A family business through-and-through, Harrison Frames have been producing a wide variety of picture frames and mouldings for a long time. 60 years on from the company’s establishment, Jack Harrison, the son of founder George Harrison, is so proud that his business is still surviving and thriving to this very day.
As well as offering said frames and mouldings, in their factory at Mount Maunganui in Tauranga, Harrison Frames complete a lot of customised work for anyone who is interested. Harrison helps and communicates with his customers to find out and make exactly what they’re looking for.
“A person might just come to us with an idea, and I work through what we can do, or what they should do, and we nut our way through it. That’s generally how we get continual work.”
Even in the third generation of Harrison Frames, high quality, bespoke products are being manufactured and supplied, with everything being made by hand.
A real family business
From Harrison’s perspective, the staff at Harrison Frames operate as a family. Some of his staff have been working at his factory for 10-20 years, and he treats everyone with kindness and respect. Harrison takes active measures to care for his workers, prioritising their mental wellbeing by offering frequent sessions with psychiatrists and psychologists to those who are struggling.
Harrison also really enjoys being around his staff, and employees will often find him coming into work on his off days to be with them.
Was this going to be the end?
Harrison admits that when the COVID-19 pandemic began, he thought that the journey of Harrison Frames was soon to be over.
“I thought our business would fail when I drove home from here [his factory] on lockdown day. I had a tear in my eye, thinking that all my work was gone.”
However, when Harrison came back to his factory about halfway through the quarantine, he saw that everything he needed to make his frames and mouldings was still here. This gave him a sense of hope.
“I thought: oh, maybe there is a life after [lockdown].”
Upon return, the phones started to ring again, and Harrison Frames has been running more successfully now than it did before quarantine.
Why Harrison Frames is NZ made
One of the things that Harrison really likes about his business is that they can produce goods locally that people will want and will buy. This is why he is NZ made.
“I just like to be able to make it here. We have had great responses from people just after the COVID lockdown. People were knocking on our door saying: ‘we want New Zealand made products’, and everything we produce now, as much as possible, is made in New Zealand.”
