QRS adapts and creates opportunities

Quality Roading and Services (QRS) is navigating a slowdown in the roading and infrastructure sector with foresight, ensuring all staff remain employed while continuing to invest in training and upskilling.

And rather than overreacting to economic pressures, QRS has diversified its operations.

The company has expanded into manufacturing and installing Ecoreef, an innovative coastal erosion solution that complements its established strengths in quarrying (Bluck’s Pit) and concrete manufacturing.

This vertically integrated approach to business shores up QRS’s long-term sustainability, says QRS board chair Guy Gaddum.

The company is using its own raw materials and processed products to manufacture the eco-friendly interlocking Ecoreef products. “As well as creating a self-sustaining loop for our own business, we are also able to sell that aggregate, concrete, and Ecoreef to our customers,” says Mr Gaddum.

“By managing the supply chain we can reduce costs, improve our efficiencies, and weather the ups and downs of the infrastructure sector.”
Mr. Gaddum's comments follow a presentation by QRS, a Council-Controlled Trading Organisation, on the company's financial performance over the past six months. The presentation was made to company owner Wairoa District Council, on Tuesday 4 March.

QRS’s financial performance reflects the new norm as the company transitions from the work programmes initiated after Cyclone Gabrielle.

Revenue of $17.8m was nearly 30 percent lower than the $24.9m recorded in the same period last year. This decrease had a direct impact on profit, with net pre-tax profit at $1m, down from $2.2m for the same period last year.

The board has made an interim distribution of $50,000 to its owner in order to provide financial certainty and support to the district.

Chief executive Jeremy Harker says despite the downturn “staff remain at the heart of what we do,” and the company has determinedly worked hard to retain every team member despite market shifts.

“QRS remains committed to serving the Wairoa community and beyond, ensuring stability for our workforce while positioning us for future opportunities.” In the six months to December 2024, just under $5m was spent on staff salaries and wages, and $41,000 was shared with the community via a range of sponsorships and donations.
QRS has been the selected supplier for the Te Reinga Bridge rebuild and looks forward to potentially being involved in floodplain mitigation works and the Waikare Gorge realignment, says Mr Harker.

At Tuesday’s council meeting QRS thanked Wairoa District Council for its continued support of the now 30-year-old company.

“Although the next six months may present challenges, we have confidence in our strong position to seize recent and emerging opportunities,” says Mr Gaddum.

4 March 2025

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