Nor'West News: April 18, 2024
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8<br />
Thursday <strong>April</strong> <strong>18</strong> <strong>2024</strong><br />
50 years in the trade a major milestone<br />
Five decades, 50 years, half a century – no<br />
matter how you put it, that’s a long stretch of<br />
time in anyone’s reckoning. And that’s how<br />
long Greg Box, owner/operator of Amazing<br />
Auto Electric, has been involved in the autoelectrical<br />
trade.<br />
It all started when he began as an apprentice<br />
with Benson Bros in Gisborne on June 24,<br />
1974, learning the nuts and bolts of the trade<br />
and acquiring the skills needed to pursue<br />
a successful career as an auto-electrical<br />
engineer.<br />
After spending almost seven years there,<br />
Greg headed overseas, and over the following<br />
eight years he worked in the motor trade in<br />
the UK, and for a large part of the time, in<br />
the mining industry in Alaska, Australia and<br />
Africa.<br />
Family matters brought him back to New<br />
Zealand, plus he was also keen to start his own<br />
business here. With that in mind he re-located<br />
to Christchurch in 1989, initially working for<br />
a local firm, before launching out as a sole<br />
trader in 1993.<br />
A decade later he established his current<br />
business, Amazing Auto Electric, opening a<br />
workshop in Coleridge Street and employing<br />
staff.<br />
As a business it has proved a great success,<br />
and while it is a challenging trade, and<br />
one that can be stressful, it’s a trade he has<br />
thoroughly enjoyed over the last 50 years. He<br />
says for a person that enjoys working with<br />
machinery and fixing things as he does, it’s an<br />
ideal career.<br />
“For an apprentice starting out it takes five<br />
years to qualify, but for those that can stick to<br />
it, it’s a great trade to be in.”<br />
With auto-electrical systems<br />
being re-designed every five to<br />
10 years, ongoing training with<br />
online and on-site courses<br />
is also an important part of<br />
keeping up in the industry,<br />
Greg says.<br />
He is proud of the service<br />
Photographed<br />
in his Coleridge<br />
St workshop,<br />
Greg Box is<br />
about to mark<br />
50 years in the<br />
auto-electrical<br />
trade.<br />
Greg Box,<br />
left, with staff<br />
members<br />
Anton Weir,<br />
centre, and<br />
Shane Gallop.<br />
We have some<br />
of the latest and<br />
greatest scanning<br />
tools and software<br />
available to help<br />
diagnose and solve<br />
problems, nine in<br />
total.<br />
he and his two staff – one<br />
fully qualified and the other<br />
undergoing his apprenticeship,<br />
offer customers.<br />
“Many of the problems<br />
people have with their vehicles<br />
are related to the electrical<br />
system. When that warning<br />
light comes up on the dashboard, it<br />
indicates there’s something wrong, and we<br />
can fix it,” Greg says, adding, “Over the years<br />
we have been blessed with the best customers<br />
and staff any business could wish for and we<br />
wouldn’t be here without them.”<br />
Amazing Auto Electric provides service for<br />
all types of vehicle from trucks, to commercial<br />
vans to family cars. Located at 65 Coleridge<br />
Street, it is open 8am to 5pm Monday to<br />
Friday.<br />
And in just a few weeks’ time, Monday June<br />
24 will be a red-letter day for owner Greg, as<br />
he reaches his 50th anniversary in the trade, a<br />
significant milestone by any measure.<br />
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Management<br />
65 Coleridge St, Sydenham<br />
Phone 03 379 4250<br />
www.amazingautoelectric.co.nz<br />
Vaughan Pirie<br />
owner operator<br />
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