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September 2016 Business South
BUILDING » Gibb Construction
Dog kennels, dams all in a day’s work Russell Fredric The dramatic West Coast of New Zealand is a place of superlatives, particularly its glacier regions. Amidst this ruggedness and isolation, it is not surprising Fox Glacier based company Gibb Construction Ltd is up for a challenge. The portfolio of work completed by the 28 yearold company highlights the skills and diversity of its owners Grant and Marietta Gibb and their team of builders who are prepared to tackle anything from dog kennels to dams. The couple are extremely grateful to have an “awesome” team of carpenters and contractors who join forces to make things happen. Two large projects presently being undertaken by Gibb Construction Ltd in Fox Glacier are building a new community centre and the major refurbishment of the Scenic Circle Heartland Hotel. Construction of the 1200 square metre $2.2 million community centre started on April as a joint venture with site manager Clint Jarvis Contracting and is expected to be completed mid December. The community raised almost $400,000 from generous business pledges, group and personal donations, and fundraising. “All of this has enabled the West Coast development Trust, Westland district Council and Lotteries New Zealand to see that the community wanted and need this facility, and have funded the rest of the bricks and mortar.” Signal Management Group Dunedin are the project managers for the centre and were involved in the initial tendering process. Planning and fund raising for the project has taken about 10 years. Building is being carried out in two stages; the centre will comprise a full-size 9.6m high netball court, an exercise room and ablution block, meeting room, office and utility room. The netball court’s construction includes LVL timber veneer portal frames, supplied by Timaru company Timbercore, while it’s sprung floor which sits on a concrete base, is made of Strandfloor, a high density reconstituted wood panel bonded with moisture resistant resin and wax. One of the main challenges during the early stages of the build was a run of wet weather, however Gibb Construction is pleased to be involved in a project which will make a big difference in the community.
The mountains make a spectacular backdrop to the new Fox Glacier community centre being built by Gibb Construction. “We are hoping that it will enable the locals to have a focal place where they can go and gather together,” Grant Gibb says. The Heartland Hotel project involved stripping out and refurbishing its 50 room accommodation area in the two-story complex, with completion targeted for September in time for the tourist season. “Everything’s come out. The inside will be completely new when its completed.” Grant Gibb says the logistics of being involved in two major projects at once keeps him busy with paper work and organisation “but we are used to it.” One of the more unusual projects completed by Gibb Construction was building a weir and intake for the 7.7 megawatt Amethyst Hydro Power Station, commissioned by Westpower in June 2013.
The weir, situated in the Amethyst Gorge just north of the township of Hari Hari, had to be constructed solely using helicopter access as the terrain precluded the installation of any roadway, which presented some difficult engineering challenges. “We flew to work every day in a helicopter because that was the only way to get there. It cost $900 a day to get to work.” “It was such a tight gorge they had to use Hughes 500’s and they could only cart three barrow loads [of concrete] at a time. Some days they had 100 hundred flights.”
Gibb Construction builders enjoy the variety of work that comes from being based on the West Coast and the fact that they are not “building square boxes all the time”. In contrast to the hydro project which is hidden in the back-blocks, last year the company completed a high profile double-story 792 square metre complex for Ngai Tahu Tourism. The complex is the base for their Franz Josef Glacier Guides business, and the entrance to Glacier Hot Pools. The complex also includes an I-Site and Department of Conservation area office.
“It was such a tight gorge they had to use Hughes 500’s and they could only cart three barrow loads (of concrete) at a time. Some days they had 100 hundred flights.”
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