| 55 T T Aimee Wilson Experts moving more than houses King House Removals boasts the biggest specialised trailer in the South Island, which can carry an impressive 150 tonnes. King House Removals TRANSPORT Having been in the moving game since 1959, King House Removals is pretty much a household name around the South Island. Brothers Warren and Grant Willis took over the family business in Invercargill from their father Fred, and after the Christchurch earthquakes opened another branch – doubling the size of the business. Fred revolutionised hydraulic lifting and steering trailers back in 1977, and the company continues to manufacture and design all of its own gear. A recent example of this was the team making steel frames in the workshop, as the foundation, for a house that was being moved from Christchurch to Lumsden. The company even has its own in-house truck painter. At the 2007 New Zealand Heavy Haulage Conference, Fred was awarded the prestigious Gus Breen Memorial award for his outstanding contribution to the heavy haulage industry throughout the years. The company’s 19 team members are experts at house moving and heavy haulage. They are renowned for taking on the bigger and more difficult jobs around the country. Grant has some memorable stories of jobs he has worked on over the years: the 10-bedroom convent that was moved from Blenheim to Seddon, a two-storey house shifted in one piece just recently in Christchurch on their platform trailer, and a building split in two transported from Granity on the South Island’s West Coast up to the Coromandel. The company has moved classrooms for schools, holiday houses, and new houses up and down the country, while just recently there was the challenging job of moving an office block to Nelson Hospital from Christchurch, which had to be transported in five separate loads. King House Removals boasts the biggest specialised trailer in the South Island, which can carry an impressive 150 tonnes. “We have the capacity to do anything now. Mining gear, dump trucks, barges, boats, anything that can be manufactured can be moved,” says Grant. They go places that most people won’t even know about, he says – the back blocks, buildings way across the other side of lakes, and on remote farms. The logistics are huge. There’s so much planning needed for every stretch of road and highway to the final destination, checking on road works, closures, and boarding ferries between the two islands as well. Then there are overbridges and tunnels to contend with when arriving in Wellington – everything has to be measured. “You can never guess in this game. And driving at night, you definitely need to have your wits about you,” Grant says. The industry has made it more challenging in recent years for permitting, and the company is constantly keeping up with new legislation as well. King House Removals follows a detailed set of safety procedures and operating protocols to ensure each move is a success. As a longstanding member of the New Zealand Heavy Haulage Association, the company has earned the respect of its peers and a reputation for excellence within the heavy haulage and house removal industry. “We have the capacity to do anything now. Mining gear, dump trucks, barges, boats, anything that can be manufactured can be moved.” 4 V I C T O R I A A V E N U E , I NV E R C A R G I L L Phone 03 218 3200 admin@ajautoelectrical.net.nz Delkor battery specialist Caravan electrical and solar Air conditioning Auto electrical repairs and servicing. Proudly associated with King House Removals Specialists in All Auto Electrical Repairs & Servicing
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