| 87 T T Hugh de Lacy Firm enjoys mix of rural, residential Rural building is a major part of Gibson Construction’s portfolio. Gibson Construction BUILDING Soon after Gibson Construction was founded in 1998 it took on two eager young apprentices, Brent Bird and Blair Atkinson, who went on to buy the Te Awamutu-based company just four years after they completed their time in it. Brent and Blair could see a future in an under-supplied rural market riding the peak of the dairy boom, and they quickly built a reputation, firstly in the Waikato and then around the country, as “The Builders for Farmers”. Making the most of the opportunity offered by the rapid expansion of the dairy industry and its urgent need for the likes of milking and implement sheds, they drove the company’s expansion so hard that just a year later they made it onto the Deloitte Fast Fifty index in 30th place, and they’ve never looked back. Gibson Construction’s permanent staff has stabilized at around 15, and the company has a network of local building contractors and sub-contractors all round the country, a clientele fairly evenly split between rural and residential. But the pressure on the shrinking residential sector has Blair saying, “I’d hate to be solely a residential builder right now. “While we’ve got two residential projects under way at the moment, that side of the business seems to have dropped off the face of the earth: we’ve seen a marked fall in demand over this year, and I wouldn’t like to guess what it’s going to be like next year. “Rural building – like rotary and herring-bone milking sheds, feed pads, silage bunkers, effluent solutions and implement sheds – is holding up steadily, so we’re not feeling the residential pain.” Even so Gibson Construction has two novel house-building jobs under way, one in Ohaupo and another in Putaruru, using clay bricks imported from Germany. “It was a response to materials shortages in the wake of the Covid pandemic that had us looking off-shore for alternatives to the New Zealand standard timber-framing for houses, and these blocks weren’t all that expensive despite being imported from the other side of the world,” Blair says. The Putaruru house is being built “in the European style” from the blocks, while the Ohaupo project also uses aerated concrete covered by a plaster. Commercial building continues to be fairly buoyant, and typical of the work Gibson Construction does in this field is a current project building an engineering complex for a Morrinsville company. The “Builders for Farmers” tagline is built around the company’s reputation as leaders and innovators in rural building, through the combination of specialist skill-sets and extensive knowledge of farming. The scramble for materials aside, Gibson Construction came through the Covid period with their staff numbers intact, thanks to a policy of “paying above-average wages, protecting core staff by reducing the work we offer contractors and sub-contractors, and by a strong emphasis on health and safety,” Blair says. This extends to Gibson Construction employing a full-time human resources and health and safety manager, former top jockey Mark Sweeney. Mark joined Gibson Construction after retiring from racing, and the company helped him come up to speed in his new specialties. When taking on projects away from the Te Awamutu base, the company usually sends a couple of staff members to get the project going by engaging subbies, giving Gibson Construction access to the whole of the New Zealand market. For all your long-run metal roofing services Proudly supporting Gibson Construction 027 878 2164 adubsroofing@outlook.co.nz P. 07 871 3288 W. www.waipahire.co.nz Mon-Fri 7.00am - 5.30pm Sat 8.00am - 5.00pm P: (07) 576-4119 E: info@insigniadesign.co.nz W: www.insigniadesign.co.nz ins igniaDESIGN & ARCHITECTURE LTD From Concept to Completion, we will work with you every step of the way.
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