Steel audit at top of the agenda
Christchurch-based Challenge Steel has appointed two new directors as it prepares to increase imported volumes of fabricated steel from China.
At the same time, a liquidator’s report has been filed over an unrelated failed steel fabricator Elphinstone & Morris set up just two years ago.
Challenge Steel majority owner and chairman Bert Govan said his company was leading the way with robust auditing.
He was on a business trip this week in China with new directors Tony Sewell and Geoff Cranko.
Chinese steel factory laboratory tests were independently tested and overseen by China-based Kiwi third party inspectors from Southern QA, Govan said.
In addition, samples were also sent to a testing laboratory in Penrose, Auckland, plus clients or councils could take their own further random samples.
Govan said that to save costs the steel would be imported in components for installation ‘‘a bit like meccano’’ rather than fabricated in New Zealand.
The steel would be used for infrastructure as well as commercial buildings.
Meanwhile, the first liquidator’s report on collapsed Elphinstone & Morris reports outstanding identified debts of more than $1.5 million.
The Tasmanian founders Darren Elphinstone and Danny Morris reportedly leased a Wigram industrial warehouse and carried out steel fabrication work for the recently completed BNZ Centre as a contractor for Leighs Construction.
It was one of 90 members of steel association Steel Construction NZ whose chief executive Alistair Fussell said he understood the bust company had subcontracted out the BNZ work.
Some companies had thought the Christchurch rebuild would be a fast bonanza but it had turned out to be a ‘‘slow burner’’. Local business relationships were important, he said.
When Elphinstone & Morris arrived in Christchurch in 2014 the principals referred to the rebuild as a ‘‘candy store’’ with lack of competition costing developers 15 per cent more for steel than they should be.
The two directors are believed to have returned to Australia and could not be contacted.