| 35 T T Kelly Deeks Demand for masonry drives growth “A lot of the buildings which use our products have longevity as a key design element,” says Viblock general manager Jim Hunter. Viblock REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Columbia Machine P.T.Y Ltd | Phone: 027 235 5434 | columbiamachine.com • BATCHING & MIXING SOLUTIONS • CONCRETE PRODUCTS EQUIPMENT SOLUTIONS • PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT MOLDS • MECHANICAL PALLETISING MACHINES • ROBOTIC PALLETISING SOLUTIONS WORLDWIDE LEADER IN THE DESIGN, MANUFACTURING AND SUPPORT OF EQUIPMENT FOR A VARIETY OF INDUSTRIES. Transworld R O X B U R G H C E N T R A L O T A G O Proudly supporting Viblock 021 765 636 | 03 446 8600 | transworldroxburgh.nz Diversification and consistent demand for high-quality New Zealand-made masonry, paving, and brick products have seen Viblock named Dunedin and the Lower South Island’s Fastest Growing Manufacturing Business in the 2023 Deloitte Fast 50. Now in its 20th year in business, Viblock manufactures and supplies architectural concrete masonry blocks, bricks, pavers, and retaining walls with a manufacturing plant in Alexandra. Expanding into Christchurch with a further manufacturing base in 2009, Viblock gained manufacturing efficiencies as well as access to a broader marketplace and product range, including wet cast and tactile paving. In 2010, Viblock was named the Deloitte Fast 50 Fastest Growing Manufacturing Business for Otago and the Lower South Island. “Achieving the same result 13 years later is a testament to our product’s enduring quality,” says Viblock general manager Jim Hunter. “Many businesses appear in the Fast 50 in their first few years of operation, so to achieve growth at this stage of our journey has been exciting. We have diversified our product range, becoming a key player in the commercial paving market, and we offer locally manufactured bricks for a growing number of customers who want to buy local products.” Viblock is continuing to innovate and grow. A new manufacturing plant and distribution centre is now under construction in Hornby, Christchurch. Viblock is also working with cement suppliers to produce lower-carbon bricks, blocks, and pavers, which are likely to offer a 20% to 40% decrease in embodied carbon per product. Jim says concrete and masonry have many benefits, including longevity and minimal maintenance of the buildings created, which can last for hundreds of years. And that’s why Viblock’s residential masonry customers are building legacy homes for the future generations of their families. “A lot of the buildings which use our products have longevity as a key design element,” he says. “People who want to build a legacy home are using block, and the reason is that in 200 years, those buildings will be stronger than they are today, rather than wood structures, which could have been knocked down twice or even thrice in 200 years.” Concrete products will provide additional thermal, sound, and fire insulative properties, maximising comfort and reduce the building energy use. Concrete and brick require far less maintenance than timber cladding options, which need regular cleaning and painting to extend their comparatively short lifespan. “When we reduce the emissions from the cement manufacturing process, concrete is going to be a very low energy final product that has massive longevity and thermal advantages,” Jim says. “If you’re looking at building a legacy for generations to come, concrete is efficient and sustainable.”
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