BECOME A MEMBER
Connecting New Zealand

CCNZ’s top 10 highlights from Smarter Together 2018

08 Aug 2018


Smarter Together 2018 ran from 1-4 August at Claudelands Event Centre in Hamilton. This joint Civil Contractors New Zealand and Association of Consulting Engineers of New Zealand conference had many highlights, but we have put together a top 10 list of CCNZ staff members’ favourite conference moments for you.

Number one: A celebration of the industry


Seeing our people and stories receive the recognition they deserve on the big stage is fantastic. The opportunity to recognise the top people, projects and companies from the past year in the Hirepool Construction Excellence Awards, Z People Awards and Connexis Company Training Awards is a real privilege. Because of this, the Hirepool Construction Excellence Awards Dinner and Z Luncheon top our list as the number one highlight of the conference.

Number two: The launch of EPIC Careers in Infrastructure

Central Region Manager Ross Leslie said one of his biggest highlights was seeing the response of CCNZ members to EPIC at our humble display stand on the conference floor. “It was quite amazing to see how busy it was, and I was really glad to see the recognition from CCNZ members”, he said after the event.

EPIC was officially launched on the big stage by Minister of Transport Hon. Phil Twyford at the conference. Minister Twyford congratulated contractors on taking positive, proactive action to inspire people to join the industry, and voiced his support for the initiative.

Number three: A chance to be smarter together


Hosting a joint conference with our friends at ACENZ had to make the list. From chance conversations to concurrent presentations, we had the chance to share our perspectives and find opportunities to work ‘smarter together’. Concurrent session speakers aimed to share knowledge that was relevant to both parts of the industry, and the conference culminated with the signing of a formal Memorandum of Understanding between CCNZ and ACENZ on the big stage.

Number four: Gilbert Enoka’s inspiring presentation


The name on everybody’s lips following conference is Gilbert Enoka. The All Blacks Mental Skills Coach made an inspiring keynote presentation, giving insights into how to build a successful team and maintain morale. Terms such as ‘above the line’, ‘whinging up’ and ‘grey people’ became common after the presentation.

Number five: Sharing industry knowledge


Our annual conferences are a focal point for knowledge. One of the highlights was the release of the results of the 2018 Construction Industry Survey results, which gained widespread media attention. In addition to hearing from the Minister of Transport and Chief Executive of the New Zealand Transport Agency, the conference also included presentations from industry experts and the launch of several new ConstructSafe assessments.


Number six: Amazing performances on stage


People speaking on stage and sharing their thoughts with an audience is a powerful thing, and there were many great speeches over the conference. Brian Warren took the podium on several occasions, and his presentation of Life Membership and Service Awards for Dave and Margo Connell was a high point, as were several of the heartfelt acceptance speeches during the awards.

It’s not always easy to stand up on stage, and the speech that drew the loudest applause must have been Troy Calteaux’s speech at the acknowledgement of his title as National Excavator Operator of the Year. We loved it.

The conference MCs gave some unforgettable performances. Miriama Kamo was fantastic as presenter of the Hirepool Construction Excellence Awards Dinner (and joined us at the CCNZ dinner table, to our delight). Conference MC Greg Ward not only did a great job introducing conference sessions and speakers, but also blew the crowd away with his impersonation of Ozzy Osbourne at the ‘Battle of the Bands’ CablePrice Themed Dinner – something that’s sure to stay with everyone who saw him take the stage in character to perform two songs at full volume.

Number seven: The CablePrice Themed Dinner

Outrageous. Amazing. Spectacular. The CablePrice Themed Dinner is a legendary event for good reason, and gives everyone a chance to get on the dance floor and enjoy a good party. This year’s event was packed with Elvis impersonators, Blues Brothers, Village People and even Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was a crazy night, and we loved every moment of it.

Number eight: The people.

