36 | JWEngineering REGIONAL WWW.VULCAN.CO STEEL • STAINLESS • ENGINEERING STEELS • ALUMINIUM 220 Bond Street, Invercargill 03 211 0375 51 Bill Richardson Drive, Invercargill 03 218 4124 VULCAN IS PROUD TO SUPPORT JW ENGINEERING www.jwengineering.co.nz Experienced in all types of steelwork, delivering precision and skill from structural steelwork to industrial pipework systems. • STRUCTURAL STEEL FABRICATION • PORTALS & FRAMES • INDUSTRIAL PIPEWORK Delivering quality & reliability every step of the way Expanding in Southland’s buoyant economy The JWEngineering team includes skills in heavy fabrication, mechanical engineering and general engineering. T T Russell Fredric “It’s been a gamechanger for us. I can draw a full model of what we’re doing, make sure everything fits, and the guys can work on individual parts from that model.” Expanding services to include industrial pipework and structural steel fabrication has been driving unprecedented growth for JWEngineering. Managing director Mike Peterson says the Invercargill company has grown from its early origins as a small wireworks into a much larger business offering a wide range of services including industrial on-site maintenance, industrial pipework, structural steel, heavy fabrication, heavy transport repairs and general engineering. Mike says its capability includes ammonia pipework and refrigeration systems which requires specialist knowledge and welders. The company is increasingly undertaking larger projects with the JWEngineering team currently converting refrigeration systems to glycol at Alliance Group’s plant. The project began late May and includes 140 linear metres of 200mm stainless-steel glycol pipe, about 100 metres of 100mm stainless-steel hot-water lines, and ammonia pipework in 80mm and 200mm diameters, with three to six staff working on site. Completion is expected late November. “It’s a big one for us as far as time goes; it’s probably the biggest project we’ve done. There’s nothing overly complicated with it, there’s just a lot of it,” Mike says. The business’s capability expanded with its move to an 800sqm Bond Street workshop three-and-a-half years ago. The workshop and overhead crane provide capacity for bigger projects, while staffing has grown from 4 to the current 13. The team includes skills in heavy fabrication, mechanical engineering and general engineering. The addition of specialist welders about four years ago has helped JWEngineering establish its industrial pipework capability. Design has changed, too. Mike introduced Autodesk software that allows him to model projects, with drawings now produced for 90 percent of jobs. “It’s been a gamechanger for us. I can draw a full model of what we’re doing, make sure everything fits, and the guys can work on individual parts from that model.” A structural-steel residential house project highlighted the benefits: staff fabricated individual components from the digital model, with the finished structure bolting together accurately on site. The business marked 50 years in 2024, coinciding with Mike’s father, Donald, passing away suddenly. Mike’s grandfather Lew Petersen bought the original wireworks in 1974, and Donald took over in 2001, bringing an industrial engineering background and introducing on-site maintenance and mechanical work around 2005. Mike joined full-time in 2015 after six years playing professional rugby for the Southland Stags as well as a season in Spain. He had worked in the workshop from a young age, becoming managing director two years ago. “I’m pretty proud of it. It’s not very common these days to get third-generation family-owned businesses, especially an engineering business.” Mike credits his rugby experience with instilling a team-first mentality and credits the staff as being central to the business’s growth. “I’m pretty proud of the group of guys that we’ve got here. We all get on pretty well. Looking after our guys is something Dad always did as well; without your team, you’re nothing.” Having created a solid client base, JWEngineering continues to position itself for further industrial and infrastructure projects. Mike says Southland’s economy is extremely buoyant, with work already scheduled into July next year and more projects coming to tender. “Personally, I’ve never seen it so good here. There’s a lot going on in Southland and, for us tradies, there’s a lot to be excited about.”
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