Just short of a half-century: Kevin Marquand's 45-year milestone

What were you doing 45 years ago? Kevin (Kev) Marquand was putting on a suit and tie to start what has been a long and rewarding career with Gallagher. In celebration of his remarkable achievement, we take a look at how far he’s come with Gallagher.

45-years equals 540 months, or 2348 weeks, or 16,436 days – a spectacular achievement made even more amazing when you consider there is only one other person in the entire organisation that has been around longer, except of course Sir William Gallagher himself!

Here at Gallagher, we like to surprise and delight our people - including our long servers. A surprise celebration was booked for Kevin and his team. The idea behind the meeting was simple: his team leader, Darrell, organised a ‘dud’ meeting with Kevin, while nearly 40 people waited in the ‘real’ one, ready to surprise him.

A few minutes passed and Darrell brought Kevin into the meeting. To say he was surprised is an understatement.

When Kevin was 17, he wrapped up his school days and went in search of a job. He headed to Gallagher dressed in a suit and tie, where he interviewed for a job which would see him cleaning up welding slag left on machines, readying them for painting.

He must’ve left the right impression as the interviewer asked if he could start straight away.

After about four months, Kevin’s cleaning days were over, and he moved into machine painting. Then when his leader left, Kevin took over, looking after distribution around New Zealand, and even seeing off the odd container across the ditch to Australia.

We asked Kevin how things have changed since he first started. “Back then, the focus on electronics and technology was very little when compared to the amount of machinery we were selling.”

Kevin soon became a Sales Representative in the Bay of Plenty, and a few years later added the Waikato, Hauraki, Gisborne, and Taupo regions to his portfolio.

Fieldays have always been a focus for Kevin. As Darrell said: “You’ve just about done every one!”

When asked what’s kept him at Gallagher for over 45 years, Kevin said: “I’ve had a number of roles which have both been challenging and rewarding, but it’s also just as much because of the people.”

Gallagher's known for a whole heap of long serving team members - and there's a reason people stay so long. Join us to feel a great sense of pride - explore our current vacancies here.