| 53 T T Kim Bowden Crew putting roads back together RMF Contracting has been able to really flex its muscles in recent years as a key part of recovery teams working on complex sites in the Marlborough Sounds. RMF Contracting CONTRACTING When floodwaters chew through roads, or slips knock out remote access routes in the top eastern corner of the South Island, one strong local team can be relied on to restore those routes, which are often community lifelines. RMF Contracting has become the go-to construction crew for emergency road repairs in the region. Based in Marlborough and Kaikōura, the crew has built a reputation for tackling the toughest roading repairs – from cement stabilisation to specialist drilling and full road rebuilds on narrow coastal routes. Owner-operators Richard and Emma Fissenden started the company eight years ago after the Kaikōura earthquake, spotting a gap in the market for highly specialised flood and slip response work. What began with one contract quickly grew, and today RMF Contracting employs 25 staff and runs a self-sufficient operation with everything from diggers and cement stabilisers to a hydraulic hose repair unit. They are the only contractors in the region with both the know-how and machinery to do end-to-end road rebuilds without subbing anything out – right down to traffic management. “We can complete a job from start to finish,” Richard says. That sort of ownership of a job makes RMF Contracting more accountable – and more efficient. As a result, bigger players have sought them out, and several technically challenging jobs RMF Contracting has completed have been through a joint venture structure, entered into with Fulton Hogan and Heb Construction. RMF Contracting has been able to really flex its muscles in recent years as a key part of recovery teams working on complex sites in the Marlborough Sounds. There, large sections of the roading network were wiped out by consecutive winter floods in 2021 and 2022. Richard recalls one particularly gnarly bit – a 40-metre retaining wall – that he is proud of his crew for finishing, with minimal disruption to other road users. “It was very technical and hard,” he says. “We had to keep the road open to traffic, and we had to drill back 15 metres under the road.” Richard has more than quarter of a century of work experience with civil construction projects. He is a problem solver, with a ‘no-fuss, justgets-it-done’ energy. He’s carved out a niche in an industry that suits him to a tee. “My motivation is the challenge of coming up against something that’s very tricky to do, and then being able to figure out a methodology – and a safe methodology – on how to do the job,” he says. An important member of the RMF team is Richard’s cousin Matt, who drives the company’s health and safety policies and procedures. “We’re lucky to have him,” Richard says. “He returned home after working in the mines, and he was upskilled over there in health and safety. He’s been able to implement a lot of what he learned into RMF, and it’s helped lift our standards.” The company yard is home to an impressive line-up of heavy machinery. Among them are four excavators – the biggest, a 23-tonner – water trucks and six-wheelers, a Bergman Swivel Dumper, a bulldozer, a grader, plate compactors, a hiab crane truck, rollers, a loader and two-axle, three-axle and four-axle transporters. • Vineyard Development Surveying • Building Setout • G.P.S & Topographical Surveys • All Land Surveying Matters • Resource Management • Supply Survey Information Including Plans & Titles • UAV (Drone) Services, Mapping & Photography REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL SURVEYORS Land Development Consultants & Resource Management Planners AFTER HOURS Philip Morton 021 431 190 03 578 7984 | 181 High St, P.O. Box 380, Blenheim office@gilberthaymes.co.nz | www.gilberthaymes.co.nz Commercial Hire NZ is proud to support RMF Contracting with their heavy vehicle requirements 0800 COM HIRE (0800 266 447) www.commercialhire.co.nz info@commercialhire.co.nz WELLINGTON Wellington & North Island 13 Makaro Street, Porirua, Wellington DUNEDIN Otago & Southland 23 Gow Street, Mosgiel, Dunedin CHRISTCHURCH Canterbury, Marlborough &West Coast 59 Hayton Road, Wigram, Christchurch
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