62 | CONTRACTING Clements Contractors Concrete solutions for safer journeys. We specialise in supplying and installing custom-designed precast traffic islands to the roading industry NZ wide. 021 962 525 kevin@trafficislands.co.nz trafficislands.co.nz CALEB ELLIS 021 166 9458 Precisionltd@outlook.co.nz T T Russell Fredric Multiple quarries a major advantage Clements Contractors combines quarrying, transport and civil construction under one roof. “Having five quarries means that we can do everything pretty much; from the hardest rock, basalt, which we’ve supplied for seawall projects, through to your normal roading materials. If we don’t have it, we get it in.” Moving thousands of tonnes of rock from quarry face to finished project is one thing; controlling every step of that process is another. Whangārei-based Clements Contractors combines quarrying, transport and civil construction under one roof, allowing the family-owned business to supply materials, move them, and put them to work on projects ranging from residential driveways to major infrastructure. Construction manager, Ryan Hayward, says the company operates three core divisions: quarries, transport and civil construction. Together, they employ about 50 staff and are supported by a substantial fleet of excavators, loaders, rollers, graders, bulldozers, trucks, trailers, crushers, and screening equipment. The business services the wider Whangārei region, but has also completed work for district councils, KiwiRail and other clients throughout Northland. Civil projects include subdivisions, road rehabilitations, retaining walls and accessways, while the quarry division supplies aggregates and other materials for construction and infrastructure work. “We do subdivisions and road rehabilitations and retaining walls and driveways; from the smallest customers that Murray [Clements] still looks after from back in the day, through to council and government work, so it’s a pretty wide range,” says Ryan. While larger businesses operate in Northland’s contracting sector, Ryan describes Clements Contractors as a mid-tier contractor with an advantage many competitors cannot match. The company operates five quarries strategically positioned around the region, giving it access to a wide variety of materials while reducing haulage distances to project sites. Those quarries produce everything from hard basalt through to conventional roading aggregates and fill materials, supplying both internal projects and external customers. “Having five quarries means that we can do everything pretty much; from the hardest rock, basalt, which we’ve supplied for seawall projects, through to your normal roading materials. If we don’t have it, we get it in.” That integrated model was fully utilised during construction of the Ngunguru seawall project on the Tutukaka Coast. The project involved sourcing rock, processing it, transporting it to site and completing the installation work, drawing on all three divisions of the business. Rather than relying on multiple subcontractors, the company was able to complete the entire chain of work internally. Ryan says that approach helps improve efficiency and gives the business greater control over quality and delivery. “We sourced the rock, we broke it out of the ground, we put it into size, we carted it out there, and then we dug out the old rocks and placed them all in there,” Ryan says. “We fully utilised all three divisions in the company efficiently, whereas anybody else doing the work would be using subcontractors for one of those items.” Ryan also believes the company’s size works in its favour. “We’re nimble. There’s not a lot of red tape or bureaucracy that a corporate might have, but at the same time we still have excellent systems and high-quality standards. We can do things smarter.” Market conditions remain challenging, with workload levels yet to rebound as strongly as many in the sector expected, Ryan says. However, the business continues to secure work in areas such as road rehabilitation and wider infrastructure projects, supported by a track record built on performance rather than relationships alone. “We need to rely on quality performance, a quality product and a good track record. If you get all of those things right that obviously helps.”
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