Neumanns Tyres Advertising Feature December 2010

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Tyres4Uyres4Uyres4Uyres4Uyres4UTyres4UTyres4Uin proud association within proud association within proud association within proud association within proud association within proud association within proud association within proud association within proud association within proud association within proud association within proud association within proud association within proud association within proud association within proud association with

www.neumannstyres.co.nz

197 Wills Street, Ashburton197 Wills Street, Ashburton197 Wills Street, Ashburton197 Wills Street, Ashburton197 Wills Street, Ashburton197 Wills Street, Ashburton197 Wills Street, Ashburton197 Wills Street, Ashburton197 Wills Street, Ashburton197 Wills Street, Ashburton197 Wills Street, Ashburton197 Wills Street, Ashburtonph: 03 308 6737ph: 03 308 6737ph: 03 308 6737ph: 03 308 6737ph: 03 308 6737ph: 03 308 6737ph: 03 308 6737

NEUMANNSTYRES

From humble originsNeumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010

2 Neumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010

From humble origins Page 2In the beginning Page 4The Neumann brothers Page 7The Neumanns team Page 8Administration team Page 10Fleet team Page 11Workshop team Page 12Neumanns Tyres family & friends Page 13Opening ceremony Page 14Neumanns in action Page 15

Contents

The faade and buildings might be new, but Neumanns Tyres is a company keen to honour its humble origins.

Len and Kath Neumann started the family business in 1945, working hard to make it a success. It was a work ethic passed on to their sons, who played amongst the tyres and did small jobs for their parents as boys. As adults, they have grown the Ashburton operation 10-fold and added interests in tyre tting outlets around the South Island.

Kevin, Alan and Ian have worked a combined total of over 100 years in the business, a trade they were born to. Neumanns now has possibly one of the the largest turnover of any privately owned tyre company in New Zealand and has won awards for its service to the rural community.

Alan Neumann said the company was proud of its history and had loyal customers and staff because of its family rather than corporate philosophy.

Its unwavering motto is to t the right tyre, on the right rim, at the right pressure, at the right price, doing the right job.

A long-term vision is to keep family members involved in the business (if they want to be) while providing life-time jobs for long-serving and loyal staff.

Alan said the companys staff of 26 was what made the business special. Its staff worked hard, and Alan believes they are well rewarded. Alan and Ian like their workers to be active in the community, in sports or other clubs, and lead by example.

Alan is a long-time member of the Ashburton Plains Rotary Club, played and was on committees for the Fair eld Cricket Club and Collegiate Rugby Club, is vice-president of the Ashburton Trotting Club and has been on its committee for 30 years, and is serving a fourth term as an elected member of the Ashburton Licensing Trust.

With oldest brother Kevin living in

Geraldine, Alan and Ian manage the business. The brothers and their wives, Christine and Judith, are directors; long-time staff member Maxine Muckle is also a non-paid director and helps when needed to make decisions regarding the business.

Alan said growing Neumanns operations had been a commercial necessity. Lucky then he is man who does not like to sit still.

The company bought a Tyre General retail outlet and a tyre retreading plant in Christchurch, purchased and set up a Tyre General outlet in Temuka and went on to have interests in Invercargill, Cromwell, Alexandra, Motueka, Blenheim and Nelson through Tyre Retreaders. Alan manages, with his operations manager Patrick Gilchrist and sales manager Wayne Seelen, the three shops in Motueka, Nelson and Blenheim.

We had to grow out of Ashburton to get the incentives and better prices to stay viable. We needed volume, especially for our retread plant, which processes about 22,000 retreads a year.

Striking up long-lasting service relationships with major transporters like Philip Wareing Group and Hilton Haulage (through its Temuka stop), and becoming a supplier to the Ashburton Trading Society also helped keep the company trending upwards.

Alan said one of the challenges for his staff was ensuring big agricultural machinery imported from Europe or the UK was kept running on tyres suitable for the job in New Zealand. Some implements were designed to run at much lower speeds on roads than busy Kiwi contractors would like.

Giving back to the community is also important for the Neumanns. Their marketing plan is simply to be involved with service organisations, community groups and sports clubs. The company sponsors and donates plenty of prizes like vouchers, bags, umbrellas and clothing.

Neumanns family (from left to right): Kevin, Alan, Ian with their parents Kath and Len in 1975

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In the beginningNeumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010

4 Neumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010

Top left: the premises in 1980. Above: the premises in 2005.Middle picture: Len Neumann in the 70s with a hammer and drift. It was the way to fi x tyres.

Top right: the team celebrating 50 years in business.Right corner: Good fi shing day for Alan and Ian. They went fi shing with their

Dad Len and their uncle Richie in the 60s.

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In the beginningNeumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010

Neumanns Tyre Service started after World War 2 when Len Neumann moved to Ashburton to marry Kathleen Green, who he had been courting throughout the war years.

