If you’re keen to hear a yarn or three from the wool sheds of the North Island, Mike Vallance (or ‘Hoss’ as he’s more commonly known), is the man you need to see. 

He’s spent three decades on the job, carting 10’s of thousands bales of wool here, there and everywhere. 

But, you’ll have to be quick! Mike is about to head off for a well-earned retirement and is planning on spending his days fishing, fishing and when the weather allows for it, more fishing. 

Reflecting on his time behind the wheel, Mike says there have been many characters over the years, whether in the wool store or out on farms. And while he could tell a few stories - he won’t (not in print anyway) apart from one that involved a very cheeky young character who now works as the wool rep in Gisborne. 

“He was in the wool store in Napier as a trainee and in those days we had a lot of tomfoolery and ‘wool store justice’ exercised. Myself and a couple of senior workers had played a prank on this trainee to ‘let him know his place’,” recalls Mike 

“Then a couple of days later I was standing with a truck driver just about to roll up his tarp when I was tackled from behind, dropped on the tarp and rolled up in it. Those truck tarps are big and heavy, and I was trapped - all I could see was a cheeky grin as he walked away content with his revenge.”

Mike began his career as a forklift operator, in the Williams and Kettle store in Ahuriri - liaising with the trucking companies, farmers, reps and unloading trucks for most of the days. Then when the truck driver left, Mike was asked to take over the job, and it’s where he has been ever since. 

“Wool gets into your blood. I grew up with a farming background and this industry was the backbone for a good number of years when I first started.

“It’s also a place that has always attracted good people and I have been fortunate to work with them all. PGG Wrightson (and Williams and Kettle prior) have been very good to me and I’ve enjoyed working for both companies,” says Mike. 

From getting out and about seeing the countryside, to meeting the clients and their families, and collecting the sacks of lamb tails a few of the farmers would give him, there’s been plenty to enjoy about the job. And when it comes to Mike’s piece of advice for whoever has the massive job of filling his boots, he says communication is key. 

“Whether that’s with the wool store, reps or farmers, it just makes everyone's job easier.”

After 30 years driving trucks, Mike has also seen his fair share of changes - some more challenging than others. He recalls using a triplicate docket book for everything when he first started out, then overnight they arrived to work and computers had turned up. 

“I’ll admit it took a while for us to stop using the docket books and trust the computers though.” 

The other difference he notes would be the amount of bales handled, which has been due to heavier bales being pressed and land use changes. 

“In the early days we would start unloading trucks at 6.30 am and not stop until lunchtime - they were lined up down the road and around the corner. During the summer it was a sea of trucks and wool bales. 

“There were some fantastic forklift operators in those early days who could manage huge amounts of wool effortlessly.”

One person who is very unimpressed with Mike’s retirement is Steve Fussell, PGG Wrightson Wool’s procurement and sales manager for the North Island. He even tried to dodge Mike’s calls when he knew what he was trying to phone him about. 

“If I could clone Hoss and have him back, I would in a heartbeat. I have worked alongside Hoss all my wool career and am sad to see him go. 

“I knew the day was coming and when he rang me for a meeting to tell me, I knew what it was about, so I told him I was too busy to see him and he would have to wait until next year!  Unfortunately for us all though, I had to reluctantly take his note of pending retirement.”

Steve looks back fondly on his time with Mike, a man that was never on time - as he was always too busy being extra early. 

“I recall asking Hoss to meet me out the back of Dannevirke at 5.30 am as I would go and give him a hand with a pickup. I got there at 5.15 am and he had already been sitting waiting for me since 5.00. ‘Hurry up’ he said, ‘no time to waste!’. 

“Hoss was always early and many a time got a phone call from a farmer saying ‘I was going to come and help you, but all I could see were the tail lights heading back down the drive’.”

No job has ever been too big or small for Mike, whether it was transporting thousands of bales of wool, getting away early to beat the traffic, cleaning out wool sheds of fadges, shifting the odd wool press here and there when a farmer had purchased one, taking dogs back to the vet and even giving the wives a lift to town to pick up a car that was there. And that’s probably why Steve has only ever heard a good word about the truck driver. 

“The amount of phone calls and comments I have had from clients over the years is endless, asking me what Hoss drinks so they can thank him for what he has done for them. I have never had one poor comment from a client regarding Hoss, which is a real testament to his ability to get on with people.” 

“Growers will also ring him directly and ask him to pick up their wool as they enjoy catching up with him for a chat.

“A grower who was retiring rang and asked me specifically for Hoss to go to pick up his last lot of wool. They had a long relationship, going right back to when Hoss started driving the truck at Williams and Kettle. So I’m sure a few stories were shared during the last pick up.” 

Loyal, with an exceptional work ethic, a real team player and just an all round ‘good bugger’, Steve and all the reps who have ever worked with Mike will certainly miss him in the wool sheds and back in the depots. But they also know he’s earned every minute of his retirement, so from all the team at PGG Wrightson - Mike, we wish you all the best and just remember, the two best times to go fishing are when it’s raining, and when it isn’t.