| 47 T T Kim Newth Big dreams drive growth Direct Earth is strongly committed to developing all their employees and supporting them to grow their skills. Hawke’s Bay: Direct Earth REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Hastings-based Direct Earth has grown at a remarkable pace over the past five or six years to become a leading multi-trade enterprise servicing local government, as well as delivering residential and commercial projects. The company’s general manager Nicole Valdez attributes much of the growth to the entrepreneurial leadership of managing director Cameron Darwen. “Cameron dreams big,” she observes. “When I started in 2019 as office administrator, we had a crew of eight electricians and a fleet of six vehicles. Last year, we tipped the scale at 62 employees, and today we have a fleet of 44 vehicles. Last year, Cameron bought another business, KBM Machine Maintenance, which has further boosted our share of the commercial market.” Direct Earth’s full suite of services is extensive, from electrical, building and plumbing services to maintenance of commercial kitchen and laundry equipment and servicing of paint tinting machines. As well, Direct Earth provides specialist design and installation of electronic warning signs, such as school zone signs, and supplies and installs intelligent transport systems on state highways and local roads throughout New Zealand. “We have a team that travels all around the North Island installing and maintaining these systems.” A key milestone for Direct Earth was being awarded Hastings District Council’s building repairs and maintenance contract in 2019 to take care of council assets like pools and libraries. “We were still operating as Direct Earth Electrical at the time and were the incumbent electrical contractor for Hastings District Council, but had other plumbing and building contractors supporting us in the short-term,” Nicole says. “We then set about growing our in-house staff so we could fully take over the work ourselves. In the 2022/23 financial year alone, we had 64% growth.” The acquisition of KBM Machine Maintenance in June 2024 has been another significant step for Direct Earth that brings together 40 years of combined industry knowledge and experience. Based in Napier, KBM specialises in servicing, repairing and building commercial kitchen and laundry equipment. As part of the acquisition, Direct Earth now also holds a national distributorship for Fast and Fluid Paint machines, available in Bunnings and Mitre 10 stores nationwide. It further enhances the suite of services available to Direct Earth’s clientele with the kitchen and laundry machine-servicing capability proving particularly helpful to commercial clients like Restaurant Brands (KFC and Pizza Hut). “Direct Earth’s management and administration team will be moving to KBM’s building in Napier in late January 2025. Once everyone is working together, we will then be able to merge our teams even more closely.” Direct Earth is strongly committed to developing all their employees and supporting them to grow their skills. The company has apprentices in every trade – electrical, plumbing, building and painting – and runs an in-house programme called the Direct Earth Academy. “It provides our apprentices and tradespeople with additional training that’s over and above standard industry trade training. It could be anything from learning how to operate specialist machinery to getting up to speed on policies and procedures. We’re really trying to give them the best-possible grounding to take them to the next level and fill in any skill gaps they may have.” As well as delivering Hastings District Council’s building repairs and maintenance contract, Direct Earth works closely with Napier City Council. “For example, we were contracted to refurbish the timber colonnade that surrounds Napier’s landmark sound shell and recently received a Heritage Award for that project. We also do a lot of electrical contracting work for the Napier City Council.” Direct Earth has recently become ISO accredited in Health and Safety Quality and the Environment. Nicole says the focus for the year ahead will be making sure all their systems are fully embedded. “We want to ensure we’re doing things the right way. The next step after that will be further growth.” Bay Roofing Ph 06 878 8511 E: office@bayroofing.nz New Roofs Re-Roofing Roof Repairs Gerard Senator Roof Tiles Bay ReRoofing Ltd - Hawkes Bay Painting and specialist coating provider GSL Painting has an extensive depth of industry experience spanningmore than 30 years in the broader Hawke’s Bay region and has won a strong reputation for reliability and professionalism. Focussed on innovation and customer service excellence, GSL Painting is well-positioned for growth in 2025. Key services include house painting (interior and exterior), o ice and commercial painting (interior and exterior), roof painting, industrial painting plus rust protection and preventive maintenance, as well as specialised coatings for swimming pools, loors and other surfaces. “We assist in the maintenance and protection of many industrial sites and help our customers set priorities somaintenance work is well-programmed, in line with budgets and other requirements,” says Gavin Earle, managing director and owner of GSL Painting. In Hawke’s Bay, GSL Painting supports leading local businesses such as Hastings-based Direct Earth with their contract painting needs and works closely with their large and loyal customer base to achieve excellent results. Committed to the highest levels of health, safety and environmental practices, GSL Painting is proud to be supporting the drive for safer commercial and industrial worksites across the region having recently added site line marking to their portfolio of services. GSL Painting steps ahead in Hawke’s Bay “Clear, consistent site line markings reduce the potential for accidents and errors and help streamline operations. It is all about protecting sta and enhancing health and safety on site by de ining pedestrian walkways and access points, safety and exclusion zones, as well as vehicle and plant operating areas.” Another star addition for the team is GSL Property Wash, a sister venture that aims to keep residential and commercial properties looking their best. Services o ered include house washing and gutter cleaning. GSL Painting has delivered many signi icant projects in Hawke’s Bay and neighbouring areas. A recent commission for the team involved preparing and coating approximately 55,000m of cool store roo ing for Lineage Cold Storage to provide long-term protective coating. “Wanting to install a rooftop solar panel farm, Lineage engaged us to investigate a solution that would be preferable to the signi icant cost of re-roo ing. Working with our technical advisor, Peter Edmonds and Resenes, we developed a tailored coat system backed by the Resene guarantee.” GSL Painting embraces diversity and fosters a culture of inclusion. Their growing team includes four apprentices, all women. As well, GSL is committed to minimising environmental impact through taking care with site preparation and products used. The professional painters of Hawke's Bay, since 1989. GSL Painting have over 30 years of experience, providing precision, excellence and quality. They have created an enviable reputation built on trust and reliability. You can count on GSL Painting to get it right the first time! 027 295 8371 quote@gslpainting.co.nz Onekawa, Napier
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