19 April 2020

Dear Clients
 
I’ve sent a dozen or so of these CEO newsletters over the past few years and have tended to keep it very much to the point, focused on our services. Probably pretty dry and devoid of personal flavour. However in the last two weeks the world has turned upside down. So in this edition I include some more general thoughts. 

Glimmers of Optimism

Over the past few days, with reports of reduced cases, there is some optimism that we are getting this crisis under control. It has become clearer that the government is pursuing an elimination strategy with much tighter controls on the border, such as the possibility of enforced quarantine. 

Like all of us, I listen to news reports and try to piece together the government strategy – it would be good now to hear the plan, so we can all get behind it. Here’s hoping that infrastructure, construction and industry are some of the first sectors to come out of lockdown.

And At Aquamax?

You’ve got feel for those that have had their businesses and livelihoods blown out of the water in the last three weeks.  We are probably not too badly placed with most of our clients likely to push on, but we need to get some revenue flowing.  We had a good year just ended, lifting our revenue and taking some big steps – investing in more vacuum and hydro-excavation capability. 

We also imported a US-built Stripe Hog to enhance our roading-related services.  We peaked with 40 employees during one of our key projects – helping remediate the Wynyard Wharf for the Americas Cup.

Right now, like many, we are in limbo waiting to see what it might look like on the other side. We’ve picked up on the government’s wage subsidy (great job MSD getting this implemented so quickly) and are hoping to keep everyone on the team. 

We are providing support to essential services, and have crews available in areas of vacuum loading, hydro-excavation, line removal, UHP blasting, low pressure cleaning/sanitizing.  We have developed strict safety procedures for the protection of our staff and customers during Level 3/4.

Finally, all the best to everyone, and I wish you well navigating the challenging times ahead.

Regards,
Hamish Coop – CEO
021 316 844