What a year for P.E.R.T.H. Concrete - Our Whanganui Team
It’s been a standout year for one of Firth’s smaller regional teams - P.E.R.T.H. Concrete, Whanganui. The team has been busier than ever, producing record volumes of concrete month after month and setting new benchmarks for the region.
According to P.E.R.T.H. Concrete, Plant Manager Mac McDonnell, local growth has been a driving force. “It’s been an extremely busy year for our plant, and we can definitely hold our heads high for the effort the team has put in. And with more work on the horizon, we’re ready to take it on.”
Here are some of the projects they have been involved in:
An artist’s impression of the new courthouse under construction in Whanganui.
A new justice precinct for Whanganui
Construction of Whanganui’s new courthouse began in December 2024 as part of the city’s upcoming Justice Precinct, with Emmetts Civil Construction. Concrete Logistics were tasked with completing the foundations using the P.E.R.T.H. team.
“We have supplied approximately 2,000m3 of insitu concrete for the courthouse foundations,” says Mac “A wide range of mixes have gone into this project so far, from 50MPa with fly ash to some very large footings at 1.4m deep that required a self-compacting mix.”
The new police station is yet to get underway.
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Large pours for Conset and Euroclass
Euroclass is a design and build construction company, known for the construction of large factory buildings across the country. The site at 16 Allendale Road, in Whanganui is part of their catalogue and currently under construction with Conset Construction who were given the job of laying a large Post Tension slab using P.E.R.T.H. for the concrete supply.
Nam Nguyen, Design and Slab Manager for Conset Construction says, “Firth is our nationwide concrete supplier as we trust and rely on them regardless of where we are working around the country. In the case of working on projects for our customers in Whanganui, and in this case for two buildings for Euroclass, we rely on Aaron Charteris, the Head of Firth Lower North Island and Mac. I am based in Auckland but our team love working with Aaron and Firth. He and the local team look after us so well. We are very happy with what they do for us and so is our customer.”
“We also used Firth for all the foundations, the office slab and yard pours for the Unipac Project,” says Glenn Bradshaw, Project Manager for Euroclass. “It all went well thanks.”
“The main floor is a large Post Tension slab,” explains Mac. “The pour for the large apron outside required 9,000kg of steel fibre added into it which is about 180kg for each truck load. This was all added manually to the loads using a blower which distributes the additive evenly throughout the load. This takes away the need for adding and tying steel in the slab.”
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Lots of additives for large floors now common
BB Construction in Whanganui is just days away from completing the Amtech Medical’s new headquarters in the city. The project includes a large PT floor laid by Conset Construction, with P.E.R.T.H. supplying approximately 1,400m3 of concrete for the 6,000m² facility.
“This is another large Post Tension floor that we completed with Firth concrete supply on behalf of BB Construction for the Amtech Medical building,” says Nam Nguyen, Design and Slab Manager for Conset Construction.
“The mix for this project required a lot of additives ‘Radforce’ plastic fibre and ‘Performance38’ steel fibre,” says Mac. “Additives are becoming increasingly common for large floors where no reinforcing steel needs to be physically laid in the concrete. These fibres now perform that role. This was all added manually to the loads using a blower which distributes the additive evenly throughout the load.”
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Whanganui Port Revitalisation Project
Located at Te Pūwaha, the mouth of the Whanganui River, Whanganui Port provides berthing facilities for coastal freight vessels and commercial boats, as well as supporting distribution and logistics companies. The Whanganui Port revitalisation project is being delivered in three stages, with Concrete Structures undertaking the work and P.E.R.T.H. Concrete supplying the concrete.
Stage one, which involved the pavement hardstand and structures over the water, has been completed. This required around 1,000m³ of concrete - the equivalent of about 200 truckloads. “This stage included two very large post-tension floors, with pours of 320 and 330m³, which required the inclusion of a lot of micro silica as it’s a marine environment. This additive helps improve the longevity and durability of the concrete,” says Mac.
| “I’ve been working with Mac and the P.E.R.T.H. team for the past seven years, including on the Whanganui wharf project,” says Jono Whittaker, Project Manager at Concrete Structures. “They’ve been outstanding. Their concrete consistently exceeds expectations - no complaints at all.” |
Construction on the urgent renewal of Wharf 3 at Whanganui Port has also been brought forward. This stage includes demolishing the existing wharf, a complete rebuild and stabilisation of the riverbank to protect the long-term health and wellbeing of the Whanganui River. Work has already begun, with the first small loads delivered to Concrete Structures on site. With a long way still to go, Mac and the team are ready and willing.
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Customers: Conset Construction https://www.consetconstruction.co.nz
Euroclass Design and Build https://www.euroclass.co.nz
Emmetts Civil Construction https://emmetts.co.nz
Concrete Logistics https://www.concretelogistics.co.nz
BB Construction https://bbconstruction.co.nz
Concrete Solutions https://www.concretesolutions.co.nz