Waikato Business News December 2016/January 2017

8 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS December 2016/January 2017
Cambridge’s pedal culture
attracts cycle giant
Cambridge scored a coup for Waikato in
mid-2016 when Trek Bicycles, said to be
the world’s largest privately-owned cycle
company, elected to make the town its
New Zealand base.
By VIV POSSELT
That decision was made
after Trek Asia Pacific
conducted a nationwide
tour in search of a suitable place
to set up the New Zealand operation.
Trek New Zealand’s now
locally-based marketing man
Lester Perry said Cambridge
won out for several reasons, not
the least of which is the fact
that the town is New Zealand’s
Home of Cycling base.
“Cambridge is considered a
really good fit with Trek,” he
said. “We didn’t want our base to
be in Auckland, but needed to be
close to it for practical reasons.
Our warehousing is done there,
it’s the main portal for any of
our international staff coming
in. The big guys in the US and
Australia don’t want to spend
time in central Auckland … they
would rather spend their New
Zealand time here.”
In a nod to Cambridge’s
cycle-centric character, Lester
added: “It’s no coincidence that
some of the country’s top athletes
are based here - there are
some very good rides within
Corallee Collins-Annan
alongside Ministry of Youth
Development director
Robyn Scott.
easy access in this region.
“As a company, Trek has a
strong culture of cycling. It is
what we do … all our staff
ride. The decision to move
to Cambridge was equally
staff-driven. That’s a big part
of it, and will be part of our
long-term development as we
continue to work closely with
the international guys … some
of the roads and mountain bike
trails around Te Miro and Rotoo-Rangi
are ideal for product
development.”
Trek Bicycles is one of the
biggest players on the international
scene. Its products – both
road and mountain bikes - are
a globally recognised performance
brand, used by top calibre
cyclists in major events worldwide.
One of the key elements of
the company’s ethos, and something
Lester said was “a very
large part of the company’s
story”, is the lifetime warranty
offered on its products.
The Trek story itself had
humble beginnings. In 1976,
deep in the farming regions of
middle America, Dick Burke
and South African Bevil Hogg
started a bike-building business
in a Waterloo barn in Wisconsin.
Both shared an ambitious dream
– to bring the joy of cycling
to the public by manufacturing
bicycles of the highest possible
quality.
They picked a name over a
beer, hung a sign on the door and
set about turning their dream into
reality. With just five employees
on the payroll in that first year,
it would have been unlikely the
two men could have envisaged
Trek growing into the global
company it is today, employing
many hundreds of people
around the world and encouraging
cycling for its health, transport
and environmental benefits.
Central to that success has
been the quality the company
founders were determined
should be integral to its
operation. Today, Trek’s hightech
production development is
driven by the US-based team
that results in a ‘ride quality’ said
to be second-to-none.
“The development aspect is
crucial,” Lester explained. “The
company employs 65 engineers
worldwide who work on product
development. A number are
based in Waterloo where most
of the laboratory testing is done.
They have other offices around
the US as well – one laboratory
in California focuses on
mountain bike suspension and
technology, and a field testing
team in Colorado is responsible
for testing the products before
they go to market. They put the
bikes through their paces against
The four-strong Trek Bicycle (NZ) team. They are, from left, Cambridgebased
Bevan Cheatley, Lester Perry and Kerry Bartle, and South Island
team member Rowan Miller (Christchurch). Photo: Nick Lambert.
the clock.
“The development we do is
by far an industry leader. That
has flow-down effects on the
ride quality of the full range of
Trek bikes.”
For the best part of the last
25 years, New Zealand cyclists
have accessed Trek products
primarily through the only
Kiwi distributor, Cycle Sport in
Whanganui. A recent change in
global strategy saw Trek move
away from the distribution
model, preferring to establish
distribution entities in certain
regions.
“So, while we exist as an arm
of Trek Australia, which was
established six years ago, we are
our own entity … a standalone
operator,” said Lester.
In the five months since
the team began working out of
Cambridge, there has been an
impressive increase in business,
Lester said. The search is still on
for ideal office and tech-training
premises, but in the meantime,
the flexibility offered by
modern technology and centrally-placed
temporary office space
has resulted in “unprecedented
Waikato students star at Young
Enterprise National Awards
Two groups of Waikato
students were recognised
at the Young Enterprise
National Awards held in
Wellington on December 7.
More than 3400 students
took part nationwide in The Lion
Foundation Young Enterprise
Scheme (YES), with each YES
team challenged to create and
run a small business.
Crankworks from St Paul's
Collegiate School won the
Innovation Award, and Be
Somebody from Fraser High
School won the Ministry of
Youth Development Award for
Business Commitment.
Crankworks created a tool to
make post-hole boring safer and
easier for farmers. The team’s
invention can be attached to a
trailer or farm bike to increase
stability, and it helps farmers
bore holes without the heavy
lifting usually required.
Be Somebody created an
environmentally friendly organic
body care range. This company
was made up of just one student,
Corallee Collins-Annan, who
completed the year as a sole trader.
Corallee produced face scrubs
and face masks which have been
certified as vegan and organic.
Young Enterprise CEO Terry
Shubkin said the two award winners
demonstrated the diversity
of talent in Waikato. “These
were two very different ideas,
but both companies were successful
because they identified
Cambridge-based Lester Perry will take care of Trek
Bicycle (NZ) marketing and retail development.
growth”.
