Image: As the CCNZ President, Dave Howard welcomed a large gathering of guests at the CCNZ function at Parliament in November last year to celebrate the association’s 80th year. Guests included current and veteran Life Members, supply sponsors and politicians.
When CCNZ’s president David Howard is not working on association business, he heads up Construction Contracts (CCL), an award-winning civil construction firm based in Lower Hutt and serving the greater Wellington area. By Mary Searle Bell.
“CCL has been members of CCNZ for a long time, and I found that the meetings and conferences are a great way to meet other contractors and build friendships through networking,” he says about the association’s networking value.
“But, more than that, I really like the way you can ring CCNZ for advice, technical or legal, and other resources, and the work they do on behalf of all contractors.
“It also provides that all-important voice for the industry – we don’t always get what we want, but if we don’t have a voice, then we get what we get. It’s important we discuss the issues facing us and let the powers that be know how their decisions impact us, so our views can be considered.”
David’s journey to the presidency is a bit like his career in the industry: “I kind of wandered into it and worked my way up,” he says.
He had a love for cars as a kid so, after leaving school at age 14 (“I didn’t love school”), he qualified as a panel beater. His ambition was to have his own “one-stop panel shop where you could get everything fixed on your car”, and to be a freehold homeowner by the age of 30. To this end, as a 17-year-old, he bought a section in the suburb of Naenae, Lower Hutt, with plans to build a house on it.
“A friend of mine had an excavator that I drove now and then to make extra cash. He was kind enough to let me use it to level out the section. My love for excavator operating came from that.”
After a few years of working as a panel beater, the owner of the panel shop became unwell and decided to shut the business. So, David got a job over the road at Woolcock Contractors.
“I started doing maintenance work and then, over the two years I was there, moved into contracting work.
“Stan Woolcock paid well, I remember I was earning $13.60 an hour when others were being paid around $11, but he expected a lot. The day I left I literally had blood dripping from my hands.”
At this stage, still in his early 20s, David had his own excavator and a couple of trucks. And with a bit of financial help from his father, the pair set up Howard Transport. As the company grew, they leased land at the old railways yard in Naenae.
“We carted fresh salt water and poly bins for crayfish, and wet fish. Then we started selling builders mix, and completed small contract work such as house demolition, section clearing and site works.
“Through that, I met Dayle Scrimshaw who had set up CCL. He would come and hire my trucks and excavator to do street reconstructions for Hutt City Council.”
In October 1991, David got into a nasty car accident which almost cost him his right arm and smashed his right knee into pieces. This sidelined him for a time, forcing him to spend about a year doing mainly admin work. When he was sufficiently recovered, he went back to driving excavators, contracting to Dayle and CCL full time.
“In about 2000, I decided I had too many aches and pains and it was time to give up the physical labour. I got a job with the Hutt City Council as a contracts officer. I would go out and investigate customer complaints and then manage them through to a satisfactory conclusion, usually engaging a contractor.
“Within a year my role was to be restructured and moved from the Hutt City Council to Capacity, so when Dayle called and asked me if I’d like to come and run CCL, while nervous, I said yes.”
In 2010 David and Dayle amalgamated their interests, becoming equal shareholders in CCL. When David took over there was a staff of about 12-15 and he has grown the business substantially since then.
“At our biggest we had a team of around 75. We’re now sitting comfortably between 30 and 40 staff.
“Dayle is a little older than me, and after working together for about 20 years on the job, Dayle made a decision to step away from the day-to-day business. He’s still around to help out as and when we need him, and his nephew, Steve Scrimshaw, bought some of his shares in 2016 and is working in the business.”
David became involved with CCNZ after joining CCL, and after a few years of attending local branch meetings, was invited to join the committee.
“I always enjoyed the meetings, and my time at the Hutt City Council meant I knew quite a few other members. That’s one of the best bits of the CCNZ – growing friendships through networking.
“Then, at one meeting, I stepped away to go to the toilet briefly, and I came back to find I was the chair,” he laughs.
“But it’s been great – I was involved in the Excavator Operator Competition in the early days, which I loved, and CCL have entered and won national training awards and a few construction awards, both at branch and national level. I’ve been on a few great trips with branch members too and the national conferences are always enjoyable.”
David served as chair of the Wellington branch for 10 years before joining the CCNZ executive council.
“It was fantastic to have the opportunity to be in the room with high profile and knowledgeable people from across the industry.
“I never expected to get involved in politics, or become the CCNZ president, but then I put my hand up to be deputy president and was then elected president – and this has brought plenty of challenges. To be honest, I didn’t appreciate the breadth of the role. But I like the challenge, and I think it’s going well.”
David’s term started at the conference in August last year, and with all the changes and challenges that the recent election has brought to the industry, he’s now hitting his stride.
“We’re working on the CCNZ strategic plan. One of the primary focuses is getting continuity of work – one of our objectives is to influence the Government to change its approach to infrastructure so programmed works are not derailed by a change in government. We are lobbying for a cross-party unified infrastructure plan for the country.
“CCNZ members want to have people lined up to work for them, we want to achieve this through immigration, training, recognising skill and experience and attracting the right people to the industry.
“Civil Trades, our industry certification, needs more exposure, recognition and to be valued by our members. We are planning to put more energy and resources into it so keep watching this space.
“We’re also aiming to get better attendance at conference and branch meetings by getting the message out about how beneficial they can be for contractors of all sizes, and how much fun they can be too.
“Ultimately, CCNZ is there for its members. It’s about companionship and support.”
Parting words from Jeremy Sole- a final column