ABOUT MIGHTY KIWI COMMERCIAL
Our Story
The Mighty Kiwi name is inspired by everyday New Zealanders who achieve great things.
Our business is modelled on fellow Kiwis who turn their dreams into reality and construct their passion into greatness.
Working alongside many Mighty Kiwi’s over the years, we have fine tuned our skills and technical knowledge in all areas to provide the absolute expertise in the automotive trade.
Whether it’s practising the black arts of side draft carburetor tuning or finding phantom electrical faults, we are all about improving design for better performance.
OUR APPROACH
Do it once, do it right. We take the time to explain work required on your vehicle, in terms that you will understand.
EXPERIENCE
With over 20 years experience providing top quality, affordable mechanical, electrical and hydraulics services to the Christchurch area, Mighty Kiwi Commercial have the expertise to provide you with the very best quality care for your vehicle.
QUALITY
Our goal is to consistently maintain a high level of service on each and every job, backed up with excellent customer support. Mighty Kiwi Commercial supply quality aftermarket parts from competitively priced industry leaders. We can also source genuine parts for specialised vehicle or industrial equipment.
Joel Aylward
Owner Director
Joel is qualified with the National Certificate in Motor Industry (Advanced Technical) (Level 5) Automotive Electrical and Mechanical. Along with his twenty year career in the automotive industry, owner Joel Aylward founded Mighty Kiwi Commercial in 2016.
His automotive experience covers everything from prestigious lifestyle vehicles to the heavy logistics at Lyttleton Port Company. Joel’s work has seen him become a respected automotive specialist across many New Zealand locations. He’s well versed in automotive engineering, mechanical, electrical and the latest automotive technologies.
What Joel enjoys most is the challenge of repairing what others fail to repair. He loves to see the satisfaction on someone’s face when their vehicle or machine can now perform at its optimum or when he’s solved a probing issue they have been putting up with. He also loves the thrill of getting a machine up and running to keep an operation going.
Joel started MKC because of a traumatic life event. The great loss he experienced hit home and helped him become fully aware of what was really important, that life was precious and he needed to pursue his personal dreams.
“So here I am pursuing my dream, building a quality workshop from scratch with precise up to date automotive equipment to provide a quality service for every client.”
When Joel finds a minute or two of spare time he spends time with family and friends. Joel and his wife enjoy walking their dog together and going on road trips with no known destination. He enjoys camping, fishing, hunting, and is partial to watching a bit of motorsport too.
Bob Smedley
Commercial Transport and Apprentice
Seasoned Aircraft Engineer Bob with 30 years of experience under his belt was itching for a new adventure. So when a friend mentioned there was an opportunity to give back on a volunteering project in Malawi, Bob took a leave of absence from Air New Zealand and headed off in 2001 for his first-ever trip to Africa.
Working with a local charity, Bob spent a few months in Malawi building boreholes and working on other projects in remote regions and it didn’t take long for Africa to get under his skin. One trip turned into more and by this time Bob had met his future wife Regina, taking off an entire year to begin a charity project of their own in a remote area just outside of Blantyre in southern Malawi.
Regina and Bob’s project continues from strength to strength and they have been able to help so many children at risk be placed in secure and safe families with proper education and a future ahead of them.
With a growing family of their own that straddled the two worlds of Africa and New Zealand, they made the decision to return to New Zealand so that their two teenage children could complete their high school education at the beginning of 2020. A few months after they arrived the borders shut and New Zealand went into lockdown.
The arrival of Covid brought the chapter as an aircraft engineer to a close, opening a brand new one as a Commercial Heavy Vehicle Mechanic at Mighty Kiwi and Bob has never looked back.
A keen surfer and budding skateboard ninja, Bob is loving life back in Christchurch with his family. While his kids tackle high school and he learns the ropes of skateboarding he has also taken up the opportunity to further his education with the support and encouragement of Joel.
Ang “Blondie” James
Office Manager
After bidding her previous role as Office Manager of 17 years adieu, car enthusiast Ang moved straight into her new role as Mum. In early 2020 she decided it was time to move back into the workplace.
And as luck would have it, the winds of change blew her into the Mighty Kiwi team as Office Manager and is now affectionately known as “Blondie” at Mighty Kiwi, Ang is loving being back in the saddle surrounded by some of the things she loves best - cars and people.
While she not so secretly mourns the loss of her zippy 2 door turbo Mini, she was determined not to let her new role as “Mum” get in the way of who she is, and made sure her ‘mummy car’ was kitted out with just enough bells and whistles to make it her own and know she hasn’t lost her touch.
Outside of office hours Ang enjoys pottering in her garden and family time.- Ang and her partner love the southern lakes and try to get away down south when they can and are looking forward to showing their new daughter Alaya the beautiful sights NZ has to offer. Ang and her partner are planning on doing a bit of a road trip after their wedding in Spring of 2020 which was postponed due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
Dylan Thorman
Second Year Apprentice
Qualified in electrical pre-trade Dylan is currently studying towards automotive engineering. Dylan brings discipline from various labour jobs and an enthusiasm to learn and perfect his craft every day.
His thirst for knowledge also includes automotive heavy engineering. He keeps himself out of trouble with interests in classic cars, camping, ice-skating and exploring New Zealand.
This could be you
Tradesperson Wanted
At Mighty Kiwi Commercial, we require a tradesperson to assist with our increasing workflow across all aspects - from light to heavy vehicles and all in between. We are open to any experience level but your good work ethic and attitude will be vital. If you are the successful candidate we are happy to tailor the role to the specialist skills you bring.
Your skills:
- Creative problem-solving
- Reliable and honest
- Dedicated to continued learning
It’s advantageous that you:
- Have EWP and working at heights experience
- Class 2,4,5 driver’s license
We offer:
- Flexible hours
- Training possibilities
- Exposure to a variety of work
- Great clients
It’s required that you:
- Have a full drivers licence
- Are comfortable working at heights
- Are qualified in OSH Forklift
- Able to pass a pre-employment drug screen
- Provide an excellent reference from a recent employer, client, mentor or teacher
If you are interested please e-mail joel@mightykiwi.com & we will be in contact ASAP.
