The month of October is a monumental moment in time for Miles and Diane Shelley of Hauraki Plains Motors.
It’s when the owners, their team and the community will celebrate their landmark celebration of 100 years in business.
“It’s a bit of a milestone”, Miles and Diane told The Profile.
“Not many make it to 100 years, so we’re very proud of it. We’re still probably, what would you say, a little bit old school which, in our area, still works.
“We’re a bit country.”
While their journey at the Ngatea-based business began around 50 years ago, the Shelley family has a deeper history within the business.
Miles’ father, Bruce, was the first to join the team at HPM as an apprentice while he was in college. He and Miles’ mother, Doreen, went on to purchase a 50 per cent share in the business.
Later, Miles’ brother, Warrick, started to work there in 1973, followed by Miles in 1976 and Diane in 1977.
Now, Miles and Diane’s son, Adam, is part of the team alongside their grandson, Corey, who does a bit of casual work for them after school.
With four generations playing important parts in the fabric of the business, it’s clear HPM was more than just a place of work.
“We’ve got a lot of longstanding employees that have been with us as long as we’ve been here,” Miles and Diane said.
“And some, you know, 10 years plus, 20 years, which is quite a big deal for a company to have employees stay so long.”
They believed one of the reasons why HPM was “still here” came down to the fact that “we’ve got the support of our customers and community”.
Their focus is on people.
“We still care about our customers and our staff and it’s not always about the dollar.
“We’re still here and we’re still getting it and we’re still doing our thing.”
The owners and their team plan to kick off the official celebrations in store on October 23 with a one-day 100 Year Celebration Sale.
“Hopefully we’ve got some extra special bonus items that are going to be at a real steal of a price,” Diane said.
They were still working out the kinks but the sale will be for one day only and include everything in store except new motorcycles.
They also aim to have a coffee cart on site, the barbecue cranked and spot prizes.
Diane will also share a colouring picture on Facebook for kids to colour in, and when they take their picture in store, they will receive a prize.
There will also be a selection of photos and documents for people to see the history of Hauraki Plains Motors over the past 100 years.
“We just want it out there that everybody is welcome to come and enjoy our 100-year celebration.”
By DAVIDDA HIKATANGATA
