| 75 T T Hugh de Lacy Committed to industry Longveld’s activities cover engineering and design services, metal fabrication, and industrial cutting and folding services for dairy, food and beverage, water infrastructure and urban art. Below Les and Pam. ENGINEERING Longveld Ltd The “green shoots of a turnaround” are at last appearing in the engineering and manufacturing sector, but Longveld principal Les Roa remains unsure if it’s sustainable enough to provide young people with confidence to enter the engineering trades. Les (Ngāti Apakura) is a fitter and turner by trade who has specialised as a welder-pipe-fitter, and he owns Hamilton-based Longveld with his wife Pam, whose tertiary training is in chemical technology and dairy science. The pair met through working in the dairy industry, and formed Longveld in 1992 as specialists in stainless steel engineering and fabrication. The name Longveld comes from a combination of Les’ Māori surname, meaning “long,” and Pam’s Dutch maiden name Lelieveld. Les was Managing Director through the company’s first two decades, leading its growth into being a significant regional employer. Pam has taken over the MD role in recent times with a focus on Industry 4.0 and succession beyond the founders, while Les continues to work closely with the company’s production teams on trade excellence, productivity and continuous improvement. Longveld’s activities cover engineering and design services, metal fabrication, and industrial cutting and folding services for dairy, food and beverage, water infrastructure and even urban art. The company acquired Oceanlift marine davits and cranes to expand its services into marine and boating. “We export on a project basis, and we’re planning further export growth,” Les says. “Our sector has been hugely affected by recession over the past two years, and there has been a significant reduction in staff numbers across the manufacturing sector in the last six months. “However, Longveld is seeing some green shoots of a recovery. We have a reasonable workload ahead of us at the moment and are cautiously optimistic. “We are always looking for growth opportunities and to expand our portfolio of offerings. “Development of our own branded products is a high priority. “Right now with many businesses reducing their workforce it has been easier to recruit staff, but there continues to be a shortage of experienced fabricators in our industry in general. “Longveld has always committed to training apprentices - usually about 10% of our workforce at any one time - but we need to provide workplaces that attract young people to these opportunities. “We run a four-day work week which is very popular with our younger team members. “We’ve been running a girls-in-engineering programme with Waikato Trades Academy for about 15 years, offering work opportunities for young women wanting to experience the trade environment. “We’re active members of the Waikato Engineering Careers Association’s SSEP programme that’s going into high school classrooms to show the practical application for what students are learning.” HELPING TO GROWOUR ENGINEERS 0800478 335 steelandtube.co.nz We support Longveld’s committent to the future of the engineering industry. Working together with Hanga-Aro-rau and other agencies, we’re also helping to support young people into the industry with skills training and qualifications. · STEEL · STAINLESS · ALUMINIUM · PLATE & COIL PROCESSING I I I TE & COI I 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 i ili i i i ili li I ll i li i www.vulcan.co l AUCKLAND - WHANGAREI - HAMILTON - TAURANGA - HASTINGS PALMERSTON NORTH - TAUPO - CHRISTCHURCH - DUNEDIN 0800 657 894 www.ppsindustries.co.nz ABRASIVES-POLISHING-PLATING-ENGINEERING SUPPLIES P.P.S. Industries Ltd METAL FINISHING SPECIALISTS P P S We’re proud to support Longveld Ltd
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