‘Simple business done really well’
IT was while working in the construction sector that Justin McEntyre spied a niche business opportunity.
In 2016, Mr McEntyre founded Contego Systems Ltd with the aim of changing the way in which passive fire protection systems were designed and installed in New Zealand’s commercial buildings.
At the recent Westpac Otago Business Awards, Contego won the emerging business award and the judges commented it was a simple business done really well to build a business niche and loyal customer base, always with a view to the future.
Passive fire protection was everything to do with stopping fire and smoke spreading through commercial buildings, Mr McEntyre said.
For decades, New Zealand was very poor at doing anything to do with passive protection and it was a ‘‘bit of a leaky building type scenario’’ often with a ‘‘bandaid approach’’ taken, he said.
About 2012, it started coming on the radar as an issue and Mr McEntyre saw an opportunity.
He launched the startup in September, 2016 and was joined by two carpenters in November and the first apprentice in December that year.
A year later, the business started in Queenstown and Central Otago and there were now four staff based in Queenstown and 11 in Dunedin.
Contracts had been successfully secured with the likes of Mercy Hospital, Cook Brothers, University of Otago, Otago Museum, Otago Polytechnic, Arrow International and the Southern and Canterbury District Health Boards.
As well as Dunedin and the Central Otago and Southern Lakes area, Contego had also done projects in Invercargill, Balclutha, Tekapo and Oamaru.
Mr McEntyre said a key to the company’s success had been about finding the right people and then growing the business, rather than finding the work and then having to find the staff.
The market had been favourable in Dunedin, with a positive construction sector — ‘‘I think Dunedin’s having its day in the sun as far as construction goes’’ — but there was still room for further growth both in the city and Central Otago.
Ultimately, the company wanted to be in the position to tackle the likes of stage one of the Dunedin Hospital redevelopment.
Winning the emerging business award was a thrill and also a big surprise. For a small business, it was often hard to gauge how you were doing other than from internal opinion. So to be judged on the open market and come out on top was a ‘‘massive’’ achievement, he said.