Company closes doors on staff

Photo/File

Central Directional Drilling - which took on about 35 people in Wanganui in 2011 - has closed its doors on 25 remaining staff in New Plymouth, according to reports.

The New Plymouth company came to Wanganui in June 2011 looking to employ about 35 people to lay cable for the rollout of ultrafast broadband. People were so keen for jobs that they waited for hours outside the gate of the company's Peat St base, and some even followed operations manager Simon Baker to the Wanganui house where he was living. There were more than 300 applicants for the jobs.

Teriaki Te Huia was one of those who got a job, and it was a big break for him, having left school at 15 and worked at freezing works. He wanted more than that, and in October 2011 he said Central Directional Drilling was the best job he had ever had.

The company stopped working in Wanganui about two weeks ago, according to general manager Duane Leggett. He said continuing with the rollout was not financially viable.

Wanganui company TD Drilling is still at work rolling out ultrafast broadband in the city. Company director Euan Tweeddale said the crew had grown from 10 to 19, and he had taken on a couple of people who had worked for Central Directional Drilling.

Non-payment by Transfield Services, which is responsible for sub-contracting the work nationwide, is a possible reason for the collapse of the Taranaki company. But Mr Tweeddale said payments to his company were only two weeks overdue, and he had waited much longer for his money at times. "Everyone got paid last month," he said.

The rollout in Wanganui was ahead of schedule, and Mr Tweeddale didn't think he would need any more workers.