Our team
Ritex is a nine-person team based in Nelson, with an office in Sydney supporting Australian customers. Most of the team have been here for years. Several for decades. When you contact Ritex, you're speaking to someone who knows their product category inside out.
Peter Rutherford
Founder and Managing Director
Peter founded Ritex in Wellington in 1986 and relocated the business to Nelson, where it has been based ever since. His aim was straightforward: supply high-quality textiles at competitive prices and build lasting relationships with the businesses.
Over his career, Peter has travelled to six continents to establish and maintain Ritex's supplier and customer network — building direct relationships with manufacturers across Asia and Europe that underpin every product category Ritex supplies today.
Many of Ritex's earliest customers are still with the company. Peter's direct approach and commitment to getting the product right have shaped Ritex's reputation from day one and continue to define it.
Beyond Ritex, Peter is a life member of the Karori Cricket Club and Stoke Bowling Club, and a long-time supporter of Zingari Richmond Rugby Football Club. He remains connected to Ritex, providing guidance and industry knowledge.
Brendan Hodgson
General Manager | Woolpacks
Brendan's connection to Ritex goes back further than most. His father Wayne ran Valiant Containers from the same Nelson site Ritex now occupies — a business Ritex eventually acquired, forming the foundation of its polypropylene bag division.
He started working casually in the warehouse during school holidays around 2000, joined full-time in 2006, and stepped into the General Manager role in 2023. In between, he worked across admin, accounts, and linen sales before completing his degree and returning in 2012 as Category Manager for Woolpacks.
He still manages woolpacks today — a category he knows inside out and takes genuine pride in.
His long history with the company gives him a deep understanding of its roots, while his leadership helps shape its future.
Peter Hodson
Category Manager:
Woven Bags & Aquaculture
Born in Blenheim but raised in Nelson, making him a true Tasman Mako man, Pete’s Ritex journey began in the early 2000s as a casual unloading containers. s. He moved into a full-time warehouse role in 2001 and progressed steadily — first to Warehouse Manager, then through woolpacks category management, before settling into his current role overseeing woven bags and aquaculture.
An expert in woven bags, he manages the full supply chain from procurement through to sales. Pete is skilled at sourcing and designing tailored solutions, ensuring every customer gets the right product to meet their unique business needs.
Adam Olverson
Category Manager:
Laundry & Industrial Textiles
Born in Southampton and raised across six countries — completing his education in Jamaica — Adam developed an early appreciation for quality and service. He gained his first exposure to hospitality through an internship at Sandals Resorts and went on to build a career in commercial textiles, working as Sales Manager at Britannia Textiles, supplying linen and medical textiles to laundries, DHBs, and hotels across New Zealand.
Adam joined Ritex in 2023 and manages the laundry and industrial textiles category end-to-end, from sourcing and forecasting through to after-sales support. Outside work, he enjoys family time and tinkering with motorcycles and electronics.
Sirena Ikink
Financial Administrator
Sirena returned to her home town of Nelson in 2023 after several years in finance roles in Australia, and joined Ritex shortly after. She oversees the company's accounts, financial systems, and forward exchange.
Known for her no-nonsense approach and genuine passion for numbers, Sirena brings international experience and a grounded, get-it-done attitude that keeps Ritex's finances in excellent order.
Kim Webber
Logistics Coordinator
Kim relocated to Nelson in 2022 and joined the Ritex team in early 2023. She manages day-to-day logistics — coordinating deliveries, incoming shipments, and inventory flow to keep operations running smoothly behind the scenes. A welcoming presence at the front desk and a friendly voice on the phone, Kim is often the first point of contact for customers calling the Nelson office. Her organised, people-first approach ensures nothing gets missed and everything moves when it needs to.
When she is not at work you’ll most likely find her pottering in the garden or spending time with her family.
Natasha Phipps
Sewing & Production
Natasha has been with Ritex since 2005 — one of the longest-serving members of the team. She handles relabelling, linen amendments, and custom production work, managing the finishing that allows Ritex to meet exact customer specifications. Over the years she has moved with the business, shifting from bag production to linen as the operation evolved. Fast, precise, and consistent, Natasha's work means customers receive products ready to use, labelled correctly, . Her skills and longevity give Ritex a level of in-house production flexibility that would otherwise be hard to come by.
James Pugh
Warehouse Manager
James officially joined Ritex in 2004, although he'd already spent most of his school holidays working casually in the warehouse from the moment he was legally allowed to. With a strong work ethic and a steady, practical approach, he learned the ins and outs of the operation over time — building a deep understanding of the products and processes through hands-on experience.
He also carries a strong sense of the company's history, with his late father Brian having been a well-known and well-liked category manager at Ritex for many years. When the Warehouse Manager role became available, James was a natural choice. He now runs the warehouse with calm efficiency and quiet reliability, ensuring everything moves where it needs to — when it needs to.
Alana Coles
Marketing and Brand
Alana joined Ritex at the start of 2025, taking on marketing and brand with a focus on digital. She specialises in digital marketing, SEO, and paid advertising, and brings hands-on commercial experience — including building and scaling her own successful e-commerce business, and partnering with a traditional B2B business to develop an e-commerce channels.
Alana is focused on building a stronger digital presence and making it easier for customers to find, understand, and buy from Ritex.
Ritex International. Built on relationships. Backed by expertise. Continuing a legacy.
Ritex International. Built on relationships. Backed by expertise. Continuing a legacy.