96 | JOINERY Fiordland Joinery Joinery by the masters T T Hugh de Lacy Fiordland Joinery is primary focused on wooden residential joinery, from kitchens and doors to wardrobes, laundries and stairwells. Steady growth in building activity in the Te Anau area of Southland is encouraging Fiordland Joinery to look for ways to grow its business. Fiordland Joinery principal Simon Irwin has been in the business for 27 years, and with wife Rachel Irwin took over the established company, based in Te Anau, three years ago. Its primary focus is on wooden residential joinery, from kitchens and doors to wardrobes, laundries and stairwells. With a staff of three, the company services the Te Anau Basin and spreads out into the wider Otago/Southland building market. It’s been a challenging, no less than rewarding experience for Rachel and Simon. “Navigating around the Covid environment while still learning to keep up with the demands of running a small business has definitely challenged us over the last 18 months,” Simon says. “The welfare of our staff and our families have been at the forefront of these Covid-related demands. “Suppliers have communicated well about slow arrivals of materials, and we’re fortunate to still get most supplies when we need them,” Simon says. Kitchens are a specialty of the company which offers “a highly skilled and experienced joinery service with craft and creativity at the heart of all our projects – and no job is too big or too small,” Simon says. “Recent examples of our craftwork include a Te Anau family home made with their love of cooking in mind, featuring a large island bench, warm white cupboards and the addition of Baroque Wood matt board for further warmth. “The welfare of our staff and our families have been at the forefront of these Covidrelated demands.” “The kitchen is finished off with brushed nickel handles and tapware.” Another Te Anau home used black cabinetry against Quartz Silver Vein Engineered Stone benchtops, with splashes of colour on the walls to create an eye-catching space. “Both these projects are great examples of the products we use in most of our work, with Elite Hardware for handles, Hafele soft-close doors and Blum soft-close hinges,” Simon says. The business operates out of a 300m2 factory using a wide range of solid timbers, a variety of New Zealand-made pre-finished panels, and variations on the theme of stainless steel and engineered stone tops. At the design end of the process Fiordland Joinery “works closely with the architects on some builds, and with the builders and their clients on others,” Simon says. While most of the company’s work is generated by housing, some of the larger projects since its acquisition have included the new Lakeview Tanara Apartments on the Te Anau lake-front, and a new fire station for the village of Athol. “The Te Anau Retirement Village of 23 units - Murchison Villas – spanned almost three years and we were proud to be the suppliers of all the joinery, completing the work on time and budget with our small team. “As the Te Anau area continues to grow, expanding the business is a strong possibility,” Simon says, and already he and Rachel are laying the groundwork for further investment in their small company with its long history of servicing the burgeoning Southland market. Doug Robbie • 0276352438 teanauhomes@gmail.com NewBuilds • Renovations • Fences • Decks • PropertyMaintenance Phone 03 249 4339 or call Simon 022 6046305 Location 10 Caswell Road, Te Anau Email fiordlandjoinery@gmail.com w w w . f i o r d l a n d j o i n e r y . c o . n z We offer a highly skilled and experienced joinery service with craft and creativity at the heart of all of our projects. Kitchen Joinery Stairwells Wardrobes & cabinetry Pre-hung Doors Bathroom Vanities, Laundries Your kitchen specialist
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