Leaders from Quality Roading and Services (QRS) took the opportunity to introduce themselves and the company that works for Wairoa to newly elected representatives of Wairoa District Council (WDC).

A cornerstone of the local economy and community, QRS employs 138 people and is 100 percent owned by WDC. As a council-controlled trading organisation or CCTO, QRS plays a vital role in Wairoa’s local economy.

Three months into the new financial year, the company’s leadership is optimistic about continuing to return value to its community through dividends, sponsorships, and local employment.

QRS board chair Guy Gaddum acknowledged that the early months of a new council term are a busy time as local councillors establish their strategic direction and performance expectations for the CCTO.

One early key activity is the development of the Letter of Expectation, which outlines the council’s priorities. It reaffirms WDC’s commitment to social procurement and broader outcomes supporting a circular local economy, says Mr Gaddum.

This in turn guides QRS’s Statement of Intent, a public document that sets out performance targets and key activities for the coming year. “Together, early development of these documents help us plan and budget, ensuring we meet our owner’s expectations for dividends and broader community outcomes.”

For more than 30 years, QRS has delivered civil infrastructure and roading services in Wairoa and beyond. This year, despite a slowing workflow, QRS has retained its full workforce and is investing just over three-quarters of a million dollars over 24 months into staff training and development.

Mr Gaddum says every household in Wairoa has benefited in some way from the work of QRS staff, be it through safer roads, community sponsorship, local employment, or the financial return the company provides to WDC.

During the late October meeting, QRS chief executive Jeremy Harker presented highlights from QRS’s annual report, sharing that the company delivered a solid result in a challenging environment.

For the year ended 30 June 2025, QRS achieved:

• revenue of $38 million
• pre-tax profit of $2.4 million
• $300,000 dividend to WDC
• 138 local staff
• $72,000 invested in community sponsorships.

The results reflect a transition from large volumes of emergency cyclone recovery work to a higher number of scheduled, competitively tendered projects. Rising input costs also added pressure, but the company remains in strong financial health, he said.

Mr Harker added that QRS has expanded into complementary businesses helping to expand its concrete-making capacity. The new business divisions are Nuhaka quarry Bluck’s Pit, and manufacturing concrete block product, EcoReef. The new divisions are beginning to deliver results creating long-term value.

25 November 2025

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