In 1996, Mr Hammond became a shareholder in the New Zealand Brush Company, a Dunedin business which dates back to 1886, and subsequently its production manager.
It was different to his farming career in Otago - although the can-do nature of farming proved useful - but he was fortunate to have Bill Dore, a former partner in the business, to call on when he needed help and that assistance was "invaluable", he said.
"If you walked down the main street in Dunedin, I'd be surprised if 30% of them [the public] knew we existed," he said.
In fact, in the company's advertising, it did not mention it was a Dunedin business, using an 0800 number and email address, as some in the north were unlikely to do business in the south. The company did now have staff in Auckland, he said.
It was Alfred Carter Broad, who came from a long line of brush-makers, who started production with two other staff members in a small two-room shed-cum-stable in Cumberland St with tools and brush fibres he had prearranged to be sent from the United Kingdom.
Later known as the Otago Brush Company, it began an association with Christchurch firm Bunting and Company in 1927 but continued to trade separately until 1961 when it was decided to sell all brushes under the Bunting name.
After a few years, it was decided to rationalise by relocating both the Dunedin and Christchurch factories in Auckland, resulting in the closure of the Dunedin factory in December 1973.
However, the business was resurrected the following year when four of the senior members of the Dunedin staff, who had been made redundant, formed a company known as the New Zealand Brush Company Ltd, specialising in the niche market of industrial and commercial brushes. In 1996, the last two remaining partners, Bill Dore and Cliff McAuley, sold out to a group of Dunedin businessmen.
The company did not export its products but they could be found all over the world, Mr Hammond said.
One of its main focuses was manufacturing road sweepers, while brushes for washing vegetables also sold well.
There was a wide-ranging selection of brushes and brooms and the company was able to make a single special brush, or mass produce a custom design.
"Making brushes is not sexy by any means ... [but] it's something everybody has," he said.
The Otaki St premises was a manufacturing site and retail was not a focus although "we won't turn anybody away", he said.
In recent years, the company has employed sales representatives in Auckland, Palmerston North and Dunedin and, three years ago, it acquired another brush company in Auckland. There were about 18 permanent staff and 10 casual staff.
While the economic recession had not been ideal in terms of growth the company would have liked to have achieved, "we haven't gone out the door either'.
n the last few years, the company had sourced a lot more product from Asia, mostly raw materials. To remain competitive in the world market, it had to buy materials at the best possible price.
Six years ago, the company bought a Borghi brush-making machine from Italy, which had proved to be a valuable asset, he said.
It had reduced the time it took to make a particular set of brushes from 32 hours down to nine.
The main strength of the business was its staff and the company was fortunate to have such "excellent" employees, many of whom were long term, Mr Hammond said.
About 90% of the company's business was repeat trade.
"You don't get away with doing cheap and nasty and that happening," he said.
Mr Dore, an engineer, said the company still made a lot of the products from his day, but had also extended the range considerably.
He was pleased to have been able to help keep the company in Dunedin, back in the 1970s, although he said he initially knew nothing about running a company.
"I just knew how to make brushes," he said.
