Business Central May 2024

94 | Southcoast Construction T T Ange Davidson Prime commercial and school builds The 20 year-old company’s new directors, Ross Lewis and Mitchell Smith, are keen to expand the company’s repertoire. BUILDING Southcoast Construction is a New Plymouth based company that focuses on commercial and educational builds in the Taranaki region and prides itself on being “your professional construction partners”. The 20 year-old company’s new directors, Ross Lewis and Mitchell Smith, are keen to expand the company’s repertoire while continuing to provide quality construction on significant building projects throughout the region. “We’re starting to dip our toes into commercial design and build using local architects and engineers as we’re well set up for this sort of work. We are also keen to continue to get more involved with council projects and are currently working on a water treatment plant,” says Ross. “We also want to continue pushing broader outcomes which are not just profit based. This includes our waste management, intentionally using more Māori and Pacifica companies, and improving conditions for our 30+ employees that’s not just about wages. This might be sports memberships, health insurance and social activities, but we’ll be talking to our staff to find out what they want.” “It’s nice to employ people that are more than just a face, and to give them more than they expect. We want our staff to turn up to work because they enjoy coming to work,” Ross believes. “We’re in a great spot at the moment where most of our staff are all linked somehow and all like working together.” The company is not only building strong relationships with its’ team but the communities they live and work in and sponsor a number of sporting and charity events such as the Special Childrens Extravaganza and Conductive Education Taranaki’s Best Darn Golf Day. Current projects for South Coast Construction include large school projects and an architectural house build in Oakura. While a diversification from the company’s core business, they will enter the house in this year’s Registered Master Builders House of the Year awards. Much of the school work is centred around weather tightness as many of the buildings are dated and built of a similar design that uses direct fixed claddings and flat roofs, and are largely uninsulated. The construction of four new classrooms designed by Ardern Peters Architects to accommodate a growing student roll at Puketapu School earned the company a place on the Western branch of Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects short list. Despite having to work around an operational school and Covid lockdowns and delays, the team delivered on time and within budget. A recent new build at Sacred Heart Girls’ College Q Block started with the demolition of an existing classroom block and a full reconstruction of the new Maths and Statistics block. “It’s nice to employ people that are more than just a face, and to give them more than they expect. We want our staff to turn up to work because they enjoy coming to work.” “We again worked with Ardern Peters Architects and reused the existing footprint with a few extensions. We had restricted access to the site as well as the bad ground conditions, so needed extra excavation and civil detailing,” says Ross. “We were honoured to deliver such a unique new learning space for the College.” Southcoast Construction is known in Taranaki for delivering projects with integrity and on time and on budget. “We strongly believe in constantly evolving to meet and exceed the current construction commercial climate. We’re receptive to new technologies, environmental sustainability, and advances in Health and Safety risk assessment and management,” says Ross. 06 757 5707 or 027 531 6386 o ice@tel.org.nz www.tel.org.nz • Full Electrical Designs & Installations • Electrical Inspections, Network Designs, Connections & ICP Creations • All General Electrical Servicing & Repairs • Phone & Data Installations Servicing & Repairs • Full TV Aerial, Dish & Freeview Installations, Servicing & Repairs • Full Heat Pump & Ducted Systems Installations, Servicing & Repairs • Full Solar Designs & Installations, Servicing & Repairs • Testing & Tagging On & O Site • Electronic Services & Repairs • 24/7 Emergency Only After Hours On Call Service

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