42 | Queenstown: Breen Construction Your Business, Your Industry, Your News. r si ess, r I stry, r e s. Volume 31 | Issue 1 |Feb-March 2022 www.waterfordpress.co.nz Banking the Seed Producing top quality pine tree stock is a key focus for leading forestry company PFOlsen. PAGE 50 Seawall success Isaac Construction was a big winner at the CCNZ awards for its work on the Portobell Seawall project. PAGE 55 Accolades aplenty Stabicraft Marine continues to ride a wave of award accolades and global sales success PAGE 42 Volume 31 | Issue 2 | April 2022 www.waterfordpress.co.nz Golden Escape Waitaki’s golden season is a a drawcard for autumn getaways. Page 18 Volume 30 | Issue 1 | March 2021 www.waterfordpress.co.nz New horizons Industry innovator Richard Hickson is at the forefront as Westland Milk Products transitions from a farmer-owned cooperative to a large multi-national structure with an eye on export growth. Page 30 Each edition priority delivered to your door. i i i i li . www.waterfordpress.co.nz/subscriptions . t f . . / i ti 03 983 5525 Stay informed; we work with business owners and decision-makers across all economic sectors, profiling their success. t i f r ; r it i r i i - r r ll i t r , r fili t ir . REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Seeing through the ‘people lens’ The Glen Dene Domes - one of Breen Construction’s many diverse projects. Richard Loader Otago’s Breen Construction has been a leader in the construction industry since its foundations in 1939, and over the decades has developed a strategy of diversification. Starting commercial operations as a general building contractor, Breen Construction’s diverse projects now range from large-scale commercial developments, heritage restoration work, award-winning architectural homes, through to work for the primary sector and projects for local and central government. “We specialise in being diverse, which does bring its own complexities,” says Lindsay Breen, who along with two brothers and a sister form the 3rd generation of Breen family members to serve on the board and work in the business. “Diversity is purely a function of responding to the somewhat smaller market that exists in the provinces. It’s taking the long view and the ability to survive through tough times. “Having been in business a long time, it allows you to look forward in a different way than perhaps younger businesses might do. It’s not just about tomorrow, it’s about the longevity of the business, and we see that as being really important. “We can all operate in the more successful times, it’s the ability to get through the tough times. To do that you have to have strong relationships with your clients, staff and a reasonably strong balance sheet, because at times you might consume a bit of it.” Based in Alexandra, Breen Construction has branches in Oamaru, Twizel, Wanaka, Cromwell, Alexandra and Dunedin, and in the coming year is looking to establish itself in Southland. P: (03) 445 0305 16 Wolter Cres, Cromwell E: central@designwindows.co.nz W: www.designwindowsgroup.com Proud Supplier for Breen Construction www.aoteaelectric.co.nz • • • “Aotea is proud to be associated with Breen Construction” (03) 443 1260 23A Gordon Rd, Wanaka “There’s a growth story to our move to Southland, but it’s also about diversity and a geographical spread helps with that. We will get introduced to a different set of clients and potentially do slightly different work. “If things start to go off with the forward workload, having a way into the Southland primary sector work will also be helpful. You can’t be driven by the need to grow, but you always need to look for growth opportunities.” Now employing 215 staff cross all of its sites, Breen Construction remains a family owned and operated business, with a number of the company’s managers outside of family also shareholders. “We talk about family values a lot and our core purpose is about people,” says Lindsay. “It’s about seeing things through the ‘people lens’, more than just revenue or profits. So, it’s about people, be they staff, clients or the community we work in. It’s that learned behaviour over the decades starting with my grandfather who founded the business.” With demand high, and unemployment sitting at around 1.5%, Lindsay says the ability to recruit overseas workers is going to become critical to complete the projects. “That’s important because if demand stays up, all companies are doing is cannibalising each other looking for staff, which invariably results in increased costs and higher inflation, which in the construction sector is already very high. “Being able to get more people in the country and get that resource back up is important. If you look at Otago, there’s a huge amount of work about to happen here in the next decade, and much of that is underpinned by Dunedin Hospital. “Wanaka has got a multi-million retirement village, there’s talk of a film production studio, and there’s potential for an airport. Southland seems pretty busy and a pumped hydro scheme at Lake Onslow is one of the options being explored by the NZ Battery Project. “That will be the single biggest infrastructure project ever done in New Zealand. So I feel it’s going to stay relatively busy in this area, built up by those big projects and the resource required by them. Getting people in the country to help will be important.”
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