64 | Company keen for construction pick-up McKie Contracting runs a well-maintained fleet, including a 13-tonne Sumitomo, a six-tonne Caterpillar digger, and a Mitsubishi dump truck. Mckie Contracting T T Hugh de Lacy “We love the detail and the high standards required for residential work, and we’re looking forward to seeing more of it come through.” CONTRACTING BUSINESS FREE GROWTHWORKSHOP! Business Growth Strategies Business Systems Time Management E ective TeamManagement Sales and Marketing Unlock your business potential BRUCE CAMPBELL Founder, CEO & Business Coach ebs.org/events Scan the QR code or Visit: A reputation for precision earthworks for a host of high-end residential and rural projects has quickly been gained by North Waikato-based earthmoving company McKie Contracting since it was founded in 2019 by the father and son team of Dave and Reece McKie. Dave was running the family dairy farm at Orini, about 20km north-east of Ngaruawahia for 25 years before buying a digger and turning the farm into a dry-stock operation. Reece, having grown up on the family farm and playing around with machinery from the age of 12, had a stint at engineering after leaving school at 16, before realising that, rather than being in the workshop wielding tools, his real passion was being in the driver’s seat moving earth. After working for a local contractor driving diggers and other earthmoving machinery he decided to go into business with Dave. So, with a side project turned into a full-fledged earthmoving operation, McKie Contracting was formed, acquiring a new digger to take the place of the old Komatsu that was bought initially for farm use. Originally launched into the residential building market, McKie Contracting thrived on preparing house sites for private spec-builders and companies like Golden Homes. While that sector has slowed in recent years, Reece and Dave remain committed to making residential earthmoving the core of their business, enjoying the challenge and precision that comes with high-end home sites. “We love the detail and the high standards required for residential work, and we’re looking forward to seeing more of it come through,” Reece says. “There’s been plenty of talk about a recovery in the market, and we’re just waiting on a couple of resource consents for new projects to kick off.” In the meantime, their expertise has kept them in demand for rural earthworks, from upgrading farm races to building effluent ponds and digging drains, and while Reece and Dave have never been short of work, they are always looking ahead to growing the company further when the right opportunities arise. McKie Contracting runs a well-maintained fleet, including a 13-tonne Sumitomo, a sixtonne Caterpillar digger, and a Mitsubishi dump truck. The recent addition of a Steelwrist tiltrotator to their six-tonne excavator has further enhanced their capability, allowing for even greater efficiency and precision on site. Ashleigh, Reece’s wife, has also joined the team, handling the company accounts from their farm-based headquarters. While the business has scaled up and down over the years, at one stage employing four staff and a couple of part-time truck drivers, Reece and Dave are always open to expansion when the right work comes along. With the strong reputation they have built up through a focus on high-quality results, McKie Contracting is well-positioned to take on the next wave of residential projects as the market picks up again.
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