After the Earth moved, so did the Agribusiness team

Wednesday 01 June 2011

Winter 2011

The 22 February earthquake had a huge impact on Christchurch and New Zealand as a whole. The most critical concern for us was making sure that our staff and their families were safe, followed by getting back to business. 

The day after the earthquake, it became evident that the Meridian Agribusiness team wasn’t going to be able to manage their customers adequately from a devastated Christchurch, so the decision was made to move the entire team to Twizel.

The Christchurch earthquake occurred on Tuesday; by Wednesday the decision had been made to relocate the team; on Friday the Twizel office was being set up to accommodate the Christchurch staff; and Sunday saw the Agribusiness team and their families arrive, all in time to start work almost as normal on Monday.

Agribusiness Manager Natasha King says, “We had basically two days to talk to the team about going, organise enough IT equipment to get them up and running, arrange holiday homes that could accommodate 13 staff and their families, and most importantly get the team’s kids enrolled in schools and kindergartens in Twizel.”

Twizel is located halfway between Christchurch and Queenstown, lying in the Mackenzie Basin. The team ended up staying there for five weeks, which was a welcome relief from the turmoil they knew the people who were still in Christchurch were facing.

Agribusiness Account Manager Mark Ashton says, “Going to Twizel gave us an opportunity to get away from the disaster zone, and keep helping our customers. It was such a shock when we came back. I loved it down there. Being in Twizel gave us a great work/life balance as nature was right there on our doorstep.”

After five weeks in Twizel, a temporary office was fitted out in Christchurch for the team to return to. Eight weeks later, Meridian’s new Moorhouse Avenue office was ready to move into, so the team is now, three months after the earthquake, back in a permanent office.

Despite missing friends and family who were in Christchurch, overall the team say getting away to Twizel was a great experience, and if they needed to they would pack up and go again.

Many customers who made contact with the team after the earthquake wouldn’t have known the team had been displaced from their Christchurch homes and office. The team is pleased they were able to continue providing great service during what was a tough time for everyone. If customers experienced any kind of delay in contacting the team after the earthquake, the team wants to thank them for their patience.