Rebuilding Christchurch | Canzac
New ways of making concrete work You would be hard pressed to find anyone in New Zealand who knows as much about concrete construction as Lance Canute from CANZAC in Christchurch.
• Member of the Concrete Institute Of Australia
In the mid 1980s Canute returned to New Zealand and began working for C Lund and Son, becoming involved in one of the largest concrete pours in the country at that time, the Christchurch Law Courts Building.
• Member of the New Zealand Concrete Association
Today CANZAC is highly respected in the building industry as one of the leaders in new technologies and systems for concrete construction and Canute is rapidly gaining a reputation as the “go to guy” for engineers, contractors and developers when it comes to problem solving - a good man to have around in post earthquake Christchurch.
• Member of the New Zealand Precast Association
• Member of the New Zealand Concrete Placers and Finishers Association
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What has always been a priority for me is that we have the best products for any job and have solutions at the ready when problems arise.
But what sets Canute and the CANZAC team apart from others in the business is that when it comes to problem solving they are proactive rather than reactive. Canute often has the solution before the engineers or construction project managers know they even have a problem. And Canute says that comes back to his practical experience on site. That makes the difference. “What has always been a priority for me is that we have the best products for any job and have solutions at the ready when problems arise,” he says. To achieve that goal Canute has been a regular attendee at the World of Concrete Trade Show the biggest show of its kind, held annually in the United States. Canute has been travelling to the show every year for more than 20 years and attends a lot of other trade shows around the world. The World of Concrete show brings together the world’s leading manufacturers of concrete construction products and innovations and new technologies are on display. “However, it is not a supermarket,” Canute says. “It is not a matter of walking around and saying ‘I’ll have some of those and some of that,’ no matter how good they sound. Some of these new products are untried and it is essential we are convinced they’ll do the job properly before I will offer them to our customers.” That can mean several years of testing or research, including calling on his connections in the concrete industry throughout the world,
A joint free slab section at Countdown Hornby
• Member of the American Concrete Institute
Canute’s involvement in the US concrete industry was to pay huge dividends when he set up his own company.
However, the financial crash of 1987 saw Canute, along with many others around the country, lose his job. But he is never one to sit around and wait for things to happen so in 1989, along with wife Carolyn, he set up CANZAC and started out on his own.
Lance Canute with the company’s Speed Form system used on Trimble Communications site in Christchurch <
CANZAC is a member of the following leading industry organisations:
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For more than 30 years Canute has been involved in the concrete construction business. The Motueka raised Canute got a taste for the industry while on his OE, first working in high rise concrete construction in Dallas, Texas before moving on to Fort Worth, where he learned all about concrete tilt-up construction.
- Lance Canute
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before Canute is convinced enough to offer them to his clients. What that means for CANZAC’s clients is they know they are going to get cutting edge concrete construction products and also know CANZAC is going to do the job required. The time spent on this research has meant CANZAC is now the exclusive distributor for many of the world’s leading concrete construction products in New Zealand and Australia. That these concrete construction product companies are happy for CANZAC to be exclusive distributors for their products is in part due to Canute’s standing in the concrete construction industry on a global level. Innovation is the lifeblood of CANZAC, but industry recognition for its products does not always lead to acceptance in the marketplace. In 2008 the company won The Most Innovative Product award at the World of Concrete show in Las Vegas for the product Joint Free Slabs. The system is particularly suited to large area floors which need applied finishes, such as vinyl or ceramic tiles. No control joints means no control joint cover strips in the applied finish and this results in better appearance and less maintenance, as well as quicker and cheaper construction.
44 | April/May 2013 www.canterburytoday.co.nz
But supplying their customers with world leading products is not the end of the job for the team at CANZAC. “You can have the best products in the world, but if they are not used properly, then they won’t do the job,” Canute says. “Our team are always on site assisting construction crews in the correct use of the products, because if the products do not perform, even if that is by incorrect installation, it is our reputation which suffers.” But this reputation hasn’t suffered – far from it. CANZAC is now the preferred supplier to many engineers, builders and concrete contractors and its reputation as an innovator and supplier of quality products to the concrete construction industry is glowing. The list is indeed impressive, including the Countdown supermarket chain by building all its new premises in Christchurch and around the country, and being involved in some of the biggest concrete construction projects in the country, such as the $400 million Wiri prison project near Auckland, the new $500 million Lion Nathan Brewery, the Claudelands Event Centre in Hamilton, Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium, major buildings for Fonterra, Mitre 10, Bunnings, Placemakers and PAK’nSAVE supermarkets, as well as the new AMI Stadium in Christchurch. Whatever it does CANZAC will continue to produce innovative products to help the construction industry. “New, innovative products which CANZAC introduced to the market have opened up new opportunities for the industry and continue to do so. We are committed to continued development and research of new and exciting products and developing distributors worldwide,” Canute says.
The CANZAC advantage - top five reasons to choose CANZAC The most innovative products in the concrete construction industry: Researched and sourced from overseas and local markets and they must meet stringent criteria of problem solving and adding value. Product knowledge: Technology moves so fast these days you can rely on CANZAC to advise you on the best products to suit your needs. Top quality: Not only do CANZAC sell top quality products, you can be assured that their product line is evolving through on going research and development. All under one roof: You can deal with CANZAC for all your concrete accessories, from joints in floors to joints in walls, as well as tilt up accessories and other innovative products. Honest and reliable: CANZAC’s approach to pricing and delivery times puts them in an enviable position earning the trust and loyalty of contractors and engineers throughout New Zealand.
CANZAC 50 Dakota Crescent Sockburn Christchurch T (03) 343 4254 Freephone 0800 422 692 E info@canzac.com www.canzac.com — Advertising Feature