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All the global news and happenings around Pattons.
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pattonnz.com
Tuesday 17 April 2012 was a very special date
in the Patton calendar, with the annual
gathering of our New Zealand Managers
Meeting, we were also privileged to celebrate
and honour two very special milestones within
our organisation.
Harvey Turner will be greatly missed as he
starts his well-earned retirement. Not only was
he one of the pillars of this organisation, his
wealth of knowledge and his ability to
encourage others will leave a void in our
establishment. Harvey’s journey with Patton
started in 1974 as co-owner, purchasing and
restructuring the company and in 1996 selling
the business to the Hellaby Group. As Stuart
Smith remembers “those early days covered
many ground breaking ideas and decisions
many of which have carried through to the
present day. While some of these ideas may
have seemed radical at the time, they have
stood the test of time and have helped put
Patton in the position they occupy today. More
often than not Wayne Berry would have the
ideas and Harvey would make them a reality
by doing the legwork to build prototypes. A
good example of this was the ‘P’ series
evaporators which were started around 1980;
Muller NZ Ltd did not want Patton as a
distributor of their products so Harvey and
Wayne developed their own range. From that
small beginning we now have the series of
evaporators, which are part of the NZ market,
and will soon be a part of the Australian
market as well.” Harvey is known for his ability
to maximise material use, his wealth of
knowledge of the refrigeration industry and his
willingness to share his skills with colleagues
and suppliers. As well as being a conscientious
worker Harvey is a “people person” – he has
the ability to bring out the best in others and is
always willing to listen and assist those seeking
advice. We were all privileged to learn from
such a stalwart. Messages from well wishers
were received from Australia and Thailand and
to mark the occasion Harvey was presented
with a retirement gift by Sameer.
Philip Hitchins was acknowledged as he
celebrated 30 years of dedicated service with
Patton. Philip was awarded with a long service
plaque presented by Alister Lawrence, our
Group CEO and a thank you gift presented by
Sameer on behalf of all Patton NZ staff.
Philip’s career started in Wellington and has
grown from strength to strength. Over the past
30 years he considers himself privileged to
have experienced many different sections of
the organisation. Colleagues and friends
recalled fond memories of unforgettable
moments that left a lasting impression on
everyone that came in contact with Philip.
Armed with a positive can-do attitude Philip
makes the impossible… possible. Thank you
Philip for hard work and perseverance, we are
looking forward to many more good years in
association
It was a pleasure to be able to show our
gratitude and appreciation to both Harvey
and Philip for their hard work in this way, their
commitment and devotion to the success of
Patton is an inspiration to us all.
IT’S A CELEBRATION!
Issue 5, May 2012
MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO 2
ACREX BANGAKURU INDIA 2012
2
ARBS MELBOURNE 2012 2
SRI LANKA MILK CHILLING PROJECT
3
PATTON AU MANAGERS MEETING 2012
4
PATTON NZ MANAGERS MEETING 2012
4
PATTON PARTICIPATES IN CARING FOR OUR ENVIOR-
MENT
5
TEAM INDIA – SOARING TO NEW HIGHS
5
PATTON IS MARCHING AHEAD WITH 5S!
5
YES, WE CARE RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE!
6
AKL MANUFACTURING - TWO NEW SUCCESS STORIES
6
NEW STAFF PATTON AERO 7
SHAVING HER HEAD FOR A BRAVE KID
7
PATTON COOLERS CHILLS THAI DEPUTY PM WINES
7
PALMERSTON NORTH ASSISTING IN FIELD DAYS
7
PATTON GOES “ROUND THE BAYS”
8
OUR HISTORY 8
Inside this issue:
UNITING OUR GLOBAL TEAM
TH
E
Patton Press
Harvey Turner delivering his farewell speech
Sameer Handa congratulating Philip Hitchins
pattonnz.com
ACREX BENGALURU INDIA 2012
ARBS is the showcase event for the Refrigeration and Air-conditioning trade in our region. It is the perfect show to exhibit
Patton's latest innovations including the new "D series & A series Evaporators" as well as meet with a lot of new and existing
clientele from around the country.
This year there were over 7000 visitors to the show and at the Patton stand we were given the opportunity to show some of
the big names of the industry the quality of not only our equipment but also the calibre of
our fantastic team here at Patton that we have acquired over the last couple of years.
