Hall of Fame
Bryan McCorkindale
Managing Director
SRS New Zealand Ltd
What made you start in the industry and at what age?
Shands Road Sawmills was owned by my parents. In 1975 at 23 years old I purchased shares in the business after an early career as a computer technician.
My brother John joined soon after. We changed the company name to SRS New Zealand when we moved from Shands Road in 1985.
What are your greatest achievements (work and life)
Work:
Growing the business from a staff of 5 to 130 today.
Having a very low staff turnover.
Establishing NZPP.
Instigating CWCWC.
Founding member of the Inspire Foundation.
Life:
Three age group ultra marathon world records.
Oldest competitor at the 2011 Commonwealth Ultra Marathon Championships. Fourth place and first Kiwi for team bronze.
Completing the longest trail race (320km) held in New Zealand. January 2022
What is your role now?
Semi-retired Managing Director
How do you see yourself/business fit into the local forestry community?
SRS feel privileged to be part of a uniquely cooperative and supportive group of businesses. I take a much less active role nowadays but the company will continue to participate in industry initiatives.
How many people do you employ?
130
John Duncan
Managing Director
McAlpines Limited
What made you start in the industry and at what age?
I always had an interest in working with wood. I couldn’t get a carpentry apprenticeship, but got offered a job working in the yard at McAlpine’s which I took up. I was 16 years of age and never looked back.
What are your greatest achievements (work and life)
Work:
Working with other South Island Sawmillers to develop a market in Australia to sell Treated NZ Pine. This was very successful and cumulated in a significant volume of product sold to Australia over a number of years.
One of the first NZ Sawmillers to visit China, Taiwan, Vietnam and other Asian countries to establish and set up markets in those countries for NZ Pine.
First NZ Sawmiller to sell Kiln Dried Treated Pine in the Phillipines, still selling there currently.
Instrumental in establishing markets for Treated NZ Pine in a number of Pacific Island countries.
Past board member NZ Timber Preservation council. Past board member NZ Timber Industry Federation.
Life:
Family time, a bit of fishing when time allows.
What is your role now?
Semi-retired. Director and Shareholder.
How do you see yourself/business fit into the local forestry community?
McAlpine’s assist various organisations within our communitity, and provides employment opportunities outside our group.
How many people do you employ?
McAlpine’s employs 336 people.
John Hawkins
Stoneyhurst Timbers Limited
What made you start in the industry and at what age?
It was a family business, and I grew up involved in the industry.
What are your greatest achievements (work and life)
Work:
I have been in many roles over the years in our industry. I was chairman of the NZ timber export for several years, we ran a very successful trade export. I have been president of the timber federation, second president of Who Who, which is a group in the South Island.
I have had a senior role in NZ pine processing and still involved in this. I was involved in the earlier stages of the Wood Council.
Life:
My family, growing the business over the years.
What is your role now?
Forklift driver!
How do you see yourself/business fit into the local forestry community?
We are a heavily involved, fully integrated forestry company. Our company is independent and has lead the way in technology, with a trip to Sweden to purchase a sawmill and relocating it to our current site for production.
How many people do you employ?
We employ about 30 people.
Murray
Sutherland
Sutherland Timber LTD
What made you start in the industry and at what age?
Family, I worked in the mill in my school holidays and when I turned 16 I left school to go into the bush with my brother John, I then worked in the saw mill on the press bench and went on to saw doctoring, after a small break I went back into the saw mill.
What are your greatest achievements (work + life)
Meeting Annie, enjoying the industry, it’s a very challenging industry to be in with its constant changing rules and new developments.
What is your role now?
I am in the background, letting the next generation lead the way.
How do you see yourself/business fit into the local forestry community?
Everybody is working together for the greater good in the sawmilling and forestry industry
How many people do you employ?
I think we are around 100 employees at present, a mixture of men and woman and mostly community locals.
Steve
Murphy
Steve Murphy Limited
What made you start in the industry and at what age?
An interest in trucks. Starting my driving career while doing a mechanics apprenticeship fixing them. I thought I’d rather be in them than under them.
My first driving job taught me some good basic skills and when a local sawmill advertised for a log truck driver I thought to give it a go, it was handy to home and the mill only had two trucks and I thought I would enjoy the challenge.
That mill was Waimak Sawmills. A family owned business who we have maintained a relationship with for over fifty years and still occupy some of the original mill site today. I soon realised that sawmillers are better at cutting timber than truck ownership and while the trucks were important they were pretty crude and it was up to your own ingenuity to make the best of things, working alone, long hours and the equipment of the time soon honed your skills and desire not get hurt every day.
I was twenty when I started. I really loved the work and progressed my driving of trucks and machines with several small businesses from 1969 until I bought my first truck in 1978 prior to establishing SML in 1980/81 contracted to Odlins. The rest is history as they say.
What are your greatest achievements (work + life)
Surviving over fifty years in an evolving industry and world particularly in the last twenty years as expectations on business owners have increased significantly.
Without exception my wife, son Chris, and daughter Rebecca, have been on the same journey, luckily we all share the same outlook and sense of humour which has kept us grounded enough to take it how it comes in keeping the Murphy family together in business and in life. If you put more in than you take out I’ve found it makes you appreciate what you have and the respect of your peers.
What is your role now?
My son Chris now owns the family business and my allocated role is SML Brand Ambassador. I am passionate about our company and sector and its great to be able to not be too PC and specific on issues but try to give thoughtful insights at times when needed. As we have a habit of repeating ourselves at times in business while not forwarding unsolicited advice, when there are two leaders there is no leader.
I will continue to promote our brand within our sector and support our local industry whenever needed and role fill as the company needs.
I have always enjoyed the challenges of projects and still do so Chris enables me to fluff about the place restoring classic- trucks fixing up old machines and generally keeping engaged.
What are SML's future plans?
SML is established as the regions primary logistics and transport service. Canterbury being home base but always looking for opportunity to maintain sensible business through put to enable service level consistency. We have a great rapport with other regions operators and network to ensure resources are balanced and industry issues/pressures shared. SML will continue to be a big part of the Canterbury forestry sector supporting and evolving with customers, resource and markets under Chris’s leadership and his commitment to our industry at a national level.
I am proud of our achievements and will continue to support the business in my role as Ambassador, driver, or whatever the job may be on the day while still having time out with Jill and the family.