June, 2023 - The Profit

Damon Harvey

Economic benefit for everyone … vision of new economic development agency

As Hawke’s Bay’s new economic development agency begins to take shape, the organisations chair Alasdair McLeod, has a very clear view of where it will make its most impact. The new regional development agency was announced in December 2021 with a $1.7 million annual funding commitment for three years, delivering on the existing Matariki Regional Economic Development Strategy (REDS). Alasdair...

Cyclone Heroes – Russell Roads – Civil response to disaster

Russell Roads chief executive Gavin O’Connor is proud of how businesses that usually compete against each other “left their company badges at the door” and worked together to clear debris and repair roads across Hawke’s Bay. “Everyone really pulled together to get our communities reconnected. For the most part the company badges have been left at the door and people...

Hawke’s Bay Homes has ‘ready to go’ homes for locals

The region’s longest established offsite housing builder Hawke’s Bay Homes has pre-approved building consent designs and plans ‘ready-to-go’ as the region recovers from Cyclone Gabrielle. Hawke’s Bay Homes based on the outskirts of Hastings has the capability to build 12 houses at a time, using a tried and tested prefabrication build process that was first established by the company in...

Cyclone Heroes – Beca – global experts get on the disaster frontline

When Matt Sanders returned home to Hastings in 2021 to lead global consultancy firm Beca’s Hawke’s Bay office, he was excited about the opportunities of being involved in the creation of new places and spaces. He never expected that just two years later, he and the team would be switching from being involved in projects such as the HB Airport...

In Unison to tackle biggest challenge on record

Unison Networks crews worked around the clock to rebuild their electricity network after Cyclone Gabrielle cut power to over 65,000 customers across the region. It has been the most arduous challenge Unison has ever endured, with 25 crews clocking up over 60,000 hours repairing over 80 kilometres of lines, 230 power poles as well as reinstating sub-stations. As well as...

Why is the business up for sale?

Invariably, the first question I get asked by the potential buyer of a business is, “Why are the owners selling?” That question is driven by a natural concern that there might be something wrong with the business, “If it’s such a good business, why do they want to sell?” I obtain a no-holds barred view of a business so I...

Drainways – our cyclone heroes

Excuse the pun, but for Drainways a lot of their existing work was lost down the drain after the cyclone hit. “The impact on our business was massive in so many ways. All of our contract works stopped for more than a month,” says managing director Mark Currie. “We returned back to work six days after the cyclone and only...

Hawke’s Bay Together – our cyclone Heroes – Mediaworks HB

Sophie McHardy and Richard Paul didn’t hesitate in finding ways that they and the company they work for, Mediaworks, could pitch in and help. Richard, now based at the Mediaworks Auckland office, as their head of property, loaded up a ute of supplies and headed south to his beloved region as soon as he could, while locally Sophie and the...

Jim Guerin – our cyclone heroes

The Rescuers Jimmy Guerin and his team at Helicopters Hawke’s Bay pulled hundreds of people from roofs, risking their own lives in doing so. Weeks on from the cyclone, Jimmy says those rescues remain a blur, as they spent hours and hours in the most impacted areas of Hastings and Napier searching for people and animals to rescue. “It was...

Russell Roads – Driving ahead into the next 50 years

With 50 years on the clock, Hawke’s Bay’s most established local civil construction business Russell Roads is driving forward to being much more than building roads and pavements. Russell Roads was started by Chris and Ken Russell in 1973 as a small local civil construction business and over the last 50 years it has helped shape roads, walkways, residential and...