Again a big hit of the show for us was the Appion range of Vacuum pumps and Recovery
Systems and our new Digital Scroll PattonPak was looked at by some serious users. A big
thanks to all involved in the set-up of the stand particularly the Melbourne team as they
gave up their weekend to ensure the stand looked its absolute best.
Now comes the hard part with the follow-ups, but we are already aware of some good
orders received from deals put together at the show and from some of the news we have
received there will be plenty more to come.
Welcome to the first newsletter of this year. The year has started a bit softly across the board but
there is certainly hope for the activity to pick up based on the level of inquiries.
In January we had the pleasure of receiving both India and NZ FTA negotiating teams led by Mr J K
Dadoo, Jt. Secy., Ministry of Commerce, Government of India and Nigel Fyfe, Director Trade
Negotiations from Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, NZ at Patton HO in Auckland.
Since the start of this year Patton has exhibited at ACREX show in Bangalore, India during February
and ARBS in Melbourne, Australia during May. We also visited the China Refrigeration Show during
April in Beijing, China.
In March Stuart Smith, Philip Hitchins and I attended a 2 day CEO summit in Auckland which gave us an opportunity to listen
to the best international speakers on design thinking and also get to share our own experiences in front of others.
The Australian Managers Meeting, held in Sydney in March, was attended by all the Australian managers and JVs followed
by the NZ Branch Managers Meeting in Auckland during April. At the end of the NZ meeting we held a small function to
celebrate Harvey Turner’s retirement after 38 years with Patton and Philip Hitchins 30 years’ service.
We are currently in the process of setting up our second Brisbane branch in Geebung which will be open for business from
4th June.
ARBS Melbourne 2012
From the desk of our CEO
Page 2 Patton Press TH
E
ACREX (Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Exhibition) is South Asia’s biggest show for the HVAC&R industry, It is annually held
between Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru (Bangalore). This year’s event was held in Bengaluru from 23rd to 25th February
with approximately 400 exhibitors participating from 25 countries and around 50,000 visitors.
Patton Refrigeration India occupied an 80sqm booth, displaying its entire product range, starting from Patton Evaporators
and Condensing units. On show were Embraco and Dorin compressors as well as Henry and Mueller products. We displayed
instruments from four of our U.S. suppliers namely, Fieldpiece, Uniweld, Supco
and Appion. Products of our private brand ‘Synergy’ were a big draw card
with our channel partners.
Visitors to our booth were mainly OEMs, distributors and dealers in HVAC&R
industry and largely from South India. At our booth we had our sales and
marketing team, staff from Patton Aero as well as people from Henry, Dorin,
Fieldpiece, Uniweld. On the last day of the show we were privileged to have a
visit from our group chairman Mr Paul Smart who interacted with the team as
well as the visitors. Our Group Chairman Mr Paul Smart on the far right
Side view of the booth
pattonnz.com
Issue 5, May 2012 Page 3
Sri Lanka Milk Chilling Project – Phase 1.0 by Ray Keane In conjunction with TEAR Fund NZ, Patton is excited to announce the start of a new and ambitious milk chilling project in Sri
Lanka. Tear Fund NZ had previously approached Patton in late 2011 for assistance with milk chilling/preservation and the
process around this for farming in Sri Lanka as a part of the Wanni Dairy Regeneration Program.
Poor milk production and preservation is mainly due to a lack of technical
knowledge and equipment. The livestock sector in Sri Lanka is small,
consisting mainly of the dairy and poultry subsectors. Unlike in New
Zealand, where dairy production takes place on large farms, in Sri Lanka
dairy farming is a small-scale domestic activity. Total milk production in
1999 accounted for 342 million litres, sufficient only to meet about one-
fourth of local needs. The remainder being imported in the form of
powdered milk (in 1999 54,000 metric tons of milk powder was imported).
The prolonged civil war against Tamil separatists in the north and east of
the country has hit both infrastructure and development, but the
government wants to boost self-sufficiency in milk production from the
present 20% to 50% over the next five years. This can be helped initially
by having better process, technical knowledge and equipment for the best
yield and preservation of current milk production.
In January of this year the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa
instructed officials to expand operations to increase liquid milk production
especially in the rural developments. President Rajapaksa pointed out that
the country imports more than 75, 000 metric tonnes of milk powder
annually, for which it pays round 400 million US dollars. "If the country
could save such huge sums of money from going to foreign countries, it
could be used for development activities."
