More than a century after George Skellerup arrived in Christchurch with plans to manufacture tyres, the company bearing his family’s name remains one of New Zealand’s most enduring agricultural manufacturers, producing rubberware used in dairy sheds across the world.

Dino Kudrass, Executive General Manager of Agri for Skellerup, says that unbroken presence since 1910 is central to how the business understands its role in the sector.

“New Zealand still is a really important part of our DNA; it’s how we started,” he says.

“It’s definitely where our heart is closest tied to.”

When George Skellerup’s tyre licence fell through, the business turned to retailing rubber products before growing into a substantial manufacturer through the 1930s, eventually becoming an operation that produced everything from footwear to building products.

“At one point, it employed well over a thousand people in Christchurch.

“It effectively made every imaginable rubber commodity.”

Today, the Agri division produces milking liners, hoses, tubing and filters, components that sit closer to the animal than almost anything else in the dairy shed. Kudrass says the engineering standard behind them carries consequences that extend well beyond the milking platform.

“It’s like the tyre on a car, the only thing that contacts the road.

“As farmers will appreciate, the udder and the teats are very sensitive parts of the cow, so therefore, these products we make, if that goes wrong, it can go horribly wrong.

“It can cause huge issues, less milk production, mastitis, or huge vet bills.”

About 80% of New Zealand-manufactured product go to export markets, including through OEM licensing arrangements that place Skellerup rubber into equipment built by manufacturers worldwide.

Kudrass says the insight that comes from operating across diverse dairy systems feeds directly back to local farmers.

“We can actually bring a lot of those learnings, especially the innovation, what works and what doesn’t work, back to New Zealand and really help New Zealand farmers benefit from that.”

A team of about 20 development engineers in Christchurch drives that innovation programme across three focus areas: rubber formulation and food contact compliance, manufacturing process and tooling, and on-farm product testing and iteration.

“The manufacturing, but also the product development in New Zealand, adds real tangible value to farmers.”

Kudrass points to the Thriver Calf Teat as a recent example, a product developed locally and built with features including a vanilla scent and split-resistant rubber.

Kudrass says farmer feedback is built into that development cycle, and the company brings engineers to events like Fieldays specifically to hear it firsthand.

“They know what they’re talking about.”

Trusted by farmers for generations, Skellerup designs and manufactures purpose‑built dairy solutions that perform where it matters most. Explore the range at Skellerup.com

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