| 105 T T Sue Russell Brothers building a business With the variety of work the company takes on, there are plenty of great learning opportunities for the apprentices. Tuakana Builders “It’s really important in this industry that you enjoy what you’re doing and for me, a big part of that is engaging with clients in a really open way.” BUILDING Nelson builders Tane and Arahi Raumati are staunchly loyal to the district and wouldn’t want to be building anywhere else in the country. The brothers established Tuakana Builders some four years ago, beginning with small projects, renovation work and the like, which led to building new houses. This in turn led to building multiple houses in retirement villages, and today Tane says there’s plenty of work on. “Last year we were doing residential housing with 10 to 15 on the go and now we are working on large commercial projects equivalent to 15 houses in scale,” Tane explains. As general manager, Tane spends about 50% of his time on the tools and enjoys this balance, with overseeing the running of the company and ensuring projects have everything in place to proceed well, while Arahi concentrates on building. He says he’s happy with the size and nature of work they take on. “If you grow too big you’ve got to move more into the commercial area and can’t push the residential space too much. Longer term it is our intention to grow, but in these early years we’re happy with the type of work we’re doing.” Asked what geographic area they build over, Tane says they extend across the entire Nelson/Tasman region up to the Marlborough Sounds. Working with Arahi and Tane are four qualified builders and two apprentices, with one three years into his qualification and the other a good year in, both doing well. Training is provided through the Building Academy, which Tane says delivers good results. “They concentrate solely on carpentry, whereas other providers do about 20 different trades, so we find the Building Academy works well for our purposes.” And with the variety of work the company takes on, there are plenty of great learning opportunities for the apprentices. “I think those years of training offer builders the chance to discover what it is about building that they really enjoy. Problem solving is a big part of it with renovation and alterations.” The large commercial build currently underway is for Town and Country Vets in lower Queen Street. Work got underway at the start of July and is proceeding well. “We should be finished this build by the end of the year. “We also built a private residence in Coster St, which is on a challenging steep site; consequently it is multi-levelled. It became a lot more than we originally envisaged once we got underway, but it came along really well. We completed this a year ago.” And to top off what has been a really positive time for the team, Tuakana Builders recently built a house for local company Jennian homes Nelson which received a Supreme Award in the Nelson/Marlborough and Wellington region for a house in the under $1million category. “We’re super-proud of that effort and recognition from within the industry,” says Tane. He says there are a number of reasons why the business has gone from strength to strength since its founding. “We consistently deliver high-quality work on time, which is one of the factors that separates us from other builders. It’s really important in this industry that you enjoy what you’re doing and for me, a big part of that is engaging with clients in a really open way.” Both Tane and Arahi understand the pressures and challenges facing the building sector at this time as prices continue to increase, and the market is only slowly becoming a more competitive space than it has been for the past year or so. “We know our reputation will see us in good stead as the market picks up. While I’m not actively looking for any more work to take on right now, once the new year approaches, we’ll be out there again taking on projects, after a good three- or four-week break over Christmas.” Mitre 10 MEGA Nelson are proud suppliers of building materials to NELSON mitre10.co.nz Nelson 99 Quarantine Road Nelson Phone 03 547 0747 OpeningHours Monday to Friday: 7.00am - 7.00pm Sat, Sun & Public Holidays: 8.00am - 6.00pm 027 246 0110 dcplumbing21@gmail.com P R O U D LY S U P P O R T I N G T U A K A N A B U I L D E R S
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