My Account
Leigh Motors is now the stomping ground for three generations of Middletons after the family bought the business last month.
The business will be open seven days a week and is expanding into garden supplies, hire equipment, specialised car parts and is certified to buy and sell cars.
“We know the community and want to provide them with the things they need,” Karl says. “People can hire anything from chainsaws and lawnmowers to a 1.5-ton digger and a truck.”
In total, there are 10 members of the Middleton family working at Leigh Motors.
Brothers Jeff and Karl Middleton have run Middleton Transport with their father, Hugh, for the past 19 years, operating 16 trucks for Leigh Fisheries.
“We started with two trucks and within two years we had 10, and won a Small Business of the Year Award.
“It was crazy. We were on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It was very challenging, but rewarding work.”
Karl managed the business and also became a manager at Leigh Fisheries for a short period.
Once the contract ended, the family decided to take on the new challenge of Leigh Motors.
When he’s not at the garage, Karl is usually on the rugby field, coaching touch.
After starting out coaching primary school teams he went on to coach representative sides for North Harbour, Counties Manukau, Auckland and national sides.
His career highlight was coaching the NZ 30 team to win the Touch Football World Cup in Scotland in 2011.
“It was unbelievable, standing in a stadium listening to the national anthem play and thinking ‘we are the best team in the world’.”
He also coached the NZ 30 women’s team to win a trans-Tasman series against Australia.
“It was the first time in history a women’s team has won a series against Australia in any grade.”
