A brief history of APEX
APEX is a new brand on the forestry scene. We are a small, fast-paced team bringing a fresh approach to age-old issues in a quickly evolving industry.
AP Plant & Machinery (APPM) the parent company of APEX, is a rebuilds and repairs company servicing the forestry industry in Gisborne. A family-owned business, run by Mark Lewis and sons Hamish and Arne. East Coast born and bred, they are a family of problem solvers with a passion for design and build. Some say hydraulic fluid runs in their blood.
Their close association and experience with the forestry industry made APPM notice a radical change in steep slope harvesting operations over the last 5 years: as tethering, mechanical felling and grapple extraction have become almost mandatory, both debt levels and daily running costs have increased hugely.
This squeezes margins for the contractor and forestry owner alike, to the point where there are production caps in place and, in some cases, decreased rates for the contractor the moment there’s a decrease in the price of wood. This hurts all parties, especially heavily leveraged new contractors.
APPM believe the answer is in reducing extraction costs while prioritising safety. APEX has been created solely with this in mind.
2020
AP Hydraulics becomes AP Plant & Machinery (APPM), and moves into the current new premises – offering complete plant and machinery solutions, under one roof.
2017
The acquisition of Oil Intel’s Gisborne branch makes AP Hydraulics the leading hydraulics service provider on the East Coast.
2012
Machinery division sold to Power Farming; AP Hydraulics is founded and becomes an autonomous entity
2008
AP Hydraulics Limited is purchased and enveloped into Farm Machinery.
2006
Farm Machinery splits from AgriPlus and starts operating as AP Machinery with Agco franchise for Gisborne.
2003
Mark Lewis starts in selling Farm Machinery