Len set up his tyre repair business after just six months experience working for Motorways in Sockburn, Christchurch. The new business was all about repairing and tting tyres.

Lens rst premises were a shed belonging to Stevensons Auction Mart next to what is the Historic Places Trust building in Havelock Street today. After six months in business, Neumanns moved across the street to Welshs Building.

The oor area downstairs where they serviced cars was about the size of Alan Neumanns of ce today.

Len started his business with his life savings of 87 pounds; rent was one pound a week and his rst weeks pro t was 7 shillings and 6 pence. Not a good start!

Don Hayes was Lens rst employee, a 15-year-old boy who still remembers the piles of old tyres stacked to the ceiling in the small area, and a spiral staircase. They carried all the tyres upstairs, where they stripped the liners off them to make sleeves and vulcanise others.

Len had very little equipment steam vulcaniser, second-hand gas tyre mound, sandbags and a couple of tyre levers. Vehicles were serviced on the footpath.

Ashburton engineer Cliff Horrell and Len collaborated on equipment that made tyre changing an easier job. Cliff, who made all the moulds for repairing tyres, and later manufactured tyre changing equipment which was sold all over the Paci c through E. W. Pidgeon, who sold Ace tyres to Len in latter years. Neumanns was the only specialist tyre repairing business in Ashburton. Burnetts

Motors and Gluyas Motors were the only tyre suppliers. Replacement tyres were almost impossible to secure so sleeving and repairing tyres became an important business.

Lens brother Max and Bruce Watson joined the team, which was at this stage repairing anything that was made of rubber. They would cut tubes down from 19 inch to 16 inch to suite the tyre, and repair gumboots and hot water bottles.

Len remembers some interesting requests at that time, such as the condom they had to make for the racehorse Rupee, and garters to

Neumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010 5

Above: Kath Neumann at the offi ce in 1970.Right: The team of 19 people in 2001.

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In the beginningNeumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010

6 Neumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010

hold up ladies stockings. Len admits he could not hear very well and used to make some awful mistakes, so the staff would take over, giving the clients the impression he was only the boy around the place.

Len still remembers his rst major clients: Burnetts Motors, who bought hundreds of tyres from Neumanns over the years for their trailer manufacturing, Mid Canterbury Transport, Ernie Cochrane Rural Cartage, Doug Hood Ltd, Gluyas Motors and Bill Grieves cartage company.

Haxby Abbott from Coldstream was one of his rst farming clients. Some of these clients are still with Neumanns today, which says a lot for the company.

Len did not have a delivery vehicle when he rst started his business but Bruce or Len could quite often be seen on a bike and trailer, stopping at various garages to purchase or deliver tyres for sixpence each. Both were of slight build, so the bike had to be held down against the weight of the tyres until they got peddling. The staff at Neumanns worked from 7am to 9pm most days of the working week.

Lens rst accountant was Doug Bowden, while Lens wife Kath did all the book work. Len admits that Doug and Kath were able to keep him on the straight and narrow.

They had three boys, Kevin, Alan and Ian, who used to play amongst the tyres while Kath ran the of ce. As there were no crches in those days, the Neumann boys admit they have had tyres in their blood from the day they were born.

In 1959 Len bought a section in Wills Street to expand the business and this was when new tyre sales really took off.

A 60 foot building was erected on the section by local builder Noel Coldicott. One of the

builders, Grahame Menary, carried on working for Len after the building was completed. Just as well, because business was so good that after a couple of years, a 68 foot extension had to be added by Graeme.

Neighbours in Wills Street in those days were Sid McElhinneys wood and coal yard and P. and D. Duncan Machinery across the road.

Neumanns were joined by Dick Sheehan and Neville Lucas. Neville stayed with Neumanns for six years before moving to Auckland, but stayed with the industry owing retread and retail tyre shops.

Dick Sheehan was a well-known Mid Canterbury sportsman and supporter of the Celtic Rugby Club and the Technical Cricket Club. Dick worked for Len for 15 years before he died in 1976.

Grahame Menary was the staff member who did the rst on-site tyre repair, a service that Neumanns still do today. In order to pursue this line of business, Neumanns had to buy a truck to visit farms, the rst one an International.

Grahame remembers going around Mitcham Road bend, fully loaded with tyres, the truck lurching in the air and a wheel coming off and travelling beside him. A frightening experience. He also remembers having to x a tractor tyre on New Years eve.

Neumanns motto then, and still is today, excellent service and customer satisfaction.

Bruce Watson rejoined and Keith Kircher joined the business around this time - both stayed for quite some time.

Neumanns attribute their current success and ability to build the business from strength to strength to the strong foundations set by staff in the early days.

Neumanns next move was to secure the Esso Oil agency in Mid Canterbury. A V8 van

was purchased and Grahame and later Dick travelled the rural area looking for business, selling oil, gumboots, clothing, welding rods, compressors or anything the farmer required. They also talked tyres, sold tyres, and checked tyres for repair.

