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A facility where small businesses and residents can unload shipping containers has opened at 672 Woodcocks Road, Warkworth.
The owners, Stephen and Wendy Murphy, say it is the only public facility of its kind in the area, with the next nearest being in Silverdale.
By law, containers that arrive in New Zealand must be opened and inspected at a facility approved by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI).
Both Stephen and Wendy are MPI accredited and can remove contamination debris such as soil, seeds or dead insects.
The Murphys decided to set-up the facility after realising it would significantly benefit their own business which imports scaffolding.
Stephen says picking up his imported goods from Silverdale or south Auckland meant hiring a truck and a forklift, but having a local facility saves him money on each shipment.
“It has also saved me from wasting a whole day fighting the traffic,” he says.
He says shipping containers arrive in Auckland early in the morning and can be in Warkworth by 8am, which means importers can virtually have their goods the moment they arrive in the country.
Warkworth Container Unloaders also provides customers the option to have goods unloaded and delivered.
Stephen says the new service will suit entrepreneurs selling goods online, as well as small businesses that may only need a few containers a year.
“If a few businesses got together and combined their shipping into one container, it could save them a lot of time and money.”
Wendy says she and Stephen never intended to get into the freight industry but once they saw the potential, they decided it would be worth seeing if the new facility could be useful to others.
“It’s all for the little guy. Small businesses like to help other small businesses,” she says.
