Business of the month - Sure Flo
Complete drainage services | 0800 747 356 (24 hours a day). | Facebook: @surefloDrains. | www.sureflo.co.nz
The HBA Business of the month award recognises businesses in our local Hikurangi community that have been making a noticeable effort in marketing their business, driving growth and are inspirational in our region. HBA congratulate Sure Flo as the inaugural Business of the Month winner for July.
Drainage & plumbing is a competitive market in Northland but Sure Flo sets themselves apart, not only with over 30 years combined experience & 24 hour availability, but they also offer a wide range of drainage services for the relative size of their business. Not many small drainage businesses can offer vacuum loading, drain unblocking, drainage installation & repair and have a Hiab Crane Truck and two 5 ton diggers available.
It’s safe to say that Terry is one of the stalwarts of Hikurangi – a loyal, hard-working local who is heavily involved in the community. He’s been in the plumbing and drainage field since he was a child working with his father in Auckland. His move to Northland has seen his business expand and now his son Cory is helping at the helm.
Cory is a proud father to his nine month old son Lucas and is in his last year of training to become a qualified drainlayer. But he’s been on the tools with his dad since he was a child so his on-the-job experience already puts him in good steed next to his peers.
How did he come about working in Sure Flo? Well… somewhat reluctantly one would think… funnily enough he swore he’d never work in this industry but then he “started studying computer science at Unitec in Auckland until I had the realisation that I didn’t want to be stuck in the same office around the same people 5 days a week”
So he moved back home, struggled to find his feet and then started working for his dad – a natural fit given he’s been around drains, diggers and plumbing all his life. Everything then fell into place and he hasn’t looked back since. Cory enjoys the mix of physical and mental work and especially enjoys using the wide range of machinery that Sure Flo has and “learning how things work”.
But running a small business is not for the faint hearted and has some major challenges, as Cory is discovering. Trying to keep up with fieldwork, bookwork, marketing, sales and balancing it all with a young family is difficult, and there’s only so much time in the day. With a young baby in the house if he could choose a hobby it could very well be “sleep”, but otherwise when he finds time he enjoys going for walks and, lately, has “been doing a bit of building around the house which I’ve come to enjoy.”
Are there bad sides to the job? Well – not to point out the obvious but cleaning out septic waste can make for a pretty ‘crappy’ day (especially if the gloves are short or ripped!) but “it’s actually not as bad as people think it is.”
Over the past few months we’ve watched Cory grow from strength to strength. He’s willing to learn, is hungry for the work, takes advice and is keen to get his business humming. Both him and Terry are reliable, hard-working and clearly know their stuff! We look forward to seeing Sure Flo develop and succeed.
If you, or anyone else you know, have a drainage job that needs to be done anywhere around Whangarei – make sure you call Sure Flo. 0800 747 356 (24 hours a day).