60 | Going beyond Hawke’s Bay Patton Engineering employs 110 staff at its custom-built 4000m2 workshop on Rangitane Road. ENGINEERING Patton Engineering T T Hugh de Lacy Regional diversification has been the key to Patton Engineering thriving in a structural steel market hammered by the economic downturn, with projects in Palmerston North, Taranaki and Wellington supporting the Hastings company’s home market of Hawke’s Bay. The devastating aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle last year has since seen Patton Engineering working with the likes of severely affected Pan Pac and Ravensdown on structural and refurbishment work. Patton Engineering employs 110 staff at its custom-built 4000m2 workshop on Rangitane Road, Whakatu, specialising in structural steel design and detailing, mechanical design and detailing, fabrication and site installation. These operations are supported by the quality surface treatment systems of its sister company, Patton Blast and Paint Ltd, formerly Hawke’s Bay Sandblasting, whose staff work in a specially designed series of paint bays and blast booths at the same location. Patton Engineering’s acquisition of Hawke’ Bay Sandblasting in 2006 gave the company an in-house surface treatment capacity which today includes sandblasting, painting from a simple primer up to a five-coat architectural finish, and thermal arc zinc spraying. Patton Blast and Paint employs its own in-house NACE Levels 1 and 2 paint inspector, and has three AS/NZS 2214 qualified in-house welding supervisors and a Level One qualified in-house welding inspector. They ensure a consistently high standard of welding across all projects, conducting in-house and on-site visual inspections, and writing and qualifying the company’s own bespoke welding procedures to suit any application or code. Patton Engineering’s growth has led to the development of the Patton Group which comprises four companies: Patton Engineering, Patton Blast and paint, Steel E.D. and Patton Ltd, and Patton Asbuilt. The group offers a huge and diverse range of engineering solutions, from structural and mechanical design and detailing, structural fabrication and erection, mechanical fabrication and installation, project management and specialist seismic work, to 3D scanning and modelling, concrete scanning and detailing, industrial and architectural stainless steel and aluminium fabrication and installation, sandblasting, painting and thermal arc zinc spraying. “The market’s in recession – there’s no doubt about that – but diversifying our operations beyond Hawke’s Bay has ensured we can roll with the punches,” Patton Engineering Manager Sean Perry says. “We’ve encountered steady demand in Palmerston North and Taranaki, while our Wellington companies are in a buoyant state meeting the needs of the capital’s seismic upgrading.” Patton Engineering was launched in 1952 as a one-man precision and general engineering company by George Patton, later developing a manufacturing section producing bulldozer blades, forklifts and counter-balanced tilting doors. In 1980, on George’s retirement, the company was bought by his sons Gavin and Mike who continued the focus on heavy machining and fabrication with about 15 staff and an inventory of lathes and cutting machines. Gavin retired from the business six years ago after 50 years, and in 2018 it was bought by two of its employees, then General Manager Johno Williams and Workshop Manager Andrew Burn, while Mike, who also recently celebrated half a century with the company, still works as Senior Quantity Surveyor. PROUD TO SUPPORT PATTON ENGINEERING! HELPING TO ENGINEER NEWZEALAND 0800478 335 steelandtube.co.nz Steel & Tube has manufacturing, distribution and Tradeshops sites throughout New Zealand. We offer a comprehensive range of steel products, services and solutions for structural fabricators, general engineers, manufacturers, residential/commercial builds and the rural sector. A one-stop-shop for all your steel requirements. 027 659 2833
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