CHRIST CHURCH FFIRM’S BIG MILESTONE

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS in the metalwork industry providing sheet fabrication services has helped Christchurch business ENI develop a ' can-do' attitude.

When John Down launched contract metal manufacturer ENI Engineering in October 1993, it was just him and his business partner from Samoa. The term ‘ENI’ initially, and affectionately, stood for ‘Ebony N’ Ivory’.

After John bought his partner out and the business evolved, ‘ENI’ came to represent their core values of ‘excellence and innovation’.

Having recently celebrated their 25-year anniversary, ENI now has 70 staff. Several have been with the company almost since the beginning. ENI is proud of its culture and the fact that they’ve nurtured people right out of school, trained them through apprenticeships, and helped them to become contributing members of society.

More than 80 percent of ENI’s work has been in the Canterbury region. Having weathered the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, the company has been actively involved in the CBD rebuild, with several projects aimed at attracting people back into the CBD and showcasing the new Christchurch as a beautiful, liveable city.

Projects include the metalwork at the Margaret Mahy Playground (pictured), the street-scapes through Evolution Square and down the South Frame, and Manchester St bus shelters.

Looking ahead, John’s aim is to help customers “make it big”.

“We have big ideas, big capacity and big hearts; so we can help them realise their goals,” he says, “to make a big impression, a big impact and a big difference.”