Waikato Business News June/July 2018

MEN IN BUSINESS
Geoff Taylor
Editor, Waikato Business News
I
feel very privileged to
have the opportunity
to edit Waikato
Business News.
After more than 20
years of daily news
journalism, including four
years as deputy editor
of the Waikato Times, I
couldn’t wait to take up
the challenge of editing
this monthly publication.
I’m in my third year of the
job and sure enough, I’m
loving it. .
A publication like
WBN allows me to be
less reactive than in a
daily news situation. I’m
especially treasuring the
opportunity to get out
from behind a desk, attend
events and meet so many
talented businesspeople.
There are so many great ideas out there,
so many people who are just getting on and
doing unbelievable things with a level of
skill that is truly humbling.
The experience has had a big impact on
me. It reinforces that there is no room for
negativity. There so many reasons to be
upbeat about the central business district,
Hamilton and the Waikato.
WBN is a well respected and very
successful publication – a lot of which is
down to the terrific work of former editor
Mike Blake over the years.
And for me, the most exciting part is to
be able to set the news agenda, to be able
to stimulate discussion in the business
community – and the wider community. To
Geoff Taylor
07 838 1333
geoff@wbn.co.nz
www.wbn.co.nz
raise issues of interest to us all and get some
good healthy debate going. We want WBN
to be a forum for discussion. We want more
interaction with readers; we want to hear
more about your views on issues.
Some of you will have noticed a readers’
poll that we have started on the WBN website.
This is just one of a number of new elements
we will roll out over coming months to better
engage with readers.
We have a great young team at WBN and
we’re heading in an exciting direction.
So what’s my message to all our loyal
readers, advertisers and supporters? Keep
reading, keep advertising and keep talking to
us about what you want to see in WBN.
Stay on the journey with us – it’s going to
be a lot of fun.
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS June/July 2018 29
Hennessy directors Glen Loft (left) and Braden Rassell (right)
Hennessy Group acquires
Lochore Electrical
Hennessy Group is poised for further growth with the
announcement of its acquisition of Frankton-based electrical
installers Lochore Electrical Limited.
Hennessy’s directors Braden Rassell
and Glen Loft are excited by the
opportunity to increase the company’s
technical capabilities and build on an intensive
period of growth. For Rassell, Lochore’s
strengths were clear:
“We’re proud and excited to have Lochore
join with the Hennessy brand. We feel we have
unearthed a gem: a like-minded company
that needed assistance to maximise growth.
Formed in 1995, it’s a long standing company
with a really solid reputation. Although it has
a similar clientele, it‘s enjoyed a fairly low
key presence. For Glen and I the right decision
was obvious - their team really impressed us!
Along with Lochore Electrical’s two
managing directors Brent Mathews and Ian
Lochore, Hennessy are fortunate to gain the
talents of seven members of Lochore’s staff,
adding an even greater skills base and depth
of industry knowledge to our technical team.
“The Hennessy Group is celebrating nearly
30 years of engineering excellence! With
a bigger pool of technical staff, we aim to
deliver an even stronger service to our clients.”
Hennessy’s longstanding clients will be
relieved to know it’s simply business as usual;
albeit with a close eye on expanding business
opportunities.
Noel Jessop
Noel Jessop Architecture
Noel Jessop of Noel Jessop Architecture in
Hamilton has been running his small practise
for 21 years now and he might just have his
wayward teenage self to thank for where he
is today.
Noel was born and bred in
Hamilton and attended
Melville High School before
leaving in year 12 to study
at the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic
where he became a qualified
draftsman.
As a teenager all he wanted to
do was surf, he didn’t want to go
to school and he was definitely
not sure about what he wanted
to do after school. Besides surfing
he has also always enjoyed
drawing, at only eight years old
his dad taught him how to draw
scaled house plans.
His artistic ability didn’t go
unnoticed and after some advisement
and a slight push in the
right direction from a teacher,
Noel was offered an opportunity
to study and become qualified.
“I surfed a lot and did a lot of
things that probably weren’t conducive
to doing well in school
but I had the opportunity to go
to tech because of my drawing
ability, I enjoyed drawing and I
was actually really good at it,”
says Noel.
Years later he found himself
After 21 years we’ve
been able to leave our
own image on this city,
when I go driving with
my daughters they
always ask if I designed
that building over there.
qualified but working within an
environment that he didn’t enjoy
at all. He came to a crossroads
he said and he nearly joined the
police instead. A friend however
came along to him with some
give-it-a-go advice and thats
how he came to start his own
business.
He started the business in
1997 and since then it has continued
to evolve significantly.
Today his office is based on
Somerset Street and he himself
designed the minimalistic open
plan interior. He has a team of
five people and together they are
currently working on 70 projects.
Some of those projects include
commercial buildings in
Hamilton and Tauranga, a residential
property in Auckland
and a small Air BnB property in
Raglan.
They tend to focus more on
commercial designs and have
approx 5-7 residential projects a
year too. Some of his work has
gone on to receive awards. Every
second year they enter into the
Architectural Designers of New
Zealand awards and has received
a decent amount since 1999.
They won a national commercial
award for the old Winger
building on Angelsea Street that
is now known as Flex Fitness
and they have also won a supreme
award for a house design
they did in Auckland.
In his 21 years of business
Noel says he’s been able to leave
somewhat of a blueprint on the
city, and seeing the work he has
done all around him couldn’t
make him more proud of what he
has achieved.
“After 21 years we’ve been
able to leave our own image on
this city, when I go driving with
my daughters they always ask
if I designed that building over
there,” says Noel.
The only downside is that he
doesn’t get to go surfing as much
as he’d like too. He says he’s
only been surfing three times in
the past three years and they’ve
all been on his birthday.
Phone (07) 854 6635 Mobile 021 277 8489 Email noel@nja.co.nz Online www.nja.co.nz Practice 13 Somerset Street, Hamilton 3204
A9014T