82 | Queenstown Plumbing & Gas CONTRACTING Long-term connections built on trust The company has worked on a number of high-end award-winning homes, including Mill Vista House. T T Randall Johnston Queenstown Plumbing and Gas has grown rapidly over the last few years, merging with Bob Dennison Plumbing five years ago - just four years after its foundation. Queenstown Plumbing and Gas now have about 15 highly experienced plumbers-gas fitters in the team, to help them get through the very busy periods, which are becoming more frequent. With a focus on quality over quantity, they focus mostly on high-end residential builds these days. “The merger made sense, since we both had crews of about half a dozen plumbers each,” Director Brad Winkel explains. “It came at a good time for us and it gave us the resources to undertake the larger housing projects. “The team that we have at the moment is great, we are in a very good position, but we will be looking to take on more plumbers so that we can take on more work in the year ahead. We’ve grown organically over the years, we aren’t just out to grow for growthssake or compromise on the quality of service that we provide.” With a steady stream of forward work, continuity is never an issue but Queenstown by its very nature has its pros and cons for all residents. “Finding and retaining staff in a transient town is always a challenge, but that’s the reality for all employers in Queenstown. The pay is good but the cost of living is really high here and it’s hard to find accommodation.” “We have one rental at the moment for one of our staff, and another that we can possibly open up for someone else if they need it, so we are very proactive about it and try to assist them when we can.” While Queenstown Plumbing and Gas do a bit of work in Cromwell and surrounding areas, most jobs are in the Queenstown basin. “80 percent of our work is north of the Shotover River and about 80 percent of our turnover is made up of high-end, residential new builds for the likes of RBJ, Triple Star, Just Build It and Trinity. I’ve always believed its recession-proof work (new residential builds),” Brad explains. “We have been working with Triple Star for about eight years. RBJ we have been working “These builders have been around for a long time so they always have forward work, but we will just have to wait and see what next year brings.” with for close to 15 years now (10 years prior to the merger). Just Build it; 20 years (15 years prior to the merger). So these are really solid, long-term relationships that we are lucky enough to have. “These builders have been around for a long time so they always have forward work, but we will just have to wait and see what next year brings. Their projects are generally from a minimum of 18 months, right up to four or five years. So the work doesn’t fluctuate that much thankfully and that helps us a lot with our forward planning too.” The company has worked on quite a number of high-end, award-winning homes with Triple Star and RBJ respectively. Including Closeburn Station, which Triple Star Management won the Master Builders southern supreme house of the year award (new home over $2 million category), kitchen excellence and bathroom excellence award for - in late 2020. Mill Vista house (with RBJ) won architectural awards in 2022 that contributed to the excellent execution of the project by the main contractor and sub contractors. The plumbing for such home requires both experience and detailed planning, with sometimes half a dozen bathrooms or more! Being involved in such projects is very rewarding for the team and they are looking forward to what 2024 will bring. Lowara has your residental, commercial & construction water pumping solutions. Reliable, high performance, quality materials, and the widespread Lowara support network make these pumps an ideal selection for your water supply requirements. Brown Brothers Engineers is proud to support Queenstown Plumbing. DELIVERING PUMPING SOLUTIONS® since 1908 Ph: 0508 4 BBENG www.brownbros.co.nz 08/23
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