60 | First full year in charge South Civil is sub-contracting to Camex Civil, preparing the ground for establishment for an ‘over 55’s retirement village’ near Rotorua. CONTRACTING South Civil T T Sue Russell Hautapu Hire Ltd are proud to support South Civil For all your heavy machinery hire needs, contact: 027 473 1266 EXCLUSIVE DEALER OF SANY CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT AND SITRAK TRUCKS GLOBAL BRANDS. LOCAL KNOWLEDGE. Auckland 510 Ellerslie-Panmure Highway Tauranga 67 Hull Road, Mount Maunganui Christchurch 52 Hickory Place, Islington Contact us P: 0800 837 888 E: info@vertuequipment.co.nz W: vertuequipment.co.nz Tirau-based civil works business South Civil tend to take on projects within a 80km range of the south Waikato town. Simon Watkins says he is actively engaged on the machinery, along with his team of 5 operators. “We have four tractors, two with scrapers on the back and two with trailers as well as a couple of diggers. We own all the fleet. South Civil has been in operation now about three years and I’m pleased with how the business has developed,” Simon explains. He likes the size of the business at the moment but intends, as opportunities present, to take on more staff, as long as the demand for services justify it. The current project involves sub-contracting to Camex Civil, preparing the ground for establishment of an ‘over 55’s retirement village’ near Rotorua. This is Simon’s first full year in charge of the operation and he understands how important longer term it will be to have a bit more time off the machines, working on the business rather than in it most of the time. Growing organically with both people and machinery is the plan. When work is a little slower, staff carry out maintenance work on the farm with the machines South Civil own. “My focus though is very much on the civil work and the opportunity to sub contract to Camex Civil has been a really positive experience. I’m intent on our team presenting very high quality work to them on this current project.” Simon understands how important it is to concentrate on cementing strong working relationships, built on trust, with clients – delivering projects on time and to budget are critical components of this. “My focus though is very much on the civil work and the opportunity to sub contract to Camex Civil has been a really positive experience.” And like many operating in the civil contracting sector there are challenges as well! “The three big ones are interest rates, fuel and labour costs. “You can’t necessarily pass the on to clients as we operate in a very competitive sector, especially when you’ve got longstanding customers you don’t want to let down and threat losing.” One member of the team is a qualified arborist, so adding tree work and removal into the gambit of services offered is strategically a sound move. Asked about how he found his team, Simon says, as long as they have their wheels, tracks and rollers tickets, he’s happy to take them on, with the right attitude and ability to work well in the team. “For me it is about attitude and I like to train the team up to work on the machines and produce the work I am proud of. As long as you’re bubbly and want to learn then you’ve got what I’m after; the rest can be taught.” A break over Christmas/New Year traditionally taken by the civil world was something all the team at South Civil were looking forward to. “It’s important we get a good stint away from the machinery and enjoy doing other things for a while. Then its back on the machines, charged up and ready to go hard in 2024.”
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