Business South June 2021

| 63 Egypt Civil Construction Small company making big strides Kelly Deeks Egypt Civil Construction undertakes bridge construction and repairs, jetty construction and repairs, retaining walls, concrete structures, concrete repairs, guardrail, and excavation works. CONTRACTING D etermined to achieve its ambitions, family-owned civil construction firm Egypt Civil Construction has made the improbable possible by becoming a prequali- fied contractor for Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) after only four years in busi- ness, and with a small team of six. Egypt Civil Construction has now been oper- ating for six years, and undertakes bridge con- struction and repairs, jetty construction and repairs, retaining walls, concrete structures, concrete repairs, guardrail, and excavation works across the upper South Island. Owners Jaden and Mary Barnett have more than 50 years of civil project experience between them, Jaden in civil construction and Mary in civil engineering. The Egypt team maintains high standards of health and safety as they work consistently to meet project timelines and budgets. “When we became pre-qualified with NZTA, there were less than 100 prequalified contrac- tors throughout the whole of New Zealand, so it was a really big deal for us,” Mary says. “We were a really young business, but we still had all of our paperwork and systems in place and we had a good track record of working experience. It was a major milestone for us.” Egypt Civil Construction is pre-qualified to complete minor works and bridge construc- tion for NZTA. Egypt undertakes a lot of specialised construction for larger contractors in Nelson/ Marlborough area, and Jaden and Mary appre- ciate the support they’ve been shown during their early years in business. Egypt Civil Construction also works with local government and private clients, specialis- ing in timber and concrete construction, work- ing on a regular basis with both elements. Jaden and Mary have found their varied workload helps to keep their staff interested and retained. “It takes us a bit longer to train our staff, because they have to be proficient in many areas. Right now they’re working on a bridge, then they will go on to build retaining walls, and after that they’re doing concrete repairs. They have to have skills in all these areas.” Egypt is working with infrastructure industry training organisation Connexis to get staff training and make the most of the Education (Vocational Education and Training) Amend- ment Bill. With the civil industry facing the same labour force challenges as everyone else, Jaden and Mary are happy to continue as a small business unit but to grow in terms of complexity of the projects it takes on. “We are really proud to be able to work for NZTA and we want to make sure we keep doing a good job in that area,” Mary says. “We would like to do more bridge construc- tion and repairs for NZTA and go further afield across the South Island.” Egypt designs and builds bridges through a collaborative approach with local design firm CDT Consultants and precast bridge specialist Thelin Construction. The three companies working together creates a team of specialists and allows for expert consultation from the design phase through to construction. Bridged / Concrete Structure RetainingWalls / Jetty Construction Servicing Nelson, Tasman, Golden Bay,West Coast, Marlborough, Otago PH: 027 527 6211 / jadenbarnett@gmail.com “ We specialise in picking up and moving almost anything to almost anywhere in the top of the South Island.” 24 Venice Place, Stoke, Nelson 03 547 0670 (24 Hours) 03 547 0671 office.liftnshift@gmail.com “We specialise in picking up and moving almost anything to almost anywhere in the top of the South Island.” Lift N Shift Ltd Lift N Shift Ltd 24 Venice Place, Stoke, Nelson | 03 547 0670 (24 Hours) 03 547 0671 | office.liftnshift@gmail.com Option 1. Option 2. THELIN Construction Ltd 03 544 8906 • A er Hours: DavidThelin 021 426 938 CRANE HIRE Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week admin@thelin.co.nz • McPherson Street, POBox 3072, Richmond Wespecialise intheManufactureandPlacingofPre-castand Pre-stressedConcreteComponents,whichincludesCommercial& Residential Foundations, SuspendedConcreteFloors, Bridges, Culverts, PileDrivingandWharfConstruction. NoJobTooLargeorTooSmall! No Job Too Large or Too Small We specialise in the Manufacture and Placing of Pre-cast and Pre-stressed Concrete Components which include Commercial & Residential Foundations, Suspended Concrete Floors, Bridges, Culverts, Pile Driving and Wharf Construction. CRANE HIRE Available 24 hours a day 7 days a week THELIN PH/FAX (03) 544-8906 McPherson Street, PO Box 3072, Richmond 0208160302 ProudtobesupplyingEgyptCivilwithPrecast ConcreteComponentsandFoundationExpertise Nelson Marlborough Hub 0800 807 845 www.placemakers.co.nz The region’s leading timber and building materials supplier