Zac Puddick quit his job as a qualified joiner based in Wellington in 2011 and headed down to Christchurch. It was post-earthquake, and the construction industry was booming. He fell into working for a company that specialised in removing asbestos and was quickly promoted to the position of Regional Manager. Zac didn’t have any previous experience with asbestos removal, but his background in a trade and the sheer quantity of work that was available meant his progress was fast-tracked. The opportunities in Christchurch meant Zac was able to learn the ins and outs of the industry very quickly.

Wellington opportunity

Zac decided to make the move back to Wellington in 2014 and use the skills he acquired in Christchurch to start his own removal business Enviro Solutions Limited. He saw an opportunity in the Wellington market for another specialist removal company and was keen to get back to Wellington where most of his friends and family lived.

While he had all the necessary qualifications, he poured everything he could into acquiring the equipment and expertise required to go out on his own. At a minimum, he needed:

• insurance;
• a robust health and safety system;
• specialist equipment;
• specialist consumables; and
• the ability to deal with subcontractors and suppliers.

Initially, the Enviro team consisted of Zac and two full-time employees. Zac used his mum’s garage as a storage space for all the gear and operated on-site out of a trailer. Zac tendered for Enviro’s first contract and got lucky when a successful construction company decided to give the new young business owner a shot. Not only did Zac’s mum store most of the gear, but she also helped with a lot of the behind-the-scenes administration, ensuring that Enviro’s two employees got paid.

Early approach

The industry was still coming to grips with the relatively new rules and regulations regarding asbestos removal. There were a lot of unknowns and a lot of different approaches.

Zac knew the Code of Conduct inside and out, and took pride in ensuring that Enviro worked to the highest standards. The first contract started off as a relatively straightforward project but quickly grew into a major undertaking. The scope of work kept increasing, and Zac’s choices were to either quickly grow Enviro to cope with the additional work or hand it over to another company.

Asbestos removal is a labour-intensive process. Zac decided to get more employees on-board and used temp workers where possible to keep up with demand. Not an easy task as there isn’t a big labour pool of qualified workers, and it meant Zac had to train most of his staff from scratch.

Enviro’s approach of providing a high quality service paid off, and the company began to get more and more work in the Wellington market.

Growing pains

Eager to say yes to any potential contract that came Enviro’s way, Zac figured out early-on that growth for growth’s sake isn’t ideal for anyone involved. A team and operation that wasn’t too big were crucial to providing a high-quality service and also ensured that if the business had a quiet patch, the cost of overheads wasn’t through the roof.

Asbestos removal isn’t a well-known career opportunity, and Zac said it’s hard to find motivated employees that have the on-the-job experience, and also the crucial ability to deal with contracts, clients and manage staff.

The small team feel is further reinforced by having family involved. Zac’s sisters Kate and Molly both work for Enviro and have been a key part of business success. Zac says working with family can be challenging at times; you can 100% trust your sister, but at the same time, it is easy for the usual employer/employee dynamic to be non existent!

Today

Today Enviro have a team of 20 employees and have thankfully moved out of mum’s garage, into a yard with office space located in Lower Hutt. Zac is happy with the size of Enviro as it is today big enough to have multiple jobs on the go at one time, but at the same time, Zac and his senior team can keep a close eye on operations to ensure that standards are being met.

Baker Tilly Staples Rodway Wellington communicates regularly with Zac and Enviro to ensure we are providing timely advice. This means that the business decisions Zac makes have been well thought out and issues like tax are considered upfront, rather than an afterthought. These regular meetings cover general business performance and business issues, but also consider higher level issues such as succession and structure.

Josh from Baker Tilly Staples Rodway Wellington’s Business Advisory team works closely with Enviro’s Office Manager Nicole, answering day-to-day accounting questions. Having a key point of contact is important, as Josh knows Enviro and their needs well and ensures that questions are answered quickly and efficiently. This close contact ensures that Enviro’s accounting system is accurate, and its financial position and performance are easily measured in real-time.