A new multimillion dollar green logistics facility in South Auckland will help boost access to steel construction materials needed for New Zealand’s major infrastructure and renewable energy projects.

Latest Government data shows more than $120 billion has been forecast to be spent on infrastructure by the Crown, Crown entities and KiwiRail over the next five years.^[1]

The investment is designed to address New Zealand’s infrastructure deficit and prepare the country for future challenges, including population growth and climate change. Key areas of investment include transport, regional infrastructure, resilience and emergency preparedness, public buildings and schools.

Dean Brown, CEO of Asmuss Group, says with over 1,400 infrastructure projects valued at $10 million or more planned in the coming years, improving the construction industry’s supply chain capacity will be critical to the efficient delivery of these projects.

He says the new $25 million, 15,400m² purpose-built logistics facility at Drury South Crossing can store over 12,000 tonnes of steel, around 2.1 times the steel volume used in the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

“Most of New Zealand’s structural steel needs are met by overseas suppliers and developing the capability to manage the rapid distribution of large volumes of these materials will help ensure that materials are sourced, transported, and utilised effectively to avoid delays.

“The operating model at the new facility has been designed to move high volumes of steel across multiple bays simultaneously, significantly improving operational efficiency and customer service deliveries.

“In practice, this could see us unload 1,000 tonnes of steel, around 42 truckloads, from the port in a matter of days. By introducing greater redundancy and reducing any supply chain bottlenecks we can help support the development of New Zealand’s infrastructure in a shorter timeframe,” he says.

Brown says seven high-capacity, 32-metre-wide anti-sway gantry cranes can move large quantities of steel safely and over 35% more efficiently than their previous warehouses, eliminating operational constraints.

He says the new facility, which will consolidate several of their logistics sites into one location, is now fully operational.

Brown says Asmuss has enjoyed solid growth in recent years with the Drury DC being one of several investment projects across the Group and they are projecting the demand for steel to grow from next year onwards as new commercial and infrastructure projects commence.

“The new South Auckland location was chosen from over 20 sites around the region however modelling showed Drury was the optimal area, strategically positioned to drive transport efficiencies within the golden triangle.

“As funding conditions improve we are expecting infrastructure activity to increase on the back of Government fast-tracking legislation to stimulate investment.

“Asmuss is playing a crucial role in supplying industries that are the engine room to New Zealand’s economic recovery. We are committed to doing our bit to support the future growth across construction, infrastructure, manufacturing, and emerging markets such as renewable energies.

“We are positioning ourselves to meet this growth with the investment in the new logistics hub, which will help us to expand our capacity to supply major infrastructure and construction projects,” he says.

Stephen Hughes, CEO of Drury South Crossing the country’s largest mixed-used development, says there is a trend towards centralisation of distribution among large-scale operators.

He says the development is rapidly becoming one of the largest distribution centres in the Auckland region.

“What we are seeing is a growing number of businesses looking to consolidate their distribution facilities into one major hub and reduce their operational costs.

“The construction of specialised facilities like the 5 Green Star Asmuss building, which is one of the most sustainable and structurally strongest of its kind in the industry, requires a greenfields site to allow for this level of customised design.

“The demand for this type of development has seen over 70ha sold to large-scale operators, with hundreds of millions of dollars set to be invested in new facilities to supply the region.

“Businesses opening in the area are also accessing a local workforce that doesn’t want to travel into Auckland,” he says.