AFTER being on sale for over two years and only attracting a "tyre kicker", Henk van de Ven has sold the Enzed outlet he began in Albury in 1986.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The hydraulic hose supply and repair franchise has been bought by his contracted bookkeeper Renae Pitargue and former Victorian logging industry worker Shane Sheil.
"Obviously at some stage you've got to retire to be able to smell the roses and spend a bit of the money that you've accumulated over a few years," said Mr van de Ven who turns 71 this Saturday.
"I've had quite a few emails already and messages already to say congrats on the retirement, 'thanks for your service over the years and enjoy yourself'."
The new owners officially took over on July 1 with Mr van de Ven to continue to mid-September to assist with the full transition.
When he started Enzed Albury-Wodonga, Mr van de Ven was a single man who had lived in Melbourne and worked as a computer programmer but knew the Riverina through golf and harness racing trips.
In other news
"The opportunity arose to take Albury-Wodonga or Kalgoorlie," he said.
"Now I would have made a load more money in Kalgoorlie but the lifestyle mightn't have been as good as what the lifestyle has been here and I've met my wife (Sue) here and got married here.
"She was an insurance rep for AMP....and she came to visit me one day to sort out a problem....and I told her straight away I said 'I don't like insurance, you're all a bunch of parasites, but anyway can you fix this?' and a week later I asked her out."
Mr van de Ven has confirmed he will seek a fifth term on Albury Council, although he is yet to finalise his ticket.
"I don't think I could afford to lose the council job and the work job and sort of keep myself busy," he said.
"I do believe that experience counts for a fair bit in council and I want to offer that experience again for re-election.
"I'll be 74 when this term finishes so maybe that will be one of those situations where that's probably enough.
"I don't want to do a 46-year stint because at that particular point I would be 99."
Mr van de Ven said he aspired to be mayor again after being the only councillor to have a single-year stint in the top job since 2009.
He is also keen to see suitable planning to meet the growth of Thurgoona and Hamilton Valley, citing the need for the Riverina Highway to the east of Albury to be divided through to Kerr Road.
Mr van de Ven said he continued to support an indoor aquatic centre for Albury on the basis it was funded by governments rather than ratepayers.
