“The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) commends the use of this Training Programme to those who have duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. This programme was drawn up with the participation of a HSE representative and will be referred to in relevant HSE publications.”

ALLMI Training Ltd. would like to take this opportunity to express its thanks to everyone involved with the scheme for all their hard work, which has led to this recognition. I’m sure you will agree that this is a major step forward.

The ALLMI Training Scheme is the only lorry loader training scheme in the UK to have been awarded this recognition by the HSE, and as such it should benefit everyone in selling the training, thereby raising standards throughout the industry. Below is the press release concerning this issue, which will be sent to all industry journals.

ALLMI Training Ltd, the independent training accreditation service and standards body for the UK lorry loader crane industry, has been awarded the HSE’s ‘Working in Partnership’ logo of recognition for its national training scheme. Acknowledged as the industry standard, the scheme is designed to equip operatives with the necessary skills and knowledge to make the use of lorry loader cranes safer and more productive.

Awarded for its consistently high standards, ALLMI Training is the only organisation in its sector to receive such a commendation. The programme was drawn up with the participation of a HSE representative and will now be referred to in relevant HSE publications.

Comments Tom Wakefield, Training Manager of ALLMI Training Ltd:
“We are delighted that the HSE now commends the use of this training programme to all those who have duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. It reflects great credit on everyone involved in developing and delivering the scheme nationwide.”

ALLMI Training operates through a fast-growing network of training centres whose instructors must not only satisfy the stringent requirements of the initial accreditation process, but must consistently achieve agreed standards. Regular audits are conducted on all instructors to ensure a common high standard throughout the scheme.

By 1945, Hyster had set up an overseas export department, and one of the first markets they secured was in New Zealand, with Gough Gough & Hamer.

During 1945, Goughs had access to only six models, starting with the QT20 1 tonner, the YT40 2 tonner, the VT75, RT150, the M2 Straddle Truck and the KC Karry Krane. Records of the time are incomplete, but the earliest recorded sale was of a 1946 Hyster M2 Straddle Truck – to Auckland-based wood-products and plywood company Henderson & Pollard. This truck is pictured here, with the photo taken some time after delivery. This picture appeared in the November 1947 edition of “N.Z National Review” magazine.

Henderson & Pollard ordered at least four more Hyster Straddles, and Goughs imported the last one in 1959, an M300E. We know that Henderson & Pollard were still using the Hyster straddle trucks in the late 70’s, but by the mid 80’s, the last of them had gone. None are known to have survived (but if you know of any, please contact the writer).The other popular truck of the day was the YT40. These forklifts could lift almost 2000kg and were great general purpose trucks. Most of the Gough branches around the country had a YT40 as the “workshop hack”. This surviving picture shows the 1954 Christmas party at Gough’s Auckland branch in Stanley Street. Father Christmas arrives at the party being carried on a YT40 “Sleigh”.

In the early days, the management structure of Hyster basically fell into the existing company structure. No dedicated Hyster Sales Representatives, for instance, were appointed. Sales duties were carried out by Gough Gough & Hamer Branch Managers, and they were expected to sell Caterpillar, Hyster, and also the other brands that Goughs represented, such as John Deere. In the late forties, Goughs set up the General Industrial Division, into which Hyster was placed. In 1950, the manager of this division was Pat Davis. By 1957, the Manager was Bill Brittain, a long-serving employee of Goughs who retired in 1993 after 43 years of service. As well as Hyster, the industrial division supplied Cedar Rapids crushing plants, Joy mining machinery, generator sets, Skajit logging machinery, Northwest shovels and draglines, Athey wagons and elevating graders.
The company’s branch network was extensive, even by today’s standards. Gough Gough & Hamer had branches in places as diverse as Taumaranui and Timaru, as well as the usual main centres. The Auckland branch was located on Stanley Street, near what is now the Tennis stadium. This picture from the 1958 Auckland Branch Christmas party shows that, until recently, Stanley St hadn’t changed much in over fifty years.

By 1958, Santa has graduated to a Hyster ZA80. Pictured outside the Auckland branch of Gough Gough & Hamer

Health and Safety standards were noticeably more relaxed in those days, as this picture from the Auckland Show in 1956

shows. Upon closer inspection, however, these men aren’t in as much danger as they look. A special clamp attachment is holding the timber pack to the forks. This type of clamp was popular with timber merchants of the day, as it allowed for higher density storage of the timber on purpose-built racks. The machine is another Hyster ZA80.

