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South Canterbury Toyota
Meet the team
Craig McDermid
CEO
Craig McDermid has been CEO of South Canterbury Toyota since 2008. Craig originates from Dunedin and has been in the motor industry or subsidiaries for over 32 years, including owning a service station in Christchurch before taking ownership of Blenheim Toyota in 1990. Craig splits his time between South Canterbury Toyota and the other McDermid Auto Collective dealerships Blenheim Toyota, Rangiora Toyota, Kaiapoi Toyota, and Ashburton Toyota, where we are all passionate and committed to delivering the best sales and service experience every time, every day.
Mark Patterson
Branch Manager
Mark was born and bred in Timaru and is a local through and through. Mark joined the team here in 2008 as a Vehicle Sales Representative. In 2011 he moved onto the Sales Manager role and in August 2018 became the Branch Manager. He enjoys all aspects of the Vehicle industry but mostly the networking and friends made from both staff and customers. At home he enjoys spending time with his Wife Jannah and 3 young children.
Bryan Jarvie
Vehicle Sales Manager
Bryan has recently joined the team as the Vehicle Sales Manager. Coming from the agricultural sector he has a good understanding of the importance of providing the correct vehicle to meet the customer’s needs along with the importance of after sales service. When not at work he enjoys spending time with family and friends and when time allows escaping on either the mountain or road bike.
Danny Tawhiti
Business & Fleet Sales Manager
Danny was born and bred on the West Coast – Hokitika to be exact. Starting out managing restaurants and bars on both sides of the Alps, Danny discovered his passion for the Automotive Industry right here in Timaru. He has been selling cars for just over 3 ½ years but is ready for the next step in his Automotive career as out Business & Fleet Sales Manager. Danny understands the importance of relationships in business and ensures every single one of his customers Is treated equally and respectfully. He is also an accomplished musician having worked on several studio albums and performing at charity fundraisers around the country.
John Neale
Vehicle Consultant
Born and raised in Timaru, John has spent the last 27 years selling cars and never tires of it. John came to us in 2002 after 12 years of service at Timaru Motors. A travel agent prior to selling cars, John did this both in Timaru and New Plymouth. An involved member of the RSA not surprisingly one of his interests is snooker. He also enjoys watching golf and motorsport.
Kieran Farr
Vehicle Consultant
Kieran joined the team in December 2013. He attended Otago University and gained a Bachelor of Arts and a Post Graduate Diploma in Political Studies. Kieran is our internet specialist.
Georgie Scott
Vehicle Consultant
Georgie is a country girl through and through, having lived in the South Canterbury region since day dot. She has recently returned back to Timaru after four years of study in Dunedin. Outside of work Georgie enjoys playing sports, playing the guitar, running her side-business & is also studying part time along the way. Georgie has been with us since early 2018 and is excited to have joined our Vehicle Consultant team in 2019 and met the people she has in this time.
Gareth Heywood
Service Manager
Gareth works as a dual Service Manager for Ashburton and South Canterbury Toyota. He has worked very hard to get into this position by completing an apprenticeship, being workshop foreman and being the first Toyota New Zealand Diagnostic Master Technician all completed at South Canterbury Toyota from 1997. Gareth is motorsport mad and spends time in a crew for a motorsports team. In his spare time he loves spending time with his children
Beth Milliken
Service Advisor Team Leader
Beth joined our service team in October 2016 after coming from a hospitality background. Outside of work she is kept busy with her 2 young children.
Rubie Giles
Service Advisor
Rubie had the pleasure of joining our service department in February 2019. She has a huge love for animals and enjoys travelling whether it’s overseas or road trips with friends.
Amber Gunn
Service Advisor
Amber joined Toyota in November 2020. She has been working in the automotive industry for about three years. Her spare time is spent with her young son and caring for her many houseplants. She loves travelling overseas and is a huge foodie!
Toot Tozer
Service Assistant
Toot is very much our Jack of ALL trades. There doesn’t seem to be much that Toot cannot deal with. His role includes delivering customers and vehicles to and from the dealership, doing repairs and maintenance around the dealership, and fashioning up anything that we require. In a previous life Toot was in the Merchant Navy, builders’ labourer and worked in warehouse sales.
Russell Gutschlag
Service Assistant
Russell joined our service team in September 2017 after spending 14 years in the insurance industry. He is a builder by trade which is helpful with the jobs he does around the building. Russell enjoys motorsport, building hot-rods & restoring classic motorcycles.
