| 75 T T Sue Russell Diversity the key to continued workflow From its base in Tamahere, Comins Plumbing & Gas undertakes varied projects throughout the greater Waikato area. CONTRACTING Comins Plumbing & Gas Stuart Peden, general manager of Comins Plumbing & Gas, situated near Cambridge, says it was certainly a positive sign to be advertising in August for three new staff to join the well-established business. “We’re actually quite busy now, though things were quiet there for a time,” says Stuart. “Work began to pick up generally around June, and I’m confident the outlook will continue to be one of growth, hence recruiting more team members at this time.” The business, founded in 2003 by Joe Comins, has grown to a current team of 22, of which 18 are actively on the tools across all three disciplines. “Joe has incredible capacity and capability growing the company from just himself. “Over the years he’s gathered a group of skilled tradespeople around him, all intent on delivering customers the very best-quality service and outcomes. He now has a substantial business, and a reputation for doing quality work each and every time,” says Stuart, who has been in charge of operations these past five years. Positioned where the company is, at Tamahere, a stone’s throw from Cambridge, means that Comins Plumbing & Gas undertakes varied projects throughout the greater Waikato area, though, as Stuart says, they have also completed work in Wellington and Auckland. The team consists of four dedicated drainlayers, seven plumbers/gas-fitters and the rest plumbers/drainlayers, along with an estimator and admin support staff. “Of the team, 12 have at least two licences, some have three, though they tend to specialise in what they prefer to do,” Stuart says. Stuart has been a plumber/gasfitter for 21 years, spending time in his own plumbing company in Perth, before returning to New Zealand in 2018. The company has had three significant projects on the go over recent weeks – a hotel in Hamilton, a new subdivision in Te Awamutu, and a commercial build in Cambridge. “Our split is 40% of our work is commercial new builds and 30% residential new builds and renovations, mainly high-end work for local Cambridge builders. The remainder is maintenance work for existing clients, so it’s a nice mix.” Stuart thinks this mix is why the company has sustained itself so well during the crunch years of late. “If it wasn’t for our diversity we would certainly have struggled,” he says. Stuart reflects that changes in the apprenticeship pathway have had some positive and some negative impacts, depending on each apprentice’s capabilities. “There’s a heavy reliance now on distance learning, and not everyone is good at the reading and writing side, while they may shine with the hands-on work. In my day, it was very structured. You went to block courses and night school, and if you didn’t pass you didn’t move on.” As an outcome of how apprenticeships are structured, Stuart says it can often not be until the third year before there’s significant engagement in distance learning. Asked about plans ahead for the company, Stuart says that he intends to grow the current number of staff up to about 24 on the tools. And he stresses how much he values the team. “Everyone out there on the tools, and the team supporting the jobs to tick over and run the business, has the same attitude to the company. “They’re heavily invested in it and care about the quality of work they do, day in day out.” Attention to detail, reliability, and experience P 021 577 082 E info@fvdab.co.nz W www.fvbui ld.co.nz Award winning Master Builders National supreme award winning builder 2023 New Builds + Renovations 100% kiwi Plumbing World is a co-operative, 100% owned by Kiwi plumbers and builders. That means all the money you spend with us stays here in New Zealand. Everything plumbing. Totally covered. We are proud to support COMINS PLUMBING & GAS Branches Nationwide PlumbingWorld Hamilton plumbingworld.co.nz 16 King Street, Frankton Hamilton 3204
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