Prestigious work completed by Gullery Roofing at Bushy Park.
Prestigious work completed by Gullery Roofing at Bushy Park.
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Prestigious Whanganui roofing business Gullery Roofing - founded by Garry and Helen Gullery - has a hallmark of quality workmanship, reasonable pricing and innovation, with a multitude of roofing options on offer.
After 30 years in business, the ownership will transition to the Gullerys’ son-in-law Chris Campbell and their daughter Alana, who will be handling the administration side of the business, from April 1.
All in the family: Chris and Alana Campbell, new owners of Gullery Roofing Ltd, with Helen and Garry Gullery, founders of Gullery Roofing.
Chris and Alana returned to New Zealand from working in Canada and the UK 11 years ago, when Chris joined Gullery Roofing to complete his apprenticeship in record time.
Chris has been managing the business for the last two years with the transition of ownership in mind, learning the leadership and business acumen required beyond his 11 years of experience in roofing.
Dion Black, Garry Gullery, Andy Tyrrell and Graeme Fifield in the third year of Gullery Roofing, 1997.
“I’ve worked alongside many builders in Whanganui which has enabled me to establish some great relationships,” he said.
“We now employ four staff members: Hamish, Devin, Sam and Paiki, two of whom are fully qualified, and one is working through his apprenticeship.”
Chris is a Licensed Building Practitioner and holds numerous accreditations which include Longrun Metal Roofing, Membrane Roofing, Metal Pressed Tiles, E-Span, Asbestos Class B Certificates and all relevant Height Safety Certificates.
Chris and Alana are excited to embark on this new chapter together. “This has been in the pipeline for many years now, so it’s great to see something we’ve been working towards come to fruition,” said Alana.
■ History
Garry started roofing in Whanganui in 1984, working for a local roofing company that his good friend Graeme Fifield introduced him to. They worked together for 10 years. Garry then saw the opportunity to extend himself and decided to start up his own business, which was the beginning of Gullery Roofing in 1994. After 18 months, Graeme joined Gullery Roofing to work alongside Garry for a further seven years.
In 2004, Garry, together with his family, moved to Queensland, Australia.
“For a short time, I supervised for a local roofing company dealing with architects and building supervisors. I dealt with all the health and safety issues and roofing gangs on a daily basis,” he said.
“I decided this wasn’t for me and went back to self-employment on the tools, employing one other staff member for six years, trading as Gullery Roofing there.
“During this time, I worked on many different new buildings such as duplexes, high-set and low-set homes, and educational services. The one I am most proud of would be Emerald Lakes, known as the French Quarter, in the heart of the Gold Coast where I fitted the roof and wall cladding. I also completed my trade certificate in Australia in 2008.
“After eight years, home was calling, especially when I had a good friend pass away - that doesn’t help when you’re overseas. I started back where I left off in Whanganui as Gullery Roofing again.
“I designed and developed my own edge protection system which I had certified, as well as purchasing a house lot of scaffold. I knew at the time this was soon to become paramount in the industry. These days, health and safety requirements mean we are able to do the job quicker, safer, and neater than we were back in the 80s, with no handrail.
“In my time, we have completed roofs all around the North Island, from Auckland to Wellington and from Hastings to Ōpunakē and lots in between. We have tackled large commercial buildings, educational work, and underslung canopies on service stations, motels, and rest homes, whilst not forgetting the thousands of new and re-roofing jobs in between. We have had great support from both Metalcraft and Wanganui Steelformers over the years and many happy customers.”
These days the team at Gullery Roofing are kept busy with new builds, light commercial work and many residential customers wanting to upgrade their roofs.
“Jobs we travel to now out of Whanganui are within a radius of Ohakune, Taihape, Hāwera and Marton,” said Chris.
Garry said that after 40 years on the tools, he was looking forward to having some time to himself and “taking life a little easier”.
“Together with Helen and the team, we wish to thank all our loyal customer base over the years and confirm that any accepted quotes will be honoured by the new company, Gullery Roofing Ltd,” he said.
“It’s nice that we can keep the business in the family,” said Helen.