The first Hyster Salesmen were also Caterpillar and John Deere salesmen. Almost invariably they also managed the local branch. Around this era, Goughs employees such as Ferg Brinsden in Auckland,Wally Nicholson in Christchurch, Stan Hadcroft in Wellington, Harry Richards in Palmerston North, Barney Barnes in Rotorua, George Smith in Hamilton, and Charlie Richardson in Hastings handled any forklift enquiries, as well as placing orders with the factory and managing the servicing. With the growth that invariably happened, it wasn’t long before product specialists began to appear, such as Stan Moyle in Palmerston North.
Hyster-Ransomes

Beginning in 1947, Gough Gough & Hamer also started importing Hyster-Ransomes Electric forklifts. Formed after Hyster took over the British Ransomes company, Hyster-Ransomes became a popular addition to Gough’s product lineup. When Hyster started designing and manufacturing its own electric forklifts in 1964, the Ransomes name disappeared. The first New Zealand Hyster-Ransomes customer was Christchurch’s D.H. Brown, who operated a flourmill on Moorhouse Ave. In 1947, they took delivery of a Hyster Ransome TE1H 1 Ton Platform Truck.
Early Customers
In addition to Henderson & Pollard and D.H. Brown, Goughs supplied forklifts to a diverse range of companies, most of whom are still around today in some form or another. Henderson & Pollard ended up being taken over by Carter Holt Harvey in 1987, and formed the nucleus of what is now the Carters retail arm. The old D.H. Brown flourmill on Moorhouse Ave is now operated by Goodman Fielder, still on the original site.
Other Hyster customers were the Wellington Harbour Board, the Ministry of Works, Odlins, Fletcher Kaiser, Senton Sawmills in Hamilton, Williams and Kettle, A. Ellis and Co, to name just a few, and New Zealand Forest Products, who by 1964 had an extensive range of Hysters.
The Next Frontier
By 1964, Goughs had imported at least 396 Hyster forklifts, an impressive feat for the fledgling company in less than 20 years, but bigger challenges were around the corner. Gough Gough & Hamer enjoyed an excellent relationship with the Hyster Company, and had impressed the American Head Office to the extent that they were about to offer a rare opportunity. New Zealand was about to become only the tenth country in the world to have their own Hyster manufacturing plant and Goughs were about to embark on a new challenge – the manufacture of Hysters in-house, firstly at the Sydenham factory in Christchurch, and later at Ensor’s Rd in Woolston.

Download this article in two pdf files Part 1 Up to 1964 Click Here (480k) Part 2 Click Here (800K)
Thanks to Gough Gough and Hammer for permission to reproduce the above article. www.ggh.co.nz
No Responsibility accepted for the accuracy of this article (20/11/05)
Reproduced by Thomas Truck Training Ltd in the UK www.3ttt.info

By 1964, Goughs were enjoying strong sales with the Hyster product, and held a large share of the New Zealand market. Booming construction and forestry industries during this time helped drive the growth in sales numbers.
Hyster Manufacturing
With the introduction of government assistance for local manufacturing in the post-war period, Goughs obtained a manufacturing license from Hyster in order to start local assembly. The Christchurch branch for Gough Gough & Hamer was located at 300 Colombo Street in Sydenham, while the Head Office was still a few kilometers away at 134 Oxford Terrace. With the branch capacity strained, the decision was made in about 1961 to purchase a piece of land in Ensors Rd, Opawa, where a new branch would be built. This wasn't enough to relieve the pressure on the growing company, which never got round to exiting the Sydenham site. By the late sixties, Goughs were operating the Head Office in the city, the branch in Sydenham, and also the facility at Ensors Rd, which had become the centre of the manufacturing effort. By 1971, a new purpose built facility was opened on the present site in Hornby, eventually housing both the Head Office and the Branch. It would be another 15 years, however, until the manufacturing site at Ensors Rd would be forced into closure by the building of the Brougham St extension, and the opening of the new manufacturing premises at Hornby. Throughout this time, the Ensors Rd site concentrated on the manufacture of Hysters, as well as various Caterpillar and Fieldchief products. (See photo 1) It should be pointed out that Hysters weren't simply "assembled" in NZ, as was later to happen with the introduction of the CKD (Completely Knocked Down) concept. Only a very few components were imported, such as engines, drive axles, and steering components. Almost everything else, including transmissions, chassis, and masts, were built in this country. The chassis' were manufactured under contract to Goughs, by Christchurch's Anderson Engineering, as were the massive counterweight castings. (See photos 2-6)

1. Here is the earliest known photograph (although undated) of Hyster manufacture in NZ. An engine and drive train is being assembled for installation into an H50F, a model built
between 1965 and 1972.

2. Here, the counterweight for a
Hyster H80C is pictured during
the pouring process

3 & 4. Containers of forklift
components arriving at Ensors
Rd are unpacked by an H50F