'People first' approach pays dividends for Queenstown construction company Naylor Love

Putting its people at the core of business success has paid dividends for Naylor Love Construction in Queenstown.

This weekend the company won the SIT Excellence in Construction, Trade or Services Award at the bi-annual Westpac Queenstown Business Excellence Awards run by the Queenstown Chamber of Commerce.

The company fought off stiff competition just to become a finalist at the awards, which received the highest-ever number of entries since the awards began. 

Naylor Love Construction has been in Queenstown since 1985, and has played a significant role in shaping the townscape visitors and locals enjoy today, and the company is looking forward to continuing that work into the future.

Regional Manager Justin Calder says the 130-strong local team was understandably thrilled with the award.

“We’re delighted with the award and would like to thank the great businesses we work with on our projects - without them we couldn’t do what we do.”

The commercial construction company provides design management, pre-construction planning, value engineering and turnkey construction across a diverse range of commercial, industrial, retail, accommodation, public sector and occasionally residential projects.

Mr Calder has been on board with the Central Otago regional office almost since its inception. He has seen it grow steadily over the years, with over a third of its direct employees currently qualifying for long service recognition. Those employees have a staggering 315 years’ irreplaceable experience between them – something that’s not only “exceptional” in the construction industry but unprecedented in Queenstown, given the transient local population.

“It’s our staff who are at the core of our business success in this region,” he says. “They are responsible for the exceptional quality of our work, finish projects on time and budget, and look forward to contributing to Queenstown’s imminent and future expansion.”

Naylor Love Queenstown is always looking for new and challenging projects and continues to reap the rewards of great long-standing relationships built with clients and sub-trades over the years.