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Skipping to good health

Mandie Skipps hasn’t always worked in forestry. With a background in media & marketing and a passion for fitness, she brings a unique skill set to Skipps Logging, the Northland contracting business she runs with husband Tommy.Working in Senior leadership roles in media for 13 years, Mandie Skipps accumulated a heap of experience working with and managing different people. At the same time, husband Tommy was running Skipps Logging since 2007, with 2 crews operating in Northland. “I’ve alw...

Health and Safety Innovation with ThinkSafe Technology

Using innovations in technology on the job site can be a real time saver, especially when you’re relying on paper and your staff to fill it out. But technology gone wrong can also be a massive cause of frustration, from connectivity issues to unreliable devices and an expensive upfront investment. Here, we get the lowdown on the ThinkSafe Health and Safety App, and how it can make your life in the office that much better, plus how you can get yourself a 14-day free trial to make sure it will b...

Behind the Scenes of Women in Forestry

We’ve had some feedback from some of our followers that they would like to know more about the purpose of the Women in Forestry Network. So here we give an overview of how the group started, who we’re here to help and what we’re aiming to achieve.How it all started A few years back, Forestry Accountant Sonya Elmiger from Blackburne Group Chartered Accountants (Taupo) had the idea to connect women in the forestry industry through a newsletter. The newsletter grew in popularity, with more a...

People her Passion

With 65 staff across 8 ground base crews to coordinate, Jensen Logging’s Harvesting Manager Rachael Brown is passionate about the people in the business.Growing up in a logging family, Rachael says she has always loved being in the bush and being around forestry. Mum Margaret and Dad Russell started the business more than 45 years ago, first in Silviculture, then taking on a thinning contract about 10-12 years later. “I love the great outdoors, and I’ve always been involved on the fringe...

Strategic approach pays off

When you ask Business Owner Lynette Davis how she’s spent more than 35 years running a successful business with her husband Ross, there’s one thing that she keeps coming back to – taking a strategic approach to running the business.As a couple, Lynette says she and Ross had clearly defined roles in their business and worked to their strengths. “Ross was in charge of our operations and the face of our company, while I was more behind the scenes, taking care of financial planning and the ...

Women equal partners in their businesses

What began in 1998 as a small Waikato-based support network for women in the dairy industry, the Diary Women’s Network has grown into a network with more than 10,000 members nationwide. We caught up with Hilary Webber, Co-founder and inaugural Chair of the Dairy Women’s Network, who says women are equal partners in their businesses and are adding value every day.In the 1990’s during her campaign to become a Director of the New Zealand Dairy group, Hilary could see that there was a lack of ...

No looking back

After taking an unexpected opportunity to start their business Lumberjack Logging in 2015, Erika Herries and her husband Dan haven’t looked back.Based in Gisborne / East Coast, they run one crew with a 70ft tower hauler and employ eight staff. Erika runs the office, taking care of payroll, creditors, IRD obligations, and is the general run around for errands and smoko deliveries, with the crew nearly 1.5 hours away. She also looks after Health and Safety, working closely with their expert and...

Keeping it simple through the downturn

Kate and Aaron Pevreal have run ANK Pine Harvesters Ltd for the past ten years Waikato-based woodlot contractors Aaron and Kate Pevreal are no strangers to a downturn. In logging for 25 years and in business for 10, the husband-and-wife team say this is the third downturn they’ve been through. “Our first two were very hard, we were young and breaking out, had old equipment, and were trying to establish ourselves,” says Aaron. They got through by covering the basics and working for mu...