Not many couples can live, work and play together but Peter and Sandy Wilson have been lucky enough to enjoy that dynamic for almost two decades.

The couple love being self-employed and when they returned to Tauranga from their OE in 1991, Pete opened Express Glass and Sandy opened her own florist shop on Cameron Rd a few years later.

“When our kids, Jack and Kess arrived, owning two businesses became a bit much so we sold the florist shop. After spending some quality years at home with our children, Sandy decided to join me in the Express Glass workshop and now takes care of all our customer service and administration,” Peter explains.

Aside from themselves, Peter and Sandy employ two extra staff and deliberately keep their team small so they can provide personal service and maintain a great lifestyle with their children. “I really love getting out and about, meeting new clients and helping solve people’s problems – especially in those emergency situations!”

Sandy is always on hand to solve Peter’s emergencies too (such as forgetting his computer password) and the pair are always there to back each other up.

And when they’re not hard at work, they’re working hard on their bikes.

Road cycling and mountain biking is passion Peter and Sandy both share, and they’ll often ride for several hours a week together, with Peter putting in extra kilometers whenever he can.

“Each Sunday we do a round trip to Welcome Bay, Papamoa, the Mount and back home again to Judea – stopping to enjoy a coffee somewhere along the way. We’re also keen members of a local mountain biking group which meets each Wednesday night to tackle different routes and tracks around the city. It’s a great way to keep fit, enjoy the outdoors and switch off from everything else,” Peter says.

Now their kids are nearly grown (Jack is 19 and Kess is 16), the couple will no doubt have more free time to devote to cycling, and to their business. Looking back, their decision to come home to Tauranga was an excellent one, and re-locating Express Glass to Maleme St in Greerton a few years ago has also paid off.

“We can service the whole city from here and it’s easy to duck up to Omokoroa or out to The Lakes. There’s also plenty of parking so customers can pop in to see us or drive their caravans right into our workshop for us to take care of repairs. We’re very thankful to have such a great set-up and work/life balance.”