From Apprentice to Manager- meet Brent Long

From apprentice to manager- Brent Long is one of our newest Trustees, who joins the Trust with decades of experience in the sector. We sat down with Brent to understand what makes him tick.

Kia ora Brent, tell us a little about yourself:

 I’ve been through the industrial refrigeration sector as an apprentice, engineer and am currently Service Manager for Active Refrigeration, Christchurch.  Because of this, I’m really passionate about training up new people to our sector and providing opportunities for apprentices.  The thing I love about the refrigeration industry is how different everyday is. I like that each day brings a new challenge that we get to solve for clients.

 When I’m not on the tools, I enjoy boating (lakes and rivers) and skiing in Wānaka with my wife and 15 year old daughter.  

Why have you decided to become a Trustee?

 I saw it as an opportunity to be involved with an industry body that is progressive and meaningful.  One that is bringing change to our environment through industry action.

What do you see as the major challenges and opportunities over the next 12 months for the Trust?

 I’m really excited about the fact that soon we’ll be destroying our own refrigerant in NZ with the new plant coming on-line this year. I think that ties in well with Cool-Safe being accredited as New Zealand’s product stewardship scheme. The step of accreditation is extremely important, and this provides the platform for industry change that has long been sought for many years (decades in fact). This includes supporting training and qualifications framework that we’ve all been asking for for some time.