96 | Wade Construction T T Sue Russell Diversity underpins firm’s success Taupo-based Wade Construction offers a diverse range of services inlcuding residential, commercial, industrial, landscaping, roofing and Interior finishing. BUILDING Having talented staff is a key reason why Wade Construction has evolved, since its founding in 1996 into a solid multi-disciplinary business, serving the central North Island, offering residential, commercial, industrial, landscaping, roofing and Interior finishing services. Today, the business is owned by John Wade, Glynn Maulder and Richard Gardiner engaging a team of just shy of 40 staff. “John always wanted the business to become a one-stop-shop able to see projects through from design, costing, project management, construction and signing off,” Glynn says. And having quite a skill range means that the Taupo-based business is in a strong position to ride out the peaks and troughs, the boom and bust cycles by simply not focusing on one particular type of construction work. “In fact during the last GFC we had our biggest turn-over to date and we’ve since beaten that,” says Glynn. There’s a hub of activity currrently happening on the industrial front at Rakaunui Road where Wade Construction is engaged in four projects. Add to this a mix of smaller commercial projects, school work and maintenance work for landlords and companies that manage property in Taupo and there’s plenty of work to keep the team engaged. Glynn says carrying a philosophy where the business never wants to turn an opportunity down, no matter how large or small the job, underpins why the business is the success it is today. “You want to always be able to say Yes, when the phone rings. People remember how they were treated from that initial inquiry, so we put a lot of emphasis on engagement with clients right from the start.” And an equally strong philosophy of wanting to see the team really engaged in seeing their working life as a career, where opportunities will unfold, is a core part of the business’s culture and approach to staff care. “We’ve always said to people, if they want to work with us we want them to have a career, not just a job. We encourage them to retrain themselves. Today, we send some of our foremen and higher up staff on management courses. It’s our way of practically supporting them and as a result we have very good staff retention numbers.” Asked how many apprentices were currently employed Glynn says seven are actively engaged through trade training organisation, Toi Ōhomai. “We try to make Wade Construction a welcoming and positive place to work in and its really great to see young people come through engaged in learning a trade and furthering themselves.” Projects come in all shapes and sizes. Wade Construction were engaged to build a large headquarters and workshop complex for Warner Construction, with office spaces alone measuring 300sqm and a workshop of approximately 1000sqm. These days Glynn says there’s sufficient bouyancy and growth within the immediate region to keep the teams busy, without going too far afield. “We enjoy strong relationships with most of the power operators with facilities in this region.” Wade Construction also offers a Trade Scholarship to a student at Taupo-nui-a-Tia College, something Glynn says is really sending a signal out about how much the company values the trades. “Secondary schools don’t seem to encourage people into trades. There’s this perception that if you have any brain-cells you should go to University, but the truth of the matter is that often students who don’t perform so well at school have innate abilities that make them highly successful people after leaving school.” Glynn says a good example of this is John Wade, who failed School Certificate, completed a carpentry apprenticeship and never looked back. “He is insightful, engaging and intelligent and has great vision for offering affordable solutions for our clients. Those are qualities he didn’t gain from a school book.” Along with Glynn, Richard Gardiner and John Wade are equal share owners/directors in the company. “Our skills complement each other and we all genuinely care about good results. Our business mantra is simple: ‘If this was your home or place of business, would you be happy with it?’,” Glynn says. Proud suppliers to Wade Construction office@atglasstaupo.co.nz @atglasstaupo • Awnings • Balustrades • Security Products • Showers • Wardrobes • Gates • Flyscreens • Bask • Louvre Systems
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