TM Covers – A problem-solving service with plans to expand.

March 22, 2022
UniquelyNelson
Sales
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It’s a local icon. They have been at the top of their game for decades. This week we spoke to the new owners and learned some insights about the plans for the future. Read on you will learn some interesting things.

Andrew is the new owner along side his wife Mandy. He’s a good ol’ southern man, raised in Ashburton. A good farming lad who studied at Lincoln College and landed in the rural banking sector and rolled up his sleeves and worked his way up the ladder.

They moved up to sunny Nelson from Christchurch three years ago and bought TM covers in February 2021 and have big ideas. Being a veteran in the banking sector he is no stranger to clever business ideas, and this time he can apply the wealth of knowledge gained to TM covers.

His wife Mandy runs the Cable Bay Cafe, which is a ‘diamond of a place’ located in paradise in North Nelson. She has been a Psychiatric nurse and then moved into the food distribution business and always dreamed of hosting a great cafe for locals. It’s not hard to see she is in her element.

I’ve been there after a 30 km bike ride and the coffee, and lunch is to die for! It’s neat that it’s kind of on the down-low, as we don’t want it getting too ‘commercial’ do we? It’s an example of how you can combine passion and work here in Nelson. The world is your oyster if you are brave enough to step out and work hard.

TM Covers currently employs 9 staff, however, they will be taking on more as plans are to expand.

“We have been working closely with some intermediary contacts, with the aim of securing long term contracts. This will mean expansion and regular work for our staff. It’s a strategy that will take some time to build but will be great for our business and local economy.” says Andrew.

“Some of our staff have 30 years of experience behind them, which is amazing, so we proudly bring that to the table. We are a problem-solving service. Our customers have such a varied scope of needs that requires a meeting and a discussion. This leads to a recommendation and a quote. It’s not the kind of thing where you ‘click and collect’ although some of our products for example animal shelters for the farmers are in that lane.”

Their materials are sourced offshore, some are from as far away as France. The focus is on quality. The mindset is do it once and do it right!

The scope of products is huge, and ranges from Animal shelters to building a large pond membrane, a shade sail, to making a customised boat cover, or making a customised Ute cover with elastic tie-down hooks.

They have loads of pre-made waterproof bags, stainless steel hooks and clips and many more products in their showroom located at the top end of St Vincent Street.

“It’s really a custom service, for example, shade sails there is no set size. Our quality canvas materials last the distance and stand the test of time. Our staff know the process of measuring and cutting to fit perfectly. We love living in Nelson. After years of commuting up here for summers, we decided it was time to make the move and we have not regretted a minute!”