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

Classic Machines: Euclid's Big Singles- The S-28 and S-32 Classic Machines

Classic Machines: Euclid's Big Singles- The S-28 and S-32

Designed to compete directly with the Caterpillar 651, the Euclid S-28, and later S-32 were the largest single engined overhung scrapers that the company ever manufactured, and as it turns out, also the rarest. By RICHARD CAMPBELL During the 1960s, there was a surge of interest in really big single engined motor scrapers. Projects...
CCNZ EPIC industry careers launch Contractor

CCNZ EPIC industry careers launch

Designed by CCNZ, EPIC is an industry career promotion platform designed to make working on our roading, water, energy and other infrastructure networks more accessible to those who may not have been aware of the opportunity. CCNZ chief executive Peter Silcock says this initiative is long overdue, and opportunities in civil trades and...
A road a long-time in the making Heritage Trails

A road a long-time in the making

New roads in the 19th century meant new areas being opened up to pastoral farming and, sometimes, warfare, but the Desert Road offered neither. Hugh de Lacy delves. Of all the key roads in the North Island, none was as late coming into regular usage as that which runs across the Rangipo Desert between Waiouru and Tokaanu, east of the...
Salary increases thinner on the ground this year Comment

Salary increases thinner on the ground this year

Civil construction skills remain in demand, but tight margins mean salaries fail to reflect this in all bar a few cases.  By Jason Walker, managing director, of Hays New Zealand There’s no doubt that civil construction remains an active jobs market in New Zealand. According to findings in our 2018-19 Hays Salary Guide, business...
Remembering the Battle of the River Plate Project

Remembering the Battle of the River Plate

Richard Silcock rekindles naval history and the challenges encountered by the design and construction teams in turning an unstable Auckland cliff into a commendable memorial and lookout. Development of Achilles Memorial in Auckland’s St Heliers Bay required geotechnical expertise, significant piling, a large palisade wall, a timber...
Waikato CCNZ Excavator Operator Competition 2018 2018 NEOC

Waikato CCNZ Excavator Operator Competition 2018

The first round of competitions for this season’s regional excavator operator competitions was kicked off at Mystery Creek at the National Agricultural Fieldays, 13 – 16 June last week.  The CCNZ Waikato and Bay of Plenty Branches competed against operators in their regions, with registrations closing early to accommodate the 32...
Classic Machines: The Allis-Chalmers HD-19 revisited Classic Machines

Classic Machines: The Allis-Chalmers HD-19 revisited

Allis-Chalmers led the charge for a bigger, higher horsepower track type tractor following World War Two. The resulting model HD-19 was a breakthrough in many ways and was the foundation on which the later, highly successful model HD-21 was based. By RICHARD CAMPBELL We first took a look at the Allis-Chalmers HD-19 back in...
Cat's next generation excavators raise the bar for industry Contractor

Cat's next generation excavators raise the bar for industry

Caterpillar’s new next generation line-up of excavators has arrived. Available straight out of the box with an unparalleled suite of industry-leading technology and proven in-field operating efficiencies, the new next generation Cat 320, 320 GC and 323 excavators has arrived in New Zealand, ready to utterly transform the shape of...
Skill shortage – lessons from the past Comment

Skill shortage – lessons from the past

By Alan Titchall, managing editor, Contrafed Publishing. In the October 2004 issue of Contractor magazine, the then chief of Roading New Zealand (which later merged with the Contractors’ Federation to become Civil Contractors NZ), Chris Olsen, wrote a column on an initiative which had addressed a looming manpower shortage. At the...
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