Neumanns tyre supplier was exclusively E. W. Pidgeon Ltd (Ace Tyres) and Len says their support over the years was immense. When E. W. Pigeon closed down, Neumanns supplied Mid Canterbury with Reidrubber tyres. This rm was taken over by Dunlop and is still the main supplier of tyres to Neumanns today.

Each of Kath and Lens three boys joined the family business when they left school. Kevin, along with Bruce Watson, started a branch of Neumanns in Geraldine. The business was

sold a number of years ago to Quilty Tyre and Auto and is still operating today. Kevin still lives in Geraldine, but previously headed the wheel alignment bay in Ashburton for 10 years prior to Graham Ayers and Chris Matheson taking over.

Alan and Ian joined the Ashburton branch on leaving school, so the family tradition in tyres continues to this day. Alan can remember the purchasing of the two sections behind the Wills Street property on Peter Street, giving them a drive-through from one street to another, which is essential for all the large vehicles they service today.

The properties either side of Neumanns were purchased in 1994, providing the extra space the company has expanded into today.

The team of 22 people in 2005.

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The Neumann brothersNeumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010

Neumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010 7

Alan and Ian Neumann in front of their new building.

Alan and Ian Neumann were born to sell tyres. And fix them.The Ashburton brothers learned the trade from their parents Len and

Kath, growing an already successful family business into a company held in high regard by its employees, customers and the community it serves.

From a two-man operation in 1945, Neumanns has grown into a company with a workforce of 26 and interest in tyre shops around the South Island.

While there is no doubt who is in charge, the people who work there are all focused on doing a great job and providing excellent customer service.

The brothers still call on the culture of loyalty instilled by their parents, and have combined the best of the old and new ways to run a modern-day business.

In a city, you are another customer, but in a small town you get to know people, says Ian.

It is still a family affair. Ians eldest daughter Emma works in the office and Alans son Vinnie is learning the ropes in the workbay before heading off to Canterbury University next year to study commerce.

Ians middle daughter Ashleigh is also at Canterbury, and her

younger sister Mel has one more year at Ashburton College, she thinks she might get into medicine.

Alans daughter Libby has two years left at Ashburton College. She enjoyed a German trip with the school in October and wants to return as an exchange student before going on to university.

Alan said all the children had very good work ethics. Whatever they end up doing, they will be successful.

Ian said the brothers also had great support from their wives, Christine is married to Alan and Judith to Ian.

Without them, we certainly would not be where we are today. With us going long hours, the girls have been heavily involved with the childrens education.

Family is a broad description at Neumanns and includes Ian and Alans families as well as their staff. They enjoy seeing young people entering their workforce and developing into well-respected adults with mortgages and children of their own.

Ian said the company was also proud to support community and sports groups with product or other prizes for use in fundraising. Much of their sponsorship reflects family and staff interests in rugby, cricket, netball, horse racing, golf, bowls and a long list of other sports.

The Neumanns teamNeumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010

8 Neumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010

Alan NeumannDirector

Administration

Office Manager

Tractor Tyre Specialist

Administration

Administration

After School Boy

Administration

Administration

Car Tyre Technician

Administration/Accountant

Workshop Foreman

Car Tyre Technician

DirectorIan Neumann

Maxine Muckle Natasha Green Emma Neumann Jocelyn Southby

Shirley Merrilees Leen Bell Joanne Jackson Ben Wiltshire

David Huria Keanu Huria Michael Donaldson Alan Anderson

The Neumanns teamNeumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010

Neumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010 9

Sales/Service Manager

Fleet Serviceman

Part Time/Car Tyre Technician

Wheel Alignment Technician

Car Tyre Technician

Fleet Serviceman

Fleet Serviceman/Earthmover Specialist

Vulcanising Specialist

Fleet Serviceman

Fleet Manager

Fleet Serviceman

Car Tyre Technician

Wheel Alignment Technician

Car Tyre Technician

Richard Bensdorp

Vincent Neumann

Rhys Nuttall Jason Beckley Alister Brokenshire James McGrath

Bruce Bensdorp

Geoff Soal Grant Watson Chris Matheson

Graham Ayers Tim Dowdle Rob Kingsbury Adam Williamson

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Administration teamNeumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010

10 Neumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010

Maxine MuckleMax was 16 when she started at Neumanns

in her rst real job after nishing school. She and the company have grown together over the past 27 years.

She is part of a core of long-term staff that are like family. They have shared in the birth of babies, celebrated milestones together and supported each other in times of need.

Max says the Neumanns family-oriented business is successful because staff and customers are equally important.

A personal touch goes a long way, she says.Max works part-time now, juggling family and

sporting commitments with husband Wayne

and her three children, and hours in the of ce. Knowledge of the business built up over nearly three decades means she has an excellent grasp of the various commercial arms of the business.

