We asked Peter a few questions with a view to getting to know him a litter better.
What was your pathway to owning a Marine Trimming business?
Started my apprenticeship in 1982 at age 15 after sweeping the floors from the age of twelve (1979) in rural New Zealand, a place called Taranaki.
I finished my apprenticeship in 1986, before heading off to explore the world and ended up working in a Motor Trimming role in a workshop that built bulletproof limousines. After a few years overseas, I headed back to New Zealand to Hawke’s Bay and spent four years working in a trim shop specialising in Jaguars. In this workshop we re-trimmed twenty Jags a year, myself and two other trimmers. It was a high speed, high energy trim producing workshop.
In 1996, Marie and I started our own business, Douglas Auto & Marine Upholstery, which grew to have a franchise of 0800SUNSHADE all over the north island and also started a trim supply business, Rainbow Shade Products. This all started with Marie & myself and grew to 17 staff. All of which are still operating today in the Hawkes Bay area.
In the mid 2000’s we moved to Australia and had a few years break after the past fifteen years of busy lives running our businesses in New Zealand. In 2010 we started up Canvas & Marine Covers, Noosa.
Canvas & Marine Covers started off covering all forms of trimming and over the years has become a specialty Marine focused business. The business now focuses on all forms of marine trimming and has in the last few years started a pontoon manufacture side to the business. The hulls are purchased and we build from the hull up and the workshop fabricates and fits out every component. The business is also refurbishing older pontoon boats as well.
How do you stay motivated and passionate about your business?
I am very lucky in that I love what we do and I get a lot of satisfaction out of seeing the finished product. A lot of people have said to me “You start off with something that does not exist or something old and you make it new” and I totally agree and think we are very lucky to be able to work in this trade.
During Covid we sat down and talked about what we love to do, what we enjoy doing and changed the business to make us happy while still making ourselves and the team a living.
I still love coming to work each day and the crew also love their jobs, I am very lucky in that respect.
How many crew do you have on the team at Covers & Marine Canvas currently?
We have five full time staff and a young bloke doing work experience, who is excellent and we are hoping will join us as an apprentice in the near future. I pay my staff very well, I believe our trade takes highly skilled people and they should be looked after and rewarded well for their expertise.
Hopefully they really enjoy coming to work and get to challenge themselves, it’s a win win.
Speaking of winning, your team recently won an Award for Excellence from the Specialised Textiles Association. What does winning an award of excellence mean to you, your business and the team? Why do you enter?
Well, it’s a great thing and gives you a focus and keeps your standards up, even though we like to think we do anyway. It is fantastic for marketing, we are currently building a new website for the pontoon boats and an award for excellence is something we are very proud to be able to put on the website. Lastly, it’s a great way to engage with your peers. I have been lucky enough to meet some amazing people through the STA and when we put a stake in the ground and set a high standard as an industry, it keeps the industry growing and strong.
Looking at entries from this year and past years, the standard is incredibly high, so would you say that the awards push yourself and the team even harder to raise the standard?
Absolutely, we are already working on two project entries for next year. The industry is becoming more and more bespoke, with the quality of work out there setting the standard on a global level.
We really need to be looking at our apprenticeships and passing on these high level skills to the next generations at a trade school level and not just going through the motions that we are doing now.
Do you see a difference between STA member businesses and non members?
I do see a difference, most of the non members would ask you “what is it you get out of the STA?” and I always say, “you’ll only get out what you put in.” I believe there is a huge gap. When you attend the conference or a workshop, there are some really talented trimmers and business owners and that is the difference. There are plenty of people that can make covers, but to run a successful and established business the correct way and portray the industry in a bright and positive way and that is the biggest difference.
Have you had a funny or testing moment from your years of trimming?
About twenty years ago, back in New Zealand. I can laugh about it now, we had to do the headlining in a bus that was being converted to a motorhome and the client was spending big money for the time, it was about a $250,000 project, which was massive for the time. So we order the foam, glue and a really high quality, super supple vinyl from the USA to line the ceiling of this motorhome.
We now know that super soft and supple vinyl has a lot of plasticizers in it to make it nice and supple.
The lining was installed and finished and was perfect, the cabinet makers, auto electricians and plumbers fitted out their respective parts and it all looked fantastic. Then a few weeks later the ceiling lining started to fall down. I can tell you I had lost quite a few nights sleep during this time, it was a huge job and we had four blokes working for us, wages to pay etc etc.
Thankfully the owner was a level headed fellow and we sat down to talk about it, I was upfront and honest and told him I had no idea why this had happened, but I was working with the suppliers of the components to find out why.
It turns out the plasticizers leached out of the vinyl and reactivated the glue, softening it and the bonding let go. Working with the companies we sorted out how to fix the problem and we got stuck in and it looked as great as it did when we first completed the lining.
I can certainly look back now and laugh, in the stress of the situation I learned to stay calm, work with the others in the industry and you will overcome any problem.
Since then, we have the foam heat bonded to the vinyl to stop this happening again.
Thanks for sharing a little about you and giving us an insight into your business Pete, looking forward to seeing you and the team at SpecTex24 in Brisbane, in early June 2024.