Te Kete Project Update – September 2025
- fiona7117
- Oct 3
- 7 min read
In this third MCLStead project update we will cover off:
Office Tower – refurbishment update
Broader Outcomes – first quarter update
MCLStead’s commitment to using local subcontractors as much as possible:
Spotlight on Bridgeman Concrete
Spotlight on Patton Engineering
Archaeological Finds
MCLStead’s Partnership with the Jobs & Skills Hub
Did you know? – Interesting Construction Fact #2
Latest Drone Photos
What construction activity is coming up on site?
Office Tower – refurbishment update
Over the past few months, we have been progressing the preparation works for refurbishment of the office tower block. A week ago, we removed the last of the concrete facade panels. Removing these panels has lightened the load on the tower structure by over 350 ton.
The photos below show all sides of the tower block against a design image of the new façade.
Works on the office tower through to the end of the year are:
Continued scaffolding installation by Kahu Scaffolding
Structural Steel Installation by Patton Engineering
Demo / Removal of roof and structure by Hastings Demolition
Reinforcing / Inground concrete Works
Next works you’ll see on the façade you will be the glass installation programmed for April 2026.
Broader Outcomes – first quarter update
In our last project news update we introduced you to the broader outcomes we have committed to delivering for the Te Kete Project.
Now that we’ve completed the first quarter of broader outcomes delivery, we wanted to share with you some of the early progress:
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Cultural Wellbeing | Social Wellbeing | Economic Wellbeing | Environmental Wellbeing |
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We look forward to sharing with you more broader outcomes achievements and stories as the construction works progress.
MCLStead’s commitment to using local subcontractors as much as possible
MCLStead is a joint venture of two local construction companies with over 100 years construction experience MCL Construction and Stead Construction. MCLStead is committed to delivering the Napier Civic Precinct project by local, for local and with local as much as possible. We’re in the process of engaging local subcontractors across various trades. You can find spotlights on Bridgeman Concrete and Patton Engineering below:
Who is Bridgeman Concrete?
Bridgeman’s are excited to be onsite at Napier City Council’s Te Kete project.
Our work on site will be focused on supplying and installing all the concrete required across the new library, new council chambers and the office tower.
Our first concrete pour is set to occur in mid-October; this first pour will be 110 cubes of concrete and is for the new library foundations. Delivery of the concrete for this first pour will be spread across 18 truckloads, three of our trucks will do six loads each. For this first pour we will have a driver and potentially a tester on site.
Our Business Development Manager Steve Dighton has been with us for coming up 4 years and is overseeing our supply for this project. Steve also oversees Eco-max concrete for Hawke’s Bay.
Facts you may not know about Bridgeman Concrete
We have over 55 years’ experience in the ready-mix concrete industry and in Hawke’s Bay
We have plants in Napier and Hastings
We’re a family owned and run business, founded by John Bridgeman and now led by Patrick Bridgeman
We have 16 trucks with a carrying capacity of up to 6.4 cubes each.
Some of our Hawke’s Bay Projects
We supplied concrete for a number of Cyclone Gabrielle bridge rebuild projects including the bridge on Ellis Wallace Road, Eskdale that goes over the Esk River.
We worked on the T&G cool store that is the biggest cool store in the Southern
Hemisphere.
We worked on the new office build at Pan Pac.
We also worked on the Napier Port extension. This is our biggest Hawke’s Bay project – we supplied 46,000 cubes!
Bridgeman’s Innovation & Environmental Commitments
We are committed to innovation, advancement and the development of low-carbon concrete solutions.
We are the only ready-mix concrete company in New Zealand to utilise the Verifi Slump Management System, this system is an in-transit concrete management system that controls the quality of the concrete from plant to site.
We have also developed our own proprietary solutions. AiR Bridge, an in-house developed AI solution. This powerful tool optimizes industrial supply chain operations specifically for the ready-mix concrete space. AiR Bridge ensures that every load is batched optimally and consistently, reducing waste and improving overall efficiency.
We are deeply committed to reducing the environmental impact of our products. Our flagship low-carbon product, Eco-Max low carbon concrete, is a direct result of this commitment. Eco-Max is made with a specialized mix of Eco-Cem and Xtra-Cem (GP) cement. By using this innovative blend, we can achieve carbon reductions of 20 to 50%.
What’s Next
We’re looking forward to providing further concrete installation updates as our work programme progresses on Te Kete.
Who is Patton Engineering?
Patton Engineering was founded by family in 1952.
We operate from Whakatu, where our two purpose-built workshops span 8,000 square metres. Equipped with the latest Peddinghaus steel fabrication technology, we deliver premium structural steel fabrication, mechanical maintenance, and advanced surface protection systems.
