Stonecraft's a winner too

Kaitaia Glass and Aluminium won an award for its contribution to Kaitaia civic centre Te Ahu, and now fellow Kaitaia firm Stonecraft Construction has followed suit, winning the supreme and best commercial project awards at the NZ Master Concrete Placers' Association conference.

Stonecraft director Gary Liddicoat described the supreme award as "the mother of all awards. As a director of the company I'm proud of the work our guys did at Te Ahu," he said.

Stonecraft helped place and finish the floor work (in conjunction with Kaitaia Civil Construction), paving, concreting the outside area, kerbing and the landscaped areas. Mr Liddicoat said it hadn't been an easy project, and with "about 20 guys there at one stage concreting it was a great team effort."

He also acknowledged the building itself, which was becoming "quite a national icon."

Fellow director Ross Blithe, who heads the concrete crew, was equally proud of the work the company had done.

"We were under a lot of pressure at the end but it was enjoyable. It's what we do," he said. The supreme award in particular had come as a surprise though.

"I'd undone my tie and was relaxing when they announced our name," he said.

Mr Liddicoat was also keen to acknowledge the "fantastic work" done by other Te Ahu contractors.

"Everyone worked together to achieve a great result," he said.

"Here we are in little old Kaitaia winning these awards. It proves that we do have talent up here, despite what those Aucklanders might say."

The awards judges obviously agreed.

"This large and complex project provided a variety of technical challenges that required design involvement, as well as hands-on expertise from the concrete placer," they said.

"The diversity of concrete colours, finishes and patterns within the building and across its surrounding landscape architecture range from subtle to spectacular, but combine effortlessly to help create spaces that inspire and reassure. The result is an outstanding structure that serves the social and cultural needs of the local community, and demonstrates the array of possibilities achievable through professionally-placed concrete."