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Wednesday June 27, 2018
The Sun
one on one with the Sun
Power stalwart steps down John Cuddon has stepped down after 38 years of involvement in the electric power industry. He talks to Bill McElhinney about his time with the Marlborough Electric Power Board and the Marlborough Electric Power Trust. Few people have had as close an association with industry in Marlborough as John Cuddon. He spent half a century working for his family’s Blenheim engineering firm, Cuddon Ltd, which has designed and built a wide range of equipment for Marlborough and New Zealand businesses. One of the company’s innovations, commercial freeze dryers, are used in a wide range of industries and sold around the world. An interest in the electric power industry led to John joining what was then the Marlborough Electric Power Board in 1980. The board was involved in both power generation and reticulation, having built and operated the Waihopai Dam and later the Branch River hydro project. The board also strung hundreds of kilometres of power lines around the province, including coverage to remote parts of the Marlborough Sounds. “It was a big job,” John says, “especially getting power to remote areas like Arapawa Island.” The Marlborough Electric Power Board became Marlborough Electric in 1992, before government reforms in 1998 forced all electricity
companies to split into either the lines business or supply business. Marlborough Electric’s generation and retail businesses were sold to TrustPower and from 1999 the company became Marlborough Lines, which now focuses on the operation and maintenance of the province’s lines network.
“Marlborough Lines Ltd is a very successful business and I’m proud to have been part of its development and success,” John says. Marlborough Lines is owned by the Marlborough Electric Power Trust, which holds the shares in the company on behalf of the current and future electricity users in Marlborough. John became chairman of the interim trust in 1990 and continued as a trustee after the power board became a company, becoming chairman of the board of trustees in 1993. “Marlborough Lines Ltd is a very successful business and I’m proud to have been part of its development and success,”
John says. John was one of six elected trustees, three of who are elected on a two-yearly rotational basis. “The trustees don’t have any direct involvement in the operation of Marlborough Lines,” John says. “The trustees appoint the directors, make sure the company is run profitably and distribute the dividends.” In 2015 Marlborough Lines paid $89 million for an 80 per cent share of Yealands Wine Group, a move that sparked some controversy in the community. However, John is adamant it was a good investment which has led to increased dividends for Marlborough Lines customers. “The trust had money to invest,” John says, “and we wouldn’t have earned much by putting it in the bank. “The Yealands purchase was thoroughly researched by the trustees and we were unanimous in supporting the deal.” John still maintains his interest in Cuddon Ltd, the company he grew up with. He is a director of the company and he and his wife, Robyn, maintain their majority shareholding. John started with his uncle, Gorton Cuddon’s company,
John Cuddon’s engineering knowledge has been an asset for the Marlborough Electric Power Trust.
WGG Cuddon, in 1960 as an apprentice fitter and turner. His father, John senior, also worked there as the refrigeration manager. During his four-year apprenticeship John covered all aspects of mechanical engineering. In 1966 he became a salesman before moving on to manage the firm’s Kaikoura branch for four years from 1974. In 1978 he returned to Blenheim and was the firm’s sales engineer. Nine years later he was appointed managing director, a position he occupied until he stood down in 2006.
John maintains an interest in many community groups. He is chairman of the Selmes Road Garden Trust, and is involved with the Hospital Equipment Trust and the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre Trust. John will remain active with his other interests, including golf and tennis. “And there’s also the garden,” he says. “I’ve still got a lot of grass to mow!” Marlborough Electric Power Trust chairman, Ian Martella, says the trust has benefitted from John’s wide knowledge of the industry. “John is a real gentleman and his departure will be a
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BLENHEIM
loss to us,” Ian says. “John has undertaken an outstanding record of service as both a member of the power board and the trust,” Ken Forrest, Marlborough Lines managing director says. “His sound judgement, commercial acumen and personal integrity have helped ensure the trust has done the right thing for Marlborough power consumers. “John’s standing in the community can be measured by the fact that in every election where he has stood as a candidate, he has topped the poll.”