Neumanns operate not only the Ashburton facility, but outlets in Christchurch and Temuka. They own a retreading factory, and other tyre stores in Nelson, Motueka and Blenheim, and have an interest in other outlets in Cromwell, Invercargill and Alexandra. They are also part-owners of Ashburton U-Hire.

Max says managing the different nancial deadlines for all the operations keeps the girls busy and challenged.

Shirley MerrileesOf ce manager Shirley Merrilees celebrated

her 20 years with Neumanns by going on a 16-day tyre-industry trip to India and Italy.

She said the main focus of the trip was an agricultural show in Italy. She found the countryside and the food interesting, and in contrast to the extremes of India, where she visited a high-tech tyre manufacturing plant.

Shirley, fellow of cer worker Jo Jackson, Alan and Patrick Gilchrist (Operations Manager) were the Neumanns contingent that was part of a wider New Zealand tyre industry group visiting the two continents last month.

Shirleys association with the company

began in the 1980s when she worked alongside Alans wife Christine at Post Bank. She lled in in the Neumanns of ce when Maxine was on her OE and just never left.

The company kept expanding and acquiring more outlets and the paperwork grew. Shirley makes sure rules and regulations are complied with, the ledgers balance and the of ce ticks along on a daily basis.

While the of ce looks big for one tyre company, it is the hub of commercial activities for all the Neumanns enterprises.

She said working there was like being part of a big family.

There has never been a dull moment in the time Ive been here, from taking on new branches around the South Island to nally getting the new building completed.

Ive seen young green 16-year-olds start and watched them grow in height and knowledge, get married and have families of their own. Others gain good work ethics and move on to other careers.

We are like one big family.

Jocelyn SouthbyJocelyn, an accountant, has just joined the

administration team. She says the Neumann family has a genuine af nity and affection for people that re ects in the positive, friendly attitude and atmosphere in the workplace.

For the Neumanns and their staff, customer service and outcome is paramount providing the team with great satisfaction of a job well done. When the Neumanns say they will look after you, they mean it.

Jo JacksonJo has worked for Neumanns for eight years

in the of ce. She plans on still being there in 10 years time.

The administration team (from left to right): Joanne Jackson, Shirley Merrilees, Jocelyn Southby, Maxine Muckle, Leen Bell, Emma Neumann and Natasha Green.

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Fleet teamNeumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010

Neumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010 11

Robert KingsburyRobert spends most of his time on the road,

fitting and fixing tyres for farmers and contractors working in all four corners of the district.

He works alone, solving problems as they surface, getting essential work vehicles back on duty as soon as he can. He can work on the roadside, in a paddock and on the side of a hill.

In the fleet service department, Robert says the work is always varied. He has a hi-ab (mini crane) on the back of his service truck and can manoeuvre tyres into place singlehandedly.

He says farm vehicles are increasing in size and their tyres too, a trend he has noticed in the eight years he has worked at Neumanns.

He has his own clients, and a good recall of the tyre sizes they operate across a range of vehicles.

He said the most common cause of tyre damage was overloading. Travelling at speed on the wrong surface could also cause damage.

Robert is one of five fleet service technicians who take turns being on call after hours. He is responsible for fleet work in the Methven area, including the large Philip Wareing operations.

Jason BeckleyJason has gained wide experience in his

five years at Neumanns, working as a tyre technician, an alignment technician and as a mobile operator, on call. He says it is a great all round workplace and one he considers a second home.

Tim DowdleTim fixes tyres in the fleet and farm service

department. He says he works with a good group of guys and his employers are excellent.

Emma NeumannEmma is Ians eldest daughter and has been

part of the administration team for almost three years. She is often the first point of contact for customers calling on the telephone or stopping by in person.

I love the fact that I am the third generation to be working at Neumanns. Dad and Alan run an awesome and successful business and they have great customer and staff loyalty, which is a key factor in their success. I also love all of the people that I work with at Neumanns, they are a great bunch of people who make it a pleasure for me to come to work each day.

Emma says one of the funniest things to happen in her time involved secretly sewing a rabbits tail onto the back of Richard Bensdorps overalls. He walked around for over an hour and a half completely oblivious to it. We still have the photos which make us laugh.

Natasha GreenNatasha has worked in the office for seven

years and says the staff and her bosses are great people. There is always a laugh working at Neumanns, not a day goes by without a smile from someones misfortune. I still see myself working here in 10 years.

Leen BellLeen is responsible for administration

associated with the Temuka branch. Ian and Alan started Temuka Tyres in 1989; the store is part of the Tyre General chain. Much of the paperwork connected to the Neumanns various tyre stores around the South Island is handled in the Ashburton office.

Rhys NuttallRhys likes getting out to the countryside,

changing tyres. He is a tyre fitter with five years experience.

