Featured Dealer: Pete Boyce, Garador Timaru

Garador has had a presence in the Timaru district for many years, but during the tumultuous year that was 2020, the dealership had a change of ownership. New owners Lynda and Carl Malloch have appointed Pete Boyce as their Branch Manager in charge of the day-to-day running of Garador Timaru. We caught up with Pete for a chat to see how things are travelling so far.

Embarking on his role with the business as it changed hands three years ago, Pete’s input has become central to the smooth running of this busy dealership. His job includes site visits to measure and scope new work, carrying out garage door installations and repairs, and organising staff. Pete loves the variety in his work with no two days being the same. He also gets a kick out of helping people, telling us “It’s rewarding being able to solve people’s problems. My role includes a good mix of driving around seeing the countryside and getting out to do some physical work as well. I love the travelling but couldn’t do that full-time, I’d eat too many pies on the road! ”

Above, the team recently installed twin Nevada doors on a typically stunning South Canterbury day.

Prior to Garador, Pete worked in construction for about 10 years and ran his own insulation business. His experience with admin has helped him to see the big picture for this business, which he’s happy to put into action, hands-on in the thick of things. 

A growth phase throughout the construction industry began straight after lockdown and hasn’t slowed, though shortages still plague the country. After hitting the ground running, three years on the Garador Timaru team is expanding to keep up. Pete’s crew includes installers Simon and Tobias, who usually work together and Pete often joins in to help with installations. Everyone is trained up, or receiving training on repairs and servicing also. Customers can identify the team by their sign written vehicles and Garador uniforms when they arrive on site.

Some sites throw out a few challenges to Pete and his team, but it's all in a day's work.

Word-of-mouth referrals account for much of Garador Timaru’s workload, through relationships Pete has fostered with local builders. “He’s done a marvellous job with the builders and with customer service, installing doors in a timely manner that keeps our customers happy,” says Carl. Relationships with Group Home Builders also contribute to a substantial amount of the new installations the team works on. 

While dark-coloured garage doors are popular in the region, now and then a powder-coated stunner makes its mark.

Pete and the team have noticed that Garador’s premium doors Sierra and Nevada complemented by Genius smart openers, are the popular choice for new builds in their region, especially in the Twizel area, known for its proliferation of holiday homes. The favoured colours are usually dark; Flaxpod, Ebony, Windsor Grey, Ironsand and Grey Friars. The market for sheds is also busy with Flaxpod and Ebony being popular colour choices.

Garador Timaru’s full offering includes the supply, installation, servicing and repairs of domestic & commercial garage doors, farming doors, gates and gate automation. They cover South Canterbury and the Mackenzie district from the Ashburton border including the Rakaia river to Waimate, Omarama & Twizel.

The new Garador Timaru premises and showroom at 57 Stafford Street are ready to welcome customers between 9 am and 2 pm on weekdays.

The business has just moved to fresh and bright new premises, which weren’t looking so appealing a few months ago. After a transformation under Pete’s guidance, the once-tired and shabby building has new paint, updated plumbing and a purpose-built office, showroom and storage facility. As well as project managing the refit, Pete took up the hammer and created the new spaces. As he describes it “The benefit and the curse of my construction background are that I want to do everything myself. So we leased a fairly blank canvas of a building and I’ve been working on that in my spare time.”

“We couldn’t have done it without Pete,” says Carl, adding “Pete built the showroom and office, organised the sign writing, the painting and plumbing”. Lynda agrees, “The location we’re in is great but the building is old so there was quite a lot of work to be done to get it to a state that we were happy with, and it has come up great, Pete’s done a fantastic job”. 

Now open to receive customers, the showroom features a roller door in the colour Ironsand and an interactive sectional Nevada door also in Ironsand. Customers can get a feel for the Genius smart opener with its included app that operates and monitors garage doors and sends notifications to the user. All of Garador’s panel profiles are on display, along with colour samples and pamphlets to take home. Located at 57 Stafford Street, the showroom is open 9 am - 2 pm Monday to Friday with Shari on site to show visitors around. Look for the bright new signage!

All Garador Timaru installations feature Garador motors and accessories.

It’s the simple things that Carl, Lynda and Pete love about their work and they feel good about the business going forward. “We have really great customers,” says Carl. A 20-year veteran of the garage door business, he adds, “The construction industry has been so flat out and since covid, you just have to roll with building product delays. They’re not anyone’s fault, it’s just the nature of things. It would have been very difficult for us to get this business rolling without Pete’s help". Pete finds the work “fun and full of variety”, and his can-do attitude is a credit to the team. Lynda tells us, “It’s rewarding to have such good growth here in Timaru and to build the relationships that we have done here. I think they’ll continue to flourish”.

If you’d like to get more information or request a measure and quote, call the team at Garador Timaru on 03 683 1554, view their website here, or drop in to see the new showroom at 57 Stafford Street, from 9 am - 2 pm Monday to Friday.

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