The project is being led by Craig Parker with the support of the Technical
department and NZTE. The first phase of the project consists of on the
ground research, understanding the problems faced and ideation. Ray
Keane from the Technical department in Auckland headed to Sri Lanka in
late April to conduct field research in the Killinochi and Mullaitivu regions. With the help of Kevin Riddell from TEAR Fund NZ
they obtained a first-hand experience of what problems currently exist in the cold chain process. Meeting local farmers, milk
collection point workers and delivery drivers they hoped to find a better solution for milk preservation.
The Wanni Dairy Regeneration Program spans a three year period where by the end of year 2012, Patton hopes to
introduce new equipment for the farmers to use straight away. A basic self-cooling milk can could be achieved to distribute
to the 1,500 farmers already taking part in the project. The short term goal is to give participating farmers access to
improved dairy infrastructure and technology, while in the long term increasing incomes for small holder farmers.
Stay tuned to the next issue of ‘The Patton Press’ for updates on this exciting project.
Patton’s Igloo heat load and equipment software is available for download. Check out our website pattonnz.com
pattonnz.com
Patton New Zealand Managers Meeting 2012 by Philip Hitchins
The Patton New Zealand Management team met at the Carbine Road offices for two days in April. This was to review the
year just finished and plan for the year ahead.
The meeting began with an exercise that introduced the team to “d.think”. This was hosted by NZT&E with Vijayan Kuttan
being the facilitator. The purpose was to experience and understand the d.think system of design and the project in this case
was to design a wallet to suit your partner’s needs.
There was plenty of time for open discussion especially arising from individual branch presentations the topic on “the way
forward”. Paul Parkes and Craig Parker presented manufacturing and technical topics which were discussed at length.
The first day culminated with a superb dinner at the Waipuna Hotel, an event attended by the management team, most
Auckland staff and some special Patton friends. We honoured Harvey Turner’s contribution to Patton and his deserved
retirement as well as celebrating the 30th long service milestone of Philip Hitchins. A great evening was enjoyed by all.
Day two saw Sameer providing the group position and
future plans, an update on NZ sales strategy from Paul
Mack and the inventory discussion facilitated by Anne
Porter. BDT-Mitsubishi presented a market overview
and discussed ways we could improve our joint market
share reinforcing the strength of this special
relationship.
Further general discussion took place with the team
recognising that with the NZ market becoming harder
and more demanding it was essential to continually
improve to meet the challenge. Then the rush for the
airport began.
Page 4 Patton Press TH
E
From left: Sameer Handa, Paul Mack, Yogesh Agravat, Nigel Tunnicliffe, Paul Parkes, Alddon Mackay, Cameron Fearon, Les Miller, Stuart Meehan, Philip Hitchins, Andy Henderson, Harvey Win, Wayne Beattie and David Gundry
A highly successful meeting of Managers and JV’s was held at the Clarion Hotel on the Park at Parramatta on March 13
and 14. There were 16 people in attendance at the meeting which also included Sameer and Craig from Patton NZ. With
a growing team this was a great opportunity for new members of our staff to meet their counterparts from other branches.
Several of the team also visited the Sydney Branch to meet the team and inspect the manufacturing facility.
The meeting started with individual reports from the branches and JV’s. Following this was a review of the current year and
the budget for 2012/2013. A large part of the first day was spent on Craig Parker’s presentation which covered all our
existing products and our plans for new products. Craig was given ample time to hear a wide range of thoughts and ideas
and it was a chance for all participants to get involved and offer their input.
There was also a long discussion on the new carbon tax and its implications to our refrigerant business and how we plan our
strategy for the future. John McCarrey provided the group with an update on the ARBS show, outlined the stand
configuration and other plans for the 3 day event.
Sameer gave a review of the Patton Group activities globally which was most enlightening for all and even more so for the
newer members of the team. A Group Dinner was held on the Tuesday night at the The Rocks on Sydney Harbour.
All attendees enjoyed
the event and left
knowing that Patton
has many exciting
plans, operation and
product wise and is
well equipped to face
the challenges and
opportunities of the
coming year.
Patton Australia Managers Meeting 2012 by Stuart Smith
Standing from left: Gavin Moger, Grant Burgess, Darren Bromley, Craig Killalea, Jason Pearce, Ashley Chua, Andrew Galliano, Leigh Hancock, Craig Parker and John McCarrey Seated: Tony Jackson, Stuart Smith, Sameer Handa and John Bell
pattonnz.com
Patton is Marching Ahead with 5S! by Margaret Walker
PATTON PARTICIPATES IN CARING FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT by Colin Booth A Trust for the Destruction of Ozone Depleting Substances was set up in 1993 for the collection and disposal of CFC and
HCFC refrigerants, which are harmful to the ozone layer when released into the atmosphere. Trading as the Ozone
Protection Company, the trust has contracted Patton to collect nationally, store and ship these gases, since the start of its
disposal program, which is funded by levies applied on the sale of refrigerants.
