Their work is large-scale and high-profile, but when it comes to the talented team at Napier firm Red Steel, less is proving to be more.
The company has limited its headcount to retain its culture and focus on upskilling existing staff, even as demand for its specialist structural steel services remains strong.
2022 was something of a red-letter year for Red Steel. It celebrated 20 years in business in November with a bash attended by staff, clients and suppliers, and apprentice Zayne Pullan was named Steel Construction New Zealand’s Apprentice of the Year – six years after a Red Steel apprentice won the inaugural award.
The firm was formed in 2002 when managing director Bob Hawley, in partnership with the Cushing family, purchased the engineering division of woolshed manufacturer Woolaway. Ten of the original 17 staff are still with Red Steel, which currently has a 37-strong team.
The bulk of the workforce is based at the firm’s 12,000 square metre site in Pandora – drawing, fabricating and welding steel structures – while a team of nine work on-site installing them, Bob says. “It’s like putting together a giant Meccano set.”
The firm is proud of its friendly, relaxed, ‘family’ culture, made possible by its staff size.
“We all know each other and get along. If you get too big you don’t know everyone as well or don’t know about their partners and families. More than 30 percent of our staff have had members of their family working here too, which we feel is a great endorsement for us. You don’t encourage your son or daughter to work here if it’s not a great place. “
The company has two or three apprentices at a time through the Apprentice Training New Zealand (ATNZ) scheme, and once their training is complete, they become part of the permanent team.
Zayne, who won the award for his proficiency in fabricating and welding complex structures, will soon be moving from the factory floor to the office to learn more about the business and providing estimates for clients.
Red Steel has recently invested millions of dollars in technology for processing steel beams and plates in order to become more flexible and self-sufficient in its production. Staff are being upskilled to handle tasks and machinery across the business. “We’re trying to do more with what we have got and be smart about our resource allocation. If demand is not there in the workshop, we can deploy those staff elsewhere.”
For smart and flexible accounting services, Red Steel turns to Moore Markhams Hawkes Bay director Hamish Pringle and his team.
Red Steel prefers to do a lot of its financial “donkey work” in-house, Bob says, while Moore Markhams provides essential end-of-year reporting and on-call specialist knowledge and expertise.
“We went to Hamish when we were looking at changing software, which we ultimately decided wasn’t the best move for us. In the past few years, we have brought on some key staff as shareholders and Hamish talked us through that process and how best to go about it. We regularly call on Markhams for tax advice to make sure we are meeting all the up-to-date requirements.
“Hamish and his team are always responsive to our needs, professional and have our best interests at heart. It’s an easy relationship.”
Red Steel’s staff are proud to have played a key part in some of the region’s most ambitious commercial construction projects, including providing more than 1400 tonnes of structural steel for the Delegat winery alongside the Hawke’s Bay Expressway.
Currently, Red Steel is working on the five structures in Ahuriri that make up the Portside Apartments and has recently completed a massive building for T&G, the new Hawke’s Bay Regional Aquatic Centre, and the new facility at Taradale’s Pettigrew Green Arena.
Not all the firm’s work is in Hawke’s Bay, with a notable project being the event venue The Cloud on Auckland’s Queen’s Wharf – which Red Steel helped build for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
The firm will soon add the $18 million, multi-stage Foodeast innovation hub to the impressive resume of projects it has supported.
There is no sign yet of a slowdown in construction, Bob says, and steel supplies and prices are easing following the pandemic.
“We’re booked out until the third quarter of this year, and we have lots of inquiries coming through. We’re in a good place; we’re big enough to handle any Hawke’s Bay project, but we’re also small enough to be nimble and reactive.”
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