Business Central September 2021

56 | Minimal re-work is the key Kawerau: Hutec Engineering Hutec Engineering Ltd operates from two centres in Kawerau and Whakatane. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT K awerau mechanical and maintenance engineering company Hutec Engineer- ing Ltd has been led these past 18 months by General Manager Paul Steventon. The company, named after its founder Jason Hughes opened its doors in 2012. Hutec Engineering Ltd services key indus- tries in the region including pulp and paper, energy (both geothermal and hydro), wood products and processing, dairy and large industrial customers. Paul has been a main- tenance engineer and manager most of his professional life. “I know that when Jason Hughes started the company one of the things he did really well was to employ super-stars in the industry. He knew a lot of people in the sector and gath- ered a team of operators who performed at the highest levels,” says Paul. The result of this founding is a company that continues to grow and thrive. Today, it operates from two centres; Kawerau and Whakatane. Asked what separates Hutec Engineering from other operators Paul says it comes down to the high level of planning and supervision, resulting in maximised effectiveness and minimal re-work. Surrounding himself with a strong manage- ment team Paul maintains an overview of all the contracts. Hutec Engineering Ltd offers a raft of services, including mechanical maintenance engineering solutions, management of maintenance during regular shuts, electrical instrumentation and control systems, project managing, design, valve services, machining and fabrication. Prior to Covid Paul says work ticked along nicely, but since the pandemic swept the world and arrived here, the sectors the company services operate under less certain conditions. “Business we had cancelled because of Covid, once we came down through the levels T T Sue Russell to where we are at now, have come back on stream we’ve been super-busy catching up from the Covid slump.” Paul says substantial Government funding has certainly stimulated the sector. Prior to Covid work generally flowed with two good months and two quiet months, but that is no longer the case and this, of itself, throws up new challenges. “I have to be very careful about work- load for site-based staff. Our projects and the maintenance work we do can be very time-consuming and I have to carefully watch staff fatigue. We’re really focussing on good rest periods and are consequently also look- ing for more staff at this time.” Currently, the company employs nine apprentices and works in a rotation of three qualifying, three part-way through and three just starting their journeys. “We’re very rich in apprentices on the floor and put a great deal of emphasis on the quali- ty of their training and mentoring.” Paul says if a school-leaver is keen on an apprenticeship he first suggests they undertake a pre-apprenticeship course to get a taste of the type of work the company involves itself in. Once this has happened, he’s keen to have a conversation and offer initially a casual contract, to give them the opportunity to experience, first-hand what working at Hutec Engineering is like. “If they enjoy this and we feel they’re a good fit, then we will employ them permanently and get them underway with their apprentice- ship. I’m really keen to help anyone start out if they see this as a career.” Looking ahead, Paul says the Government’s support of introducing more electric vehicles as mainstream, is presenting Hutec Engineer- ing Ltd with untapped opportunities. “Currently we don’t produce enough electricity to power-up the number of cars the Government is hoping we will eventually drive so there is going to have to be massive investment in power generation, which is a major sector we service.” Another opportunity will present as China’s demand for our logs reduces as its own for- ests come ripe for milling. “We will still have trees growing here need- ing to be processed into pulp and paper and we only have four mills in New Zealand. I can see that more processing plant will be built, offering other opportunities for new work for us. It all points to a very strong future.” While based in the Bay of Plenty, Hutec En- gineering Ltd undertakes projects throughout New Zealand, in Australia and South East Asia. KAWERAU ∙ TAUPO ∙ WHAKATANE | 0800 HUTEC2U | WWW.HUTEC.CO.NZ ∙ Mechanical Maintenance Services ∙ E&I, Automation ∙ Valve Services ∙ Procurement ∙ Design/Reverse Engineering ∙ Machining & Fabrication ∙ Shut & Project Management 06 876 7748 info@wcse.co.nz www.wcse.co.nz Wine Country Sheet Metal & Engineering are proud to support Hutec Engineering 306 Alexandra Street, Hastings, Hawke’s Bay PO Box 14017, Hastings