Mower death man business visionary

The man who died at Russell when he was pinned underneath a ride-on mower was the founder of one of New Zealand's biggest electrical firms.
Peter John Bassett, 48, from the Auckland suburb of St Heliers, died about 11.30am on Saturday in an accident at Paroa Bay on the Russell Peninsula.
He had been working at his Otamarua Rd property, where he was about to build a holiday house overlooking a bay favoured by the well-known and the wealthy.
Kerikeri police Senior Sergeant Peter Robinson believed Mr Bassett had been using a large ride-on mower when it rolled on a slope. No one saw the accident but another man working at the property found Mr Bassett under the mower, which was upside-down in a mangrove swamp.
Mr Bassett co-founded Laser Electrical in 1983 with fellow electrician David Clemmett, starting out with two old vans and a West Auckland garage.
Business boomed and the pair turned it into a nationwide franchise, expanding into Australia in 2004. In 2006, they added plumbing to the Laser franchise system.
The franchise now has 180 member companies, employing 1500 staff across New Zealand and Australia. .
The owner of Laser Plumbing Kerikeri, Craig Maxwell-Crawshaw, met Mr Bassett at the firm's head office on Friday, less than 24 hours before the accident.
"It's pretty shocking, and pretty tragic. I can't speak highly enough of the guy."
Mr Maxwell-Crawshaw described him as "a great visionary, very clever and good to deal with".
"He was a bloody nice guy, and he'll be sorely missed."
Ryan Trigg, co-owner of the Whangarei Laser Electrical franchise, described Mr Bassett as a visionary leader.