Multi-generational businesses are common in forestry, particularly among contractors. Brand Logging, Canterbury, is no exception.
Dad, Tony Brand, founded the business in 1984 and his wife, Kerin, does the books. Eldest son, Simon, is Operations Manager and younger son, Adam, is Manager for one of the crews. Daughter, Gemma Mason, works one day a week in the office and her husband Craig is a Diesel Mechanic and works in the workshop.
So, there are no prizes for guessing what this family talk about when they meet up for Sunday dinner.
“Yeah, when we get together socially, we do talk a bit about forestry,” says Tony.
“It’s good seeing the kids involved in the industry you work in. Sometimes I hear people say, ‘Oh, I don’t want my kids doing what I’m doing’. Well, I don’t think that. I think we’ve got a great industry and they’ll be set up for life if they carry on with it.”
Tony says his father got him into forestry: “We lived in Nelson and my dad worked for Baigents, putting in the forestry roads for the logging crews and the trucks. And I used to go to work with him as a kid for the holidays. I just loved the skidders and the chainsaws and the smell of the timber.”
Today, Brand Logging runs four harvesting crews and a large repair workshop in Ashley that employs 12 people. It also runs one logging truck and some roading equipment, along with a Husqvarna Crown dealership in Rangiora. Enough to keep everyone busy.
Family focus
So, what’s it like working for your Dad? “It’s great working for Dad,” says Adam. “He’s seen it all in the industry so he’s always good to get advice from.
“Working in a family business is great. It gives us something in common. We’ve always got something to talk about when we catch up.”
What’s the best thing his sons have learnt from their father about running the forestry operation?
“I suppose one of the big things I’ve learnt from Dad is that dealing with people is a big part of the job,” Simon says.
He and his father work pretty well together, he says. “He trusts me to look after the
day-to-day running of the logging operation.
“He doesn’t come into the forest often these days because the other businesses keep him busy. But he’s still involved enough that I can ask him for advice if need to on the odd job that may have different challenges.”
Simon says the best thing about working in a family business has been growing up with it around him. “You just learn it from a young age.”
Adam says that when he joined the business his dad gave him good advice on how the ‘bosses kid’ could earn respect from the crew.
“When I was starting out, the best thing Dad taught me was a good work ethic. He told me the way to earn respect from the guys was to just get into it and work hard. And he was right.
“I think the best thing that Dad does...
