When George Kroon started work in 1977, earning $1 an hour in a rural supplies store in Taranaki, he could never have imagined that nearly 50 years later he would be behind the service counter for PGG Wrightson.

In fact, for most of his career, he was working for the ‘competition’.

George began his working life with Farmers Co-op, one of the major competitors to Newton King, and one of the companies that would eventually become part of today's PGG Wrightson.  

At the time, rural retail looked very different from the industry we know today.

"There were no computers, no forklifts and very few calculators," George recalls.

"Everything was done manually. We used sack barrows, unloaded trucks by hand and wrote out every invoice by hand. It was a very labour-intensive business."

George worked in the produce department, selling grain, seed and fencing supplies, where five people worked in that department alone, while around 80 staff worked across the store. Looking back, he says it was simply a reflection of the times.

"In those days, bags weighed 40 or 50 kilograms, and every one of them was moved by hand. So we needed ‘all hands on deck’ so to speak.”  

Across Taranaki, Farmers Co-op and Newton King dominated rural retail. Both companies had deep roots in their communities, with stores in towns throughout the region and loyal customer bases built on service and personal relationships.

"Back then, customers tended to stay with one company for life; loyalty was everything,” says George.  

And those businesses were far more than farm supply stores. Newton King, in particular, operated travel agencies, wine stores, petrol stations, vehicle dealerships and large hardware departments.

“If you needed an airline ticket, you couldn't jump online and book it yourself, so you went into the local travel department, and someone wrote the ticket out for you."

Over the following decades, George watched as mergers, acquisitions and changing market conditions transformed the rural sector. Newton King became Crown Farmers, Crown Farmers merged with Dalgety, Dalgety merged with Wrightson, and of course, Wrightson later became part of PGG Wrightson.

Meanwhile, rural retail itself was changing. Stores became larger and more centralised, the smaller branches disappeared, and product ranges narrowed to focus on farming. Technology also began to reshape almost every aspect of the business, and one of the biggest shifts was the arrival of computers.

"They were pretty clumsy to begin with," George laughs.

"Wrightson had a system called Wizard and it was supposed to be state-of-the-art. But if the computer said there wasn't any stock, you couldn't sell it, even if you were standing right beside it."

Like many people in the industry, George spent years adapting to new systems as technology slowly improved.

"The amount of hardware that got thrown out over the years was incredible and I just remember thinking about how much money must’ve been spent every time the computers were upgraded.

“Forklifts and palletised freight were equally significant. What once took several staff could suddenly be done by one person, as goods arrived on pallets, storage became easier, and businesses became far more efficient."

George also witnessed a complete transformation in New Zealand farming.

"When I started, 99% of dairy farms were around 100 cows and owner-operated. Today, farms are much larger with a 300 to 400 animal herd, employing many staff and running like sophisticated businesses."

Technology has played a significant role in that evolution, and George believes innovation will continue to reshape farming in the decades ahead.

"Halter is a great example. Things that once required temporary fencing can now be managed through technology.

“I think compliance, along with health and safety, will also continue to have an impact. When I first got delivered a forklift back in 1992, there was no training, no licences and no safety - but of course that is vastly different today, there’s no cutting corners.”  

But while technology has changed almost everything, George believes one thing remains constant.

"People still want advice. They want to talk to somebody who knows the products, understands farming and can help solve a problem. Technology can help, but relationships still matter."

And it’s that belief in customer service that has shaped his entire career in the industry.

After spending over 35 years with Farm Source and its predecessor businesses, George thought his working life might be winding down. Then a major operation on his foot changed everything. Unable to work for several weeks, he found himself unexpectedly looking at job listings.

"I'd never really looked at Seek or Trade Me before. Then one day I saw a part-time role with PGG Wrightson in Stratford.”  

So at 62 years old, he applied.

"I thought if I got the job, I could keep working and wouldn't have to think about retiring at 65."

He got the position and has never looked back.

"I was thrilled to bits."

What began as a three-day-a-week role soon became full-time, but more recently, after turning 65, George returned to part-time hours - an arrangement that suits him perfectly.

"I haven't regretted it for one minute."

And for someone who spent decades working in competing businesses, joining PGG Wrightson felt like coming full circle. Because in many ways, he had spent his entire career alongside the company and its predecessors, watching them evolve through every stage of New Zealand agriculture's modern history.

Today, George remains passionate about helping farmers and believes the fundamentals of the business are no different from when he started.

"If something needs doing, we do it.”

And his customers still remain at the heart of everything. In fact, he recalls recently visiting a long-time farming customer following a family bereavement. They talked about how things were going, talked about the farm and ended up discussing a fencing project.

The conversation eventually resulted in a significant sale, but for George, that wasn’t the point.

"Good customers will always support you if you treat them with respect."

For all the changes he has witnessed - from handwritten invoices to online ordering, from sack barrows to forklifts, and from family farms to sophisticated farming enterprises - George has some simple advice for the next generation.

“Technology will continue to evolve, farms will continue to change, and businesses will continue to merge and adapt. But remember that customers are the reason we're employed, so superior service will always be the key, so learn about farming and learn about the products you’re selling.”  

And for a man who spent most of his career watching PGG Wrightson from the outside before finally joining the team, it’s a lesson that has stood the test of time.

We're celebrating 175 years alongside rural New Zealand. Read the previous story.