Grant WatsonGrant is a fleet serviceman, who has worked

nine years for Neumanns.

Geoff SoalGeoff Soal spends most of his time on the

tyre maintenance of around 100 commercial vehicles belonging to Neumanns clients.

He has worked for the company for 21 years, starting out in the workbay learning the basics of tyre changing and repair.

He has been in the fleet servicing

department for 15 years. He visits customers, like freight carriers, at their workplaces and checks tyre pressures and condition. I check for punctures and for wear and tear.

He said it was not uncommon to find screwdrivers or drill bits embedded in tyres, and once, a pitchfork.

Geoff said Neumanns was also where he met wife Susan, who was working in the office in 2000. The couple now have two children.

He said he enjoyed meeting different people in the course of his duties, and felt part of a large extended Neumann family.

The fleet team (from left to right): Rhys Nuttall, Jason Beckley, Robert Kingsbury, Geoff Soal, David Huria, Tim Dowdle and Grant Watson.

Workshop teamNeumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010

12 Neumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010

Richard BensdorpRichard runs the workshop, dealing with

sales, service, ordering stock and stocktaking.He has been with Neumanns for 29 years

and is looking forward to working from the new work bays and buildings. He has done it all over the past three decades, from vulcanizing (tyre repairs) to tyre fitting.

He said the biggest change over the years had been the advancement of technology in the industry. Tyre changing machines had sped up the process and enabled tyres to be changed on farms, factories and other locations without the damaged tyre having to be brought to the central Ashburton workshop.

Tyre sizes had also changed, and there was a wider range of tyres needing repairs, from golf carts to irrigators and mobility scooters.

Richard said punctures on farms were most commonly caused by rocks, wire, fence standards and other debris left lying around on some farms.. About 80% of the punctures dealt with in the workshop are caused by nails or screws.

When he started at Neumanns, there were six guys in the workshop now he manages close to 18.

Richard said the variety of the work, and the companys family philosophy, kept him coming back. He also shares a harness racing interest with workmates, including Alan and Ian.

Being able to see humour in all kinds of situation is essential.

Years ago one of the guys went to run a customers car into the workshop. The customer had his right leg missing, so the cars accelerator was on the left side, where the clutch should have been.

So when our guy got into the car, not thinking, he put his foot flat on the accelerator, put the car into gear and went straight into a wall.

Not funny for our guy or the customer, but it looked funny to everyone else. No-one got hurt and insurance fixed the car, so it all worked out in the end.

Bruce BensdorpBruce is Neumanns vulcanising expert. He

repairs the external damage like cuts and internal bruising.

In basic terms, vulcanisation is the mixing of rubber with sulphur and then cooking it, stabilizing it and making it stronger. The process was discovered by Charles Goodyear in 1839.

Bruce, once famous for the number of pies and hamburgers he consumed next door at the old Norwegian Wood restaurant, specialises in repairing all types and sizes of tyres, especially big earthmover tyres sent to Neumanns from all over the South Island. He was employed by Len, who taught him the vulcanising process.

It is a specialist skill these days, with few outfits employing trained and experienced operators.

There are not many training courses around today. I was taught on the spot.

He says hes been lucky to work for such a family-based and friendly firm.

Bruce is the longest-serving current employee with 36 years service. He has done everything in the firm, fitting and repairing punctures on thousands of tractors, trucks and car tyres over the years.

Ben WiltshireBen Wiltshire was 16 when he started at

Neumanns, and has watched the company grow around him. The company had three fleet vehicles and eight guys when he arrived 15 years ago; now there are eight fleet vehicles and 24 on staff.

He has become the workshop foreman, ordering stock, helping customers make decisions about what type of tyres to buy and making sure jobs get charged out.

He makes sure fleet servicemen are out on the road, ensuring farmers and agricultural contractors with punctures have as little down time as possible. Neumanns runs a 24-hour service, with servicemen on-call afterhours.

Down-time can be crucial for a farmer desperate to harvest or feed out but Neumanns staff are trained to be efficient. It takes 1-2 hours to change the tyre on a combine.

Ben said harvest used to be their busy time, when combines were flat out cutting crops. But with dairy farming widespread in the district, tractors and trucks being used constantly have made the rest of the year busy too.

With the constant feeding out, dairy farmers tractors are moving all year round.

Neumanns also fixes tyres on travelling irrigators, golf carts, mobility scooters and the like.

They know most of their customers by name, vehicle make and tyre preference.

Ben says it is a great work environment, with new challenges making every work day different. Outside work, he spends time with his wife and children and has recently retired from competitive rugby, though hes taken up coaching.

Alan (Legs) AndersonLegs has been working at Neumanns for 17

years and works in the car bay. He wins the companys punting competition every year and claims to be good at golf. He features in the funny and more memorable workplace moments, including the day he knocked his teeth out with a wheelbarrow tyre.

