Merv Solly (centre) accepts his 2016 induction into the Road Transport Hall of Fame from associate minister of transport Hon. Craig Foss and Hall of Fame director Scott O’Donnell.

Merv Solly has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the transport industry and business in the 2025 New Year Honours list.

Merv has been involved in transport, civil construction, quarrying and farming for the past 62 years.

He became the managing director of his father and grandfather’s truck business, Sollys, at age 31. He took over the company in the late 1980s, overseeing its expansion from a small rural transport operation to a national business with 130 trucks and 180 staff.

Sollys acquired marine shipping, farming and coal distribution companies. The company now provides freight services, assists in construction work on building projects, road maintenance and coastal protection, and supplies raw materials from its quarries, supporting New Zealand’s agriculture and infrastructure industries.

Sollys today comprises 130 trucks and 180 staff, with its head office in Tākaka and depots in Richmond, Blenheim, Christchurch, and Greymouth.

After purchasing Golden Bay Dolomite in 2007, Merv commenced soil testing and creating biological fertiliser mixes for farms, vineyards and orchards across New Zealand and overseas.

Merv is a passionate agronomist and advocates for the use of natural nitrogen fixers as an alternative to chemical fertilisers. This increases soil health, productivity and nutrition. His other business interests include DX50, a provider of water treatment chemicals, and Fernbrae Farms. Within the Golden Bay community, he was a Lions Club member, supports the local fire brigade and mentors youth.

Merv received a Tasman Community Award and was inducted into the New Zealand Road Transport Hall of Fame in 2016.

“I would like to thank all the people that have supported us to get this far because without good customers, you wouldn’t have a business at all,” he said.

“My partner [of more than 40 years] Ann McNabb, she has been a great contributor to the success of Sollys and family members have also been really important to the company’s development.

“I’m looking forward to February 2028, when Sollys will be 100 years old, there aren’t too many private family companies that get that far and stay together, so that makes you proud.”

From the team at New Zealand Trucking Media, congratulations on this well-deserved recognition, Merv!