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The Weekend Sun
Versatile rural buildings prove popular O’Neill Engineering has been in existence for nearly 50 years – 49 to be precise – and continues to specialise in the manufacture and erection of quality farm buildings. The Morrinsville-based company covers the greater Bay of Plenty and Waikato regions, constructing specialised gable and circular farm buildings for farmers. Company manager Keith Shiels says O’Neill Engineering is probably best known for its half-round barns. “Half-round barns remain very popular – in spite of the fact that originally they used to be built at the back of the farm with no ends for storing hay. “They are now being used for calf rearing and storage sheds; so they’re often closer to the home and therefore they are often clad in colour steel – with ends and doors and concrete floors.” Keith says they are popular because they are such a versatile shed and are very cost-effective. O’Neill Engineering also
A mini barn from O’Neill Engineering. manufactures gable sheds from six metres to 15 metres wide. “These can come with roller doors or sliding doors or windows – whatever the customer wants – we can make,” says Keith. A more recent product is their farmer designed covers for silage bunkers, which roll out of the way and have proved very popular – especially with people storing palm kernel. Keith says the company is in its second generation now.
“We are still doing today what we did 49 years ago.” He says three members on the staff have more than 30 years tenure with O’Neill Engineering, while a number of other staff members have worked 12 or more years with the company. “So we have a very stable workforce, which is testimony I think really to the way in which we operate our business. “Our people are our family. We’re dependent on them and they depend on us.
“We both value and respect that and I think that’s part of the success of this company – the tenure of the staff – as is the loyalty of our customers, many of whom have built a number of our buildings over the years.” It is the same loyalty and commitment that O’Neill staff take to each job, says Keith. The New Zealand privately owned company prides itself on making and building the majority of its products in-house. “Everything we can make – we do make. We do very little buy-in. “An example of that is that we own our own corrugator – where we manufacture the corrugated cladding of our barns, in both colorsteel and zincalume. “We also have curving rolls to curve the iron for our half-round barns. And that is all done inhouse.” Keith says after placing an order with O’Neill it takes on average two or three days to get a three or four bay shed through the workshop – to fabricate it. “Then it’s an average of probably two or three days to erect it on farm.” By Sheryl Brown