NEW OWNERS FOR KRAFT ENGINEERING
The new owners of trailer manufacturing business Kraft Engineering have one goal in mind – to do what they do and to do it well.
Founded in 1978, the Ngongotaha, Rotorua-based Kraft Engineering was the brainchild of Graeme Kelly, who after 43 years decided it was time to hand over the successful business.
James Worsnop, owner of used truck dealership NZT Group, along with partner Colin King, will take over the reins October 1.
Speaking to New Zealand Trucking magazine, James says he was motivated to buy Kraft Engineering because he wanted to be involved in something where he could have full control over the entire manufacturing process.
“After selling trucks, I wanted to be able to be involved in the entire end-to-end process,” he says.
James says going into partnership with Colin, who he says is “extremely capable”, made sense because he had the same view.
“From the warranty to design, the delivery, the backup – we want to provide a really good service from one end to the other.”
Kraft Engineering has cemented its place in New Zealand’s manufacturing industry, designing, building and maintaining engineering equipment for the country’s logging and transportation sectors.
James and Colin both bring a strong background in the transport sector to the business, with James’ experience in customer relationships complementing Colin’s design and manufacturing expertise.
James brings 18 years’ experience in truck sales, including 13 years with Scania, while Colin has had extensive manufacturing experience with a brief stint at Evans Engineering and 28 years with Patchell industries, where he was fortunate to work with the likes of Ian Patchell and was trained by the two legendary Petes. Colin has also had the privilege of working with Graeme Kelly at Kraft for the last 12 months.
“We want to look after our existing customers, do it well, and deliver on time. We want to start off slowly and get it right, and keep our existing loyal customers happy,” James says.
He says Graeme has done some brilliant work in the industry and has left them a fantastic opportunity with a great team of people.