“Come October this year, I’ve been with Hill Labs for 30 years. Personally, there are so many stand out moments during my career but some of the most significant have been the opportunity to help grow the organics section in the lab, being part of the clean-up of the old Fruitgrowers’ Chemical Company DDT plant in Mapua, and helping to grow the methamphetamine testing service which grew from nothing to being a very significant contributor to our business at one stage.
More recently, I’ve enjoyed contributing to the wider industry as the chairman of the Coal Tar in Roading working group for WasteMINZ. That was a two-year project that we got over the line, releasing the guidance document in December of last year.
It’s been a combination of the work and the amazing people that has kept me at Hill Labs all these years. There’s a great number of lovely people that I’ve been privileged to work for and with and it’s nice to work for a company where you’re treated well and have such great friends.
One thing that I really appreciate about Hill Labs’ leadership is that they have the courage to expand, grow and take risks. As a business, we’ve deliberately chosen to focus on providing value to our clients. There’s immense satisfaction in still being around and being stronger than ever – all while sticking to the values and ways of doing business that we felt was important.
It feels awesome to have been a part of the Hill Labs story and to have seen it grow from a smaller business to something that’s making a really significant contribution to the economy in the Waikato and across New Zealand. For a lot of people working in the agricultural, food and environmental sectors, we are a well-known and trusted name. I hope Hill Labs is still going strong in another 40 years’ time."
