24 | T T Russell Fredric Contractors’ work widely appreciated Fulton Hogan Southland has a transport fleet backed by an array of machinery, along with an asphalt production plant and aggregate sources to undertake road works, resurfacing, asphalting and pavement marking, plus associated civil construction work. The backbone contracts that support the region are certainly the two road maintenance contracts that we have....” REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Fulton Hogan - Southland Regional manager of Fulton Hogan Southland, Paul Jamison, took on his role three years ago, describing the period since as one that has tested the mettle of many businesses in the construction industry. “The taps weren’t turned completely turned off, but I think coming out of Covid, and interest rates and inflation, certainly had an impact on the spend, particularly local authorities, which is our bread and butter – especially for a smaller region like Southland,” Paul says. Much of this local authority work relates to three waters renewal projects for stormwater, sewer and drinking water that come within their annual budgets. What Fulton Hogan Southland has done well during those years was managing to maintain its existing workforce of 125 staff without restructuring, “which was pleasing”, Paul says. “In the last six months we’ve probably come out of that trough, and we’re seeing a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. “The backbone contracts that support the region are certainly the two road maintenance contracts that we have, like the one with Invercargill City Council, which is called the Waihopai Alliance, and the other is the Foveaux Alliance, with Southland District Council. They’re our foundation stones for keeping the region going.” In the roading sphere, Fulton Hogan Southland has a transport fleet backed by an array of machinery, along with an asphalt production plant and aggregate sources to undertake road works, resurfacing, asphalting and pavement marking, plus associated civil construction work. Fulton Hogan Southland’s capacity, project-management capability and absolute commitment to its clients were perfectly showcased during the resurfacing of 6.1 kilometres of Tiwai Road for Invercargill City Council in March this year. Tiwai Road is the sole road link to New Zealand Aluminium Smelters and its associated wharf in Bluff Harbour. The resurfacing required in excess of 100,000 litres of bitumen to be sprayed, and was completed in a single day, which was a phenomenal achievement, Paul says. The scope and scale of the work required precise planning, project management, and coordination on the day, involving many moving parts, including the support of Fulton Hogan regions, in addition to excellent communication and engagement with stakeholders. “NZAS were very appreciative, and distributed information in advance to their approximately 2500 staff, contractors, bulk carriers, and others,” Paul says. Fulton Hogan Southland’s surfacing crews, likewise, support other branches, typically working in lower South Island regions and operations, but also South Island wide, and they recently supported Auckland resurfacing operations by rotating crews to the North Island. Another project related to the smelter is the comprehensive remediation of Tiwai Wharf, which is primarily used for its smelter’s shipping operations, highlighting the skills and versatility of Fulton Hogan Southland’s team. “It’s a multi-year structural maintenance contract that has been running for 24 months now,” says Paul. Work includes repairs to the wharf’s T beams and headstocks, a full clean underneath, replacement of timber supports that hold infrastructure such as pipelines and cables, blasting/repair of reinforcing, and treatment for rust protection. “It’s a challenging environment, but it provides a good scope of work to introduce our staff to. It’s a good training ground, too.” At this stage, the four-year contract term is tracking to be completed around six months ahead of schedule. “We’ve put forward our foreman, Luke Lynch, to the regional CCNZ (Civil Contractors New Zealand) awards for foreman of the year off the back of the good work he’s done and the good feedback from NZAS,” Paul says. “It’s a great relationship that we’ve got with NZAS. The foundations of what we do on a daily basis are built on Health & Safety and keeping our people safe so we share priorities and understanding in that space.” Address: PO Box 1614, Invercargill 9840 E: karlhawkes@outlook.com www.allancontracting.co.nz • Subdivisions • Footpaths • Commercial Carparks • Residential Carparks • Patios • Concrete Driveways • BBQ Areas CONTRACTING FOR YOUR MACHINE LAID KERBING & ALL YOUR CONCRETE NEEDS ALLAN Karl Hawkes - 027 407 0745 The smart approach to environmental management Contact our experienced team: (03) 409 8664 / www.e3scientific.co.nz Locally owned & operated environmental science consultancy serving Otago & Southland since 2007 • Contaminated land • Landscape restoration • Marine, freshwater & terrestrial ecological assessment • Water resources & water quality investigation Raranga toru taiao Te Ao, Te Wai, Te Moana
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