Adam WilliamsonAdam is a tyre changer in the workshop and

has worked for the company for three years, two and a half years after school. He says his workmates are great people who enjoy a laugh. He plays rugby and supports the Highlanders.

Graham AyersNine years has passed since Graham joined

Neumanns, where he is a wheel alignment technician. Graham says he enjoys his new alignment bay, the result of the recent renovations. He said teamwork was a key feature of the organisation, along with great bosses. He said customer loyalty was another aspect of the job he enjoyed.

The workshop team with the wheel alignment specialists (from left to right) At the back: Keanu Huria, James McGrath and Michael Donaldson.

Middle: Graham Ayers, Richard Bensdorp, Chris Matheson, Alan Anderson, Ben Wiltshire. At the front: Vincent Neumann, Alister Brokenshire, Bruce Bensdorp.

James McGrathJames has only worked at Neumanns for

21 months but his job as tyre technician has taken him around the countryside. He says the workplace is friendly and the customers are too.

Michael DonaldsonA tyre fitter, Michael has been in the

workshop for 18 months. He is a car enthusiast, and loves anything that moves with an engine. He says he enjoys the work, his workmates, and the people he meets on the job.

Jason BeckleyJason has gained wide experience in his

five years at Neumanns, working as a fleet serviceman, learning to be a wheel alignment technician and as a mobile operator, on call. He says it is a great all round workplace and one he considers a second home.

Alister BrokenshireAlister has worked for Neumanns for three

years as a tyre technician.

Tim DowdleTim fixes tyres in the fleet and farm service

department. He says he works with a good group of guys and his employers are excellent.

Rhys NuttallRhys likes getting out to the countryside,

changing tyres. He is a fleet serviceman with five years experience.

Grant WatsonGrant is a fleet serviceman, who has worked

nine years for Neumanns.Dave Huria

Dave likes the fact Neumanns customers are always happy to see him. He has been working there for 10 years and visits farms, changing tyres on tractors on all types of terrain. He said it was a challenge. The work has involved repairing or replacing increasing numbers of tyres of irrigators, especially centre pivots; he said Mid Canterburys harsh summer sun helped tyres perish.

Chris MathesonChris is a wheel alignment technician, who

has worked at Neumanns for five years. He says vehicles should have alignments when new tyres are fitted; something most Ashburton drivers know about. He said he enjoyed working in a family business, where staff and clients really mattered.

Vinnie NeumannVinnie, 17, is the boy. He is Alans son and

is working holidays at the workshop before heading off to Canterbury University to do a commerce degree next year. He knows the importance of reading a balance sheet and hopes to one day play a bigger part in the business. He has great mag wheels on his Ford Falcon car. Vinnie is also a representative rugby player, turning out for the Mid Canterbury under 18 side this year.

Neumanns Tyres friends and familyNeumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010

Neumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010 13

Philip Wareing TransportTransport company owner Philip Wareing cant

afford his heavy trucks and trailers to be off the road with tyre damage or punctures.

He employs Neumanns to regularly check the tyre pressure and state of tyres on his 100 vehicles, and respond to punctures. The maintenance work is done at night and Saturday, when the vehicles are at the companys Methven base.

He has been dealing with Neumanns for about 35 years and says their good service keeps him coming back.

We got involved with the Neumann family through cricket and rugby and we enjoy dealing with them. They do a good job.

Neumanns also carry out full tyre maintenance for vehicles in other transport companies Mr Wareing has shares in, Wilson Bulk Transport and Rural Transport.

Mr Wareing said the work involved a lot of tyre retreads.

He said it was also reassuring Neumanns had outlets or contacts around the South Island where any of his vehicles could be repaired, at any time.

George WardGeorge Wards farming family has been a loyal

customer for more than 50 years.The family farmed on Fairfield Road and

Georges father would take punctured and damaged tyres to Len Neumann for repair. Tyres were in short supply after World War 2, and the vulcanising repair work carried out by Neumanns meant essential farm machinery was never out of action for long.

George said the mobile service for farmers was a blessing. They no longer had to take their tyres to town to be fixed; fleet servicemen could repair the problem on the spot.

The Wards operated tractors, heavy trucks and trailers and in more recent years used Neumanns to fix punctures in tyres on irrigators.

George said the tyre company was on the spot quickly when two irrigator tyres were shot and punctured by an unknown vandal.

We have stayed with them, through our different farming operations in the family. Even in my retirement, I still take my car to Neumanns.

Betty GriceLong-time customer Betty Grice has used

Neumanns exclusively for over 30 years.

They are unequalled for their courtesy, promptness and efficiency. As soon as I stop my car, there is a smiling serviceman there ready to assist.

The entire staff are customer focused which I believe reflects the whole philosophy of the business.

Whether in Ashburton or Christchurch, I wouldnt consider going anywhere else.

