Leading NZ vehicle accessory plant, land on market
The land and building housing the purpose-built engineering plant and offices of New Zealand’s foremost ute accessory company have been placed on the market.
The 9908sq m property in the Hauraki Plains town of Kerepehi contains the factory, workshop and administrative headquarters for Utemaster in a 2520sq m warehouse and office building.
Utemaster is New Zealand’s foremost manufacturer of commercial utility vehicle accessories, its products encompassing hardtop lids, canopies, steel flat decks, removable drawer units and enclosed bodies.
Its products are designed and locally built to fit all major ute brands.
The Utemaster property at 27-31 Reta Crescent is being marketed for sale on June 23 through Bayleys Hamilton.
Salesperson Josh Smith said the state-ofthe-art plant was built specifically to Utemaster’s operational requirements.
It comprises a high-stud warehouse and well-organised factory floor with expansive shelving and storage, along with administrative offices featuring the full suite of staff amenities.
“With multiple roller door access points to the factory floor from the yard, the building is one of the most modern in Kerepehi.
“The reception area for example features black and ply industrial finishing, polished concrete flooring with carpet in the corporate spaces, expansive glass windows and partitioning.
“Fully encased by security fencing with an automated entrance gate, the main building is encircled by a sealed yard, with a further portion of the property undeveloped and currently used for customer and staff parking – ensuring more than enough additional space to handle Utemaster’s forecast production and installation expansion in future years.”
Utemaster is currently on a lease at the Reta Crescent property running through to 2025 with two further four-year rights of renewal generating annual rental income of $282,120 plus GST and operating expenses.
Kerepehi has been a textbook example of provincial growth in New Zealand over the past decade, benefitting from its strategic location in the middle of the Golden Triangle population catchment between Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga.
Hauraki District Council been proactive in promoting Kerepehi as the district’s premier industrial hub.
The council invested an initial $9 million upgrading the water treatment plant to accommodate the town’s industrial growth.
To further attract industrial firms to the area, the council removed property development contribution fees, making it cheaper for developers and business owners/operators to build new premises.
Situated just off SH2, Kerepehi businesses such as Utemaster draw their labour pool from the nearby towns of Thames, Paeroa and Ngatea.