Page 2 - OPE July-August 2022

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Local and International News
OUTDOOR POWER INDUSTRY
Glass half full or half empty?
Hi there, happy August!
Seems a long time since our
March issue hit your desk, I bet. Even longer perhaps, thanks to the
pandemic, which put a minor spanner in the works getting this issue out on time... Still, you won’t have been sitting there
waiting on your next NZOPE magazine, what with the outdoor power industry remaining busy as.
Is your glass half full or half empty?
A word of advice: take all this doom & gloom you might see elsewhere in the media with a pinch of salt.
Wiser heads than mine reckon the world isn’t going to end next week.
Steve Bohling Group Editor
steveb@mpm.nz
NZ Outdoor Power Equipment
is published 4 times per year
by Marketplace Media,
PO Box 28372, Remuera, Auckland 1541 Phone: 09 375 3097
Website : www.ope.co.nz
ISSN: 1177-4215
The opinions expressed and material published in New Zealand Outdoor Power Equipment
are not necessarily those of the publisher, except where specifically stated. The content is copyright and may not be reprinted in any form without the permission of the publisher.
Group Editor Steve Bohling 021 0223 6887 steveb@mpm.nz
Account Manager Karen Condon 0275 420 338
karenc@mpm.nz
Account Manager Susan Kennedy 021 317 176
susank@mpm.nz
Studio Manager Rachel Walker 021 169 0201
rachelw@mpm.nz
Publisher Simon Little 021 507 343 simonl@mpm.nz
ALTHOUGH THE DAILY media
has been full of the “R” word (recession that is), as with the building industry, a fair number of players in the outdoor power industry are remaining positive about the year ahead, despite the reality of ongoing supply chain and economic headwinds.
Take Steelfort MD Gavin Lowndes, who confirms that the market has been “very, verybuoyant”,especiallyforride-onlawn mowers.
“Cub Cadet has been phenomenal really. Our biggest issue, like everyone getting products out of the States, is just getting it into the country.
“And, as soon as the product comes in, it goes out and we’re struggling to fill the retailers up.
“So, we haven’t made a dent in the supply chain really.”
Still, adds Gavin: “While the market has been buoyant there are challenges along the way that we have to contend with.
“It’s not a problem getting products made, but it’s just so hard to get the products [out of the US] on to ships. So logistics have been a nightmare.”
Although supply out of China has somewhat normalised, Steelfort is hoping theUSsituationwillsettledownwithin6-12 months but is realistic enough to admit it could equally take another 12 months plus.
Looking forward, having enjoyed “huge demand” and business Gavin describes as “very good”, he will also admit to having “a few concerns perhaps” about the last quarter
of this year or the first quarter of next year. “People are starting to travel again, the
market is getting talked down with inflation, borrowings and all those sorts of things and there is a lot of negativity in the press and that flows through to the market.”
Still, says Gavin Lowndes: “We haven’t seen any signs of it yet and there are probably going to be a few issues at some stage, but we’d like to think we have put ourselves in a good place to work our way through it.
“I would say we are cautiously optimistic.”
“We are very positive , not only about the remainder of this calendar year but also for the next one.
“So there is plenty of new product coming, and we see really good consumer demand and also professional demand.
“Especially in the professional area,” he underlines, despite the reality of almost all trades struggling to find adequate labour.
“Everyone is struggling for people to actually do the work, otherwise there could be significantly more growth and that is really positive for us because eventually that will work out with the borders reopening and more people being able to come in work in New Zealand and we will be one of the benefactors.
Jochen Speer, MD at STIHL NZ, is one of
several players to say that the New Zealand
market has passed something of a tipping
point and, while we are clearly not quite
“post-pandemic”,STIHLforonehasbeen “So,Ithinkoverallwearelookingreally
experiencing more like a return to normality. “What we are seeing at the moment is
more like a typical winter that we used
to have outside of the almost artificial improvements that we saw in our industry over the last two pandemic years,” he says.
positive going into the next 12-18 months,
I must say, despite the fact that the New Zealand media has been suggesting otherwise.
“I can’t really follow that negative sentiment I must say.”
Glass half full then, on both counts. n
Your outdoor power diary
THE YEAR AHEAD seems to have
settled down a little after the last two years’ on- again, off-again schedule of events.
2022
August 4-5: Hire Industry Association (HIANZ) Conference, Christchurch, NZ. www.hianz.net.nz
August 27: Landscapes of Distinction Awards Gala Dinner, Auckland, NZ. www.masterlandscapers.org.nz September 7-11: Auckland Home Show, Auckland, NZ. www.aucklandhomeshow.co.nz October 6-9: Waikato Home
& Garden Show, Hamilton, NZ.
www.waikatohomeshow.co.nz
October 14-16: Canterbury Home
Show, Christchurch, NZ. www.canterburyhomeshow.co.nz October 18-21: Equip Exposition (formerly GIE+EXPO & Hardscape), Kentucky, USA. www.equipexposition.com
November 3-4: NZ ARB Conference, Palmerston North, NZ. www.nzarb.org.nz November 30-3 Dec: National Fieldays, Hamilton, NZ. www.fieldays.co.nz
2023
January 24-27: IPM ESSEN Horticulture Trade Fair, Essen, Germany. www.ipm-essen.de/world-trade-fair/
March 2-4: Northland Field Days, Dargaville, NZ. https://northlandfielddays.co.nz/
March 10-12: Ford Ranger New Zealand Rural Games, Palmerston North, NZ. https://ruralgames.co.nz/
March 16-18: Central Districts Field Days, Manfeild, NZ. www.cdfielddays.co.nz
March 29-31: South Island Agricultural Field Days, Kirwee, NZ. www.siafd.co.nz
June 14-17: National Fieldays, Hamilton, NZ. www.fieldays.co.nz
June 18-21: Spoga+gafa, Cologne, Germany. www.spogagafa.com
Email steveb@mpm.nz to have your event included in our listing.
02 NZOUTDOORPOWEREQUIPMENT JULY-AUGUST2022
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