Business Central February 2021

| 83 Ezra Bell Construction Based in Whangarei, Ezra Bell Construction concentrates on residential and some light commercial work. BUILDING Julian Andrews, founder of Pro ile Painting Ltd, set up as a sole trader post-earthquake in Christchurch in 2012. Within twelve months he had grown to ive sta and now, having moved from the South up to Whangarei, with partner Coni, its just the two of them at the chalk-face. As a couple, working together is something Julian says is a real bene it to the company. “The projects become more personalised, we can discuss them at home and I think the service we give is far more personalised. The rapport we gain with our clients is incredible,” says Julian. ‘Cutting his teeth’ the good old-fashioned way with a lot of brushwork and old school techniques, Julian says moving to Australia introduced him to spray painting techniques. Returning to New Zealand he contracted to group housing companies where time-management is everything. “You have to have your systems bang-on, to ensure the highest possible quality within a given time-frame. Those were really important skills to develop.” Julian says there’s something to be said about the professionalism of painting. “You have your builders and sparkies who carry a professional status, and slowly I can see this is coming into the painting trade and that’s great. Professional painters take their work very seriously and there’s so much involved in doing a great job, that not everyone using a brush understands.” And it’s this understanding, following a chance meeting, that attracted Ezra Bell, from Ezra Bell Construction, to use Pro ile Painting Ltd as one of his preferred contractors. “I left my business card at his o ice and within two weeks we had a set of plans to quote a contract on for Ezra. It was the largest project we had done, and today we get a lot of his architectural work.” When Covid-19 and the lockdown struck Julian acknowledges the wage subsidy on o er came at just the right time. “It empowered us to take stock and look after ourselves so we could look after our business. We became a lot lighter on our feet and now we make sure we’re not running like hamsters on the wheel.” Today, the phone is ringing hot and the couple are contemplating taking on a quali ied painter. If history has anything to say about the future, it seems certain that Pro ile Painting Ltd will grow from strength to strength. “We’re very con ident about the future, based on the reputation we have grown in this district. There’s plenty of building happening in the North and we’re happy to be a part of it.” www.profilepainting.co.nz julian@profilepainting.co.nz facebook.com/profilepainting