Charles Fairbairn

I am the advertising sales manager and I am responsible for Contrafed's website content. If you want to reach me please email me: charles@contrafed.co.nz.

Author's Posts

Bat challenger with highway tree removals Contractor

Bat challenger with highway tree removals

When a Fulton Hogan team in Hamilton removed more than 100 trees to allow for construction of the Wairere Drive extension project they were faced with a local bat challenge. . The majority of trees (75 percent) had been identified as high-risk potential habitats for the urban long-tailed bats, so Department of Conservation (DoC)...
Contract clauses to look out for Legal Comment

Contract clauses to look out for

By Paul Buetow, partner, and Sonia Ginders, solicitor, Kensington Swan’s Construction and Major Projects Team. Our construction industry has been plagued with issues in recent years, with solvency failures leading to the liquidation of several large contractors. In response to these woes, a common theme has emerged in the buzzwords...
West Coast challenge – 50,000 cubic metres of spoil      Contractor

West Coast challenge – 50,000 cubic metres of spoil     

It was a case of all hands to the pump – including the local fire brigades’ – as a massive slip closed SH6 north of Whataroa. Hugh de Lacy tells the story. When 200,000 cubic metres of primeval rain-forest decided to decamp from the hills above the Whataroa River and relocate across the only road giving access to the tourist...
Classic Machines: The Wabco 35 Haulpak Classic Machines

Classic Machines: The Wabco 35 Haulpak

While somewhat better known for its range of scrapers, LeTourneau-Westinghouse (later Wabco) sought to diversify and expand its product range in the late 1950s. The result was some of the best haul trucks of the day and a legacy that continues. By RICHARD CAMPBELL The ‘35’ series of 35-ton off-highway dump trucks was first...
Polytech plans a looming disaster Comment

Polytech plans a looming disaster

The Government’s plan to merge 16 polytechnics and Industry Training Organisations (ITOs) into one national institute managing apprentices and trainees will be disastrous for the future of the building industry. By Andrew Bayly, Building and Construction spokesperson, New Zealand National Party. The industry and the ITOs are...
Nevis Bluff – a work in progress Contractor

Nevis Bluff – a work in progress

 Controlling rock fall from Nevis Bluff alongside SH6 is a highly specialised undertaking and requires constant monitoring to ensure the highway is not blocked by slips. Richard Silcock reviews how this is being done. The 140-metre high, 880-metre wide Nevis Bluff is a geographical landmark bordering SH6 midway between Cromwell and...
Massive rubbish haul on Auckland foreshore Contractor

Massive rubbish haul on Auckland foreshore

Organisers of The Hirepool Big Clean last month were shocked to learn volunteers collected over one and a half tonnes of rubbish in just two hours – on a foreshore so littered, plants were growing with their roots tangled in microplastics. The massive rubbish haul, which involved over 225 people, hauled about 9.2 cubic metres, 1700...
Classic machines: The Caterpillar 615 scraper Classic Machines

Classic machines: The Caterpillar 615 scraper

Filling a hole in the (then) lineup of Caterpillar elevating scrapers, the Caterpillar model 615 was a great little machine with some features unique to the Cat scraper product range. By RICHARD CAMPBELL First introduced in 1981, the Caterpillar 615 elevating scraper came as a bit of a surprise to the earthmoving industry. Rated at...
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