At just the tender age of 13, Scott Gibbons was already entrenched in the family business, when he started making bricks during his school holidays. Nowadays he is the managing director of the Gibbons Group of Companies, and is taking the family business to the next levels. Scott is passionate about all aspects of the construction industry, and is also involved in forestry, sawmilling, precast concrete and property investment.

Gibbons Construction was originally founded by the late Bill Gibbons back in the 1930s during the Depression, where he had specialised in plastering, brickwork, brick chimneys and fireplaces. Bill’s youngest son, Roger Gibbons, took over the company in 1974 after having completed his Bachelor of Commerce at Canterbury University. He successfully grew the construction and property investment side of the business, completing a number of significant building projects. Roger also worked hard to expand the timber milling, forestry and concrete production plant. The timber mill has been part of the Gibbons Group since 1951 and was fully obtained by the company during the 1960s. Finally that brings us to Scott Gibbons, Roger’s son, who has now taken over the ropes, together with his brother Kent, who is general manager of the sawmill and forestry sectors of the business.

Scott always knew that one day he would follow in his father’s, and grandfather’s footsteps, and he takes much pride in the fact that he is now so deeply involved in the family business. “Much like my father, I always knew I would work in the businesses that we operate,” he says. “From our forestry, to our sawmill, to our building projects - the construction industry is our blood. We have a passion for the industry and love the challenges that each project brings, both in the competitive market we operate in and the internal projects where we are building a complex for a tenant.”

The Gibbons family has successfully built up a string of thriving companies under their name over the years. Gibbons Holdings Limited, as the parent company, operates through a number of subsidiary companies across four sectors of commerce, which are: construction, sawmilling, property development and investment, and forestry. Gibbons Construction has two sister companies, Waimea Sawmillers Limited and Gibbons Property Limited. Efficiently so, the company utilises products pre-fabricated by their sister companies to maximise efficiencies in the build process. Stressed Concrete Products, a division of Gibbons Construction Limited, also manufactures precast and prestressed concrete components.

Along with Gibbons Construction, the main trading operation is sawmilling, trading under the name Waimea Sawmillers Limited, which was established back in 1951. Waimea Sawmillers are now a well-recognised leader in the New Zealand sawmilling industry. They have an impressive annual output of 50,000 m3 of Douglas fir and pinus radiata and supply markets in Asia, the Pacific, Australia and New Zealand.

Gibbons’ other sister company is Gibbons Property, which has been designing, building and leasing out buildings for more than 65 years. As the property arm of the Gibbons Group, Gibbons Property works alongside Gibbons Construction to develop property in the Nelson region for purpose-tailored lease, with the company providing a comprehensive land/building lease deal.

Scott has big plans for the company in the future and his aspirations are indeed high, which doesn’t really surprise me considering their inspiring track record. “My aspirations for the construction company are to be the leading construction company for the top of the South Island” he says. Though they are primarily Nelson based, Gibbons Construction operates across the top of the South Island region. “We have now completed projects as far afield as Takaka, Inangahua and Blenheim” says Scott, and although their construction and property businesses are primarily top of the South Island focused, their sawmilling business, however, brings some international exposure into Australia, Asia and the Pacific islands, not to mention the rest of New Zealand.