We need to diversify what we build and create here in Aotearoa New Zealand to grow our economy, former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said.

The Labour leader visited UBCO Bikes in Mount Maunganui to explore the electric bike company, which supplies customers worldwide.

“Experiences like this help us understand how to make that happen. How do you open up new opportunities? Those questions are crucial,” Hipkins said.

Labour's education spokeswoman, MP Jan Tinetti, and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins. Photo / Tom Eley

Hipkins and Labour’s education spokeswoman, MP Jan Tinetti, were on a fast-paced tour of Tauranga and Mount Maunganui, visiting various start-ups.

“It is just a great opportunity to talk innovation and see that people have no idea about amazing businesses like this that exist in New Zealand,” Hipkins said.

“It is a great chance to come and see what they’re doing. You know, talk about the barriers that they face.”

The modesty of Kiwi businesses surprised Hipkins on the tour, and he said start-ups such as UBCO often go unnoticed.

“There’s a lot more innovation in New Zealand than we necessarily appreciate.”

UBCO Bikes, founded in a farm shed by Daryl Neal and Anthony Clyde in 2014, initially targeted the consumer market, according to CEO Oliver Hutaff.

“They took the iconic New Zealand farm bike and figured they could build a better mousetrap,” he said.

“The first bike ever built and put into consumers’ hands is still working at about 70% capacity.”

Some of the electric bikes at UBCO Bikes. Photo / Tom Eley

UBCO has since pivoted to the commercial and fleet market as the bikes were over-engineered for recreational retail.

“Given the utility nature of the bike, everything like that, trying to put it into recreational retail, it just was sort of a square peg in a round hole,” Hutaff said.

Two weeks after he came on board as CEO of the company, the start-up landed its first tender with Australia Post two years ago.

“Right now, we have put 175 bikes in with Australia Post, which is sort of just a trial for them.”

Australia Post has to replace its fleet of 5000 bikes after Honda pulled out of making its bikes, according to Hutaff.

“They [Australia Post] have to replace their entire fleet of bikes over three years. And so that’s a really good opportunity for us.”

Along with Australia Post, UBCO works closely with the National Park Service in the United States and has donated 100 bikes across North America.

“Right now, we’re in about 10 or 15 different parks, primarily up and down California, for the western part of the United States,” Hutaff said.

“And so we did the first trial of 20 to 25 bikes out of the 100 we’re giving them. Now we’re getting ready to roll after the remaining 75-bike donation.”

The team at UBCO Bikes. Photo / Tom Eley

The New Zealand team designs all the bikes before a Taiwanese company, TPK, manufactures them. The bikes are then shipped back to Aotearoa, where they receive their final touches.

Hutaff spent 30 years in Silicon Valley before moving to New Zealand to take over the UBCO project.

“I’ve worked with some really impressive teams in my career,” he said.

“This team is probably the most dedicated, most creative that I’ve worked with, and they are also some of the nicest and easiest people to meet with I have ever seen.”

UBCO bikes design director in engineering Danny Neill. Photo / Tom Eley

UBCO bikes are about something other than trying to reinvent electric bicycles, but how to take inspiration from their competitors and make improvements, design director in engineering Danny Neill said.

“You want to scratch beneath the surface to see what they’re not doing,” he said.

“And making sure that we’re producing a good product.”

- SunLive