| 57 T T Sue Russell Excellence in electrical contracting Covering the dairy sector and irrigation as well, keeps the teams on the ground busy. South Canterbury: Morris Waddell Electrical REGIONAl DEVELOPMENT Timaru electrical contracting business Morris Waddell Electrical has a long history, spanning more than six decades. Logan Cunningham, co-owner, along with his father Bevan, says the business is in a very positive situation, growing over the last couple of years to a team of 13 staff, with a mix of qualified electricians and electrical apprentices. “We currently employ five apprentices, which is quite an undertaking. It’s important to balance those new to qualified staff to ensure they get the best support and supervision possible,” says Logan. Apprentices are at different stages of learning which works well. Toward the end of their apprenticeship they are allowed to undertake appropriate skilled work which builds great confidence. This in turn is checked off by a qualified colleague. Asked what occupies his time Logan says it’s a myriad of tasks, managing staff, the day to day, quoting work and project management. Morris Waddell working across residential, commercial, industrial, rural customers and service and maintenance across the board. A new addition in the last couple years is renewables- solar and battery systems. This gives the team a broad knowledge across large parts of the electrical industry. “We like to think that when a person has completed their apprenticeship with us, they come out with very well rounded skillset and can work confidently in many situations. In New Zealand and abroad” Acknowledging there is a bit of a downturn in the domestic realm of new builds, with rising costs and rising cost of living, Logan says this really is time to have a company with diversity who are really be keen to push the envelope in other parts of our industry as well as just provide an outstanding service to all existing and new customers. “We have some large food processing plants that we maintain and provide technologies into. They all have a large degree of automation in their industrial lines. New commercial buildings and the maintenance of them is a big part of what we do.” Covering the dairy sector and irrigation as well, keeps the teams on the ground busy. Morris Waddell Electrical services the greater South Canterbury region into the Mackenzie country although there’s typically plenty of work within South Canterbury. With the market quite volatile at this time as economic pressures and uncertainties play through, Logan says the plan is to keep the current team, and really invest in the staff they have with further training and pushing new skillsets. “I think the next 12 months or so will be quite interesting.” Asked about ‘out of the box’ projects the company is currently engaged in, Logan says there is one very interesting project. In a large lime-works quarry in our region, an area is being converted into a contaminated products dump, for materials such as asbestos to be safely processed. The project, he says, is gaining a lot of scrutiny from Council, but promises to have really positive implications for the environment into the future. “This project comes from a long term amazing client of ours. We’re working with consultants to develop systems to keep materials such as asbestos, often found in old building waste, safe while being processed. It has to be kept moist. “There will be a large pump station built, which will be monitored underground remotely. It’s quite an exciting project to be involved in.” Morris Waddell Electrical are the designated electrician on this project and will be collaborating with others on the automation aspects of the build, who will assist with designing the user interface. “The whole project has been in planning for two years now.” The world of electrical engineering and systems is one that is continually evolving. Logan says there wouldn’t be a week goes by without new technology coming into the market. “A huge part of the industry is high-tech automation. We’re doing some automation work inhouse as well. And we’re interested in renewables technology into the future to provide opportunities to offset running costs of businesses etc as the cost of things increase and the price of renewables decreases this is something we want to push for our clients to provide them a platform and guarantee around energy into the future. “They carry huge implications for how energy is harnessed and we’re keen to be very much a part of that era.” In the last 24 months, staff at Morris Waddell Electrical have engaged in training through overseas training providers in order to understand that industry better. Morris Waddell is very much looking forward to the next 12 months providing and working on great projects alongside other great local businesses. www.telfers.co.nz Proud to be associated with Morris Waddell Electrical Ltd 03 686 2422 60 GLENITI ROAD P 03 686 2422 24HRS/7 DAYS E admin@morriswaddell.co.nz W www.morriswaddellelectrical.co.nz ‘THE BOYS IN THE BLUE VANS’ For any electrical job, no matter the size, you can rely on our certified professionals to handle it efficiently and with complete care and expertise.
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