INDUSTRY PEOPLE
HPL Distribution is involved in forestry, civil, agriculture and infrastructure throughout New Zealand.
teach full time. I actually had to go to the Epsom campus
What is different about this visit is that it is family meeting
to do my secondary teacher training in order to teach the
family, and Jimmy believes that is why the relationship has
trades. From that class of 29, three of us were picked to
been a successful one over the years.
teach students with special needs. I really enjoyed teaching
“Everything in this country is corporate. It’s all huge
those kids. The training was challenging though—enough
corporations with lots of people but nothing really gluing
to put you off. But it turned out to be such a rewarding job.
them together. With Kato, it’s him. He owns it, and a lot
of family members are in it too. It was a real “All you might be doing “All you might be doing is equipping a child for
highlight.”
is equipping a child for the world; it might be the smallest advancement
that they make.
The business is only 11 years old, but the the world; it might be the
“After that I went out working on my own,
smallest
advancement
experience that father and son bring to the
believe it—or not—as a fencing contractor.
that they make.”
table is extensive.
Then Scotty came on board with the fencing.”
Jimmy, born and bred in the Hokianga, is a qualified
Scott
is
also
a qualified diesel mechanic. His role at HPL is
A-grade automotive mechanic. He has also been involved
to oversee parts and service and to also provide expertise
in education, particularly with special needs students in the
with sales and dealership start-ups.
area of trades training. It’s easy to see why. He makes things
They got into Kato Works products after a successful stint
come alive. He is curious and intentional. He likes to know
in the fencing industry.
stuff and he likes to explain stuff.
Once new and more novel fences were required, especially
His own formative years were spent at New Plymouth Boys’
with the introduction of the swimming pool legislation, the
High School, but it was in Northland where his career would
business really took off to supply a diverse range of fences
unfold.
for increasingly niche markets.
“I did general motor mechanic training in Kaikohe, because
“Then someone wanted to farm deer, so we had deer
that was the closest town. In those days rural towns were
fencing. Then they wanted to farm ostriches and so we had
really vibrant. There were nine unemployed in Kaikohe in
to create a line of fences for that. New Zealand then went on
1970. By 1980 there were 900 unemployed. Then it got
the slide with the criminal world and so suddenly a whole lot
really bloody serious.
of security fences were needed.”
“I carried on with my apprenticeship, and my tutor asked
At the same time, the Kato deal took off.
me if I would like to teach night school in the trade. By the
Jimmy explains that the Global Financial Crisis, while hitting
time I got my Advanced Trade Certificate, I was asked to
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CAM December 2019
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