Glenn

Terry

The Company

It is rare in the painting industry for a company to outlast its founder, but McKenzies (or Ray McKenzie and Sons Ltd, to give the firm its full title) is still going strong more than 60 years after it was founded.

When Ray McKenzie returned from his tour of duty with the NZ Army at the end of World War 2, he served his painting apprenticeship with Harry Cotton. He then set up his own painting business using the money his wife saved from his army pay received while he was overseas; first working out of his Russell Street home and then from premises in Bridge Street. Later, the business moved to Tahunanui, finally reaching its present location of the corner of Parkers Road and Pascoe Street.

Ray’s sons Terry and Glenn joined their father in 1961 and 1975 respectively, going through the apprenticeship system which was, and still is, an excellent training ground for painters in the Nelson region. Mr Mac retired in 1986 and the business has continued under the leadership of Terry and Glenn.

The company has grown in those 60 years from a sole operator business to one employing 35 people at its peak; today the workforce averages 25. The apprenticeship course is still running, with four currently learning the trade at McKenzies. Indeed, it is thought that a high percentage of painters working in the region today learned their craft as apprentices with McKenzies.