Recently the scope of the program has expanded to include synthetic HFC refrigerants, which are “greenhouse” gases and
contribute to global warming. Because of this the trust changed its name to reflect this widened scope. Now known as
Refrigerant Recovery N.Z. Ltd. (commonly referred to as just Recovery) the trust continues its relationship with Patton,
encouraging the industry to dispose of these gases in an environmentally responsible way.
Patton CEO Sameer Handa, is a director of this trust representing the refrigeration wholesalers. Patton branches in Auckland,
Wellington and Christchurch act as collection depots. Refrigerant from all over the country is decanted from cylinders at these
depots into “one-tonne” drums. These are stored in Auckland until being shipped in a container-load of ten or twelve drums to
Melbourne, where the gases are destroyed by plasma-arc incineration. By-products of this process are non-toxic.
Since the inception of the scheme, Patton and Recovery have sent almost 250,000kg of
refrigerant for destruction. Together, we are planning to expand the program to reach smaller
regional areas and contractors in the HVAC and automotive air-conditioning sectors who are not
disposing of waste refrigerants, in accordance with legislation and responsible practices, as set
out in the Code of Practice for those industries.
Patton is proud of its participation in this scheme, which last year received the Ministry for the
Environment’s approval under its product stewardship scheme, as part of our commitment to
environmentally friendly and sustainable practices.
For more information check out Recovery’s website: www.refrigerantrecovery.co.nz
Issue 5, May 2012 Page 5
With the second cycle of 5S in Auckland now well under way our building and various departments are looking really smart!
There are now 6 areas – Manufacturing, Outwards Goods/Warehouse, Inwards Goods/Lundia, Customer Services/Technical,
1st Floor Offices and Downstairs Lunchroom being audited and scored on a weekly basis. All staff members including Sameer
and Philip are part of this process and each area has a 5S leader. They are Alddon Mackay – 5S Team Leader & Customer
Services/Technical, Zaia Beniamin – Outwards Goods, Ray Keane - Inwards Goods/Lundia, Inesi Taufa – Mfg., Vanessa
Adams – Lunchroom, Margaret Walker – 1st Floor Offices and Umesh Thakur – Health & Safety.
Staff are organised in teams of two on a weekly rostered basis to audit and award points to the different areas. Each week
after the audit the relevant department is required to take action on the points mentioned in the comments section and this is
checked by the audit team the following week. Inaction scores lower points and lower points mean your competitors move
ahead of you! Lower points also mean the company average drops! The aim is through regular department meetings to
gradually improve and refine the appearance, safety, procedures and flow of all areas.
This week for the first time the company average was over 100 points! Well done everyone – a great result but please
keep up the good work. We do have a vision of even greater success to come!
Team India – Soaring to New Heights by Vikram Singh In spite of predictions of an economic “doom and gloom” and a slower than normal business environment, Patton India ended
the 2012 financial year in a much stronger economic position achieving nearly 39% sales growth on the previous year.
All members of the Patton India team from all product categories contributed to this incredible result with the biggest growth
coming from Embraco and Dorin compressor sales, led by Senior Manager – Sales, Mr Vikram Singh. Within a year of Patton
introducing Embraco and Dorin compressors in India, the team has succeeded in launching these two products to a wider
customer base. They have also been instrumental in arranging a seminar by Embraco, in 2-3 cities in India, and created
awareness about these products which led to increased sales. Apart from this, they have promoted instrument sales very well
and Patton India now has an established base of big OEM and dealers for the new financial year.
We acknowledge and congratulate Vikram Singh and Team India on their hard work, relentless efforts to improve sales and
their commitment in achieving this remarkable result!
pattonnz.com
Upon speaking with Sanjay Sharma of Allcold Refrigeration back in
November 2011 the idea of a project to support the Auckland Ronald
McDonald House came to light. At first it was considered supplying the
refrigeration equipment at cost but after the super support and care that the
Meehan family experienced from the staff at Ronald McDonald House,
Patton decided to supply the equipment at no cost.