Grahame MenaryGrahame Menary ditched his job as a carpenter to join Len

Neumann in the business of repairing tyres.He had been working Friday nights and Saturday mornings on

a casual basis for Len when his building firm was contracted to build Neumanns new Wills Street base. He saw that project to the end, but never left the site and turned into a full-time tyre fixer.

It was just after the war and new tyres were hard to come by. A lot of tyres damaged were repaired and it was the main feature for Len.

It was a working relationship that spanned 12 years, and Grahame, now 85, still takes his car to be serviced at Neumanns.

His early years with the company were interesting. He took Lens car and visited farmers in the county, encouraging them to use the Neumanns repair service for their tractors.

Armed with papers and prices, he talked to farmers and discovered what they really wanted was a mobile service, a repairer who could come to them.

Most farmers were receptive to the cold-call. One took exception and abruptly showed Grahame the door 10 days later Grahame was called to an emergency blowout on the side of the road near Rakaia . . . and discovered it was the same farmer.

He still remembers the first on-site tyre repair. He took Lens car and trailer to a farm south of Methven. There was no way of taking tyres off a truck so we took the wheels off and brought them back to Ashburton.

Tools of the trade those days were jacks, tyre levers and a big hammer.

It was hard work, but it was a good life, getting all around the county.

He also said Len had a great sense of humour, which rubbed off on the guys in the workshop.

He used to tell a story about growing up in New Brighton and fishing off the old wharf. There were only hand lines then and

you had to swing the hook around your head to launch it.Len got his swing mixed up and the hook went right through

his nose. He had no knife, so he found a broken pipi shell and cut the line. Then he went to get help.

After scaring the daylights out of a little old lady walking in the opposite direction, he found help at a local garage. The mechanics there convinced him to crouch beside a vice, where the offending hook was held securely and hacksawed off.

Grahame said he enjoyed the camaraderie in the workshop and interaction with customers, who were and still are on a first name basis with Neumanns.

Don HayesDon Hayes has kept a close eye on Neumanns

Tyres over the years.He was Len Neumanns first employee. As a

15-year-old, it was his job to lug tyres upstairs to the tiny workshop that was part of the operation on Havelock Street.

Don lasted just a year in the tyre fixing game, but ended up working across the road from Neumanns on Wills Street. Don remembers well his Wills Street surroundings. On the corner of East and Wills Street stood Saunders Building, with News Furniture, heading east was the Radiant Hall, Meaclems Blacksmith Shop (with a sly grogger in the rear), Walls Bakery, a Methodist Church which later became a wrecking company, Scotts Coalyards (where Neumanns eventually set up shop), a butcher, a hairdresser and Sutherlands Bakery on the corner.

Ashburton Plunket occupied the opposite corner on Wills and Cass, then Sid Preddys motorbike shop, P. and D. Duncan, the post office yard, Neilsons Monumental Mason, McElhinneyls coal yard, John Chambers Importers (of machinery), and Wilsons Service Station fronting East Street.

Havelock Street was less populated. Farmers Co-op was on the East Street corner, with Bennisons Butchery, AMP Insurance and Neumanns in Walshs Buildings. Further east was McCords the tailer, Bowis Tractor Mechanical and Amyes Bakery.

Don, now 80, said the job was hard graft in the early days before the invention of machines which made the work less physical. Early equipment was basic, tyre levels and a sledgehammer.

The beaded tyres of the early model cars were tricky to repair with sleeves and tread needing to be precisely aligned when the inner tube was repaired and put back in. It was Dons job to pull the old liners out.

In the post-war years, new tyres were hard to come by and repairs the only option.

Former staff members

Being Neumanns customersDon Hayes

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Opening ceremonyNeumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010

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Neumanns Tyres officially opened its new Wills Street premises with an expanded roof shout last week.

What started out as a few beers for builders Bradfords, turned into a full-scale celebration of the business by its staff, customers, suppliers, supporters, friends and family.

Co-owner Alan Neumann said the expanded workspace would take the business to a new level. We have something special here. These premises are the best purpose-built tyre shop in the South Island, possibly in New Zealand, he told 200 guests who toasted the family business success.

Mid Canterbury is a great place to do business and service is what business in this rural area is all about. We have tried to live our lives and run our business as our parents taught us, with hard work, integrity, honesty and loyalty, while respecting clients, staff and suppliers.

Tyre supplier Goodyear Dunlop General Manager Wholesale Wally Outred said it was a mark of respect for the firm that major suppliers had sent their top men to help Neumanns celebrate. We are trying to tell you we appreciate what you have done for us.

Ashburton Mayor Angus McKay was among those invited to speak and said Neumanns had sold tyres to four generations of his own farming family.

Thank you for having a great staff and providing a service that makes Ashburton the great place it is to do business. You keep the wheels going and the rubber on the wheels, even at 6am in the morning.

