18 | REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Southland: Bluff Engineering and Welding T T Richard Loader Iconic Bluff business has long history “There must have been hundreds of people who have been employed here over the years.” T T to page 20 Proud to Support Bluff Engineering and Welding WE ARE THE SOUTHLAND DISTRIBUTOR FOR THE BELOW INDUSTRIAL BRANDS: 100%SOUTHLAND OWNED AND OPERATED www.ewl.co.nz | 03 218 7263 | 93 Clyde Street, Invercargill An Apprentice Board hanging from Bluff Engineering and Welding’s (BEW) office wall has sixty-nine names inscribed on it – apprentices who have learned their trade through the iconic Bluff business over a 69year time frame. The long list of names is something that BEW’s present owner and Managing Director, Andrew Watkins, is justifiably proud of, just as the past owners have been. The list of names paints a picture about how many people must have worked for the company over almost seven decades. “There must have been hundreds of people who have been employed here over the years,” says Andrew. “I have done a reasonable amount of travelling and I’ve met loads of people who have either worked at Bluff Engineering, knows someone who has, or still is. That’s pretty impressive.” BEW’s journey started in 1954 when marine engineers Bill Potter and Gilly Lewis travelled from Port Chalmers to set up shop during the time South Port was being built. When the Port was completed BEW focused on maintenance projects around the port building, as well as servicing the fishing industry operating out of Bluff. “They built some pretty big fishing boats. There were some twelve to thirteen metre boats, but they also built a couple of massive oyster boats in the workshop, along with some pretty big barges for local companies. The business progressively grew to a team of about twenty staff, including apprentices.” Bill and Gilly past the business down to a couple of their staff members in 1980, one of whom was Bill’s son, Paul. Neil Sutherland had started with BEW as a 15 year old apprentice, and had become a passionate and skilled machinist, and so he also stepped up as co-owner. While Paul and Neil steered a steady ship, they also started doing a lot of work for the fuel companies operating in Bluff. That work involved unloading fuel from the big tankers and pumping it into underground pipelines. It also involved fuelling the various vessels, including the fishing fleet, that called into port. “BEW was also doing a lot of maintenance work at the fuel plant here. So the fuel side of things became quite a big part of the business.” Andrew, a Tauranga boy and car mechanic by trade, took the business over in 2011, and the way he tells it, there was a comedy of events that led him to the business. “I was looking for the quiet life, and Tauranga was mad busy. I looked for something outside the square and in 2006 I bought a hotel in Bluff, with the thought that I would live the good life down here. “Well, I was bored out of my tree because I’m a person that keeps busy. Behind the hotel was a place that builds Mackcraft jet boats, and I thought that looked interesting. I walked in one day, saw the broom leaning against the wall and started sweeping. “A good hour later I’d swept most of the floor and a manager said, ‘just out of interest, what are you doing?’ I said I’m cleaning up this place, it’s a mess. He said, ‘Ok, come in tomorrow.’ I ended up learning how to build jet boats. They taught me how to weld aluminium and use the press. “I had been doing that for a year when Paul and Neil offered me a job doing an engine overhaul on a tug boat, which led to a full-time job with BEW. “Then they took me out to dinner and said they wanted to retire, and you’re it! So in 2011 they loaned me the money and set me up in business. Neil is 67 now and works for me on a part time basis operating a lathe.” While steady as she goes still prevails, in the time Andrew has been at the wheel, BEW has undertaken some pretty impressive projects including a large reefer tower recently completed for South Port.
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