| 53 CONTRACTING McPherson Contractors Trucks. Machinery. Utes. Sorted. • New & used asset finance • Commercial property funding • Debt restructure & equity release • Insurance premium funding Dino Pavlovich 027 355 5588 dino@tef.co.nz Chris Barclay 027 5151 455 chris@tef.co.nz Thomas Borrell 027 703 6815 thomas@tef.co.nz tef.co.nz Get in Touch Truck & Equipment Finance 0800 683 557 Your Local Insurance Brokers Come to us for personal service and quality advice: Business Domestic Rural Level 1, PwC Centre, 6 Albion St, Napier 4110 Level 2, River Oaks Mews, 74 Grey St, Gisborne 4010 T T Sue Russell Small firm grows with its clients McPherson Contractors concentrates mainly on the residential and industrial subdivision sectors, though keeping true to its roots with a dedicated rural team. With a history stemming back to 1989, McPherson Contractors Ltd began life as a small operation, literally a digger and a truck, offering local rural clients earthmoving services close to home-base in Matamata. Today, the company, which incorporated in 1997, is a bigger enterprise, concentrating mainly on the residential and industrial subdivision sectors, though keeping true to its roots with a dedicated rural team. “When we got involved in subdivision work we were based for the first 20 years mainly in Tauranga, though more recently have had a period of about six years working mainly in Rotorua. We go where the developments are happening, and that tends to shift around from one area to another over time,” says Aydan McPherson. In late July, when Business North spoke with Aydan, work at Hamilton’s Titanium Park near the airport had just ended. The team these days numbers about 70, across machinery operators, truck drivers, a workshop team and surveyors. “There are about 50 guys in the civil earthworks division, and we have a large depot based in Peria Road, on one of Matamata’s main roads out of town. Matamata’s location means that Tauranga, Rotorua and Hamilton are relatively close by.” The company also has a sandpit on State Highway 29 near Te Poi, not far from Matamata. This has been in existence since 2009 and sits on seams of lightweight pumice sand. “We can deliver sand to supply a range of applications across the Waikato and Bay of Plenty. We separate granular seams for use as drainage sand, with the balance leaving the site as pit sand.” On a day to day basis, Aydan says his key responsibilities are ensuring there’s sufficient work to keep the team engaged, along with assisting the project managers at each site with any contractual obligations. “The business definitely has a seasonal rhythm and flow. Our peak season is October through to May, when the weather supports earthmoving work on development sites,” Aydan says. Aydan says the industries McPherson Contractors Ltd services have experienced considerable uncertainty. “Understandably, developers are not prepared to commit too far into the future. Developments are generally broken into stages, and historically, once we had completed one stage, we could have a reasonable expectation of moving into the next stage the following season. That’s changed quite significantly. “Developers are now sometimes taking one, two or even three seasons between stages, which makes it much harder to plan and know what the workload will look like from one year to the next.” McPherson Contractors undertook largescale bulk earthworks and civil construction operations for Rotorua’s Peka Industrial Park development, a project which saw about 540,000 cubic metres of soil moved in order to reshape the site and build flat platforms for industrial use. “We also provided our expertise in completing stormwater basins and drainage blankets in an environmentally sensitive location, all while overseeing multiple subcontractors completing road, drainage and surfacing. The work went very well and exemplified the types of projects we bring our expertise to.” The team dedicated to rural work offer a wide range of services including farm contouring, drainage systems, constructing stock and farm races, removing trees and levelling shed sites and building effluent ponds. Aydan says key to the company’s longevity and success has been its nimble approach to recognising shifts in the markets they service. “I have an experienced, adaptable team and thinking back on our years in business, I’m proud of the significant contribution we’ve made to our region.”
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