A conference should be about the people, and it was fantastic to get the chance to catch up with so many in person. The conference gave everyone the opportunity to catch up with old friends and make new acquaintances. To make those connections that cement good working relationships, and good friendships. From organised opportunities like the Canstaff President’s Welcome and Pub Quiz on the first night of conference to simply having a chat over breakfast, it was great to see people connect.

Number nine: Seeing the industry on show


Amazing technology and quality equipment are huge drawcards to the conference, and the sheer scale of the exhibition display areas and equipment on show never ceases to amaze us. From Mimico‘s weather balloon and the big gear on show from Gough Cat to helicopter and excavator simulators from Hirepool and Connexis, the gear on display was mind-blowing. This display wouldn’t have been possible without support from our conference sponsors including EROAD. The New Zealand Equipment Group also featured, with the donation of an excavator and trailer for the charity auction, which sold for $39,000 (proceeds to Life Flight Trust).

Number ten: The field trip to the Huntly section of the Waikato Expressway

The field trip to the Huntly section of the Waikato Expressway was a really interesting way to round off the conference. Joint Venture partners HEB Construction and Fulton Hogan gave a fascinating account of the challenges and success stories from the project, including tales of crossing water tables and cutting through mountains, as well as relocating reptiles and controlling the local goat population.

The fog that had threatened to obscure the views of the project lifted as the tour bus arrived, and the sun arrived to shed some light on the work in progress while Project Director Tony Adams gave a great account of his team’s efforts.

 

 

RELATED


Principal Business Partner
Core Associates
Major Associates
Franklin Smith Group
Fluiconnecto Ryco New Zealand Ltd
Teletrac Navman
RB Recruitment
Hynds Pipe Systems
ENZED
Komatsu New Zealand Ltd
UDC Finance
Central Group Forklifts & Trucks
Winstone Aggregates
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency
Blick
ALH LTD
AECOM New Zealand Limited
Brolube New Zealand
Manage Company
First Gas
TVH NEW ZEALAND
MATES In Construction
Sheet Pile Ltd
Doug the Digger
Vertical Horizonz NZ Ltd
Holcim New Zealand Ltd
Nulca NZ
Westpac NZ Ltd
Connexis
CSP Div of Fletcher Steel
RobLawMax Recruitment
Vertu Equipment Limited
Southeys Group Auckland
Porter Group Limited
TotalEnergies NZ Ltd
Liebherr New Zealand
Turners Group Ltd: Head Office/Auckland
Northpine Ltd
BNZ Partners
Absolute Immigration NZ
Advice Financial
MBP (NZ) Ltd
Humes Pipeline Systems
SITECH NZ
CivilShare
Steelgal NZ Ltd
Wirtgen NZ Ltd
ERoad Ltd
n3
The Drug Detection Agency
Terra Cat
Global Survey - Auckland
Trade Me Jobs
Greenlight Insurance Brokers
Youngman Richardson
MIMICO NZ Ltd
Over and Out Communications
John Deere Limited
Rettenmaier New Zealand Ltd
AWF
Terra Infrastructure Pty Ltd
Portacom New Zealand Limited
Power Farming New Zealand Ltd
Enviro NZ Services Ltd
A B Equipment Ltd
beforeUdig
H.J. Asmuss & Co. Ltd
XCMG New Zealand
Kobelco New Zealand
Infrastructure Sustainability Council
TDX Ltd
Checksafe Ltd
Parallaxx
Mico New Zealand Ltd
Solo
Geosynthetic Partners International Ltd
Firth Certified Concrete
TLC Insurance Limited
Rimkus
Commercial Hire NZ Ltd
Brandt Equipment
TR Group
SAMI Bitumen Technologies Pty Ltd
Aptella
Reliance Reinforcing Limited
Geofabrics New Zealand Ltd
Milwaukee Tool New Zealand
Marley NZ Ltd
Infrastructure New Zealand
Employment Hero
Assignar
Prime Fluid Management
Coninnova Limited
Hydraulink Fluid Connecters Ltd
TRIG Instruments

Login





Forgot password?
Create an Account