Business South March 2016
MACHINERY » Clarke Machine Hire
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Subdivision boom drives expansion Kelly Deeks There is a new mountain to conquer in Central Otago: it’s the mountain of work being created by many new residential and commercial subdivisions, especially in Queenstown, and it has prompted Clarke Machine Hire to expand its Cromwell branch with another 35 earthmoving machines. Clarke Machine Hire was originally established in Dunedin in 2001. By 2006, the company expended into Canterbury, opening up at Waimak Industrial Estate just south of Kaiapoi, Christchurch. Mid 2014, Clarke Machine Hire bought a yard and a workshop in Cromwell to service Central Otago’s growing construction industry. “We’ve got a very good customer base in Central Otago, and we’ve already been working there for about five or six years,” says Clarke Machine Hire managing director Paul Clarke. “We opened up over there in Cromwell in 2014 because we had to be ‘Johnny on the spot’.” Now Clarke Machine Hire is expanding in Cromwell because the work load just keeps getting bigger. “Central Otago is absolutely booming and new subdivisions and new infrastructure are creating mountains and mountains of work,” Paul says. “We’re now putting more machines into our Cromwell yard.” He says in five years’ time, Central Otago will probably be bigger than Dunedin. “The money being spent on construction in Central Otago and Queenstown in particular is just massive.” There are still more tenants than space available in the latest stage opened of the Five Mile Retail Centre at Frankton, even after a retail boom has seen more than 30 new shops and food outlets opening up in the Wakatipu in the past year. Developer Remarkables Park has plenty more to come with stage three opening early 2017, as well as the $40 million High Street commercial development, the 54-suite Ramada Remarkables Hotel development, and construction underway on more activities at Game Over, a 2800sqm indoor go kart racing circuit and laser tag facility. Cromwell’s central location is the ideal hub for Clarke Machine Hire to fill the demand for earthmoving equipment in the Queenstown Lakes District, as well as providing easy access to Alexandra, and the Maniototo district. Clarke Machine Hire moves its own equipment across its three locations depending on where it’s needed. About 100 machines have been added to the fleet since the Christchurch earthquakes, with 35 in the last year alone to fill the demand created by the rebuild of Canterbury, as well as the growth in Central Otago’s construction industry. Meanwhile, earthmoving machinery demand in Dunedin has tapered off slightly as more resources are put into developments in Central Otago. Paul says Clarke Machine Hire has one of the most up to date rental fleets in New Zealand. “We’re certainly not the biggest but we like to do our job the best we can, and we’re backed up by our brother company Valley Mechanical, with its workshops in Dunedin and Central Otago, which maintains our fleet as well as doing work for private customers.” There are 25 staff working across Valley Mechanical and Clarke Machine Hire’s Christchurch, Dunedin, and Cromwell locations. Two sales staff work out of Christchurch and Dunedin and help customers to choose the right
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AUTOMOTIVE PANEL PAINT & GROOMING SUPPLIES
Proud to be the paint supplier for Clarke Machine Hire for the past 5 years Thanks to Paul and his staff for the support and the machinery that he keeps in pristine condition
Phone 03 455-0988 Dean Bridgman
8 Orari St, Dunedin colourconnection@clear.net.nz Clarke Machine Hire has one of the most up to date rental fleets in New Zealand. piece of machinery for their requirements. Staff also include a range of mechanics, painters, machine operators and truck drivers, and administration staff.
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