56 | Heaps Landscaping Erskine Earthworks CONTRACTING 027 600 4671 | erskinemm63@gmail.com | erskineearthworks.com ERSKINE EARTHWORKS EARTHWORKS • EXCAVATION • DRAINAGE EARTHMOVING • DRIVEWAYS ENJOY LIFE FROM YOUR GARDEN! With a passion for plants since 1932, we have a stunning range of plants grown for local conditions: Rhododendrons, Perennials, Natives, Shrubs and trees, Conifers, Grasses, Climbers, Pleiones, Azaleas and more. Have a look at our selection of unique, rare or unusual plants at our nursery in Tapanui or order online www.bmn.co.nz OPEN MONDAY TO SATURDAY 8am-5pm 99 BUSHYHILL ST, TAPANUI P: 03 204 8250 Digger work done well Cromwell, where Murray is based, sits at the centre of his patch. T T Kim Bowden 21 years of quality T T Kelly Deeks For Murray Erskine, sitting in a digger on a Central Otago cherry orchard, shaping laneways through rows of young trees is a change of scene from the steep Queenstown building sites and subdivisions that make up most of his workload, but the core task is the same: digger work done well. The orchard contract began before a single tree went in the ground. Erskine Earthworks contoured the land to create gentler slopes, ripped the ground with a bulldozer and pick ripper so the trees’ roots could establish, and is now forming and gravelling the orchard’s internal laneways so vehicles can move easily around the site. It’s just one example of the range of work Erskine Earthworks takes on, from land clearing and small subdivisions to large-scale landscaping and difficult dig-outs on steep, rocky sites. Cromwell, where Murray is based, sits at the centre of his patch, with work stretching to Queenstown, Wānaka and occasionally Alexandra. Murray did not start out in earthmoving. He grew up farming in Southland and only moved into earthworks after leasing out his farm. “An opportunity came up at a place to operate a digger, just digging out a pond and Heaps Landscaping is marking a significant anniversary this year with a simple plan for the future: keep doing good work, look after its people, and continue building on the strong community connections that have sustained the business for 21 years. Owners, Craig and Vickie Heaps, started the Gore-based business in 2005 after Craig had decided he wanted a different working life from the diesel mechanics trade in which he had spent 10 year. He retrained in horticulture through the Open Polytechnic and completed an apprenticeship at Pukerau Nursery before deciding it was time to back himself. That decision has since seen Heaps Landscaping grow into a family business with a team of two qualified landscapers, a labourer, and Craig, while Vickie manages the administration and marketing. The couple’s 21st anniversary has particular significance, because their daughter is also turning 21 this year, and Craig says the longevity of the business is something worth celebrating in its own right. “We never looked back, but it has definitely been hard work,” he says. “Landscaping is a hard but very rewarding job, and it provides a lot of satisfaction at the end of each day.” Heaps Landscaping works predominantly across Eastern and Northern Southland, although the team has travelled as far as Te Anau for projects. loading a truck. I thought, ‘Oh well, I can give that a bash,’ and it just grew from there.” He bought his own machinery and picked up work, but a downturn in the Southland dairy sector saw that work disappear. A move north to Cromwell, initially intended as a stopgap while he worked for another contractor, ultimately provided the platform for his own business to expand. Early projects he took on, including work at Five Mile, helped establish the relationships that led to further contracts. “Those relationships are what it’s all about,” Murray says. “They are the most important thing – building trust.” For a small operator, that matters, because competing on price is not an option. “Instead, he says, the business focuses on being “the best” it can be and making sure the customer is happy. “Problem solving is probably about 90% of my job,” he says. That approach has been tested on the steep, constrained sites the company has become known for around Queenstown, where terrain, rock and tight access can turn straightforward earthworks into complex jobs. The business runs five excavators, ranging from 1.7-tonne to 25-tonne, three tip trucks and a water truck. Work ranges from landscaping and garden maintenance to paving, fencing, retaining walls, planting, tree work, riparian planting, and farm shelter establishment. The business has developed a strong connection with local landscape architect, Redesign Landscape Architecture, referring clients when a project requires a formal plan before those plans are brought to life. Quality workmanship and a strong local connection have been central to the business since its early days. If you do a really good job and then clean up really well, you will get that repeat business,” Craig says. “Quality is a non-negotiable for us.” Recent projects have included landscaping work for Kainga Ora’s 16-house development in East Gore, completed alongside local builder, Ajax Building Company. The month-long project was one of Heaps Landscaping’s larger contracts. Heaps Landscaping has a long-standing role with Southern Field Days, preparing exhibition sites every two years through mowing, site preparation, fencing, laying bark chip, and dismantling. Craig says the event brings significant activity and income into the wider community, benefiting businesses well beyond its own. Seasonal work keeps the team’s workload varied, with winter bringing tree removals and shrub trimming before shelter belt planting and landscaping work increase in spring and summer. Heaps Landscaping works predominantly across Eastern and Northern Southland.
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