| 45 T T Hugh de Lacy Surge in population fuels growth Most of Goodwin Excavation’s work is on the burgeoning number of sub-divisions in the region, typically involving the demolition of existing buildings, removing the debris, and then launching into dig-outs. Goodwin Excavations CONTRACTING The tide of people flooding into Canterbury to take advantage of its competitive housing market has Rangiora-based earthmoving company Goodwin Excavations working half the time at home in North Canterbury and the rest of it in Christchurch. “It’s a good strong market and we’ve had plenty of work on throughout what has been a bit of a building slump elsewhere in the country, and the outlook is increasingly bright,” says owner and founder Carl Goodwin. “It’s enabled us to become well-established with residential and commercial developers in both locations, and we’ve reached a size that I’m very comfortable with right now, but always looking for new and forthcoming projects within the area. “We have a staff of three full-timers, including myself, a couple of subcontractors, and we operate two diggers, a 3D GPS skid-steer, an articulated transporter and two trucks. We’ve concentrated on having up-to-date and versatile machinery. “It’s an approach that’s served us well: we’re moving into GPS gear, and we’ve got a tilt-rotator on one of the diggers that can move the bucket in any direction and spin it 360 degrees, which not only saves time but makes our workmanship more accurate. “It also tilts, which makes it ideal for shaping surfaces precisely, an important capacity when you’re doing things like shaping bike jumps and berms, but also excavating building sites and preparing car parks.” As a director of the action sports event Hedge Fest, Carl has been instrumental in maintaining the club’s track development, utilising the tilt-rotator to its full potential. Most of Goodwin Excavation’s work is on the burgeoning number of sub-divisions in the region, typically involving the demolition of existing buildings, removing the debris, and then launching into dig-outs. The work can be spread throughout the time the project is being implemented, extending into foundation lay-outs, car parks, and curbing and channelling for single units, townhouses and commercial buildings. Then there is the sort of project that has a particular appeal to mountain bike enthusiast Carl, who recently completed the mountain bike skills park on the edge of town for the North Canterbury Mountain Bike Club. “We especially enjoy that sort of work, knowing that the market for mountain biking and motorbiking in North Canterbury is really vibrant: there are kids flocking to it from seven in the morning till dark,” Carl says. As a mountain bike racer in his earlier years he feels he knows the market well, and has his eye out for other such developments. Carl formed Goodwin Excavations in late 2021 from a background of working at a local earthmoving company for five years as a digger operator, then operating diggers in Canada before returning to Rangiora, where he promptly picked up a contract to demolish a house. One job led to another with hire machinery and trucks, acquiring Goodwin Excavation’s first item of plant, a 10t digger, a year later. Carl initially worked on his own, with the help of subcontractors, but was able to hire his first full-time staffer in late 2023. Jason Graham 021 570 383 www.amicus.co.nz INSURANCE BROKERS
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