Pioneering Work on the Other Side of the World: First Service Consultant Tour in New Zealand
The first HUBER service consultant tour in New Zealand, organised and planned by our long-time service consultant Martin Burger, marked a significant milestone for HUBER. With a time difference of 12 hours and a flight time of approx. 22 hours, he was faced with great challenges, which he successfully mastered together with colleagues from our partner company Hydroflux at the end of 2024. In his report, Martin Burger talks about an unforgettable journey:
‘New Zealand, known for its active volcanoes and impressive landscapes, provided the setting for a tour full of technical highlights and enriching encounters. The first service consultant tour to Australia had already taken place in 2022, organised in collaboration with Hydroflux. This proved so successful that it has now been extended to New Zealand. The next tour in this region is planned for 2026.
The tour was excellently organised by Hydroflux and included customer visits to the North Island of New Zealand. The aim was to provide customers with professional service advice on site and at the same time deepen the knowledge of our local partners. I was accompanied on the tour by three colleagues from the Hydroflux team: Stewart Harris, Jamsheed Tata and Joshua Eickhoff.
Tour details
Day 1 and 2: Taupo region
After arriving in Taupo, we visited the Taumarunui and Whakapapa sewage treatment plants, the latter at the foot of the Ruapehu volcano. This volcano, which was last active in 2007, was the setting for the film ‘The Lord of the Rings – The Return of the King’. Further stops were the sewage treatment plants in Ohakune and Motuoapa.
Day 3 and 4: Kerikeri region
The second stage took us north of Auckland to the Kerikeri region. We visited the Kaihoe, Rawene, Whatuwhiwhi and Kaitaia sewage treatment plants. A special moment of the tour was the meeting with Michael Jackson from the Ventia wastewater treatment plant. The customer's enthusiasm about the direct support from a German HUBER service consultant was overwhelming.
A cultural highlight was the visit to the ‘Hundertwasser toilet’ in Kawakawa. Designed by the Austrian artist and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser, it was opened in 1999 and is now one of the most famous public toilets in the world.
Day 5: Hydroflux office, Auckland
On the fifth and final day of the tour we met at the Hydroflux office. Here I shared our experiences with 15 colleagues from Australia and New Zealand and organised another digital training session on the HUBER machines.
To summarise, I can say that the service consultant tour in New Zealand was a complete success. In addition to providing technical support and customer advice, we were able to expand our partners' knowledge and deepen our collaboration. Working closely with Hydroflux once again demonstrated the importance of strong partnerships. The positive feedback from customers confirms that HUBER Global Service and especially our service consultants are on the right track with their commitment to strengthening and expanding customer relationships in the long term. We are already looking forward to the next tour in 2026!’
