Arrow International: 25 Years in Construction

Media release for immediate use – October 15 2009

One of the more unique organisations in the construction industry turns 25 years old this month.

Arrow International has provided a mix of construction management services over this time and often been challenged by competitors as to whether it is a consultant or contractor.

However, Arrow CEO Hugh Morrison says the company’s construction management offering mirrors British and American approaches that have gained ground over the past 20 years.

Mr Morrison says the company’s growth is a genuine Kiwi success story

“Arrow International started in a Dunedin garage with second hand furniture,” he says, “but the firm now turns over $200M per annum with a staff of just under 200. We have 10 branches around NZ and an Australian base in Melbourne, to facilitate projects in NSW, Queensland and the ACT.”

Mr Morrison says Arrow’s surprisingly wide range of services is probably best demonstrated through its project delivery management role on the Forsythe Barr Stadium in Dunedin. “Our three-year role on this project began with pre-feasibility studies, moved to project and design management and now has a construction consultancy role for the $190M stadium project, which will be the world’s first permanently roofed, natural turf stadium.

“On the other hand, in Auckland Arrow is building New Zealand’s first university styled, senior college – Albany Senior High School. This $60M design-build contract is on target to be completed in a total of 16 months, with the first stage opening with the new school year next February.”

Hugh Morrison makes no apology for Arrow continuing to span project management and construction roles.

He says “Arrow is a project delivery company. We don’t see the typical barrier and demarcations the industry likes to create. Our clients have a feasibility and business case and want an outcome to match. To them, it is one process. We believe a unified team of client, consultants and smart contractor working together at the earliest opportunity on a project gets the best results”.

He says the key to this team is Arrow’s role as the smart contractor, or as it prefers to be called, the Project Delivery Partner. He considers this to be a contractor who has design management skills, project management skills and can understand and improve a client’s feasibility.

“Accountability and collaboration are the issue and the answer for the industry,” he says. “New Zealand’s traditional approach to projects performs poorly against world benchmarking criteria and we need to refresh our approaches.”

In Arrow’s 25 year anniversary newsletter, Hugh Morrison forecasts five developments in the industry over the next 25 years.

The five are:

* The stronger linkage of design, construction and operational information through integrated software (inter-operability)

* The return and continued growth of the super funds as a major force in the NZ property sector

* The squeeze on the project manager’s facilitation role due to improved efficiencies of the design and contracting teams

* The continued rise in importance of sustainability

* The rise of specialist trade contractors and supplier as key drivers of cost efficiencies.

ENDS

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