Relentless describes this grower, share determination has made him the respected businessperson he is today.
I have had the pleasure of helping Edward Lee from Lee Wang Hothouse Ltd with his NZ Gap work for the past few years. This is a brief story about his highs and at times extreme lows, I am humbled by his story and love to hear his constant positivity.
Your background
I came from a village on a small Island in Taiwan where my parents owned 1 hectare of land. The Island was quite tropical/ sub-tropical, our concern was how to cool things down, not like NZ where we need to heat the temperature up. Mum and Dad learnt to be flexible and grow to order, they had a stall at the local Vegetable market and managed to support the family comfortably.
Life in a small village did not revolve around school, it was intended I would take over the land and work with my parents, something I was adamant I did not want to do; I have memories of tying tiny wraps around Taiwanese Guavas for protection and better quality, it was all too hard!
What brought you to NZ?
In 1996, at the age of 16 I arrived in New Zealand all on my own, my parents wanted me to experience kiwi life and see if I could make a go of it here. I did not understand English and had no cultural experience. My mindset was I should have prepared for my visit, to stay positive and stick it out.
Thank fully after two years of struggling to fit in, in 1998 my parents come over to NZ to support me, we moved in with friends (four of us in one room) Slowly I made friends as my language improved and finished my school years at the age of 20.
From here I hoped my career would take off, my parents sold half of their land in Taiwan, were able to purchase a house and opened a vegetable shop in Papakura (Great Nature) where I did anything required, when this was sold I had a go at a few different roles but just couldn’t find my niche. I was a waiter at the Rayland Restaurant Manukau, where I was the most skilled at dealing with difficult customers. I even had a go as an electrical apprentice and a lawn mowing business, but it just wasn’t for me.
So how did you get into growing cucumbers?
I was low, I even offered to work for free just to gain knowledge but kept getting knocked back. My schooling and first career choices had brought me to a point of returning to Taiwan or trying somewhere else, but my mother said no, NZ was pure, peaceful, and beautiful, let us start again.
We purchased 2.2 hectares in Beatty Road, Pukekohe, built a plastic house and away we went. It was like learning a new language & culture again, we knew nothing about growing indoor and learnt completely by our mistakes.
Tell me about your family
I am so blessed, I have my lovely parents, and my beautiful wife Michelle Chang who I met in NZ. We have two beautiful children Gabrielle (13) and Alvin (10) pictured beside. I want them involved in the business as much as possible and understand how hard this work is, plus appreciate that challenging work gets great rewards.
I am so grateful to my wife for believing in me and standing by my side, I always promised I would become successful enough for her to relax and enjoy life.
So where are you now?
My life is finally balanced, I am thankful for my experiences here in NZ, I can tackle anything!
I have set my business up to help share my experiences, my glasshouses are open to others to learn from.
I’m still learning all the time, after 20 years I’m looking to revamp my first plastic house and introduce new technology and focus to make it more energy saving, I need to prepare for climate change. I have given myself a goal to achieve more cucumbers per sq metre by improving efficiency. I have a new automatic spray machine which helps with labour issues, uses less chemical input, and helps with disease.
My reputation has grown, I enjoy helping others. I’m a great believer that complaining doesn’t change your situation, look at yourself, think positive and you make the adjustment.
What is your core management strategy?
My staff - they come first. I cannot thank them enough; my business is nothing without them.
Technology comes second.
What do you do for fun?
We have just returned from a holiday in Taiwan, and I plan to take the family to Singapore next year. I want my children to learn different views of the world.
Advice to others?
Do not give up, our country is amazing and a fantastic environment to grow top quality produce. Unite and share information, it will make the growing industry stronger and better.