Villas are a beloved yet labour-intensive housing favourite in our area and rely on the talent of local craftsmen and tradespeople to maintain, renovate and rejuvenate them.
Barry Clarke Automotive
Like many other tradies of recent years, Barry Clarke Auto finally succumbed to inner city urban intensity, and moved away from Ponsonby Road. However, it is still handy in Arch Hill in Burns Street.
Barry Clarke Automotive has been in business for over 27 years, and Barry has now retired. The company was taken over by long-term employee Darryn 12 years ago.
Liz is still in the office, after eight years, and Darryn the ‘new’ owner has been with Barry Clarke Auto for over 15 years. Jimmy, the automotive technician has 12 years with the company, Kris who came as an apprentice is now an automotive technician. Darryn told us they regularly take on apprentices, usually after three years’ Unitec pre-trade.
Since becoming a Bosch car service workshop, the business has won numerous service awards, including one for ‘Best in Oceania’. Darryn received a Bosch award for world-wide service after completing all eight technical modules with Bosch Germany.
Barry Clarke is proud of its customer focus and high standard of workmanship.
The business services all makes and models, does tyres, wheel alignment on the state-of-the-art, touchless aligner, can look after all fleet work. It deals with all major lease companies, has free courtesy cars and a van.
Barry, himself, can be justly proud of his company and its ongoing success under Darryn’s ownership. We hope he is enjoying a well-earned retirement. Ponsonby has not forgotton you, Barry Clarke, and we at Ponsonby News salute an iconic local business.
STOP PRESS
Barry Clarke has just purchased a state-of-the-art touchless wheel alignment machine and are now a Mahindra service and part centre.
BARRY CLARKE AUTOMOTIVE, 8 Burns Street, T: 09 360 8888, www.barryclarkeautomotive.net.nz
Hugh Stevens & Son Panelbeating Ltd
Talking of icons, Hugh Stevens must be right up there with the best of them. !969 was the year Hugh Stevens set up in Blake Street, Ponsonby.
As I’m sure readers can deduce, that is over 50 years ago. Hugh,
a friendly tradie of the old school, fixed quite a few dings in my cars over the years and became a good friend. He is still alive, although his health is now poor. He sold the business to his son Craig 15 years ago. Craig had joined his dad when he finished his apprenticeship 33 years ago. Hugh Stevens has trained many apprentices since then, including Carlin, who has recently returned as Senior Tradesman.
I have known Craig for as long as I have known his dad, Hugh, and Craig is a good bloke with a very keen business sense and a good personality. He supports the local community and, although it is getting harder to park clients’ cars in Blake Street, Craig is tolerant and compromising, a key trait necessary to keep his business compatible with competing claimants to the space available in the middle of a residential area.
Hugh Stevens works for all insurance companies and is fully accredited as a collision repair specialist and as a Structural Repair Centre. The company is proud to be I-Car trained Platinum. As an extra service, a courtesy cars service is provided.
Craig reminds locals that they have a choice of panelbeater, and they should not accept an insurance company’s direction to a repairer not of their choice.
Craig Stevens is absolutely committed to the very best work for customers, and I can attest to that from personal experience.
You can check the website to confirm Hugh Stevens’ health and safety standards and other guarantees.
HUGH STEVENS & SON PANELBEATING, 1a Blake Street, T: 09 376 6876, www.stevenspanelbeating.co.nz
AKL Plumbing
Elsewhere in this article we have featured several long-time Ponsonby tradies, now we feature a much newer, young guy, Henry Minogue, owner of AKL Plumbing.
We have used Henry’s services at home and he is an efficient and charming young man. He started his apprenticeship with Tom Zonneveld in 2007. In 2016, when Tom retired, Henry started his own company and took over Tom’s client base.
Henry’s firm services many residential and commercial premises around Ponsonby that he went to as an apprentice 12 years ago, as well as a growing number of new clients in the area.
The advantage of being based in a residential area is that they are close to many of their clients. This is especially useful if there is an emergency job to be done.
At AKL Plumbing, there is currently a team of three plumbers/gasfitters. Henry believes in sharing his trade knowledge with new apprentices who he always has coming through the business. Currently, there is Ben who started his apprenticeship this year and also James who completed his apprenticeship with the company last year and now works with it as a registered plumber and gasfitter.
Henry told us that one day they were called to retrieve a wedding ring that a client had dropped down her wash basin. We managed to take the drain apart and fish the ring out for her. Henry is not sure whether her husband ever heard about why the plumbers were called out.
AKL Plumbing and Gas proudly works alongside many businesses in the Ponsonby area and they are the first port of call to fix any plumbing or gasfitting problems for an increasing number of property managers, cafes, bars, landscapers, builders, developers and home staging businesses in the area.
AKL PLUMBING & GASFITTING, M: 021 843 214, www.aklplumbing.co.nz
The Reid Group
We talked to Eddie Reid about his company’s work in Ponsonby. They are builders and house painters with 11 staff in total, the oldest staff member being Mac at 74. He has been painting for 50 years and knows everything there is to know about painting. He speaks fluent Maori and has blessed houses for clients after completing work on them. Terry is Reid’s rugby league expert and a master painter. Caleb, the builder, is also a Nissan car fanatic. He is a perfectionist, too.
Eddie Reid told us they are one big happy family who, of course, have their ups and downs but have each other’s backs. Young apprentices are hired, and Eddie can see the company taking on more in the future. “That is the future of our business,” said Eddie.
One of the advantages of working in a busy residential suburb is that your team and vans are seen regularly and residents regard you as part of the community. “We then get recommended for further work in the neighbourhood,” says Eddie.
Within the group, Eddie has three families of trades people. In one team is a father and three sons, in another team a father-in-law, son-in-law and a son, and in another a father working alongside two sons. “This whanau culture seems to work well in a team environment and it’s part of our business strength,” Eddie told us proudly.
Eddie Reid told us they are a bunch of people pleasers who will take on a task with the aim of completing it to both parties’ satisfaction.
THE REID GROUP, www.reidpainters.co.nz