Invercargill Hire Branch Wins Top NZ Title Again
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Kennards Hire's Invercargill branch has won New Zealand Branch of the Year for the second year in a row — a title that surprised the people who earned it most.
The six-person team beat out 31 other branches across the country to take the top honour at the company's Quality of Management Awards. Branch manager Andrew Sherriff described the win as a complete surprise.
Sherriff is quick to credit his team, but the branch's track record in the community helps explain why it keeps coming out on top.
When Invercargill was hit by extreme winds and rain last October and put into a state of emergency, the branch stepped up. Working alongside the Southland Student Volunteer Army, the team supplied equipment to help volunteers clear debris, repair fences and get the city back on its feet.
That kind of response isn't unusual for them. Through the Kennards Hire School Buddy Programme and KidsCan, the team regularly provides equipment free of charge to local schools for maintenance projects. They've built strong enough relationships with school caretakers across the region that they often roll up their sleeves and join working bees themselves.
Since the branch opened in 2018, it has also supplied Spirit Army — a local charity supporting Southland families in hardship — with free equipment including log splitters and tractors.
Family-owned Kennards Hire operates 32 branches across New Zealand. The Invercargill team is its smallest. Two consecutive national titles from a team of six says something.