Our integrated facilities provide a complete one-stop solution, offering the following services:
Draughting & design
Seismic strengthening
Structural engineering
Mechanical engineering
Machining
Sandblasting & painting
General fabrication
Stainless & aluminium
Structural steel erection
3D Scanning & Concrete Scanning
Facts you may not know about Patton Engineering
We have 180 Staff across the Patton Group of Companies which includes:
Patton Engineering
Patton Blast & Paint
Patton Asbuilt
Steel E.D & Patton
Tilley & Patton
Patton Engineering operates seven days a week, with our paint shop running double shifts for up to 20 hours per day.
In addition to our own projects, we regularly provide painting services for other steel fabricators who entrust us with their steelwork.
What we will be delivering on the Te Kete project
Our work will be focused on supply, fabrication and erection of structural steel to the new library, the new chambers building and the office tower. Overall, we will be supplying over 230 tons of structural steel.
The library and chambers are new builds, while the office tower is a complex seismic strengthening project requiring advanced concrete reinforcement scanning and 3D modelling.
On the office tower every on-site drilling must avoid reinforcing steel, leaving virtually no margin for error. To achieve this, we use concrete radar scanning technology capable of detecting reinforcement up to 500mm deep. Our team is currently on site carrying out this non-invasive scanning. Once complete, the data will be integrated into a 3D CAD model, from which precise shop drawings will be generated. This high level of expertise ensures accuracy from the outset, enabling programme acceleration and giving clients confidence in both quality and delivery.
At peak delivery across all three work packages, we anticipate having up to 10 staff on site.
Some of our Hawke’s Bay structural and seismic strengthening projects:
(Left to right) Hawke's Bay DHB Surgical Services, New World Havelock North, Qube Logistics, Mohaka Bridge, Pan Pac Warehouse and Heinz Watties.
What’s Next
We’re looking forward to providing further structural steel installation updates as our work programme progresses on Te Kete.
Archaeological Finds – during the new library excavations:
During the first phase of excavation a few bottles were unearthed. The bottles were:
A Mix of alcohol bottles, milk / cream, pharmaceutical (TBC) & an inkwell
All typical pre and early 1900 styles.
MCLStead and Jobs & Skills Hub Partnership
What is the Jobs & Skills Hub?
The Hawke’s Bay Jobs and Skills Hub was established in 2023.
The purpose of the Hub is to support large construction and infrastructure projects to find the right people with the right skills at the right time.
The Hub works with:
Over 50 construction-related employers in Hawke’s Bay to link them with candidates that meet their resource requirements.
150 plus job-ready job seekers at any given wanting to get into the industry with relevant training and upskilling.
The Hub is conveniently based at 1195 Maraekakaho Road, Irongate, Hastings within the Building Futures Training Facility – and has a large training space available for anyone in the industry to utilise for training days, team meetings or other events. You can see the room here:
Who are the Jobs & Skills Hub Team?
 | Rani Morunga is the Operations Manager and has a team of five. Rani has over 20 years’ experience working in skills and training in Hawke’s Bay and Wellington. |
 | Russ Kupa and Ihaka Waerea are Youth & Community Facilitators who engage with candidates to identify job-readiness and training needs. |
 | Casey Aranui is the Training Facilitator who coordinates relevant training through her network of providers. |
 | Alisha Robertson and Awhi Hungahunga are Recruitment Facilitators who work with employers to meet their recruitment needs. |
How are the Jobs & Skills Hub working with MCLStead?
The Jobs and Skills Hub began engaging with MCLStead during the procurement process for the Napier Civic Precinct Project and have been working with Alastair Cairney and Fiona Clark to meet workforce needs as the project starts to build.
As opportunities arise MCLStead contact the team at the Hub, outline what they are looking for and the Hub provide suitable candidates from their talent pool.
The first success from the Jobs and Skills Hub & MCLStead partnership was a Gate Spotter/General Labourer role. The team provided some candidates for an interview and MCLStead had an easy choice employing Jake Hill, who has good traffic management experience, showed critical thinking during the interview and interacted well with the team he met on site. Jake’s been in the role now for almost a month, he’s effectively managing heavy truck entry to and exit from site and has a great work ethic.
How can the Jobs & Skills Hub can help you?
If you’re a construction-related employer in Hawke’s Bay, the Jobs and Skills Hub may just have the resource you are looking for!
On their register they have people who have interest and/or experience in a wide range of trades including:
building
roofing
scaffolding
machine operating
painting
traffic management and MORE!
If you need some resource, email:
Latest Drone Photos – birds eye view of works behind the site hoardings:
What construction activity is coming up on site
Larger trucks entering & exiting site delivering steel, hardfill and concrete and removing excavation hardfill
For site wide civil works:
Survey and trenching of stormwater and wastewater lines
Installation of stormwater and wastewater lines, manholes and sumps
For the new library foundations:
Delivery and tying of reinforcing steel cages
Preparation of timber plywood formwork
Laying of concrete
Laying of Inground Services
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