34 | T T Sue Russell Top staff gurantee top results Superior Walls & Ceilings, a long-standing New Plymouth-based business, has skilled tradespeople delivering exceptional workmanship . REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Owned and operated by Peter Lucas, Superior Walls & Ceilings, a long-standing New Plymouth-based business, has 15 skilled tradespeople delivering exceptional workmanship . Peter is proud to say that his company, for the area he operates in, is the best in the business, built from the high standards the original owner Paul Farrell worked to. “The company was started in 1983 and I joined in 1999 as a 16-year-old school leaver to take up an apprenticeship,” Peter says. He was given the opportunity to buy into the business in 2008, and then took over completely in 2020 when Covid hit. Peter says 2024 was a good year and the business is thriving, with three more employees added to the team. “One of the great things about becoming a plasterer is that with good teaching from the start you can become really skilled at the trade. That’s how I was taught, and that’s how we will continue to teach any new apprentices.” He’s found the BCITO training system a good pathway for people to gain qualifications and wind up with a great career. “With the way the learning modules are taught and signed off, this trade is really well suited for people who are good with their hands.” Having been a plasterer for so many years, Peter says the basics of great plastering haven’t changed; however, some of the technologies used have improved. The business focuses mainly on Gib stopping for both residential and commercial projects, but also does Gib supply and fixing as well as manufacturing and installing fibrous plaster mouldings. After a well-earned break for himself and the team, Peter says 2025 is starting very positively with projects booked in. Pricing work is something Peter says he has become very skilled at. “We’re good at working out the cost based on plans for new builds. I’ve invested in good software to assist with New Plymouth - Superior Walls & Ceilings pricing and I always try to have the quote back to the customer as soon as possible.” The good work that the company does was recently recognised within the Taranaki business community at the 2024 Most Trusted Business Awards, something Peter says was particularly pleasing, given the status of the awards. “I’m super-proud for my team who all deliver an exceptionally high standard of work.” In fact Peter would be the first to say that he’s always put a great deal of emphasis on creating a very positive and supportive working environment. “You know, in most businesses the employee has to work hard and prove themselves, to justify an increase in remuneration. “I work the other way around, giving out first and expecting the performance to reflect my faith in them. “The team really value this approach from me and it’s just one of the things that makes this company such a good one to work for.” That attitude, Peter says, rubs off in staff wanting to give the very best of themselves into their work, so everyone benefits.
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