Business Rural Autumn 2021

82 | Customer focus Kelly Deeks RURAL SERVICES » Cargill Contracting Taieri Plains Mechanical is one of Otago's leading specialists in heavy equipment, mechanical repair and maintenance. Based out of Dunedin, we are a local business that provides a quality and reliable service to those in a number of different infrastructure industries. At Taieri Plains Mechanical, we can help you with mechanical repairs and maintenance specialising in: FORESTRY ◊ MINING ◊ HYDRAULICS ◊ CONSTRUCTION 03 474 9011 richard@tpmechanical.co.nz www.tpmechanical.co.nz RD2, Mosgiel 9092 03 474 9011 Reservations Hotline 03 659 0777 • Excavators • Rollers • Tracked Loaders ...and much more! EQUIPMENT HIRE hire@fulcrum.nz | www.fulcrum.nz 150Mornington Road, Dunedin S ince its establishment in 2002, Cargill Contracting at Blueskin Bay has grown from a small household water delivery business to an accomplished contracting company work- ing on farms, lifestyle blocks, rural subdivisions, house sites, and road maintenance for Dunedin City Council. “We do a bit of everything,” says Cargill Contract- ing founding director George Terry. “We make it our business to be there when we’re needed, whether tidying farm tracks, creating dams, or maintaining roads. We try very hard to do the right thing for the right price.” George lives by the motto, ‘he who pays, says,’ and Cargill Contracting’s customer focused outlook is key to its success. “We put our customers first and we’re always there to help. Our back-up service and the relation- ships we have with our customers are what sets us apart.” Cargill Contracting operates across the southern South Island, providing services to a wide range of clients. Cargill Contracting currently supports and is a preferred supplier for East Otago lines company Powernet, Fulton Hogan, Dunedin City Council, City Forests, KiwiRail, Otago Regional Council, Danone Nutricia, Custom Fencing, and Mainland Poultry, as well as various building companies, farming opera- tions, and the general public. Last year at Balclutha, Cargill Contracting was engaged by specialised nutrition business Danone Nutricia to build a car park at its processing plant and provide earthworks for a new waste water treatment plant. The processing plant car park on a greenfield site consisted of 7000sqm of car park and new roadway construction, open swale drain- age, and a section of 600mm stormwater pipe. CargiIl Contracting provided earthworks for the new wastewater treatment plant on the Danone Balclutha site. The contract consisted of cutting 3600 cubic metres of earthworks to stockpile and respreading topsoil. Separately for Filtec, Cargill Contracting provided trenching and backfilling for PE and uPVC pipework at the wastewater treatment plant site. In rural contracting, Cargill Contracting is proud to provide ongoing services at one of East Otago’s largest properties, the 8760ha 4 River Farming Company. Recent development on the sheep and beef farm, with 7300ha of hill country, has had Cargill Contracting working on new fence lines and bulldozing farm tracks making them easier for people and vehicles to travel on. One of Cargill Contracting’s biggest jobs to date is the Dunedin City Council road maintenance contract as a subcontractor to Fulton Hogan. With a variety of modern machines in its fleet, Cargill Contracting is able to perform various maintenance tasks effectively and efficiently and with minimal disruption to traffic. With 31 staff, three small quarry operations, and a range of equipment including excavators from 1.7 tonne to 23 tonne, two bulldozers, a grader, various loaders and necessary attachments, and a fleet of trucks and trailers, staff are encouraged to be multi-skilled and are formally trained as safe operators, keeping them engaged with their work and competent with industry best practices. Much of the work completed by Cargill Contract- ing requires small, nimble machines that can easily manoeuvre in confined areas. Due to the nature of its work, about 70% of the company’s excavators are up to 10 tonne. “The smaller the machine, the harder they are to operate,” George says. “Things happen a lot quicker on a two tonne machine compared to a 20 tonne machine. The bucket comes quicker towards you, and you must be able to react.” With a focus on sustainability, all of Cargill Contracting’s modern plant and machinery has Cargill contracting’s rural workload includes farm tracks, fence lines and farm dams.