From silos to vintage cars

Press, 21 April 1986, Page 14

From silos to vintage cars

By

ANDREW MACALISTER

A North Canterbury man has adapted to the

recent downturn in the rural economy by restoring vintage American cars.

After watching the falling demand for the grain silos and storage equipment he had manufactured for the last 18 years, Mr Denis McLachlan, of Oxford, was faced with the choice of either closing his workshop or diversifying.

Last year, he employed 38 people and produced about 80 silos. This February, there was not one silo made and the prospects looked bleak.

However, undeterred by such a big turn-around in business, he sought alternative work, ruling out the possibility of producing anything related to agriculture, and struck on the apparently far-re-moved field of car restoration.

“It was there. It just happened,” he said.

A keen collector of American cars, Mr McLachlan had looked previously at the possibility of producing fibreglass replicas of the MG TF, but this proved unviable with the prospect of GST and a large capital outlay.

Then, in February, when the Pan Pacific car rally was held in Christchurch, he decided to set up a temporary “museum” at his Oxford workshop for the visiting vintage car enthusiasts to view.

The cars in the workshop include a 1928 Cadillac for an Auckland businessman, a 1934 Chrysler Imperial for an Arab

client living in the Middle East, and a 1947 Mercury coupe and 1946 Mercury sedan for a local client.

He has been restoring old American cars for 25 years and now has a magnificent collection of 50 cars, in varying stages of restoration. Mr McLachlan said the museum proved a big attraction with people attending the rally and “put us on the map.” Followed up by an advertising campaign both here and overseas, Mr McLachlan’s new venture soon gained momentum and he now has 12 cars undergoing extensive work, and has been able to retain eight staff.

Mr McLachlan said the economics of having cars restored in New Zealand has helped in the early success of the venture. The 1928 Cadillac being restored was bought for $lO,OOO and will cost another $40,000 to restore. When completed, it would sell for about SUSSO,OOO in the United States.

Mr McLachlan gives another example; a Cadillac being shipped over from the United States had been given a restoration quote of SUSI2O,OOO there. His quote for the same work was $U526,000.

The cheaper cost in New Zealand comes through the lower wages in what is very labourintensive work, and the exchange rates.

New Zealand also has a good reputation for qual-

ity workmanship among American car enthusiasts. He estimates that about 10 per cent of his work is now coming from overseas clients. This is expected to increase because there are not many local enthusiasts who can afford to have cars professionally restored.

Mr McLachlan believes the old adage of “not mixing business with pleasure,” and is surprisingly unenthusiastic about the new business.

“I never really wanted to move into cars” he said. He enjoyed just doing them privately at home as a hobby.

“But what else can you diversify into? You cannot diversify into anything agriculturally related because there is no money left in that sector at present,” he said. He hopes the demand for silos will be revived with a better harvest and healthier economic climate next year.

“I expect that next year we may do three months of silos and nine months of cars.”

Also after the success of his “museum” earlier this year, Mr McLachlan said he would like to establish a permanent one in the longer term.

He said that such a museum could prove a tourist attraction. However, to do so he would need financial backing and has no immediate plans to begin this venture.