Dannevirke Craftsman Painters Win Major Title

Media Release
May 25, 2010

Dannevirke Craftsman Painters Wins Dulux Master Painter of the Year Title

Dannevirke painters Martin Beveridge Ltd worked around the clock to win this year’s award for the Dulux New Zealand Master Painter of the Year.

Martin Beveridge Ltd is a family firm run by Martin, his wife Moana, and sons, Raymond and Kelly.

The family won the 2010 award, in only the second year that the awards have been held, with two of the most challenging projects of the company’s 38 year history: painting the baking room at Goodman Fielder’s Ernest Adam cake and biscuit manufacturing plant in Palmerston North, and also the exterior of the Countdown supermarket in Palmerston North. At the Ernest Adam plant, Raymond Beveridge and his team worked the distinctly unsociable hours of 3.30 pm until 2 am, when each day for hygiene reasons they had to completely cover up all their work, so that the bakers could begin work at 3 am.

The Countdown job also had a number of health and safety concerns and had to be slotted around a busy 24 hour retail operation and car park. The Beveridge team completed the job in stages over a four month period.

The company has 12 employees, including seven tradesmen. Martin Beveridge, who accepted the title at the recent Master Painters conference in Invercargill, says he is just “an old fashioned tradesman” who takes pride in his work. He says he is thankful to have quality leadership in the company, through sons Raymond and Kelley and says they entered the awards as a benchmark and to “see how far we could go.”

Martin and his team “zip around the whole of the Manawatu” doing paint projects.
As well as normal commercial and residential work, they do maintenance work for two schools and they have done numerous painting contracts for the New Zealand Army at Waiouru and Linton for the past 35 years, including the renovations for the Army Museum at Waiouru.

There have been many changes in the industry, says Martin, since he first set up shop.

“There has been an immense improvement in the quality of the products we use. When I first started we all mixed our own paint. Now there are so many quality control systems that we very seldom have a problem and paints are also much easier to use.

“The products are also more environmentally friendly for painters and for the public. You never used to see an old painter, but now health and safety is paramount. I certainly like to see my painters go home safe and healthy at night.”

Martin Beveridge is a great supporter of the industry apprentice scheme, “I am very committed to training” and has employed more than 45 apprentices through his business in 38 years. The firm currently has four apprentices, with another one coming on board shortly.

Murray Gray, who is national stores manager for Dulux New Zealand, was a judge at this year’s awards and said the judges were impressed with the professionalism and craftsmanship of all the category winners – and there were 24 category winners in total. Judges looked at quality of workmanship, the preparation of substrates, the finishing and the degree of difficulty of the work when judging entries.

“It is really important for the industry to celebrate good workmanship and craftsmanship. It gives other members a benchmark to work to.”

The Beveridges won, said Gray, because of their “consistently good work.”

But how does the average punter know what to look for when choosing a painter? The last word should go to the Dulux Master Painter of the Year, himself.

Martin Beveridge recommends that homeowners:

Get two or three quotes before awarding a contract;
Make sure they choose a Registered Master Painter for peace of mind and for a professional job. To be accepted as a Registered Master Painter, the painter’s work is first assessed and so is their integrity as a contractor. So always ask a painter for his MPA registration card.
Talk to their Registered Master Painter about the 5 Year Workmanship Guarantee or go to www.masterpainters.co.nz for more information, and for terms and conditions.
Ask the painter to test current surfaces, at the same time as preparing a quote and definitely before beginning work. A good painter, says Beveridge, always does a test when he is pricing, so that he can advise the client about the current state of the surfaces. “A good painter has a lot of knowledge and knows why previous coatings have failed. For instance, if you are painting a totara or matai weatherboard house, you may have lead paint in it, so a master painter will always take precautions before lead removal.”

Above all, says Martin Beveridge, what makes a good painter “is pride in workmanship. That’s what flows through all our work.”

ends

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