Kel Reid
Reid Asphalt
A Civil Contractor on the Gold Coast for 27 years, Reid Asphalt’s Kelvin Reid is a HUGE Conplant fan.
A Christchurch native, Kelvin got an early start in his chosen trade. When he was 12, his Dad – a motor body builder – taught him how to weld and at 15 he left school to pursue a career as a boilermaker.
But his first love was always motorcycle racing. In the 70s he was one of New Zealand’s top 10 racing speedway riders and was also involved in motocross and road racing. He and his Jawa bike even raced against six-times-world-champion, Ivan Major.
Once his two children (Donna and Callum) were grown, Kelvin moved to the Gold Coast and started Reid’s Asphalt in 1987.
His business was a great success – he soon had ten staff and was a preferred supplier for Gold Coast City Council. He had used many different roller machines over the years, including an old 3.5T Dynapac, but that all changed when he got a call from Conplant in the mid-90s.
He ended up purchasing a roller and, as the Sales Rep informed him it was the first of that brand ever sold in Australia, they threw in a free plate compactor as a congratulations present.
“We used that roller every day for seven years, it was serviced as required and it never let us down once. It was an amazing machine! Plus, Conplant were easy to deal with and went the extra mile to make things happen.”
Kelvin sold his business in 2008, but he still does the odd asphalt job for friends and family, even at 71 years of age.
And motor racing is still his first love – he keenly follows his favourite cars and bikes on TV and attends events when he can.
Good on you, Kelvin – keep on rolling!
