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George and Dee Sturgeon put their success in clocking up 40 years in the business to their love of farm machinery and helping people.
A local phenomenon in Motueka has just celebrated 40 years in business.
Small of stature, but big in voice and actions, George Sturgeon can trace his love of all things mechanical to driving the family’s truck at 12 years of age and the memory of being at school boring him to tears.
Thankfully, back in 1970, Sturgeon began an apprenticeship at Motueka Motors. However, when that business went into receivership in 1982, he put his gift of the gab into practice and worked for the liquidator collecting monies owed, before ending up with a service van and all the tractor parts.
This heralded the birth of Motueka Farm Machinery (MFM), which started up in rented premises just off the town centre. This location that has expanded four times over the years and continues to be the centre of operations.
At around the same time, US-based Case bought the well-known UK company David Brown Tractors, then in 1985 Case and International Harvester merged to form Case International. In 1986, the multi-national company decided to rationalise the number of dealers in New Zealand and unfortunately Motueka Farm Machinery was one of the casualties.
As fate would have it, Sturgeon spoke to a friend who knew the Landini tractor agent over the hill in Blenheim. An introduction was made and Motueka FM became agents for the Nelson/Tasman region, going on to sell over 350 tractors during the following 26 years.
The Landini brand is well known for its innovative configurations aimed at the vineyard and horticultural sectors. Currently owned by the Italian Argo Group, the brand was a particularly good fit for the horticulturalists in the area and further afield.
Offering a wide range of tractors than can be narrow, low or wide to suit specific tasks, the brand is also capable of putting out high horsepower from a very compact package. Alongside Landini and its sister brand McCormick, which offers utility tractors for the broader agricultural landscape, MFM also sells the Goldoni tractor – an equal-sized wheel tractor particularly suited to low growing kiwifruit operations.
George and his wife Dee, who’s been along for the ride since the start, put their success in clocking up 40 years in the business to his love of farm machinery and a satisfaction in helping people find solutions or cure problems.
Very much a local, and described as part of the Motueka furniture, George and the business are avid supporters of local rugby and are also well known for the family’s fairground business that travels the South Island.
“I thoroughly enjoy working with people to get things done, but along the way we’ve looked after what we’ve got,” is how Sturgeon sums up the four decades in the machinery trade.
“I learned very early on, leave any issues at work and keep them separate from home – that’s what Dee tells me anyway!”
Twin rotor swathers have become the ‘go-to’ for forming swaths to feed hungry harvesters and balers, however, the design layout often means that crop located between the two rotors is not picked up, turned over or incorporated into the swath formed for subsequent harvesting.
Operating large tractors became more expensive back in March due to the ongoing Strait of Hormuz conflict, meaning contractors had to introduce fuel surcharges and farmers had to adjust their budget forecasts.
Close to the Abel Tasman and Kahurangi National Parks, Motueka is known for apples, pear and kiwifruit orchards, alongside specialised crops such as hops. Indeed, that specialisation, saw the area being the New Zealand centre of the tobacco growing, until the early 1980s.
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