Northland's McKay Group sells appliance services business

Lindsay Faithfull is managing director of the McKay Group of Companies, a multi-disciplined electrotechnology company providing industrial and marine services in the upper North Island.

A chapter is set to close in the story about one of Northland's most successful businesses.
Whangarei-based McKay Group is selling the appliance side of its business after more than 80 years servicing Northland households.

McKay Group of Companies managing director Lindsay Faithfull says McKay has negotiated the sale of a small part of its operations - home appliance services - to Fisher and Paykel Appliances effective from May 1.

Mr Faithfull said he had mixed feelings about letting go of the appliance servicing.
He said the change in technology during the past 80 years and the way customers used their appliances had been remarkable. At the same time, McKay had continued to grow and evolve into other business areas, including great success in the industrial, defence, infrastructure, commercial and marine sectors.

"As we have expanded, appliance servicing has become a very small part of our operations, and we simply have not been able to apply the focus needed to ensure great customer outcomes.

"Home appliance servicing had been quite stable in terms of the level of business. But because the rest of the business was growing so rapidly it just got increasingly a smaller part of what we do.

"When you've got a business that ends up being very tiny and you don't give it the attention it deserves then you shouldn't be doing it anymore," Mr Faithfull said.

Discussions with Fisher and Paykel gave McKay the opportunity to exit in a structured way.

"They've been a great partner over the decades," he said.

Mr Faithfull said some McKay staff had been offered jobs by Fisher and Paykel, some have been redeployed within McKay, some had resigned and unfortunately there had been two redundancies.

Fisher and Paykel and McKay founder Tom McKay started their businesses around the same time, in the mid-1930s. McKay was later bought by the Faithfull family, with the late Joe Faithfull joining the company in 1944.

Lindsay Faithfull, who is the third generation involved in the business, said it was a sad moment for him personally.

"I appreciate history and continuity but in the end if you don't think you've got a passion for it and don't think you can satisfy your customers any longer you've got to stop doing it."

Mr Faithfull emphasised that McKay was not going anywhere and continued to go from strength to strength.

He said McKay was now very much an upper North Island business rather than a Northland firm. A significant majority of the work done by the McKay Group was outside of Northland, he said.

"We have to spend a great deal of time focusing on that.

"Auckland has become very important for obvious reasons, there's a huge amount of work going on down there. This is because of the infrastructure and commercial construction boom."

McKay acquired Ward Chandler Electrical in Auckland in December 2015 which has positioned McKay to participate in that market.

Staff levels were expected to be closer to 300 by the end of April having just won additional large contracts.

The company is continuously looking for experienced staff and investing in training with 34 apprentices on the books currently; split 50/50 in Auckland and Whangarei. The total number of staff employed in Whangarei/Northland is about 120, mostly in Whangarei.

Mr Faithfull said McKay was definitely not leaving the Water St site, with a spruce-up of the existing building scheduled for later in the year.

"Every few years we ask ourselves should we remain where we are but in the end we conclude it is the right place for McKay, close to the city centre and also the regional and district councils."

* After May 1 customers seeking repairs or service of Fisher and Paykel, Haier, Elba or Aspira products, in or out of warranty, should call Fisher and Paykel's customer care service on 0800 372 273 or book online at www.fisherpaykel.com .