Rotorua’s Ian Levet retires after 47 years at Kilwell

Ian Levet is retiring after 47 years at Rotorua business Kilwell.

When Ian Levet began working at Kilwell in Rotorua in 1977 they still made fishing rods from split bamboo cane. He still owns one of those first fly rods he made.

“Fishing rods haven’t changed over the past 100 years, materials have changed, but not the way they’re built.”

Now, after 47 years with the business, Levet is retiring. The occasion was marked at a morning tea at Kilwell Fibrelab on Thursday.

While Kilwell began making fishing rods, the business has now expanded into a range of different areas, including parts for America’s Cup boats, shafts for Olympic rowers’ oars, the celebrated Rotorua artwork Te Ahi Tupua, walls for the King Kong movie, and lightsabres for Star Wars.

“It’s been a diverse range of stuff that I’ve learnt to build,” Levet told the Rotorua Daily Post.

“I’ve virtually worked right through the whole process over the years, I’ve learnt to do it all. Because I’ve learnt all those skills, I can step in and fill jobs. That’s kept me going.”

Kilwell marketing director Amanda Wells said the company had expanded over Levet’s career.

Ian Levet is retiring after 47 years at Rotorua business Kilwell.

“He has seen many changes over the decades, but what hasn’t altered is his work ethic and dedication to the company, which is rare these days.”

Being a family business, loyalty was a common sentiment in the tributes paid to Levet.

Wells said Kilwell was “incredibly grateful for Ian’s exceptional dedication, loyalty, and hard work over the years”.

His service and commitment had been “nothing short of remarkable”.

At 16, he worked briefly as a cabinetmaker’s apprentice and a labourer, before going for an interview at Kilwell in 1977. He began work the next day, learning how to mix glue and put a blank into a handle, before assembling a pile of 500 fishing rods.

He has special memories of his career and will “never forget” when he was put headfirst into a 40-gallon bin by a workmate after saying something he didn’t agree with.

Levet “made some very good friends throughout the business,” one of whom was Vic Smith.

Although Smith contracted polio when he was 2 and spent his life on crutches, this never stopped him, and he was “very quick with his crutches if you were cheeky.”

Levet said Smith not only “instilled in me loyalty towards the company”, but also “gave me the passion to use my hands”.

He worked under Smith in the machine shop and took over when he retired.

This love for working with his hands kept Levet dedicated and he “developed a passion for building fishing rods and designing them. It’s really a skill”.

One of Levet’s favourite projects was designing a new style of fishing rod from nanofibre, made in New Zealand by NanoLayr.

Initially, he had little faith in the substance, believing something that could be “floated in the air like a feather” would be ineffective for fishing rods. However, “they told us to try it, so we tried it and it just made amazing results”.

Geoff Wells, sales and procurement director, valued Levet’s expertise, loyalty and long service.

Levet’s extensive list of hobbies showed “how capable and skilled he is, he can turn his hand to anything”.

His passions include woodturning, cabinetry, brewing, airsoft, jewellery, flute making and photography.

Having “always been a person for the outdoors,” Levet found his work at Kilwell perfectly suited to his hobbies.

When he was 9, Levet was permitted to follow along with a group of deer cullers, although he wasn’t allowed a rifle.

This fostered a lifelong passion for hunting, followed by fishing and scuba diving — all three of which were “handled by Kilwell back when I started”.

Unfortunately, Levet had to give up hunting, along with marathon running, when he was one of the earliest recipients of an artificial hip, which is still going strong.

Another of his hobbies sprang from a doctor’s visit due to stress, when the doctor told Levet that instead of medication he should try other avenues and showed him an Indigenous American flute. Levet learnt to make these flutes after he realised how therapeutic and relaxing they were to play.

While Levet is sad to leave, he is planning on “getting out and enjoying the rest of my life”, and certainly has enough hobbies to fill his time.

“It has been a great privilege to work for this amazing company. If you’re loyal to them, they will be loyal to you. Thank you for the 47 years.”