"I got interested in the new technology that was coming into surveying at that time," said Mr Muir. He was quick to seize an opportunity to join Christchurch-based Datacom Software Research, which was then a small operation writing software for data collection and processing software sold through a number of distributors around the world.
The company was acquired in 1991 by Silicon Valley-based GPS specialists Trimble, a market leader in high-accuracy location technologies.
"They had the precision GPS, but at the time didn't have any technology to use those devices in the field the way a surveyor would and manage the data, which was where we came in," he said.
New Zealand surveyors were highly qualified and trained by world standards, he added, and there were all sorts of new opportunities as the GPS market began to open up.
Mr Muir ended up working for Trimble in the UK, getting to grips with requirements of Europeandistributors' and feeding them back to the research and development teams. Married and with two children entering primary school, he and his family relocated back to Christchurch in 1992. By that time Trimble New Zealand had grown to a team of almost 200 people and he spent the next decade there, running R&D teams and feeding market informationback into product development teams.
In 2003, he was offered a role in Frankfurt, Germany, where he spent two years working with European sales teams on product specialisation, then moved on to Trimble's corporate marketand sales headquarters near Denver, Colorado, working on various projects and areas.
Trimble began with GPS, but today uses a number of high accuracy technologies combined to create very accurate location systems, including laser alignment, optical beam imaging, and inertial navigation, which uses computer-controlled motion sensors and gyroscopes.
"Business is growing and as these systems mature they becomeavailable to a much wider audience," said Mr Muir, who added that the new systems were more accurate than GPS.
Applications include surveying, road construction, and national and local authority mapping.
"It's been great from a surveying perspective to have been involved with some of the major step changes in technology over the past 20 years or so," he said.
"Because of Trimble's early entry into the marketplace I've had so many opportunities. I've worked for the company for 27 years, but I haven't had the same role for more than three years during that time."
Why the Bay? 'First off it's the lifestyle'
Craig Muir and his wife Katherine Sandford always aimed to move back to the Bay of Plenty. And after a decade of apartment living, they now own a 1ha block in Rowe Rd, Ohauiti.
"We have lots of garden and we love just getting out communing with nature and trying to keep that under control," said Mr Muir.
They have two children, a son who works as a business consultant in London and a daughter in marketing and communications in Brisbane.
"There were multiple reasons for us wanting to move back here," he said.
"First off is the lifestyle. But in the end, you get to that point where you feel you've done enough of the international thing and it's time to engage with your home country."
Tina Jennen, chief executive of Tauranga-based Plus Group, said it was fantastic to discover another international Kiwi family had chosen Tauranga as their home base. "Craig's vast international perspective, from decades of living and working abroad, adds significant value to any dialogue, whether in the angel investing space, at a community event or around the dining table. We are lucky to have him here."
Craig Muir
Role: Segment marketing manager, Asia Pacific, Trimble Geospatial
Born: Hawera, New Zealand
Age: 55
First job: surveyor
