History
The History of Firth
The history of Firth is part of the history of New Zealand. The business from which Firth evolved started at Rangiriri, north of Hamilton, in May 1925. It grew from a tradition established by the founder's grandfather, Josiah Clifton Firth, who arrived in New Zealand in 1856.
He quickly decided that Auckland needed a modern flour mill. But first it needed a brick-making factory so he built his own. Meanwhile, his son, E. C. Firth, invented the 'ironclad' pumice washing boiler which became a boon to the busy housewife of the 1920s. This manufacturing business was later taken on by his sons, Ted and Tony Firth, and it was their joint venture that became Firth Concrete Limited.
The Country's first concrete blocks
In the beginning, concrete products in New Zealand were manufactured by hand in small scale operations. But over the next fifty years, and driven by continuous product innovation and successive building booms, the two Firth entrepreneurs took their business from a two-man operation to a diverse business with branches throughout the country.
Indeed it was as early as 1938 when the company introduced New Zealand's first machine-made concrete blocks. They were cast by a machine called a 'Rockcrete' at the company's Frankton factory in Hamilton.
The Fletcher era begins
Firth's modern history began in 1973 when Fletcher Holdings bought a minor holding in the company, completing a full buy-out in 1979.
In 1993, two Fletcher Challenge Limited business units - Certified Concrete Limited and Firth Concrete Products Limited - were merged to become the Firth Company today, a Business Unit of Fletcher Building Limited.
In April 2001 Fletcher Building separated from Fletcher Challenge to operate as a stand-alone company.