
the rubber tracks business and their lifestyle
block.
Across both businesses, Gary says that the key
These idlers complete the suite of parts for any rubber tracked application.
to success is service.
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CAM November 2018
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