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Founded in 1947, Hawkins Construction is at the top of its game as it powers past its diamond jubilee. BY GAVIN RILEY  When Fred Hawkins founded a building business in Hamilton amid the uncertainty of the immediate post-war years, his carpentry skills and desire for excellence and high standards gave him a head start as a self-employed hopeful.
But though his company quickly made its mark, even he could not have envisaged that 60 years later Hawkins Construction would be among New Zealand’s leading companies in its field, having put its signature on some of the country’s best known and most essential buildings. Over six decades Hawkins has been responsible for educational and government facilities, large-scale industrial and civil projects, hospitals, airports and high-rise office and apartment towers. Though Fred Hawkins, helped by partners Bill Nash and Cliff Thompson, began by building houses, he had his sights set on higher things. Between 1947 and 1951 FT Hawkins Ltd carried out many projects for the New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Co, and in late 1950 undertook the first of 30 years of negotiated contracts at NZ Forest Products’ Kinleith site. Before Fred Hawkins left the company in 1962, it had built a hangar for Tasman Empire Airways at Whenuapai (1955), municipal offices for Hamilton City Council (1960) and the Founders Memorial Theatre in Hamilton (1962). Equally important infrastructure projects followed at regular intervals – the east-west block at Waikato Hospital in 1969, the human sciences building at Auckland University in 1972 (the first inner-city project for Hawkins in Auckland), key work at the Motonui gas-to-gasoline plant and Marsden Point refinery in 1984, the NZ Co-operative Dairy Co head office at Te Rapa in 1986, improvements to Auckland international airport in 1988 (the start of a relationship that continues today), and three major projects in Auckland in 1990 – Robert Jones tower (at that time the country’s tallest building), Television New Zealand’s headquarters, and the Carlton Hotel. For the past decade, hospitals, prisons and schools have featured prominently in Hawkins’ workload. They include Ascot Hospital in Auckland in 1998 (a design-and-build contract), Middlemore Hospital in Auckland in 2000, Christchurch Women’s Hospital in 2005, prisons in Otago and Manukau from 2005 onwards (projects notable for being collaborative working arrangements), and most recently Parnell College, Waiariki Institute of Technology in Taupo, Manukau Surgery Centre and Waitakere acute mental health unit. Three out-of-the-ordinary accomplishments include the grand atrium at Auckland War Memorial Museum and the Kelly Tarlton Underwater World and Waitomo Caves projects. At Waitomo, the company overcame underground geotechnical challenges to enable the caves to be re-opened after 18 years. Working with the client and consultants, Hawkins developed an entry suitable for wheelchairs. Last year the company’s constant striving for excellence was reflected in its winning the Auckland Registered Master Builders’ Association commercial project of the year award for the Oakridge apartment complex in Remuera, Auckland. The development featured 27 different floor plans and included three large penthouses, two combined apartments and a garden apartment. Hawkins has also been active overseas for many years. It has constructed a golf club in Fiji, a bank in Samoa, a hotel in the Maldives, and the New Zealand embassy and an ice-cream plant in Vietnam. It has also provided management and supervisory resources for projects in Guam, Hawaii, Saudi Arabia and the Pacific. Hawkins Construction is owned by the Auckland-based McConnell Group, which is headed by David and John McConnell, who are the sons of construction-industry legend Malcolm McConnell. In 1983, in a reverse takeover, McConnell Dowell merged with Hawkins Holdings and Hawkins continued trading as part of McConnell Dowell Corporation. Hawkins relocated its head office to Auckland in 1988, then in 1994, following McConnell Dowell’s decision to return to its core civil business, the company was sold to Martin Hansen Associates. In 1996 the McConnell family re-invested in Hawkins and by 2000 the McConnell Group had become the 100 percent shareholder. Since 2002 Hawkins has been led by chief executive officer Chris Hunter, previously Auckland area manager for Mainzeal Property & Construction. Assisting him is Bernard Hill, who joined the team as chief operating officer early last year after extensive experience managing large-scale undertakings and companies in the building, civil infrastructure and project-management sectors. As Hawkins sails past its 60th birthday, having carried out $1 billion worth of construction in the past four years, it faces a future as promising as the classy sports team it sponsors – the New Zealand gold-medal-winning eight at last year’s junior world rowing championships in Amsterdam. The company has recently entered the Wellington market, has set up a maintenance division, and has formed Hawkins Infrastructure, headed by Fraser Wylie, chairman of the Auckland branch of the Contractors’ Federation. Chief executive Hunter disputes the glum view of some industry experts that the property boom is over. He believes that given the 35 or so proposed $50 million-plus projects in Auckland that are in the consent or planning phases, construction companies and subcontractors could struggle to meet demand. “We are therefore potentially facing another situation where demand for building projects will outstrip supply,” he says. Contractor Vol.31 No.6 July 2007 |