Hawkins South Island Regional Manager, Quin Henderson and acting CE of IAG, Karl Armstrong sign the project management partnering agreement to rebuild and repair earthquake damaged properties.			On the IAG large scale rebuild and repair project L-R: Seth Pardoe, Hawkins Project Director and Richard Jack, Hawkins Operations Manager.

October 2010

The Hawkins team in Christchurch will play a major role in the massive rebuild efforts following the 7.1 earthquake that rocked the Canterbury region on Saturday 4 September 2010 and made headlines around the world.

IAG is partnering with Hawkins to project manage the rebuild and repair for its residential and commercial customers affected by the quake.

This includes all customers for the Lantern, NZI and State brands as well as general insurance customers of some of the country’s leading financial institutions, including ASB, BNZ and PSIS, which IAG underwrites.

This is a major achievement for Hawkins and demonstrates the strength of the company and the true confidence that they will deliver for the many thousands of people affected by the quake and the aftershocks.

Up to 50 building project managers will work with dedicated claims consultants to co-ordinate and manage rebuilds and repairs as quickly as possible. The dedicated unit will work with building and construction companies and maximise the best availability, material and labour costs.

The role of the project management office will include everything from identifying and engaging contractors to managing the process and final inspections to ensure work completed meets all requirements.

There will also be a major push on communicating with customers so they know and understand exactly where their project is up to. Access to this information is critical for people living in damaged homes and more so for those who have had to leave their homes until the repairs and rebuilds are completed.

Karl Armstrong, acting Chief Executive of IAG, says this will be the most significant repair and rebuild seen in New Zealand in recent history and first and foremost, IAG wants to support local businesses in the region.

Both Hawkins and IAG are committed to ensuring the procurement process is open and transparent, and both are keen to see as many local businesses as possible involved in the project. This is also good for rebuilding the regional economy.

Hawkins South Island Regional Manager, Quin Henderson knows that this is a big job and he has complete faith and confidence in the Hawkins way of doing business.

“It’s all about putting the affected customers at the centre of our universe and doing everything we need to do to project manage the repair and rebuild process. We live in this community as well and so we know first hand what people are going through. Some of our own people have suffered major damage in the quake.

“It has been amazing to be part of the community coming together to rebuild the city and the region better than it was before. That is a legacy that Hawkins, as project manager, can be part of and be very proud to have contributed to along with many others.”

There is also ‘business as usual’ for the Hawkins team in Christchurch. Whilst significant resources are being directed to this project with IAG, Hawkins will be continuing to tender for other major projects around the city and region.

So who is McConnell Group?

McConnell Group is made up of a group of complementary businesses - Hawkins Construction, Hawkins Infrastructure, McConnell Property, Steelpipe, Harker Underground Construction and Element NZ. As one of New Zealand's largest privately owned construction, property and infrastructure groups our passion is 'creating and building project based businesses.' More>>

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