Ross Dransfield
Service Foreman
Ross started with us in 2006 as an apprentice technician and since then he has progressively become one of our senior technicians. In 2017 he became our workshop foreman, in 2018 a Toyota Diagnostic Master Technician and in 2019 a Toyota New Zealand Field Master Technician, one of only a handful in the country. Ross also has plenty of involvement in racing crewing for a motorsport team in the Toyota Racing Series and various other series.
Zayne Day
Workshop Controller
Zayne joined us in July 2015 after 5 years with another franchise. Zayne has the most well behaved American Staffy called Tyson and enjoys taking him for a walk or to the park. He also enjoys working on his own vehicles & helping his friends with their vehicle projects.
Stephen Campbell
Technician
Stephen is a very experienced franchise Service Technician. He joined South Canterbury Toyota in 2006 and has spent his entire working life in the motor industry.
Glenn May
Technician
Glenn May joined us in February. He started his apprenticeship in December 1967 and has been in the motor industry ever since. Glenn is one of the most active members of staff being involved in 4 wheel driving, amateur radio, search and rescue, table tennis and tramping.
Dean Skeats
Technician
Dean joined our service team as a technician in April 2018. He has been a technician for about 20 years since he was 15 years old! In his spare time he enjoys fixing classic cars & motorbikes, enjoys 4WD’ing and spending time with his wife and two kids.
Peter Sprague
Technician
Peter returned to South Canterbury Toyota in 2019 as a Senior Technician. Peter has over 30 years experience in the automotive trade. He is heavily involved in motorsport & has been from an early age, most likely due to his grandfather being Ernie! He enjoys spending time with the family & cycling in his spare time.
Isaac Porter
Technician
After completing a pre-trade course at Aoraki Polytechnic, Isaac moved to Auckland for 6 months before returning to Timaru and joining our team as an Apprentice Technician. Isaac enjoys working on cars & going to the track to watch motorsport.
Ben Ashby
Technician
Ben completed an Aoraki Pre Trade course in Mechanics Level 3 prior to joining South Canterbury Toyota as an apprentice. He has previously enjoyed rugby and played for the 1st IX for Timaru Boys High. Ben enjoys working on his cars, spending time with family and friends and watching motorsport.
Evan Thomas
Technician
Evan (known as ET) started at SC Toyota in 1985. He started here as an apprentice, left and came back as a Technician, moved into Service Manager & left again and has now returned to finish off his career where he started, as a Technician. In his spare time, ET enjoys cruising in his RX3 and spending time with his family. ET has finally returned home.
Mit Modi
Technician
Mit started working with us in January 2019 as an Apprentice Technician. In his spare time Mit enjoys DJing, socialising and is a Qualified Auto Electrician, which will be an exciting addition to our team here at South Canterbury Toyota.
Daniel Green
Technician
Daniel started as an apprentice in Timaru for Bob Robb Motors and has now been in the motor industry for 25 years. He has a wealth of knowledge after working for multiple franchises over the years. Daniel loves playing golf & has recently developed a passion for taekwondo. He also enjoys spending time with his family.
Jason Fowler
Parts Manager
Jason has had over 20 years of experience in the motor industry and started at South Canterbury Toyota in July 2012. He enjoys skiing &mountain biking. He also does a great deal of DIY.
Hayden Kirk
Parts Team Leader
Hayden has been with us in our parts department since February 2016. He enjoys days out on his dirt bike and the odd building job.
Danny Johnston
Parts Representative
Having over 18 years experience in the automotive trade, the last 5 years as a sales rep for BNT Automotive, Danny enjoys working with a team to provide customers with the best service possible. Danny is a sports mad father of two boys who follow in his footsteps. He has been involved in coaching football at representative level for the last few years but has now taken up a new passion of lawn bowls.
Jody Wilson
Parts & Service Representative
Jody joined our team in July 2020 bringing his vast knowledge of the Holden Franchise with him. Jody started his career as an apprentice mechanic and has worked his way up to Gold Certified Technician and has now taken on our Parts & Service representative role alongside the rest of our friendly & helpful parts & service teams. Jody spends his spare time riding his mountain bike and chasing his son around the country side with various biking activities. Jody is also a very well respected mechanic in motorsport spending time in Australia and the USA over the past few years.
