Dane earned his trade in the NZ Army as a fitter turner welder and gained his New Zealand Certificate of Engineering (NZCE Mechanical) from the Central Institute of Technology.

From there he travelled overseas and had his own maintenance company in the UK working for firms as diverse as a 5 star hotel and the Crystal Palace Sports Ground. He also travelled the country doing technical installs for several nationwide retail chains.

On returning to New Zealand and settling in Marlborough, Dane worked at Cuddons for a number of years. He went out on his own in 2011, founding Ironside Engineering (Ironside is his wife Katy’s maiden name and earned him a few points with the in-laws!). He enjoys being hands on in the business and gets particular satisfaction from training up apprentices.

Paula is the office manager and everything running smoothly (despite the boys’ best efforts) and manages the behind the scenes side of the business. Ironside Engineering would grind to a halt without Paula.