{"id":555170,"date":"2026-08-01T20:27:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T20:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/555170\/"},"modified":"2026-08-01T20:27:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T20:27:10","slug":"rotoruas-hickey-contractors-closes-ahead-of-50th-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/555170\/","title":{"rendered":"Rotorua\u2019s Hickey Contractors closes ahead of 50th anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"

While it was sad to see the company go, it was probably for the best, he said. His views were taken into consideration before the closure, given his name was associated with the business.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a sign of the times. It is tough out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hickey Contractors, which specialised in infrastructure development, subdivisions, site works and commercial and residential contracting, had its boom periods in the 1980s and 1990s.<\/p>\n

Stan and Sonja Hickey<\/a> \u2013 key figures in Rotorua\u2019s successful speedway scene \u2013 were involved in big developments such as Countdown and Novotel Rotorua, as well as knocking down buildings such as the Majestic Theatre.<\/p>\n

Stan Hickey said that, in its heyday, its success was built on great relationships, including a solid contract with the Rotorua Lakes Council. <\/p>\n

He credited his wife as the driving force behind the business.<\/p>\n

\"SonjaSonja Hickey was a driving force behind Hickey Contractors and is a key member of the Rotorua Stockcar Club. Photo \/ Andrew Warner<\/p>\n

Hickey said the beginning of the end came when out-of-town contractors started moving into Rotorua when their work dried up, undercutting the locals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that\u2019s a lot of the problem. They come in and take the work off the local contractors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most people still associated him with the business, despite him not being the owner for many years, he said. He continued to own the land and buildings at Te Ngae Rd until about seven years ago.<\/p>\n

Subsequent owners of the business have included former managing director Andrew Shrimpton and Te Puke businessman Seth Pardoe.<\/p>\n

Pardoe, who took over in 2018, sold it to Auckland-based Mark Long in November last year, according to New Zealand Companies Office records. <\/p>\n

Long, who has a doctorate in business administration, is linked to troubled company Du Val Property Group<\/a> as a high-performance coach and observer. <\/p>\n

He was reportedly set to become a director of that company not long before it went into receivership in 2024. Du Val Property Group was reported in 2025 as owing $268 million.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe former Hickey Contractors yard on Te Ngae Rd is now up for lease. Photo \/ Kelly Makiha<\/p>\n

Long told the Rotorua Daily Post that Hickey Contractors had a great team and it was never easy to put people out of work. <\/p>\n

His options were to sell the business to someone who wanted to keep the name, or sell the branding and plant separately.<\/p>\n

He spoke to Hickey about what he wanted to do, \u201cout of respect\u201d.<\/p>\n

It was Hickey\u2019s preference to sell the plant separately and therefore wind up what was known as Hickey Contractors, Long said.<\/p>\n

The loss of \u201ca couple of people quite close to us\u201d was also a factor in the decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy priority was to be with my family and prioritise other businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former manager Geoff Kitson, who was with Hickey Contractors for more than seven years, said the market was tough and Long could not sustain running the business how it was.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I knew he was trying to sell it again, I resigned. I could see the writing was on the wall.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the staff\u2019s mood went from that of a close-knit business family to one of disappointment.<\/p>\n

Kitson had now set up another contracting business with a former Hickey Contractors staff member.<\/p>\n

Another former staff member, who asked not to be named, said some of the workers had found work elsewhere while others were now unemployed. He said about 20 people were left out of work, including full-timers and what he estimated were about eight sub-contractors.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe company will be wound up and its plant sold separately. Photo \/ Kelly Makiha<\/p>\n

Property owner Mark Rendall said the site on Te Ngae Rd was now for lease.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have an interested party. It\u2019s set up as a contractors\u2019 yard so it appeals only to a certain group.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rendall, who bought the land and buildings from the Hickeys around the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, said it was sad that the 50-year-old business with such an attachment to Rotorua would no longer exist. <\/p>\n

Speedway win<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Stan Hickey is proving he\u2019s still got what it takes on a bobcat after playing a large part in a team that won a major speedway track award at the weekend.<\/p>\n

Paradise Valley Speedway was named Speedway of the Year in the Private or Professionally Promoted Venue category announced at the New Zealand Speedway Awards at the Christchurch Town Hall on July 18.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe trophies collected by Rotorua at the recent New Zealand Speedway Awards in Christchurch.<\/p>\n

Rotorua also won the award for National Event of the Year with the New Zealand Stockcar Teams Championships.<\/p>\n

Hickey again credited his wife for the club\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

He said he was a proud member of what was affectionately known at the track as \u201cDad\u2019s Army\u201d, which was a group of people like him who helped to build and maintain the speedway track.<\/p>\n

\"StanStan Hickey and his wife, Sonja, are the driving forces behind the Rotorua Stockcar Club at Paradise Valley Speedway. Photo \/ Kelly Makiha<\/p>\n

Given the family\u2019s passion for speedway in Rotorua, it was a proud moment to come away with the awards, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were really proud of winning those awards. I have spent all my life up there [at Paradise Valley Speedway].\u201d <\/p>\n

Kelly Makiha<\/a> is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While it was sad to see the company go, it was probably for the best, he said. His…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555171,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[27603,3017,4624,18509,70218,107082,111,43,139,69,1118,38715],"class_list":["post-555170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-50th","tag-ahead","tag-anniversary","tag-closes","tag-contractors","tag-hickey","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-of","tag-rotoruas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}