WORDS & IMAGES BY ANNIE STUDHOLME
Providing standout electrical services across the residential, commercial, rural, and dairy sectors continues to be the main driver for Level Electrical Ashburton, just as it was when Mid Canterbury local Les Christie first established the business in 1980.
Then known as Christie Electrical Ltd, Les’s son, Brent, completed his electrical apprenticeship under his father’s expert tutelage and guidance. After a short stint overseas, he returned to work alongside his father, and upon his retirement, Brent and his wife and business partner, Megan, took over in 2009. Their three daughters have all grown up working in the business and were well known for voicing the radio adverts. Now, Milly, who is part-way through a commerce degree at Canterbury University, has recently started helping with marketing.
Since its humble beginnings, growth has ensued, with new branches opened in Rolleston, Geraldine, Temuka, and Timaru. Now, with a team of almost 50 employees spread across the wider Canterbury region, the business specialises in a wide range of electrical services, including commercial, rural, residential, and industrial electrical, air conditioning, PLC programming, solar and data communications, as well as an extensive top-tier offering of home heating and lighting solutions. Its scale means it can share staff for more significant projects as required. It also offers a 24-hour on-call service.
Boasting unparalleled knowledge and expertise across all facets of the business, many of the team members have been with the Christie’s since the business’s early days.
“The rural side has always been a big part of the business, and it continues to be. The rural sector has many aspects, from supplying new installations to repairs and maintenance. In addition to dairy sheds, we do irrigation systems, pumps and motors, robotics, automated control systems, potato sheds, grain drying floors, and maintenance within farmhouses,” says Megan.
Heading the Rural and Dairy team is Phil Moore, who started working for Les Christie after school and has been with them for 29 years. There are few dairy sheds in the district he isn’t familiar with. He is joined by Senior Service Electrician Rob Ridden, who has been with the company for 19 years; Dairy Technician and advanced fitter/ welder Craig Hydes, a qualified electrical engineer who has been with the company for 14 years; and electricians Ruzz MacLean and Blair Milligan who have been with them for five and two-and-a-half years, respectively. They also have Jack Bull, who is eight months into his apprenticeship.
Rob has witnessed many changes in the dairy industry since he started, from the old pulsator systems that required antifreeze so they didn’t freeze during winter to the replacement of manual cups on and off to automatic cup-removing systems. Teat spraying has also moved from a handheld spray gun to robotic technology.
Rob loves working with farmers. “As a Service Technician, I love the challenge of finding the problem and fixing it as quickly as possible. Isolating the fault can often be challenging, as the initial issue could be tripping in the switchboard, but the cause could be rodent-chewed wires or mechanical damage some distance away from the switchboard, even across the yard.”
He says the whole Rural and Dairy team enjoy the wide open spaces on farms and the variety of work.
Despite undergoing numerous changes over its existence, at its heart, it has remained a family-owned business committed to servicing rural Canterbury. So, when Australian-based Level Group, founded by ex-pat Kiwi Luke McCallum, sought to expand its trade network into the New Zealand market last year, the Christie’s jumped at the opportunity to become the first South Island electrical contractors to join the Level tribe.
Level Group symbolises passion for the craft, professionalism, and pride in the work. It’s about standing out in the industry. For the Christies, those values, along with being family-owned and operated, “aligned more with who we are and what we’re about,” explains Megan.
“The decision to join Level was a no-brainer for us and our team, as we want to be a part of something bigger and a group powering ahead. The opportunity was timely, and we are really looking forward to the journey and growing with the brand,” says Brent.
Level Electrical Ashburton
726 East Street
Netherby, Ashburton
03 308 2106
ashburton@levelelectrical.nz
www.levelnz.nz/electrician-ashburton/
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