| 129 T T Virginia Wright Key player in Westport construction Adams Construction has built numerous houses at the same time as being involved in constructing key infrastructure projects from bridges to power stations. Adams Construction BUILDING Adams Construction Ltd was established by Mick Adams in 1992 when he came back from a stint working largely in civil construction on Australia’s Gold Coast. Arriving back in Westport with his wife and two young boys, he recognised a gap in the civil construction market for the sort of work he had just spent three years perfecting on large construction sites. Namely, the form work that is a crucial part of any large concrete pour. “It’s all about the form work that holds the concrete in place, which is like an art in itself, so I knew how to prepare and plan for the big pours and what we call form work. “I’d been working on high-rises with Bradshaw Construction and doing civil engineering night-classes learning about forces and how they work, so I was their pipe-laying and pipe-design specialist. You’ve got to know what you’re doing when you’re pouring concrete because it’s a big job to fix it,” says Mick. Thirty-odd years later and those two young boys have been working in Adams Construction Ltd since they left school. Carl, now 38, runs the machinery side of things. “He’ll handle anything from cranes, to hi-abs, to diggers and he’s done all his tickets on the way through,” says Mick. Matt, now 36, runs the housing side of things, while Mick still runs the civil construction side, which continues to thrive alongside the residential housing that is part and parcel of their workload. Over the years, Adams Construction Ltd has built numerous houses at the same time as being involved in constructing key infrastructure projects from bridges to power stations. It is still one of the very few companies in Westport to do that work and has recently teamed up with Heb Construction, one of New Zealand’s major infrastructure builders, to win the tender to upgrade the Westport wharf and bring it into the 21st century. Whether it is to formally collaborate, or for his local knowledge, Mick regularly takes calls from people enquiring about previous and current projects. With a new, 400sqm workshop under construction, Adams Construction Ltd continues to make sure the team of 10 carpenters, two apprentices and a labourer have enough work to see them through, especially over the West Coast’s notoriously wet spring, which might otherwise see residential building grind to a halt. The plan is to build an entire house inside the workshop, with all the efficiencies that offers, along with its wet-weather cover, and there have already been enquiries. The house, up to around 100sqm, can then be trucked to its site ready to become a home. “We’ve done a few prefabricated houses over the years but we’ve done them outside, so now we can keep the timber dry, along with everything else, and we’re not making a mess of their section working in mud,” says Mick. As with any relocatable house, they prepare the section and foundations for the house, and secure it in position one it has safely arrived. With the onset of spring, Adams Construction Ltd is looking forward to having this as an option when the weather risks slowing progress on other construction projects, be they residential or civil. 64 PALMERSTON STREET, WESTPORT 7825 (03) 788-8081 OR 021-777-487 Trained Technicians Emergency 24-7 Service All Welding Repairs & Fabrication All Hydraulic Hose & Fitting Repairs Agents for Ryco 24/7 Allan: 021 777 487 Work: 03 788 8081 www.reaengineering.co.nz Fabrication Welding Hydraulics Dairy Servicing Pumps Water Reticulation HIAB Service We proudly support Adams Construction Ltd.
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