When three electrician mates teamed up and made the leap into business together back in 1998 it was the beginning of a business journey that was to become something special. Being experts at all things electrical they took advice from a friend who suggested they would need a good accountant to get things off to a flying start.
From the outset the guys had hands on help from Grace Team which has seen the companies enjoy a relationship between Electrical Works and Grace Team for just over 26 years.
Steve, Colin and John began with a focus on industrial electrical work and have seen that go from strength to strength since day one. “In the early days Lindsay provided guidance and crunched the numbers for us so we knew where we were headed” says Steve. “He was instrumental in many aspects of the business in those early days”.
As time progressed they got themselves up with the latest in technology implementing a software system that not only allowed them to streamline the business from initial project setup, pricing and purchasing, but also to ensure back costing and forecasting was a breeze. “We really noticed a difference when we invested the time and money into building on our systems”.
Knowing our niche has also been a benefit - we don’t advertise as we have long established clients and referral work comes from their satisfaction. Our focus on the hazardous environments and PLC programming has seen us work alongside many industry leaders such as Ballance, Agri Feeds, Stevenson Aggregates and the like.
“Our move to Tauriko was another step forward for us. When we made the move from Judea to Tauriko we had concerns with access and cost due to the toll roads but we haven’t looked back. When we arrived Tauriko was in the early phases of establishment and now is flourishing area to be based from” says Steve.
As the company grew, culture came into focus and in 2015 the Directors decided that it was time to look at the future. “Lindsay Grace created a discussion document which got us off to a start with a company shareholding scheme”says Steve. This led to some amazing changes for both the Directors and employees alike.
“We built a shareholding structure that rewarded those who were along for the longer game. We wanted to create a win win for both ourselves and the team. The results have been great - with a team that is harmonised by a key goal - to make the company successful. In turn collectively we are all rewarded for the input of our time and love for the company, says Steve. “We have a guide for our internal succession planning, a steadfast shareholders agreement and have built dividend payment structures and future opportunity from this”.
This methodology continues and as one of our Directors retired back in March this year they had a clear path for planned succession, with Mark becoming a Director. Mark had been with the business since 2008 and had become a shareholder so it was a natural progression.
Providing an advisory role to the directors during these transitions, Grace Team have recently been providing insight and supporting the framework. “With the shareholder structure in place, the shareholding changes have been easy, complicated only by recent changes to tax rates that created some slight tweaking, otherwise it was business as usual. We have worked with Mark and his wife when Mark became a director to ensure their structures are in place to manage both asset protection and achieve tax efficiencies” says Michael Grace.
Mark is now working alongside the directors to drive the financial and cultural focus of the company. He regularly attends business leadership workshops with Grace Team and is involved in the day to day management of the company.
Another advancement was moving to the AIM tax method. “We have been able to give shareholders certainty with tax by using the AIM tax method. One of the directors told me it fundamentally changed their business when they knew, once GST and tax were paid each period, and the suppliers of course, the rest of the money was theirs. I use this quote when talking to clients about the benefit of paying tax via AIM to this day” says Michael Grace.
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