The next step was to get in touch with Stuart Meehan our Hamilton Branch
Manager, explain the project and the idea behind it and to see if he would
like to represent Patton by becoming the face of this project. With a heart-
felt ‘Yes!’ from Stuart we were underway.
The next task was for Alddon Mackay to size and supply the equipment, as
per the requirements of the House, and the recommendations were passed
on to Sanjay at Allcold Refrigeration. The next part was up to Sanjay and
his team. Once Allcold Refrigeration completed the installation of the
equipment the baton was then passed back to Stuart to arrange for
everyone involved (especially the Meehan family) to be on site for the
official ceremony and all it entailed.
Anne Kirkpatrick, GM Operations at Ronald McDonald House said “We love
having the new freezer – it enables us to organise and store our food so much
better! We are very appreciative of the support provided by Patton, AllCold
and Sam Maharaj to enable this dream to become a reality. Many thanks
again”
Ronald McDonald House - Yes, We Care! by Alddon Mackay
Wayne Howett CEO for Ronald McDonald House with the Meehan family
Page 6 Patton Press TH
E
Patton has once again reaffirmed our commitment to providing the best capital plant equipment to the marketplace, with
evidence of our success in the form of supplying condensing units for two major New Zealand companies.
United Containers Ltd have had an existing Patton condensing unit in place for quite some time, and to their dismay this unit
was incapacitated by a fire elsewhere on site. They had been so impressed with the unit’s performance and reliability; they
immediately turned back to Patton and asked if we could supply, as quickly as possible, a direct replacement. Quick action
by Auckland Manufacturing resulted in a swift turnaround and a happy customer. Despite the pressure for speed, we made
sure the unit received our usual high quality standards of care and attention at each stage of the build.
The well-known meat works operator Affco reached the point where they required extra capacity by way of a new cool
room on site, and since reliability
and performance were top of
the list, they turned to Patton.
Stuart Meehan expertly co-
ordinated the sale and Auckland
manufacturing got stuck in to get
this set built and ready for
delivery.
Both of these units came with
their own unique but welcome
chal lenges. The lads in
manufacturing will tell you they
always enjoy the special jobs as
t h ey p r e s en t e x ce l l e n t
opportunities to hone their skills
and challenge their limits.
Auckland Manufacturing - Two New Success Stories by Paul Parkes
Paul Parkes, Sameer Handa, Paul Mack and Ray Keane with the hardworking Auckland Manufacturing team.
pattonnz.com
Issue 5, May 2012 Page 7
Shaving Her Head For a Brave Kid On Saturday 17 March while so many were celebrating St Patrick’s Day, our very own Fleur
Harawira from the Tauranga branch braved all the elements to take part in the Beach Bald Fun
Razor and raised a whopping $1379 contributing to the more than $90,000 raised for the
event.
This event is held annually at the Mt Maunganui Main Beach, and was part of Child Cancer
Foundation's Annual Appeal Month which raises money to fund support services for children and
families facing cancer.
Hundreds of people turned out to watch the 48 courageous who registered to "Shave their Lid
for a Brave Kid". Fleur shared the stage with well-known celebrities such as Dame Susan Devoy
and the Port of Tauranga chief executive Mark Cairns who raised $53,000.
“I spoke to Fleur after the event and she said it felt very ‘breezy’ but at the same time realising the haircut is nothing
compared to what the kids have to go through. Fleur would like to express her sincere thanks to those who contributed by
way of donation. “I am very humbled to know I have the support of my colleagues and friends at Patton. It was an awesome
experience, one I will never forget.” Well done Fleur!
Palmerston North Assisting in Field Days by Cameron Fearon Here in Palmerston North we have been involved with one of our customers Andrew
Boustridge of APB Electrical and Refrigeration at the Central Districts Field Days. This event is
not as large as the National Field Days held at Mystery Creek but it is growing and this year
saw over 38,000 visitors.
Patton assisted on the stand over the 3 day period from 15-17 March and were able to use
two of BDT’s new display stands that had just come back from their National Road Show.
It was also handy that we were able to take the stand down and reassemble it the next week
in Stratford for another customer, Keegan Electrical, who was involved in a heating expo.
Patton “A” Series Unit Coolers Chill’s Deputy Thai PM’s Wines by Nirmal Gaunder
Patton Aero negotiated the successful supply and sale of two “A” series unit coolers to
Kulthorn Refrigeration one of Thailand’s major distributors. The units were installed in
the personal wine chiller of Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister, Khun Chalerm Yubamrung.
