Business View Oceania | Volume 3, Issue 8

71 72 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 SHI PLEYS AUDIOV I SUAL LTD many years. Whitnall explains that keeping the team employed full-time throughout the year is incredibly important, despite seasonal ‘quiet’ periods. “For a lot of our corporate clients, work shuts down over the fourth quarter of the year, so we see a significant downturn in business during that time. But my philosophy has always been to just wear that because I think it’s so important to have a consistent full-time team that works well together, understands our culture, and retains a high level of service to our clients. Our clients know our team, they know what to expect, and they can be confident that we know what we’re doing. And that is well worth any loss during quiet periods.” As well as the seasonal nature of events work, Shipleys experiences industry-related challenges that have required significant innovation to overcome, a prime example being the COVID-19 pandemic. As CEO, Whitnall approached the to draw on for the benefit of their clients. Craig Whitnall, CEO of Shipleys, is proud to be part of such an impressive history, and shares his experiences surrounding life at the company. Whitnall shares, “We’re a small, nimble team of mostly technical people. I think our clients appreciate that when they call us, they can be sure we know what we’re talking about. Our team are in it for the love of technology. We don’t have shareholders. We don’t pay dividends. We’re a family-owned company with a very flat, transparent structure, and we encourage feedback from everyone across all levels of the organisation so that we can share those skills with each other. We make a profit to reinvest it into technology, research, and development, to keep doing what we love.” Shipleys provides equipment hire, production, servicing, and installation for all things audio- visual within organisations across New Zealand’s South Island and beyond. Projectors, screens, cameras, display panels, laptops and monitors, touch-boards, loudhailers, and speakers can be hired by clients directly through Shipleys. Production services include event photography and videography, live streaming, and post- production editing or content creation. Repairs, maintenance, upgrades, and customer support are available for commercial technology across the board. Shipleys also provides installation and service integration for entities in the corporate, education, automation, government, theatre, hospitality, religious and events venues, and accommodation spheres. A predominantly business-to-business company, Shipleys spends most of their time supporting corporate events, conferences and seminars, trade shows, and product launches. Shipleys is run by a small team of 25 full time staff and is supported by approximately 12 regular contractors, with whom Shipleys has maintained a positive business relationship for