Alister Rooney, now retired, had been the Neumanns accountant for 30 years. He spoke about the ride he had been on with the Brothers during those years.

The opening though was tinged with sadness. Mr Neumann passed on news that the manager of their Invercargill chain store Dave Vincent had died last Tuesday. Mr Vincent was 55, and had managed the branch for 12 years.

Left: Alister Rooney talking about the growth of Neumanns Tyres over the 30

years of being their accountant.Right: Bruce Bensdorp, the longest

serving member of Neumanns current staff (35 years); and Don Hayes, Len

Neumanns first employee in Havelock Street, cutting the ribbon officially

opening the building.

Top right, from left to right: Bruce Watson (Lens employee and cousin),

Malcolm Fechney (cousin), Alan Neumann, Ken and Merv Green (cousins).

Above: ATS CEO Neil Shaw telling a funny story to his staff.

Above right, from left to right: Geoff Clarke (CEO of Bandag Australia),

Bruce Anderson (Hilton Haulage) and Windsor McMeeken (Bandag Sales

Representative for Victoria Australia and South Island New Zealand).

Right: Alan and Ian with their families outside the new premises on opening night.

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Neumanns in actionNeumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010

Neumanns Tyres Advertising Feature 2010 15

Cliff HorrellAshburton engineer-inventor Cliff

Horrell revolutionised the tyre-changing industry and made life a whole lot easier for Len Neumann and the men he employed to fix tyres.

Till Cliff got tinkering, a tyre-changers main tools of the trade were tyre levers and a sledgehammer.

He invented a compact pneumatic machine designed to save time and reduce operator fatigue.

Cliff said he first met Len when he

took a tyre in for repair in 1945.He had been driving to Invercargill, in

search of work after returning from a stint in the war as an aircraft engineer, when he got a puncture heading into Dunedin.

Unfortunately Cliff didnt know it at the time, and he drove on, eventually causing a 30cm slash in the tyre wall.

With new tyres in short supply, he tried to get it fixed in several towns, without any luck.

He bought it back to Ashburton and visited Neumanns. Len stitched several layers of canvas over the slash and then vulcanized it. Good as new.

A lot of people were born with a gene for their profession, and Len was one of them. He knew more about the construction of tyres than anyone else.

Cliff said he watched the laborious tyre-changing process and decided there had to be an easier way. He devised a tyre changer and a tyre spreader, which meant a job that might have taken an hour could then be accomplished in 10 minutes.

The metal tyre changer held the tyre and separated it from the beading, allowing the inner tube to be extracted and patched.

Cliff went on to manufacture hundreds for the industry, some are still in use today.

For most New Zealanders, tyres are a grudge purchase. Their vehicle fails a warrant of fitness because a tyres tread is below par and

suddenly they are up for a couple of hundred dollars in unexpected expense. Given that a well-maintained set of tyres can last for three or even four years (at the average mileage of 14,000km per year),

consumers should be buying the right tyres and looking after them properly. Neumanns can start the process off right by applying their company motto: The right tyre on the right rim at the right pressure at the right price.

In general, New Zealanders are not good at looking after tyres. A 2002 survey by Transport Engineering New Zealand Ltd found that 50% of drivers had no idea what the minimum legal tread depth was (1.5mm); 21% had at least one illegal tyre; and 14% had at least one tyre that was under-inflated by 25% of the 30p.s.i average for most car tyres. Rear tyres tended to be most prone to neglect.But, looking after your tyres will save you money - on tyres

and also on fuel. If you want proof, try this experiment with a bicycle: deflate the tyres and ride a kilometre, then inflate

them fully and ride another kilometre. The difference in pedalling effort is obvious; reduced tyre pressure costs energy. It doesnt do your tyres any good to drive around with them

under-inflated, either. The additional friction halves tyre life. Other things that cost in wear and tear of tyres are hills - especially

windy roads on hills - and driving style. Faster driving leaves more rubber on the road; driving fast on windy roads wears out tyres twice

as fast as they might otherwise wear. Try to make a habit of checking your tyre inflation at least once a month.

And find a tyre firm you can trust.

Tyre care

Top (from left): the administration area, the sales area, the inside of the workshop

and the staff cafeteria area.Bottom (from left): the staff wash area, the

boardroom and the front reception

Proudly Congratulates Neumanns Tyre Services on the opening of their new store

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Neumanns Tyre Services Ltd197 Wills St, Ashburton03 308 673724 Hours

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001 Neumanns Tyres002 Neumanns Tyres003 Neumanns Tyres004 Neumanns Tyres005 Neumanns Tyres006 Neumanns Tyres007 Neumanns Tyres008 Neumanns Tyres009 Neumanns Tyres010 Neumanns Tyres011 Neumanns Tyres012 Neumanns Tyres013 Neumanns Tyres014 Neumanns Tyres015 Neumanns Tyres016 Neumanns Tyres