SIGN OF THE TIMES
FMG on the move from high-rise
For the first time in nearly three decades, an FMG logo no longer towers above the Palmerston North skyline.
FMG’S national headquarters has occupied seven floors of the city’s tallest tower, overlooking The Square, for close to 30 years, but the company is due to move out over the Christmas holidays.
A 66-metre tall crane occupied the car park behind the old building while the company’s signs were taken down on Tuesday.
FMG chief client officer Andrea Brunner said it was the end of an era for the company, and a cornerstone moment in the move to a new headquarters down the road.
Work started on the new fourstorey FMG building, at the corner of Pitt and Church streets, last July and the final interior fitout was due to be complete by the end of the year.
Capture Signs project manager Nigel Rook, who oversaw the removal, said the date the signs came down had been set two months ago, and they’d just had to hope the weather played ball.
‘‘Thankfully, the gods smiled, the stars aligned, and all that mystical stuff, and it was a beautiful day for it.’’
Considering the job involved four companies, and co-ordinating with several surrounding businesses who used the car park, it had gone off without a hitch, he said.
Mcintosh Cranes set up the towering crane at 4am, while Downer contractors and electricians worked to make the building’s roof safe for the job.
That included shutting down the cell towers on top of the building, and re-routing phone traffic through other towers, Rook said.
Workers from Arabac Abseilers, from New Plymouth, rappelled down the side of the building to remove the four signs and hook them on to the crane.
The first of the 700-kilogram signs came down before 7am, and the rest followed during the day. Once they were down at ground level, the signs were loaded up to be taken away and recycled.