Meet the team at Thwaites
Graeme Thwaites – Managing Director
Graeme is a fully qualified diesel mechanic with 44 years experience. He has been in business for 28 years previously owning the Volvo truck agency in Southland for 12 years. Graeme is very experienced in truck diagnostics and air systems and is a Certified Brake Examiner with the NZ Heavy Brake Code.
Graeme has years of specialised Isuzu training to add to his credentials. His motivation was to find out what was required of his staff and to keep up to date with the latest innovations, to continue to provide technical support to the workshop staff.
Graeme is a valuable source of industry knowledge for the team. If the team need to find a tricky part outside of New Zealand, chances are Graeme will know where to look.
Bernie Schwass – Operations Manager
Like Graeme, Bernie has also had 43 years in the mechanical industry. Before joining Thwaites, Bernie was the owner of Buller Truck Services. He held a Komatsu Agency and employed 25 staff.
Bernie sold the business to Komatsu in 2008, a world first in Komatsu history, to buy a dealership. He remained with them for a year before the allure of the Nelson region got the better of him. Originally planning to retire, Bernie found his passion for the industry drew him back in.
Bernie started studying auto-electrics in 1999 and still keeps up to date today. Bernie has also completed many years of extensive Isuzu specialised training.
He is committed to sharing his experience amongst the team, he maintains it would be a waste to take that many years of knowledge to the grave.
Paul – Service Reception
Paul provides frontline support to the Thwaites Workshops. He's loving the role and enjoys meeting new people
Andrew Quy – Parts Manager
Andrew has 13 years parts experience, with 10 years prior experience working for franchised dealerships before joining Thwaites.
Erin Silke-Atkins - Personal Assistant
Erin has been with the Company since January 2016. Her background comprises customer relationship roles, administration and accounting. Along with assisting Graeme to grow the business, her position involves Human Resource Management, Health and Safety and administration for Thwaites Diesel.
Thwaites has a team of 18 staff across the specialised departments. Thwaites believes apprenticeships are a vital part of the industry, keeping the mechanical profession active and adding to the pool of industry expertise. Thwaites offer continual training programmes for apprenticeships and agency specific training.
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