Black ties, big personalities and community-changing projects were in the spotlight at Friday night’s Civil Contractors New Zealand Hawke’s Bay East Coast Hirepool Construction Excellence Awards.
More than 170 industry movers and shakers made their way to the Toitoi Arts & Events Centre in Hastings to honour the companies and civil construction projects making a positive difference across the Hawke’s Bay East Coast region.
One of the night’s big winners was Fulton Hogan, which picked up two awards for projects designed to improve the region’s water infrastructure.
The company’s recent high profile project building water treatment and water storage infrastructure at Frimley Park in Hastings won the ‘Projects with a Value Over $3 Million’ category. Fulton Hogan also took home the ‘Maintenance Project’ award for its work managing water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure for Gisborne District Council.
Wairoa-based QRS received the ‘Projects with a Value Between $1 Million and $3 Million’ award for its part in the Rangatahi Dropout project to protect the Mahia East Coast Road from further damage following a significant slump which occurred in 2019.
The ‘Projects with a Value Between $200,000 and $1 Million’ award went to Topline Contractors for the high quality of its work on a recent project to complete raised pedestrian crossings on Marine Parade in Napier and safety improvements on nearby Tom Parker Avenue.
Gisborne company Currie Construction won the ‘Projects with a Value Under $200,000’ award its State Highway 35 Tatapouri Road project, near Gisborne. The project involved repairs and improvements to the Tatapouri Road Sea Wall, which had suffered considerable damage, leading to a section of the road slumping into the ocean.
The Connexis Apprentice of the Year Award was presented to Hunter Donghi, from Fulton Hogan. The presentation to Donghi was made by Sarah Foster, from Connexis.
CCNZ Hawke’s Bay East Coast chair Bart Mulder said this year attracted a record number of entries, making it one of the most hotly contested of recent decades.
“There are some truly outstanding civil construction projects making meaningful differences across our region and it was fantastic to be able to come together to celebrate the people behind them in front of their peers. The turnout on Friday was the highest in the history of our annual awards – a fantastic result”
This year’s CCNZ Hawke’s Bay East Coast Hirepool Construction Excellence Awards 2021 were judged by Gordon Tripp and Paul Atkins, and sponsored by Hirepool, Higgins, Fulton Hogan, Downer, Connexis, Solo Plastics, Ritchie Civil, Gair Construction, QRS and Humes. Local personality and former radio host Kevin Wagg provided MC duties and Kiwi comedian Ben Hurley made a guest appearance to provide the audience with plenty of laughs.
Winners: CCNZ Hawke's Bay East Coast Hirepool Construction Excellence Awards 2021
Category 1: Projects with a Value Under $200,000
Winner: Currie Construction for State Highway 35 Tatapouri Road project, Gisborne
Currie Construction won the ‘Projects with a Value Under $200,000’ award for its work on the Tatapouri Sea Wall. The wall had been damaged by rising sea levels and surging waves and was breaking away, causing the road to slip down the bank. Currie Construction developed a design that used as much of the existing sea wall structure as possible, ensuring many of the materials on the site could be recycled. Intricate planning was key, particularly as most of the works could only be completed at low tide. The site was adjacent to the nationally significant Te Tapuwae o Rongokako Marine Reserve (‘The footprint of Rongokako’), requiring considerable care to ensure the sensitive environment was protected.
Category 2: Projects with a Value Between $200,000 and $1 Million
Winner: Topline Contracting for Marine Parade and Tom Parker Avenue project, Napier
Topline Contracting won the ‘Projects with a Value Between $200,000 and $1 Million’ award for the high quality of its work on a recent project to complete raised pedestrian crossings on Napier’s Marine Parade and safety improvements on nearby Tom Parker Avenue. The work on Tom Parker Avenue also included creation of a lime path surrounded by rock-filled baskets and planting, for pedestrian safety.
Category 3: Projects with a Value Between $1 Million and $3 Million
Winner: QRS for Mahia Rangatahi Dropout project
QRS won the ‘Projects with a Value Between $1 Million and $3 Million’ award for the Rangatahi Dropout project near Mahia. This project involved significant and often challenging works to protect the Mahia East Coast Road from further damage following a significant slump which occurred in 2019.
Category 4: Projects with a Value Over $3 Million
Winner: Fulton Hogan Hawke’s Bay for Hastings District Council Water Pipes project at Frimley Park
Fulton Hogan won the ‘Projects with a Value Over $3 Million’ award for its work constructing drinking water treatment and storage facilities at Frimley Park in Hastings. The project involved significant community engagement, in addition to significant excavations ahead of the construction of the new pipe network and water treatment and storage facilities.
Category 5: Maintenance Project
Winner: Fulton Hogan Gisborne for Three Waters Maintenance
Fulton Hogan won the ‘Maintenance Project’ award for its work maintaining water, wastewater and storm water systems for the Gisborne District Council.
Connexis Apprentice of the Year Award
Winner: Hunter Donghi, Fulton Hogan
Fulton Hogan Apprentice Hunter Donghi received the Connexis Apprentice of the Year Award. The award was presented by Sarah Foster, from Connexis.