A 75-year-old Waiuku business is on the market for the first time now its 81-year-old owner has plans to retire.
Robert ‘Bob’ Udy has been a mechanic his whole life, starting 65 years ago as an apprentice in 1958 with Hutchinson & Knight.
“But you can’t go forever,” he said.
“At 81, I don’t think you can keep going – I’m not Joe Biden, and I don’t think he’s going to make it either.”
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The day Udy turned 81, his colleague of 14 years decided to move overseas. He took that as a sign to think about retirement.
“I’m not prepared to get some stranger in to start working with me, so it’s better to try and sell the business,” he said.
“If I don’t sell it, I’ll probably just shut the doors.”
Back in 1977, he partnered with the Hall & Hyland workshop’s founder Mr Hyland on Hall St.
In 1980 he bought Hyland’s share and relocated to Martyn St a couple of years later, where he built a new workshop from scratch: Hall & Hyland Machinery.
The original workshop had been founded in 1948, so there was no changing the name.
Chris McKeen/Stuff
Bob Udy has seen decades of change in the mechanics industry.
Not least amongst the reasons for keeping the original name were the potential acronyms for Bob Udy Machinery or Robert Udy Machinery.
“I’m sure that people would pick up on things like that,” he laughed.
Udy, who specialises in farm equipment, became fast friends with his loyal clients over the years – largely from farms in the Franklin region.
He’s never started a social media page or website.
Chris McKeen/Stuff
Bob and Robyn Udy are looking forward to a peaceful retirement when the business is sold.
He and his wife Robyn Udy own the business together.
“I haven’t had a Christmas break since 1977,” he said.
“I was quite often called out on New Year’s Day, which was a lesson not to have too big of a New Year’s Eve.”
Raised on a farm in Pollok, Udy has always had a “mechanical bent” – just like his father, he said.
Chris McKeen/Stuff
There is no shortage of useful bits and pieces in Bob’s workshop.
“He would fix his own cars and tractors, and keep tractors going for the neighbours.
“Whether that made me think I’d like to be a mechanic, I’m not really sure.”
The industry has changed radically in his decades on the job. When he started with Hall & Hyland he serviced 100 hay balers a year.
“Nowadays I’m lucky if it’s 10,” he said.
Farms have got bigger and jobs like hay baling are outsourced to companies who own their own equipment, which are often newer models to what he’s familiar with.
But with endless variety each day and loyal customers who became friends, Udy said he never considered another line of work.
“I’m going to be sad to sell, but it’s something that has to happen.”
Retirement won’t bring too much rest for this busy couple, however. First on his list is mowing the lawns.
Robyn, who has been married to Udy for 55 years, said she’s looking forward to having Udy back in the house because “there are always things that need to be done”.