We are delighted with the positive compliments and feedback after he tried the freshly
chilled wines.
Andrew Boustridge of APB Electrical & Refrigeration with Cameron Fearon
Fleur on the right with support from her aunt
Patton Aero Welcomes Three New Staff by Nirmal Gaunder Patton Aero aims to expand business growth by increasing sales and we therefore appointed 3 new staff members this year:
O verseas
Purchasing Officer - Potjanee (Till) Surachet - coordinate/liaise with overseas suppliers for all general purchasing as well as coordinate & handle customer enquiries.
D omestic
Purchasing Officer Suphattra (Ju). Makhamphuy - coordinate liaise with local suppliers for all general purchasing.
We welcome our new staff to the Patton Group and assure them that ‘we recognize our most valuable asset is our people’.
S ales
Coordinator & Personnel Ast. - Winita (Nat) Liebprasert - coordinating & handling all customer requirements.
Inside the wine cellar
pattonnz.com
Patton goes “ROUND THE BAYS”
The Patton Press is a quarterly publication. Please submit any news from your branch or in and around your district. We are inter-
ested in stories about our people, their exploits, the company and its progress and articles of general interest.
Please forward all correspondence to [email protected]
Our History – The Next Phase…
After relocating Patton Refrigeration to different premises in Auckland and Christchurch in 1986 and
1988 the 1990’s were a period of consolidation and change:
1990 A new range of QAC “quiet line” air cooled condensers introduced
Wellington Branch relocates again to 116 Hutt Road, Petone
1991 Patton’s first overseas branch opens in Sydney
1992 Nirmal Gaunder joined Patton
DWM Copeland makes presentation on new refrigerants at
Patton Auckland with Ministry of Environment representatives
Distribution arrangements established for Elco. Olmo and Airmotor
motors and external rotor fan assemblies
Harvey Win establishes Tauranga warehouse
Bob Pearson retires
1993 Appointed both NZ and Australian agent for American Thermaflo
recovery equipment
1994 Patton celebrated 70 years in business
1995 Sameer Handa and Vinay joined Patton – Sameer as National Sales
Manager
1996 Opened North Shore Branch
Patton Refrigeration sold to the Hellaby Group and over the next
couple of years the stock holding increased to better service the
expanding market
1997 Phil Smith established Hamilton Branch at Vialou Street
Embraco compressors and condensing units introduced along with
Copeland hermetic & scroll compressors. Also a range of Copeland
powered hermetic condensing units, these were to replace the Kirby
units dropped from the range
Introduced Patton “BM” series unit coolers and Lu-ve unit coolers
1998 Tauranga Branch moved to Bellevue Road
1999 Started selling Haier air conditioning
The next period in the “History of Patton” will be continued in our next issue.
Opening of North Shore Branch - From left: Vladimir, Harvey Turner, Nelson Smith, Sameer Handa, Ken Vail
Page 8 Patton Press TH
E
The 70th birthday celebrations – from left: Stuart Smith, Harvey Turner, Harvey Win, Philip Hitchins, Brian Yates and
Wayne Berry
On 18 March at 9.30am Auckland Super City Mayor Len Brown fired the starter gun and an estimated 70,000 walkers,
runners and wheelchair athletes took part in the 39th annual Round the Bays. Ports of Auckland Round the Bays have been
an annual event in Auckland since 1972. The first run attracted 1200 participants and has now grown to be one of the
world's largest fun-runs. It starts in the city on Quay Street and finishes on the waterfront at St Heliers Bay.
As part of promoting and improving our “Better Health” initiative, 12 Patton staff and family members registered to
complete the 8.4km walk/run over a flat course that follows the outline of Auckland's
Waitemata harbour. A light easterly wind and many volunteers at the water stations kept
us cool on what turned out to be a hot sunny day. Many charities such as Kidney Kids,
Koru Care, the Waitemata Harbour Clean-Up Trust and Fairfax First Books benefited
from the proceeds of this great event.
While efforts are being made to promote an improvement in our health and wellbeing,
there is still some work to be done to ensure greater participation from our staff for
future planned events. There is a need all of us to understand the relevance of staying
healthy and foster healthy habits. All Patton participants had a great time and we plan
to grow this and make it an annual event.
Team Patton: Philip, Carol, Vanessa, Tepaea, Umesh, Robert & Sameer