One of Council’s key economic growth initiatives that started three years ago, was the development of infrastructure for a business park on Waihi Road, on the western side of State Highway 3 in Hāwera. In this article we review one of the businesses that has set up in the western precinct of the Park.
UNO Windows is a large-scale aluminium window and door manufacturer, supplying end-to-end solutions for residential and commercial projects. While they are located in Hāwera, they have a reach across the entire North Island. A family business started in 2006 by Peter Thomas, son Jonathan is co-managing director with his brother Reagan. Born and raised in Hāwera, Jonathan is proud to call the town home, citing its ease of access to everywhere.
“It is a great town with a lot to offer. You are 50 minutes to New Plymouth and then you can jump on a plane, 10 minutes to the coast and the mountain is just half an hour away.”
Originally located in Normanby, UNO operated out of an 800m2 factory and were filling up the yard rapidly with their materials.
“We needed to grow and get some decent sized facilities to bring it all back inside and function efficiently. It was also about future-proofing for our factory – we needed the ability to put more machinery in so we can expand our services into new markets and regions,” says Jonathan.
The South Taranaki Business Park was a great solution for UNO and they were the first business to move into the South Taranaki Business Park’s West End Precinct in 2022. A big plus for UNO was the fact the developer CJ Mahony was willing to work with the team to customise the site to suit requirements.
“We’re looking forward to seeing the results of the Council’s proactive approach over coming years both in the residential and commercial sector, attracting people and businesses to town.”
“It gives us the opportunity to grow, but not only that, we’ve got a professional image to showcase to the rest of the country – this opens up opportunities.
“Hāwera provides a perfect central location for us and this is key. We see the South Taranaki Business Park as a first-class area for growing local, and new businesses to locate their premises – rather than having to be located in pockets within residential areas across the District.
It’s great to see the developer and Council working together to deliver a quality Park – the development of the roads and a purpose-built area for the region is fantastic. We’re hoping it will attract more people, business, and opportunity to the region with a strong flow-on effect – more buildings coming to life means more opportunities for the local community and UNO,” says Jonathan.
