In 1933, Tom McKay met Mona Chapman in Napier, and the pair married in December 1934. A trip north to Dargaville in 1936 proved significant, when a chance meeting with local plumber Jim Robertson led to an agreement that would see Robertson handle plumbing and Tom take on electrical work in the town as electricity arrived in the Far North. Tom and Mona returned to Napier, sold half of Tom’s existing business, and relocated to Dargaville that same year. Plans to trial the move were cut short when Mona became unwell and passed away in August 1936. Tom sold the remainder of his Hawke’s Bay business and committed fully to building McKay in Dargaville.

Tom leased McKay’s first premises on the corner of Victoria and Poto Street for £2.10 a week, establishing an electrical workshop and later a retail shopfront. As electricity consumption surged following the formation of the North Auckland Electric Power Board, Tom expanded into retail, selling radios and household appliances.

McKay Electrical was formally registered in February 1938, with household wiring becoming the backbone of the growing business and a small team of staff joining Tom.

With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, work slowed and Tom was deployed to the Air Force to wire military camps across the North Island. That same year, he married Jean Gordon, whose administrative skills became vital to the business.

After the war, Tom rebuilt operations, supported by a booming economy and rising demand for electrical appliances, while contracting work remained central to McKay’s growth.