It was never about money, says export trailbazer
Scientist turned businessman Ian Devereux, was one of the export ‘‘Vikings’’ of the 1970s, 80s and 2000s, who led New Zealand’s expansion as an export nation.
Now, his life story, including the rise of Rocklabs, has been told in a biography To Cut a Long Story Short by Life Stories.
Devereux’s Rocklabs was a company ahead of its time when it was founded in 1975, with its business model premised on being number one in a global niche - scientific rocktesting instruments for mines.
Devereux estimated there was a maximum client base of around 10,000 globally when he persuaded BNZ to give him a loan of $10,000, half secured against his home.
Devereux was one of the export 'Vikings' of the 1970s, 80s and 2000s.
The company was hugely successful, but for Devereux, it was never about the money.
Though that’s said by many business people, Devereux’s decision to share profits each year with staff showed that for him, it really was true. Every employee received the same share in the profits, from senior managers to factory workers, and none of the senior managers ever complained they should be getting a larger share, he says.
The impact on workers’ lives was immense as the company managed a decade of year-on-year double digit growth.
‘‘One couple said they had paid their mortgage off in the ten years of profitshare money,’’ he recalls.
He also ensured that the lowest wage Rocklands paid was at least equal to the country’s average wage.
He also sheltered his workers from tougher times. When the BNZ asked him to pay down the company’s debts, he did it by arranging to take a massive pay-cut. No-one else’s wages were clipped. Devereux’s work meant he was a huge traveller - notching up visits to 55 countries - but despite the family atmosphere in the business, there was some loneliness at the top.
It came to a head when he attended a talk at Auckland University by former Sunday Star-Times columnist Rod Oram, the man who coined the term ‘‘export Vikings’’.
During his lecture, Oram spoke about a new type of business model on the rise: Specialised, world-class, hardworking, and little known. He gave the example of Rocklabs. ‘‘I just couldn’t believe it,’’ Devereux says. ’’I cried. I couldn’t stop myself. I was just so relieved that there were other people like me and that this was real; it wasn’t some crazy theory that I had.’’
Rocklabs was sold to Scott Technology in 2008, and continues to thrive. He might have got more selling it to an overseas buyer, but he was a patriotic New Zealander and wanted to sell the business to a New Zealander.
He got a ‘‘substantial’’ amount, and promptly shared a large amount with family, friends, and Rocklands’ employees.
One Rocklabs’ worker recalls of Devereux: ‘‘Money was a by-product of his passion rather than a propelling force.’’
Devereux, who now suffers from Parkinson’s, hired Life Stories to write his biography, including his early years in rural Otago, for the younger generation of his family.