14 | REGIONAL Downer Northland T T Russell Fredric Recognition for 30-year commitment “Seeing young people coming through the ranks finally click and take it on; that’s what means most to me. We need people who’ll take over when we’ve finished and have the same drive and passion.” Mark Taylor’s career with Downer Northland demonstrates how investing in people can build leadership from the ground up while delivering lasting value for clients and communities. Recognition as the 2026 CCNZ Northland Regional Awards Leadership Award winner reflects nearly 30 years with Downer New Zealand, where Mark progressed from operating a jet patcher and grader to Operations Manager. Today he leads delivery of the Kaipara Road Corridor Maintenance Contract, supporting seven supervisors and about 32 staff while overseeing customer relationships, operational performance and service delivery for Kaipara District Council. The contract manages one of New Zealand’s largest unsealed road networks. Working closely with Kaipara District Council, Downer’s team has focused on improving network performance through practical engineering, proactive maintenance and stronger engagement with residents. Mark joined Downer in 1997 as a truck driver on a jet patcher before moving onto plant, specialising in graders and unsealed road construction. Looking back, he credits the company’s investment in training and practical development for creating opportunities that traditional education never offered him. “I was terrible at school, but I’ve now done my civil trades certificate and was one of the first in the country to complete it through Connexis. Downer heavily invests in training with all their people. You just need to ask, and you’ll get the training you need.” Receiving the CCNZ Leadership Award was completely unexpected. “I was shocked. It was a great honour, and I felt very privileged to win it. When you see the calibre of people and the brilliant work being done throughout the industry, I never thought I’d win one myself.” While the award recognises individual leadership, Mark says mentoring others is one of the most rewarding parts of the role. “Seeing young people coming through the ranks finally click and take it on; that’s what means most to me. We need people who’ll take over when we’ve finished and have the same drive and passion.” When Downer took over the Kaipara contract, many unsealed roads lacked sufficient crossfall, contributing to potholes and ongoing From left, CCNZ KDC Varunesh Sinha (KDC) Daniel Dreadon (KDC) Mark Taylor (Downer) Deon Van Rooyen (Downer) John Balcombe (Downer). maintenance issues. Mark drew on decades of experience working on Northland’s rural roads to introduce planned maintenance schedules, reshape roads and improve drainage. Complaints about the roads have fallen significantly while the network has been improved within the council’s existing budget. The contract has also introduced PolyCom, a polymer stabilising agent used to strengthen unsealed roads and extend sealed sections at substantially lower cost than traditional methods. This approach provides significant savings while helping Kaipara District Council maximise limited infrastructure funding. “A hundred percent we’re adding value. We’ve brought innovation through PolyCom and shown there are different ways of doing things. We’ve completed some seal extensions for around half to a third of the cost of traditional methods, and council’s fully on board with it now.” For Mark, the greatest satisfaction comes from combining practical experience, capable people and collaborative relationships to deliver the best possible outcomes for ratepayers. “If there’s more funding we could do a lot more, but we’re just trying to deliver the very best value for money with what we’ve got.” Civil • Haulage • Equipment Hire Modern Machinery • Reliable • On Time tulipgroup.co.nz 027 777 7713 sam@tulipgroup.co.nz GET IN TOUCH
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