Thirty years on, C+R Industries is investing in itself - "stop thinking about it and just do it"

After three decades making other companies' products, C+R Industries is turning the lens on its own business. The Pakuranga-based contract manufacturer develops and makes skincare, cosmetics and cleaning products for brand owners, recently turned 30, and now employs a team of around 40. When new shareholders came on board, they backed owner Tod Ryan to head to the Icehouse Owner Manager Programme, with a partial scholarship from Advancing Manufacturing Aotearoa (AMA) helping make the investment stack up. Part-way through, his verdict is already clear.

"It's so interesting. There's a lot of experience in the room, and we probably all learn the most from the other participants," Tod says. "Although we all come from different business types, we all have the same issues."

A business at a turning point

C+R Industries has spent 30 years as the team behind other people's brands, developing and manufacturing skincare, cosmetics and general cleaning products from its base in Pakuranga, Auckland. Today it runs a state-of-the-art R&D lab and production plant, makes and packs more than 30,000 products a day, and employs around 40 people.

The timing of the programme came down to a change at ownership level. "We had some new shareholders come into the business in October last year," Tod says. They felt there had been an underinvestment in staff and systems over the years, and they were keen for Tod to attend the Owner Manager Programme, partly on the strength of strong feedback from others who had been through it.

A boost from the manufacturing sector

Tod had already signed up when the phone rang. "I received a phone call from Icehouse to say we'd received a grant from Advancing Manufacturing Aotearoa," he says. The partial scholarship landed as a welcome vote of confidence from the sector. "It's a large investment for a smaller business, but definitely worth it."

For a contract manufacturer that has spent three decades quietly making the products that fill New Zealand shelves, that backing from the wider manufacturing community carried real weight.

The session that shifted the room

Across the blocks so far, one stands out. In groups of four to five, participants had their business plans put in front of a panel of two highly experienced and successful business owners.

"These people are all very successful business owners with many years of experience, so they had some excellent advice and suggestions, along with the other business owners in our groups," Tod says. The impact in the room was immediate. "There were a couple of business owners on the course who had total revelations about their businesses and the way forward."

Everyone in the room has the same problems

That theme, learning as much from your peers as from the material, has been the through-line of the experience.

"There's a lot of experience in the room," Tod says. "It's really interesting that although we all come from different business types, we all have the same issues."

It is a feature of the Owner Manager Programme by design. Up to 25 owners go through it together, deliberately drawn from different industries and with no direct competitors in the room, so everyone can speak freely.

Putting AI to work

Asked what he has actually changed in the business, Tod doesn't hesitate. "We've started to implement a lot more AI in the business. We were really behind in this area, and it's been a real eye opener to see what can be done with some of these tools."

He calls it a game changer and a time saver, and the gains go beyond the balance sheet. "Implementing AI can free up your time to be better spent on important projects, or with family."

The final stretch

With the final block and an implementation day still ahead, Tod is looking for one more thing from the programme: confirmation that the plan he has built is robust and well thought through.

His advice to other manufacturing owners weighing it up is blunt, and it doubles as the reason AMA and the Icehouse are sharing this story. "I can't recommend the course enough to any business owner," he says. "Stop thinking about it and just do it."

Ready to back yourself the way Tod did? Learn more about the Icehouse Owner Manager Programme and find the next intake at https://www.theicehouse.co.nz/programme/owner-manager-programme.