“The uptake before we
opened Cambridge was really
successful, but since the changeover,
things have gone from
strength to strength. “
Before coming on board for
Trek Bicycle (NZ) in marketing
and retail development, Lester
worked as the upper North Island
representative for Cycle Sport. It
was very much an on-the-road
position, one that set him up
well for a month-long demonstration
tour of the South Island
The Crankworks team: From left, Hugh
Jackson, Ben McColgan and Angus Kelly.
their target market and wanted to
solve a problem for that group.
Waikato can be very proud of
these students.”
In the Waikato and King
Country regions, 230 students
he recently completed for Trek.
Also based in Cambridge are
well-known Kiwi cyclist Bevan
Cheatley, who also previously
worked for Cycle Sport, in the
role of Trek Bicycle (NZ) sales
manager, and Kiwi-born Kerry
Bartle, who has moved back
after giving 18 years to Trek
Australia to take on the role of
North Island territory manager.
The fourth Trek Bicycle (NZ)
team member, South Island territory
manager Rowan Miller, is
based in Christchurch.
from 43 teams took part. The
programme is managed nationwide
by Young Enterprise Trust
and coordinated throughout
the Waikato and King Country
regions by Smart Waikato Trust.
Students benefit from David Johnstone Scholarships
Thirty-five Waikato students
are the latest to
receive $6000 for their
tertiary study thanks to the David
Johnstone Charitable Trust
Scholarship.
Founded by Waikato farmer
David Johnstone – who harboured
a lifelong wish for a better
education – the scholarship
programme is now 21-years-old
and still helping talented secondary
school students further their
education.
The trust, which is managed
by Perpetual Guardian and now
worth $6.3 million, has distributed
more than $4 million since
1996. Among the criteria defined
by Mr Johnstone, who died in
1990, is a preference for life
goals and ambitions that will
help uplift Waikato.
The 35 students who were
awarded scholarships at a
function at Wintec’s Atrium in
December, will each receive
$6000 towards their studies,
which include the following categories
for the scholarship:
• University of Waikato –
Science Degrees (Bachelor
of Science, Bachelor of
Engineering, Bachelor of
Computing and Mathematical
Science and Bachelor of
Science and Technology);
• University of Waikato –
Bachelor of Teaching /
Secondary School Teaching
Degrees;
• Waikato Institute of
Technology – General studies,
including Bachelors
of Nursing, Occupation
Therapy, Media Arts and
Early Childhood Education,
as well as Certificates in
Massage and Building.
Assistant vice-chancellor
at the University of Waikato,
Michelle Jordan-Tong, says
scholarships such as the David
Johnstone Charitable Trust are
particularly valuable to Waikato
because it influences the development
of skills that have been
identified as being relevant to the
regional economy.
"STEM subjects (science,
technology, engineering and
mathematics) are needed in
Waikato, which has a strong
primary sector focus, and the
focus of the David Johnstone
Charitable Trust is helping to
plug the gap, as well as ensure
that the region's students receive
financial help to achieve their
goals.
"I was particularly struck by
the high academic calibre of this
year's recipients. Many of them
have endured hardship and, as
gifted and talented as they are,
may have struggled to access a
tertiary education if it wasn't for
the David Johnstone Charitable
Trust Scholarship," she said.
Regional engagement manager
at Waikato Institute of
Technology, Edgar Wilson, said
the scholarship reduces the barrier
for students who want to
access tertiary education and
offers them more opportunities
than they may ordinarily have
enjoyed.
"Some of these students have
had marked hardship. Even
though they can access student
loans, there are still obstacles
that make studying difficult like
paying for accommodation or
transport. This discretionary
funding frees up money to give
them easier access to tertiary
education.
"I think a key thing to come
out of this is that in receiving
this scholarship, many of
these students learn about who
David Johnstone was and his
accomplishments – for example
that he was a founder of
National Fieldays and a successful
Waikato businessman and
farmer – and they take inspiration
from that story. In that
way, David Johnstone's legacy
lives beyond the money and the
opportunities the scholarship
provides," he said.
Mr Wilson said that the
scholarship picks the candidates,
not the courses, and that many of
the students this year are trending
towards trades and maths
and science qualifications, such
as in the health sector.
Perpetual Guardian regional
manager, Jan Middlemiss, says
that while Perpetual Guardian is
actively involved as a trustee in
managing the David Johnstone
Charitable Trust, the real reward
comes on the night of the scholarship
awards.
"There is no question that
parents and students regard this
scholarship as an absolute privilege
and it is always received
in a spirit of humility and celebration.
"We take enormous satisfaction
from being in a position
to help realise Mr Johnstone's
dream of a higher education
through the more than 500 students
that this scholarship has
helped over the years," she said.
As part of the administration
of the David Johnstone Trust,
nomination forms and criteria
are sent to schools within the
David Johnstone
on his Orini farm.
trust’s designated area in August
each year. Nominations are sent
to each member of the selection
committee (which consists
of the trust’s four independent
trustees, Perpetual Guardian
and three invited people from
within the education sector).
Recommendations are then
made and approved by the trustees
and scholarship recipients
selected and informed.