Jacky says her working relationship with Ian clicked from the start, with her back-of-house skills freeing him to play to his strengths in customer service.
Happily, the father had no problem taking business advice from the daughter. "He's very innovative and really keen for people to share their ideas about the company. We wouldn't be where we are today without him having that mentality of wanting to try new things."
The last few years have been a time of rapid growth, with the Renwick Transport operation now encompassing general freight cartage, fertiliser spreading and supply, compost supplies and loader and machinery hire.
From that initial truck and loader, the fleet has expanded by more than a dozen trucks, plus a handful of diggers and loaders, with a staff of 30.
Jen joined the team in 2008. "She was the perfect person to help us to keep growing the firm," says Jacky. "Putting aside the family thing, she's a very intelligent woman, good with figures and well-travelled. I felt we both brought different strengths to the business."
The Renwick Transport experience is a useful riposte to the "never mix family with business" nay-sayers, but it's by no means extraordinary. Renwick Transport is part of New Zealand's Mid-Market, those businesses with an annual turnover of $2-50 million. The Mid-Market is heavily populated by family firms and it seems to work for them: everything suggests that that sector is going gangbusters.
According to the 2014 GE Capital New Zealand Mid-Market report, these Mid-Market firms are "at the centre of the growth being seen in this country right now."
Naturally, there are potential pitfalls when you take relationships established in the home into the workplace. "It hasn't been without its challenges and at times it has pushed us hard," concedes Jacky, of working with her family members.
"At times we just have to agree to disagree. But having genuine respect for each other always gets us through. And there are many advantages. You know your family so well. Their honesty. Their integrity. There is a trust there."
Customers, too, enjoy the family nature of the firm - which is just as well because younger brother Andrew has recently joined the fold.
"Our customers say that they like the friendliness of it, the fact that it's a united, happy company, and that when they ring they can talk directly to me. It's like our slogan says: 'Large enough to deliver, small enough to care'."
For more insights into New Zealand businesses in the Mid-Market and the qualities they share, download the
GE Capital New Zealand Mid-Market Report 2014