Ceres New Zealand LLC is the country's leading provider of large-scale demolition and deconstruction, disaster recovery, environmental remediation and related professional services. Established in early 2011 as the New Zealand arm of the US company Ceres Environmental — a group founded in 1976 with a global footprint and more than 40 years of experience — the Christchurch-headquartered firm was created to bring professional services to a market that didn't yet offer them.
The catastrophic earthquakes of 2011 gave the company a platform on which to set its foundations, but the venture itself was a calculated one, planned from late 2010. Today Ceres NZ operates four sites across two regions: the Christchurch head office and South Island Yard, and a Wellington support office with the North Island Yard and equipment storage yard, which together allow staff and heavy machinery to be rapidly mobilised to projects anywhere in New Zealand. In-house teams carry out all aspects of a project, from asbestos removal and concrete cutting through to earthworks and piling.
The company works with government agencies and private clients on some of the country's most complex site clearances — from the implosion of the former Christchurch Police Station to the demolition of the iconic Cadbury's chocolate factory — and its work has earned recognition including Overall Contractor of the Year 2017 and the World Demolition Award 2017. Underpinning it all is a commitment to injury- and incident-free operations and to services that protect and sustain the environment for the communities Ceres serves.
Ceres New Zealand LLC is the country's leading provider of large-scale demolition and deconstruction, disaster recovery, environmental remediation and related professional services, and its head office sits in Christchurch at Unit 18, 212 Antigua Street. The company was established in early 2011 as the New Zealand arm of the United States firm Ceres Environmental — a group founded in 1976 that has since grown into a global network with a net value of more than $185M and over 40 years of experience in professional services and waste processing and management.
The venture was deliberate rather than opportunistic. Although the catastrophic earthquakes of 2011 gave the company a platform on which to set its foundations, planning for the New Zealand entity began back in the autumn of 2010, with the objective of providing services the existing market did not offer. A decade on, Ceres NZ describes itself as a general contracting firm equipped to plan and execute the most complex projects, applying innovative solutions.
Ceres NZ operates four company sites across two regions. The Christchurch head office, where the company started its New Zealand operations in 2011, is staffed by eight full-time administrative employees plus operational staff, and it is where the leadership team manages the business. The South Island Yard, also in Christchurch, is where the heavy demolition machines are stored and maintained, allowing machinery to be mobilised effectively to any city in the South Island.
In the north, Ceres entered the Wellington market in 2016; a support office and the North Island Yard operate there, alongside an Equipment Storage Yard that holds half of the demolition fleet for projects across the North Island. This footprint means staff and equipment can be rapidly mobilised to projects anywhere in New Zealand.
The service portfolio is broad: demolition and deconstruction, implosion, asbestos remediation, environmental remediation and management, disaster response, facade retention and heritage restoration, and property and land development. In-house teams carry out all aspects of a project, from asbestos removal and concrete cutting through to earthworks and piling, with materials recycling part of the wider offering.
Ceres NZ has completed a high volume of demolition work over the past decade across a wide range of structure types and sizes, and has built the resources that this extent of specialised work demands: a highly skilled and experienced team and a $6M fleet of its own specialised equipment, backed by the knowledge of the wider Ceres team operating in the US. The company works with government agencies and private clients, and specialises in large-scale projects requiring a quick response.
The project list reads like a roll call of the country's most challenging site clearances. Ceres NZ imploded the former Christchurch Police Station building, carried out the Invercargill Central demolition of the Government Life building, and completed the demolition of the iconic Cadbury's chocolate factory through to its final stage. Other notable work includes the 61 Molesworth Street demolition in Wellington and the Waitangi Wharf pile removal.
That track record has been recognised repeatedly: the company won Environmental Best Practise for the QEII Park land remediation, took the NZDAA Best Practice award for projects over $1M for the Invercargill CBD redevelopment, and received the World Demolition Award 2017 along with being named Overall Contractor of the Year 2017, alongside runner-up placings for both the Waitangi Wharf and 61 Molesworth Street projects and shortlistings in the 2017 Contracts of the Year under and over US$1 million.
Safety underpins everything. Ceres NZ conducts its operations in a manner that identifies, eliminates or controls hazards that may result in injury or illness, manages incidents to minimise their harmful effects and prevent recurrence, and promotes safe and environmentally sound practices. The philosophy is injury- and incident-free work across all operational bases and project locations, extending to customers, suppliers and subcontractors, with personnel empowered so that, working collectively, these goals are achieved.
Sustainability sits alongside safety. The company is committed to services that protect and sustain the environment, contributing real value to communities by enhancing the local environment and public safety while being cognisant of resource management. Its mission is to provide the highest standard of professional services on both a national and international level — and to never take the trust clients place in it for granted.
Ceres NZ recruits locally and provides pathways for people to upskill in industries including demolition, hazardous materials removal, heavy equipment operations and carpentry, supported by nationwide connections to meet additional skilled staffing needs. Its Environmental Policy, Health and Safety Policy and Quality Policy are published on the website for anyone who wants to see how the company works before engaging it. For project enquiries, the head office can be reached on +64 3 420-1655 — the team you can rely on, as the company puts it, for even the most complex projects.