Business North November 2021

46 | Page Macrae Engineering Part of the renewable energy build Karen Phelps REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT of our ributes above. Full Material Traceability Systems Industry Leading Processing Capability Comprehensive Range of Stock Responsive Processing Capability Quality Assurance “In Full and On Time” Delivery Promise ll i l ili i i ili i i i ili li ll i li i STEEL · STAINLESS · PLATE & COIL PROCESSING · ENGINEERING STEELS I I I I I www.vulcan.co P age Macrae Engineering has cemented its reputation as the go-to company for the sustainable renewable energy in- dustry with its installation of the plant for the expansion of the Ngāwhā Geothermal Power Station in Northland. Located approximately 5km east of Kaikohe, the project involved one of the biggest plants in the world of this type, says Page Macrae Engineering general manager sales and mar- keting Peter Swan. He says that the project is testament to the skills of the Page Macrae Engineering team as, despite the curve balls Covid-19 has thrown at the project, it was completed six months ahead of schedule. “It was due to a lot of hard work,” says Peter. “We found smarter ways of doing things, focused on coordination and put in the extra hours.” The project creates a more affordable, reli- able and secure electricity supply for the Far North, more than doubling prior generation capacity to 57 megawatts. Page Macrae Engineering was contracted by Ormat Technologies to undertake the mechanical scope of works. It had previously worked for Ormat Technologies on Mercury’s “All of this means we send extremely qualified and skilled people with a great deal of knowledge to our site jobs and this means we can pull off feats like shaving six months off the project timeline as we did on the Ngāwhā Geothermal Power Station.” 88MW Ngatamariki Binary Power Station near Taupo. Page Macrae Engineering was on site for around 12 months completing the work on Ngāwhā Geothermal Power Station and Peter says the first Covid-19 lockdown saw the pro- ject put on hold and the challenge was then to get the staff back to the remote site and ramp up the project again resulting in not only meeting project deadlines but far exceeding them. There were up to 75 Page Macrae Engineer- ing team members on site from mechanical fitters, pipe fitters and welders, to the wider project management team. “Works were managed and delivered seam- lessly with minimal rework required and zero LTIs for 123,000 manhours. This project really speaks to our project management expertise and highly skilled team. “We invest a great deal in training and have up to 20 apprentices each year. Our team is also quite diverse – for example we have three females in training at the moment, including one who be our first female graduate trades- person later this year. We also have a Creat- ing Future Leaders programme, to train our next generation of managers and supervisors. “All of this means we send extremely qual- ified and skilled people with a great deal of knowledge to our site jobs and this means we can pull off feats like shaving six months off the project timeline as we did on the Ngāwhā Geothermal Power Station.” A privately owned and operated company, Page Macrae Engineering was established in Tauranga in 1955 and has grown from a small marine engineering business servicing local industry and ship repair to its current status as one of New Zealand’s premium multi-disci- plined engineering companies. Page Macrae Engineering offers a full range of engineering services from design and build to mechanical installation and brings extensive knowledge and experience in such industries as power generation, petro-chem- ical, pulp and paper, food processing and materials handling. Peter says that the company’s ever growing range of environmentally friendly port equip- ment is not only changing the industry but also helping it to operate more sustainably. The range includes dust controlled dis- charge hoppers, mechanical wire and chain grab, new generation diesel hydraulic grab, log lifters, log grabs, container spreaders and multi lifters. “This range assists our customers to achieve environmental compliance, maximise their productivity, minimise maintenance costs and ensure safe operation for their people. Port operators, stevedores, maritime and log logistics companies throughout Australia, New Zealand and the Americas are successful- ly using our port equipment in their opera- tion.” Peter says customers, including ports and stevedores, are under increasing pressure to reduce their environmental footprint without compromising productivity. “At Page Macrae Engineering we strive for innovation and to be at the top of our game in whatever we do. That is what is always driving us forward to engineering a better tomorrow.”