Contractors and industry supporters packed out the Dunedin Town Hall for the CCNZ Otago Branch Hynds Construction Awards 2024, with more than 350 people attending the event to witness awards for the region's top people and projects.
Winners included a highly technical directional drilling project, a successful underpass installation that saw State Highway 1 diverted, a large retrofit of an iconic bridge, and a major upgrade to Queenstown's city centre.
The event kicked off with the presentation of a Branch Life Membership to longstanding Branch Executive member Colin Calteaux of Andrew Haulage 2011 Ltd (pictured, right) for decades of outstanding service and devotion to the Otago regional excavator operator competition, the branch, and the industry. Calteaux also served two terms on CCNZ's national Executive Council, and he received accolades and a Branch Life Membership badge on stage from Branch Chair Chris Hasler.
Awards for other outstanding people followed, with Matthew Nelson from Pro Civil awarded the Connexis Young Contractor of the Year Award, following his journey from operating snow groomers on skifields to working on directional drilling and drainlaying with Pro Civil.
"It feels really good to get the recognition", said Nelson. "I put a lot of pride into what I do".
Missy Te Ture of Isaac Construction was presented with the Hynds Women in Contracting Award by CCNZ President Bailey Gair. She said she was nervous speaking to the large crowd, but 'stoked' with the recognition she had received for her work throughout her career, and most recently on the George Street redevelopment.
"It was a massive job, and a massive challenge. Everybody's gotta have their own challenges, and I loved every minute of it!"
The team at Fulton Hogan won the Photo of the Year competition for an amazing photo showing their engagement with Hampden School to help the students learn about quarrying and landfill, and the award was presented by CCNZ Communications and Advocacy Manager Fraser May.
Next came the project awards, with Category A presented to KB Contracting for their work upgrading the Glenorchy reservoir with a tricky technical pipe installation to bring water to the town of Glenorchy.
KB Contracting General Manager Danny Van Der Voort said while the project had been relatively small, it had required a high level of skill and attention to detail to complete the project, which required precise directional drilling between a live rising water main and live gravity water main, on a 60 degree angle.
"It was unreal. It's pretty much as close to vertical as directional drilling can get. It was a high-risk job, which meant we had to do a lot of thinking... Risk-wise, it was right up there, but that also means it's very rewarding at the other end when you get the job done."
Category B went to Isaac Construction for an innovative project that saw a temporary bypass road created while an underpass was installed below State Highway 1 near Waihola, on a section of road that sees thousands of vehicle movements a day. This meant the work site could be off the road with minimal disruption to road users and the work crew while the project was completed.
Site foreman Chris Moore, a Certified Civil Tradesperson with 15 years experience, said it was "really good to be a part of a vision to produce something like this."
"I think the autonomy and trust the client gave us to deliver the project was what helped us to deliver it like we did... It meant we didn't have to worry about traffic flows, and we could just focus on delivering a great project for the client."
Category C went to Downer for a complex project to replace the barriers on the iconic Taieri Bridge, which had been damaged when two vehicles contacted the previous barrier.
Roading Technician Jake Hawker said the large-scale retrofit project to replace the barriers and bring them up to modern specifications had required teamwork and creative thinking, including the development, engineering and manufacture of special lifting jigs to install the required 400 brackets under the bridge, which is 5.6 metres above the ground at its highest point.
"I think the judges gave the award to us because it was a unique project. It was a really different job, working at heights on a high-volume section of State Highway 1, and also because it was a retrofit - the largest bridge retrofit I have heard of in the southern hemisphere."
Andrew Haulage 2011 Ltd was also highly commended in the category for the team's work on the Milton to Waihola Pipeline.
Category D for large projects went to the Kā Huanui a Tāhuna Alliance for the Queenstown Town Centre Street Upgrade.
Alliance Programme Manager Edward Husband said it was a privilege to be working in "the jewel of the New Zealand tourism crown".
"We started mid-covid, and it's hard to work in a tourist town that's depressed from lack of tourism. So, it was on us to bring the energy back to Queenstown, and it's become like a second home for many of us.
"Our team loved the opportunity and the work. We had a big team in there, and we needed every one of them. They did a great job, and to come away with the Supreme Award and recognition tonight is the icing on the cake."
And the winners were
Category A - Projects up to $100,000 - Sponsored by RB Recruitment
KB Contracting, Glenorchy Reservoir Upgrade
Category B - Projects up to $1m - Sponsored by GPIL
Isaac Construction, Waihola Underpass Culvert
Category C - Projects over $1m - Sponsored by Pro Civil
Downer, Taieri River Bridge Barrier Replacement
Category C - Projects over $1m - Sponsored by Pro Civil
Highly Commended - Andrew Haulage 2011 Ltd, Milton to Waihola Pipeline
Category D - Projects over $5m - Sponsored by Hirepool
Kā Huanui a Tāhuna Alliance: Queenstown Town Centre Street Upgrade
Young Contractor of the Year - Sponsored by Connexis
Matthew Nelson, Pro Civil
Women in Contracting - Sponsored by Hynds
Missy Te Ture, Isaac Construction
Photo of the Year - Sponsored by CPS
Fulton Hogan, Hampden School Students Landfill
Supreme Award - Sponsored by Hynds
Kā Huanui a Tāhuna Alliance: Queenstown Town Centre Street Upgrade
