customer spotlight: Kaingaroa Roading: 40 Years Strong

For close to four decades, Kaingaroa Roading Contractors has been a constant presence in New Zealand’s forestry sector. Based in Murupara, the business maintains hundreds of kilometres of unsealed roads across Kaingaroa, Rotoehu, and Whaka forests, critical lifelines for logging trucks, contractors, and local communities.

At the centre of it all is Jan Bolton, a pioneer in an industry long dominated by men. Taking full ownership of Kaingaroa Roading in the early 1990s, Jan built her company from a small operation with just a couple of graders, a truck and trailer, and a digger, into a team trusted to keep vast forest estates connected.

What makes her story unique is not only the longevity of the business but the loyalty of her people. Many of her operators have been with her for decades, and some, like long-serving grader driver Athol, have been part of the journey since the beginning. That loyalty works both ways. Jan is quick to credit her team for the company’s success, paying fair wages, recognising loyalty, and treating her staff like family.

“Without my men, I’m nothing. And they need me like I need them. We’re a family, and that’s why we’re still here.” – Jan Bolton

While people are at the heart of Kaingaroa Roading, machinery is the backbone that keeps the work moving. Over the years, Jan has invested in more than six new graders. Today the fleet includes a CASE 885B Motor Grader, a CASE CX145 Excavator, and a Dynapac roller, all supported by MIMICO. Her operators work the machines hard, often eight to ten hours a day, shaping, maintaining, and repairing forest roading networks that are under constant pressure from heavy truck traffic and weather.

“This is my first CASE grader. My operator, who’s been with me a lifetime, is very impressed with it. He’s really enjoying operating it.” – Jan Bolton

For Jan, the choice of machinery isn’t just about horsepower or performance on paper. It’s about operator comfort, reliability under tough conditions, and the reassurance that help is never far away when support is needed. Relationships with MIMICO’s team, including long-standing connections with owner Rex Davies and Bay of Plenty/Coromandel representative Shayne Kennedy, add another layer of trust that has quietly supported Kaingaroa Roading over the years.

Nearly forty years in, Jan remains as motivated as ever. She takes pride in keeping Kaingaroa’s forest road network open, ensuring contractors can access worksites safely and efficiently. Her proudest achievement is not just surviving but thriving through both the tough years and the good ones, all while staying true to her people and her values.

“At the end of the day, it’s about keeping the roads open and looking after my men. We’re still here, still making the grade.” – Jan Bolton