Winching ahead

Nilsson started the business as a sideline, originally operating from his basement in Auckland’s Roberts Road. In the early days his very understanding wife would operate the lathes and mills to do the machining while he was at his day job.

In the evenings he would assemble the winches from the parts she’d made and set up the machines again for the next day’s machining. It did not take long before he gave up his job to work full time in winch manufacturing.

The basement proved too small to cope with the growing demand for his products, and he moved to a factory in Sunnybrae Road in Auckland. Ever-innovative, he next designed and constructed his