64 | Parr & Co Ltd (Air & Power) ENGINEERING Respected firm focuses on worker well-being T Kelly Deeks 360 Cranes & Haulage Rewards of sheer determination The business started its first year with a 20 tonne Demag Franna and a 55 tonne Demag mobile crane, truck and trailer unit, two pilot utes, an assortment of lifting equipment. T Russell Fredric If 360 Cranes owners Chris and Tash Johns chose a theme song for themselves and their business it may well be Bob Seger’s Against The Wind. However fast forward from a shock phone call early 2020 to this year, and the South Canterbury Business Excellence Awards Emerging Business category runners-up can not only see clearly now, but are reaping the rewards of their sheer determination and persistence in the face of their potentially overwhelming business start up. Tash says she was in a meeting with their accountant for the first time on March 23 2020 when the accountant got a notification on his phone and said “oh no Tash, you won’t believe it”. “We actually established the business on the 9th of March (2020) and we went into lockdown two and a half weeks later,” Tash says. “We had many sleepless nights.” The couple were motivated to start the business because of Chris’s need for back surgery as well as looking for quality of life and long-term job security. Chris is highly skilled with extensive experience in heavy machinery, particularly excavators, earth moving and project management which he has undertaken for the last 15 years and although Tash is a teacher, she comes from a family farming and transport background. A common element they share is interacting with people and a community focus; consequently they see 360 Cranes as being an intrinsic part of their local community rather than a separate entity to it. “We thought let’s take a stab and do it and put ourselves on the line, you don’t know unless you try,” says Tash. “It wasn’t easy but my motto was that if it was easy everybody would do it, but for us, we don’t really see it as work because it’s something we actually love.” The business started its first year with a 20 tonne Demag Franna and a 55 tonne Demag mobile crane, truck and trailer unit, two pilot utes, an assortment of lifting equipment and two operators including Chris, and with Tash running the office as well as teaching. Adding to the juggle of managing two high pressure jobs, in 2021 Tash had premature twins. One baby’s health was at risk so an emergency caesarean was performed while just 40 hours later Chris’s grandfather passed away. Despite these challenges the business grew steadily and in December 2020 a 130 tonne Grove mobile crane was added to the fleet. After 151 years in business and still going strong, Timaru engineering firm Parr & Co’s latest submission into the 2022 South Canterbury Business Excellence Awards was rewarded with finalist positions in both the Large Business and Workplace Wellbeing categories. Servicing the needs of the region’s large and diverse primary and secondary manufacturers, Parr & Co’s trade qualified team of engineers have the ability and equipment to cover engineering services both at their workshop premises on the Timaru Port, and on surrounding clients’ sites. With a fabrication workshop and machine shop, as well as a pneumatics division specialising in sales and service (Air and Power Industrial), Parr & Co has grown and diversified into one of South Canterbury’s most well-known and respected engineering companies. “To make the finals was an awesome team effort,” says Parr & Co Operations Manager Hamish Kelynack. “Changes around the world have impacted on our business resources, structure and personnel in the past 12 months, and the awards gave us a chance to look at our internal processes and compare ourselves to the rest of the local industry in how we do business.” Resources continue to be a key issue that not only the engineering industry is currently experiencing, however Parr & Co is in the fortunate position of having a number of staff who have been with the firm for 20 to 30 years, as well as a great relationship with the engineering division at Ara Institute of Canterbury. “Promising pre-trade students will come here for work experience, and as a result we have already had four apprentices from Ara sign up with us this year.” Coming out of lockdowns last year, Parr & Co started to look at what it could do to maintain the wellbeing of its people, using Men’s Health Week as a platform to allow everyone to focus on their own wellbeing as well as the wellbeing of their workmates. Parr & Co offered a free GP visit to all staff, for a thorough health check on top of its annual hearing, vision, and lung health checks. “That returned a pretty good response with about 80% of our guys picking that up.” On a mental health focus, Parr & Co holds weekly toolbox meetings to check in on all staff, while the company social club puts on numerous events every year to allow the team to get out and have some fun together and talk about something other than work. “These events really help, especially when everyone is under pressure, like right now. Costs are rising for everyone and there are all sorts of added pressures around the world at the moment.” Parr & Co looks to hold one of these social events at the start of its peak season in May, and another one at the end in September. Health and safety is another huge priority for Parr & Co. Audits and assessments of its health and safety practices by CPNZ, SiteWise NZ and ISO 45001 have found Parr & Co is consistently operating at the very highest level. “Promising pre-trade students will come here for work experience, and as a result we have already had four apprentices from Ara sign up with us this year.” • • High Defintion Plasma Cutting • Profile Cutting • Break Pressing • Drilling and Tapping • Plate Sales • Bevel Cutting • Laser Cutting HELPING TO ENGINEER THE FUTURE RIGHT HERE. Ready for your next project. steelandtube.co.nz Steel & Tube hasmanufacturing sites and retail stores throughout the South Island, including Timaru. We offer a comprehensive range of steel products, services and solutions for general engineers, manufacturers, residential/ commercial builds and the rural sector. CONTRACTING
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