Eastown Buildlink general manager Matt Smith. Photo / Bevan Conley
Eastown Buildlink general manager Matt Smith. Photo / Bevan Conley
Whanganui East building supply merchants Eastown Buildlink are in the middle of upgrading their yard to cope with what they described as unprecedented demand.
General manager Matt Smith said there had been an increased demand for the yard’s product since the first Covid-19 lockdown.
“Ever since that first Covid lockdown,everything’s just gone nuts to be fair, so the last two years have just been about chasing stock and keeping up with demand.”
The business mostly trades in the rural sector with products like farm fencing, pole sheds and yards, which is where Smith said the company has seen the most demand.
He said others in the industry had been dealing with similar demand, which had only started to settle around a few months ago.
The upgrades were being done with the purpose of opening up more space in the 2800-square-metre yard and making it more user-friendly for their customers.
“We’re working within the same original footprint, but obviously we’re trying to make it more user-friendly and maximise it as much as we can,” Smith said.
It was hard to say how much extra space would be created from the upgrades, Smith said, but it was being done to make sure every product had a space and was well-presented and easily accessible.
“We sort of made do with our original yard for so many years, and as the business was growing and we were starting to turn over more product and there was more demand, we just saw it as a necessity for us to move with the times,” he said.
The upgrades spent a few years in the planning stage, with the first phase of upgrades starting a few months ago.
So far, new round-wood bins had been installed in the front of the yard to house fenceposts and strainers, as well as large cantilever racks for faster-moving orders from customers.
They have also started the process of replacing the yards’ old timber racks, which are remnants of the Eastown Railway workshops.
“We’ve utilised those all this time, but they’re just getting beyond safe, really.
“The roof was shot on them and we’re unable to use the top tier of them anymore, and also, they were taking up quite a massive footprint,” Smith said.
Eastown Buildlink is in the middle of upgrading its yard to cope with what they describe as unprecedented demand. Photo / Bevan Conley
The first of the new racks has been completed, with the next stage of the upgrades being to take down the remaining old racks, which he said would also open up more yard space.
There are also plans to install a new cut-to-length saw and to add a covered area to their showroom to store products like powdered concrete.
“Things like that that don’t need to be inside, but need to be under cover.”
Smith said they’d also like to add a workshop on to the yard, to allow them to offer more custom work for customers.
“We do farm gates and custom-made trellis and the like at the moment, but there’s an opportunity for us to do a bit more,” he said.
It was likely it’d take another year for the upgrades to be completed.
Last year, Eastown Timber Processors had a large fire breakout on its property, destroying a treatment plant, a paint line and a planer.
The fire which occurred at Eastown Timber Processors last year. Photo / Bevan Conley
Smith said the fire had not interrupted Buildlink’s upgrades as the processors and Buildlink operate as two separate businesses.
However, it had stopped Eastown from being able to do custom processing jobs, particularly treating their own timber.
“Especially with demand over the last couple of years being so major, it was very hard to find someone who would be able to process that product for us.”
Because of this, the company had to change how they bring in timber.
He said the ground had only just been broken on where the new treatment plant will be built, with the company still awaiting final consent.
The treatment plant wouldn’t be rebuilt and back in operation until next year at best.
Smith said it was hard to predict whether the company would continue to see the same amount of demand once the upgrades were completed, but signs in the sector were positive.
However, with many people struggling under the cost of living crisis, he said this year would be an interesting one.
“We just make sure we monitor things closely and have the right stock lines when we need them and just stay ahead of everything.
“But at the same time, in saying that, things are ramping up here again - in the last four to six weeks, we’ve noticed another jump,” he said.
