20 | Palmerston North: Ashhurst Engineering & Construction Electricity, infrastructure focus for firm T T Richard Loader The AEC team at the company’s Ashhurst headquarters. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT T T to page 22 From a small blacksmith workshop established to service Manawatu farmers 147 years ago, Ashhurst Engineering and Construction (AEC) has forged its place as a highly successful and reputable steel fabrication, machining, manufacturing and construction company. Operating throughout New Zealand, AEC has a strong focus on the energy, electricity distribution and infrastructure sectors, working for some of New Zealand’s major state owned enterprises and corporates including Transpower, Mercury, Genesis, Meridian, Trustpower, Kordia, Ventia, Electrix, Northpower, Downer, Fulton Hogan and ABB. In 2020, at the start of the country’s first Covid lockdown AEC played a critical role in repairing Transpower’s Direct Current link from the Haywards in Wellington down to Lake Benmore in the South Island when a storm buckled part of an overhead power tower and threatened power supply at the worst possible moment. Still family owned and operated AEC and its fifty highly skilled team members operate from a large scale, fully equipped and purpose built workshop in Ashhurst along with workshops in Christchurch and Taupo. At the helm of the business is Dave Hoskin. After training as a coachbuilder Dave joined the AEC team on the 1st of April 1996 and by 1998 was running the workshop and involved in major projects including the Ohakuri Power Station on the Waikato River. When AEC’s owners let it be known they were looking to retire by the age of 60 Dave recognised an opportunity to build on the successful family business and commenced negotiations to buy it. “My wife Gillian and I started a five and a half year management buyout, taking the final shares on the 1st of April 2010. We poured an enormous amount of energy into the business during that period, trebling AEC’s size and turnover. The Ashhurst factory was extended in 2006 and again in 2010 to accommodate the growth, and now encompasses 2000sqm on an 8000sqm site. Our key areas of work are mainly focused on electricity and infrastructure, though we do undertake interesting structural builds and other construction steelwork at times. From Ashhurst we design, engineer and fabricate equipment and freight it to locations nationwide from Invercargill to Dargaville on a regular basis.” AEC’s journey in the energy sector commenced with building equipment stands for Transpower’s substations that the high voltage infrastructure sits on. “Our focus has remained heavily in the electricity and infrastructure sectors which now account for most of our revenue. As the years have gone by we’ve got involved in transmission pylons, manufacturing the parts and equipment. “We continue to diversify, now being heavily involved in windfarms, manufacturing componentry and tooling for them, as well as supporting with labour. “Our staff have been in Australia and USA undertaking specialist work on wind turbines. “We’ve solved problems in New Zealand and the same problems have occurred overseas, so we’ve put a man on a plane to show them what we’ve learned, and passed the skills on.” In June 2016 AEC purchased an existing business in Christchurch that had specialist skills in high voltage electrical switchgear, supporting critical electricity infrastructure from Christchurch along with undertaking other infrastructure projects. “Because the Christchurch team has very specialist skills in electrical switchgear they are passing those skills on to our other branches. That will also reduce the carbon footprint freighting equipment to the South Island for repairs.” Toyota store selling new and used vehicles, servicing, parts and finance & insurance Proud to support Ashhurst Engineering We keep local businesses on the go 0800 502 666 Palmerston North Fielding Masteron Levin Whanganui www.manawatutoyota.co.nz
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=