Hamilton Jet expanding Christchurch factory operation as global business booms

Supplying the oil and gas industry is a massive growth industry for Hamilton Jet. Photo / Supplied

For more than 60 years, it's been a Kiwi symbol of ingenuity and invention on the global stage.

Bill Hamilton's pioneering jet boat powered up twisting rivers and revolutionised shallow-water navigation, opening up exploration and access to long cut-off regions of the world.

But now, the Christchurch-based company, which remains in family hands, has moved away from producing small-scale jet-boat waterjets and become an international powerhouse on a large-scale, making waterjets for governments, militaries, the oil and gas industry, and commercial fishing.

In a gloomy post-pandemic business landscape, Hamilton Jet is a booming success story.

The only thing holding it back is a lack of staff - severely impacted by the closed borders – and an ageing factory they have outgrown.

Multi-million-dollar expansion plans for a new 8000sq m factory and 4000sq m office space are underway for their 7ha Lunns Rd site and should be completed over the next three years.

But, despite a recent recruitment drive in the Philippines, they still need skilled workers to cope with demand.

"We've hit a huge spike in demand post-Covid," managing director Ben Reed says.

Bill Hamilton, inventor of the Hamilton Jet and founder of the world-famous company. Photo / File

The company has benefited from countries around the world pumping billions into large infrastructure projects to try jump-start their coronavirus-hit economies – and won some big tenders.

"We've just maxed out our factory at the moment. We're absolutely balls to the wall trying to get product out," Reed says.

There are 420 staff in Christchurch, with another 60 staff worldwide, making it the biggest waterjet manufacturer in the world, with 97 per cent of their business now being export.

Just 18 months ago, they were sitting at about half the output they are now, with a maximum lead time of about six months.

Now, they've doubled the output and lead times can be as far out as 18 months.

"It's huge growth and set to continue as well, because governments don't buy one boat, they buy 100 boats or 20 boats, so we've got lots of certainty going forward that it's going to stay like that for a while," says Reed.

"So we need to expand our capacity and we'd like to add about 50 per cent to our output capacity over the next probably three years.

"We were in process of doing that when this wave hit and it's suddenly made us think, 'S***, we should've done this ages ago'. But who would've predicted it? When Covid hit two years ago, who was thinking they need to build a new factory for all the demand that was going to come along. It's almost too obscure to imagine back then."

Hamilton Jet say they are committed to Christchurch. Photo / George Heard

They have "chronic labour issues" and have been desperate for the borders to reopen. Half the company's Christchurch workforce were born overseas, including the Philippines, UK, India and Australia, and growth for them means skilled tradespeople in the factory and engineers or technologists in the offices.

"Neither of those have been coming in recently," says Reed.

They have around 25 apprentices at the moment and do well in recruiting locally.

But they need people from overseas to keep up with the growth.

Hamilton Jet has outgrown its current Christchurch factory. Photo / George Heard

They have been recruiting in the Philippines "quite hard" since the borders started opening up again. Reed hopes they can also move to night and weekend shifts soon to help keep up with demand.

They've moved away from being associated with pleasure craft and today, almost all of Hamilton Jet's business is commercial, industrial, and governmental.

"If you're thinking about river boats on the Waimak, you're not thinking about Hamilton Jet today – that's two per cent of our business," Reed says.

And it's all still based on Bill Hamilton's original idea: a jet unit that pumps water from beneath the boat and squirts it out the back faster than it comes in, albeit more technologically advanced and bigger.

Hamilton Jet has been a great New Zealand business success story. Photo / File

The idea is making highly-manoeuvrable boats that can perform safely at speed and in shallow waters.

Hamilton Jet makes 18 different sizes of jet, ranging from the smallest water jet unit which goes in the classic jet-boat, weighing about 80kg, to giant units that weigh eight tonnes.

Its biggest market is America, particularly US military and Coastguard, as well as ferries, followed by Europe, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.

The oil and gas industry is a booming market. Getting technicians to service offshore platforms, whether oil rigs or wind turbines, requires a quick, manoeuvrable boat, which is where Hamilton Jet systems excel.

The Christchurch company has also turned its attentions to autonomous vehicles and electric vessels, and recently won a contract with Fullers360 for Auckland's first electric hybrid ferry.

It will have capacity to transport approximately 300 passengers servicing the company's Devonport route, with "capacity to travel to other destinations as needed".

Reed says they are committed to staying in New Zealand as they shift to becoming more of a high-tech company.

"It's exciting times for us and we just have to make sure we keep moving forward to be in a position to keep up with demand," he says.