About Total Repair Services and Brendon Vanstone

My Background

I was born on a dairy farm on the Wild West Coast of New Zealand. Five years later my family saw the light (through the rain) of the East coast, in particular- South Canterbury.

Living there on the farm for 15 years or so you tend to pick up many skills, not just because you have the resources there to use, but also because someone else to do the work is often a long way away or things break down on a Sunday! The skills I learnt as a youngster range from driving heavy machinery, vehicle maintenance to welding, plumbing and building.

Using this knowledge in my later teens I ran some small businesses in my area, auto electrical and baling /cultivating, after which time studied Electrical Engineering for one year before working as an appliance serviceman / heat pump installer for a local electrician. Here I gained an Appliance Serviceman licence, of which now I have superseded with an Electrical Service Technician licence. In between times carrying on with mechanical and engineering work around the neighboring area.

Once the 1990's were over, the farm was sold and I took up an apprenticeship in Marine Electronics which gave me a very wide range of experience, from radar and communication to navigation and general electronic/ electrical diagnosis and repair.

Half of my time was spent repairing welders such as MIG/TIG/ARC and Plasma units, and also when required, I would work in the industrial and domestic electrical department with electricians, at which time I gained a lot more electrical knowledge and experience. When my work day was over, I would head out to drive harvesters into the small hours or go and fix fellow pilot's recreational aircraft.

Once the 2005 calendar was up on the wall, I decided it was time to broaden my horizons an travelled for a time, stumbling on a ski field job in BC, Canada where I returned for four more seasons, working up through the ranks to become Maintenance Manager, dealing with everything from all aspects of lifts and Snow Groomers, to company vehicles, water systems and Coffee machines. Alternate winters back home I have been managing a Canterbury ski field.

What I learnt there on the slopes was invaluable to me, with such variety, and requirements for such a diverse range of skills.
Now I'm back in South Canterbury and I believe the time has come to put these skills, knowledge and tools together to bring a cost effective, quality service to fellow South Cantabrians.