Innovative company has a long history

Press, 22 June 1989, Page 45

Innovative company has a long history

Kirbys Furniture Removals is a recently established company that rightly claims to have a long history dating back to 1903. Last March, Kirbys was purchased from the Transpac receivers by two Christchurchbased businessmen, John McLean and Bryn Evans.

This means that New Zealand’s largest household and furniture firm is continuing its line of trade which was started in Nelson by William Kirby in 1903. Before the First World War, William Kirby was a familiar figure in the Nelson Streets and on the wharves. He apparently had a great love for the horses which were used to haul the early Kirby waggons.

The first Kirby Carriers motor truck was driven by William Kirby’s stepson, Percy Stewart, who took over the business in 1938.

More recently, Kirbys became part of Transport Nelson and then the furniture removal division of the now defunct Transpac. Having survived the Transpac collapse, Kirbys Furniture Removals has set out to create a new business image. This includes establishing a new livery for the 42 modern road vehicles. Kirbys has five branches; in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and Palmerston North. There are also agencies in New Plymouth, Nelson/Blenheim, Greymouth and Invercargill. “The new Kirbys

Furniture Removals is committed to top quality service,” says the company secretary, Diane Horton. “We are very much market driven which means we are keen to adapt our services to meet market requirements.” As well as providing a nationwide removal service, Kirbys also offers a secure storage facility where containerised household goods are kept in a vermin-proof environment.

“Kirbys is one company that can be involved from packing in the home through to the task of unpacking at the destination,” Anne Dobbs, Kirbys’ national sales and marketing manager says. “People are very comfortable with this involvement.

“Many people find moving a traumatic experience, especially if they are moving with relocated employment and would have rather stayed put. The last thing they want is a favourite crystal vase broken or the non-arrival of the lounge suite. “We are an organisation that is dedicated to furniture removals. That is, after all, all we do,” Diane Horton says.