The Far North office has been operational since 2005 and was previously owned and operated by David and his wife Gillian McClelland. Recently David has decided to move on and G.J.’s Far North has been taken over by father and son duo Kalie van Jaarsveld Snr and Kalie van Jaarsveld Jnr.
The van Jaarsveld family moved to Auckland from South Africa 15 years ago and have called New Zealand home ever since. Before joining the G.J. family, Kalie Snr had his own construction company in Auckland for nine years and also worked as a builder prior to that, while his son worked as a quantity surveyor in Auckland before taking a role as an estimator for G.J.’s in the Far North in 2015.
In 2015 Kalie Jnr moved up to Kerikeri to take up a role as an estimator for the Far North franchise and has loved it ever since, believing that he couldn’t work for a better business. Kalie Jnr asked his father to join him on this new venture in owning their own G.J. Gardner franchise, and having built homes previously for G.J.’s Kalie Snr was familiar with the systems and was more than happy to get on board.
They both love what they do and feel that as a whole the G.J. Gardner Group feels like a family, with everyone more than happy to lend a helping hand. The new team feels that the respect that everyone gives each other creates a welcoming environment and a sense of belonging and learning.
Living in the Far North certainly has many benefits and these two enjoy a great work life balance, with Kalie Jnr being an active member of the local rugby club in Kerikeri and also enjoys spending time with his family and friends while both father and son relish getting outdoors and going hunting.
“The winterless north is beautiful, the community up here is lovely and everyone is supportive of our new venture. We cannot wait to get stuck in and continue the great work set out by David and Gillian.” - Kalie Jnr