James Carroll
Tyre Manager
James is the Manager of our in house Bridgestone Tyre Centre. He enjoys talking to customers and fitting the right tyre to meet their needs. James was with Firestone Church Street for 9 years prior to joining us in 2007. James enjoys mountain biking (which has ultimately caused a few broken ribs) and has been part of our winning corporate team at the 12 hour mountain bike race.
Ethan Shields
Tyre Technician
Ethan was born and raised in Timaru & has always has a passion for cars. After driving for dominos for 3 years, he made the change and joined the tyre game. In his spare time, Ethan works on his cars and bikes at home, plays airsoft, practices the guitar and is involved with the Drama League.
William Van Sprang
Tyre Technician
William studied engineering and mechanics in 2017 & 2018 respectfully. He joined the team in 2020 and in his spare time he enjoys driving, reading, graphic design and socialising.
Alana Neighbours
Administration Team Leader
Alana started working with us in August 2013 as a Service Advisor. In October 2016, Alana joined the administration team and in July 2018 she was promoted to our Administration Team Leader role. Alana enjoys travelling, sports and getting out in the outdoors.
Stacey Dorne
Administration & Health and Safety Representative
Coming from a varied work history, Stacey is excited to be joining this fun, friendly and vibrant team. Stacey has recently taken up an interest in knitting and gardening, but also enjoys being social and spending time with family, friends and is an animal lover. Other interests are playing guitar, cooking, renovations, enjoying time outside with a BBQ and drinks at home or at friends, or down at the river or beach with the kids and partner on a nice day. She also enjoys going on road trips and enjoying our beautiful country.
Donella Hope
Administration & Receptionist
Donny started working with us in December 2018 as our Receptionist/Administration. She has worked in the motor industry for nine years in various roles. Donny’s interests include travelling, catching up with friends and family and listening to music.
Paul Hewlett
Groomer
Paul has been a part of the grooming team since 2002. Paul gets great pleasure out of seeing the results a little TLC can do to vehicles, especially the used commercials. Paul has also worked in the general cleaning industry, service stations and tyre shops. He is a keen fisherman specifically, West Coast Blue Cod.
Daryl Hunt
Car Washer
Daryl has been with us since 2004 and seems to be the fittest staff member, never running out of energy to keep our cars clean at a million paces. In Daryl’s spare time he expends more energy on his bike, and he likes golf and having a drink with his work mates.
Marlene White
Groomer
Marlene joined the grooming team in Feb 2017. Originally from South Africa, she married a Timaru boy and moved to New Zealand in 2001. Marlene has a keen eye for detail and her feathers do not ruffle easily. Marlene is very artistic & she is a very good baker who makes & decorates custom cakes.
Ann Webb
Groomer
Ann has been working for us since March 2019 after spending 20 years in hospitality. She is a mother of 4 children and is kept very busy with their activities, socialising with friends and gardening.
Andy Wilson
Group General Manager for Used Vehicles
Andy has a tremendous amount of experience in the Motor Industry beginning in the summer of 1990! After relinquishing the reigns of Branch Manager at South Canterbury Toyota in August 2018 he has taken on the well-deserved challenge of Group General Manager for Used Vehicles for the McDermid Group. This entails managing the used vehicle inventory for Blenheim, Rangiora, Kaiapoi, Ashburton and Timaru branches. Andy and his wife Helen have a very full social life which includes spending a great deal of time with their four grandchildren.
Chris Ward
CRM
Chris was born and raised in Timaru before heading on a rather extended (12 year) OE. After seeing most of the “other side of the world” Chris returned to Timaru in 2006 and joined our team 3 days later! Chris’s background before joining South Canterbury Toyota was mainly in the banking sector. She enjoys skiing, running, cycling, travelling overseas and spending time with her daughters.
Talei Dickson
McDermid Group Admin Manager
Originally from a hospitality background Talei moved to South Canterbury in 1996 from Wellington. She had a brief stint at Lake Tekapo before joining our team as our Business Manager. She then moved into admin in 2004. In 2015 Talei became our Group Admin Manager when Rangiora & Ashburton Toyota joined our group of South Canterbury & Blenheim Toyota. In her spare time Talei doesn’t enjoy running but Chris Ward & Sharon Wood make her do it from time to time. She does enjoy water and snow skiing, sewing and spending time with her daughter.
