Vulcan steel

[Daytr]

BusinessDesk has an article about Fletcher steel division and it problems and the need to dispense with a lot of staff. Paywalled but here’s a couple of extracts -

. In fact, Vulcan Steel – whose chief executive, Rhys Jones, had once been an executive of the 95-year-old Easysteel division – said the market was the toughest it’s faced since 2008 and the Australasian steel and aluminium company shed 157 staff in the six months ended Dec 31, leaving it with 1,283 across its trans-Tasman operations at the start of the year.

And

The recent first-half result doesn’t bode well for the business in the current financial year, with the building sector still in the doldrums as residential intentions remain soggy and the outlook for commercial construction unclear given the tightening government purse strings.

Both Vulcan and Steel & Tube are optimistic the sector will perk up in the latter half of this year, and the prospect of building much-needed infrastructure should provide a boost, if it ever appears.

I bolded the bits containing the ‘toughest since 2008’ and ‘unclear’ and ‘if it ever appears’ bits as I reckon building/construction activity in NZ will still be at current levels in 2028 and then might start recovery.

I started my working career at Fletchers as a Management Cadet based within Fletcher Steel.
I worked under Rhys both in Wellington when he was sales manager of the local branch & in Auckland when he became Auckland branch manager. He was ahead of his time within the industry. Very smart bloke.

I found out when I left that he had thought about sacking me when he moved to Auckland, as he thought I was a trouble maker & I probably was as I pushed everyone above me hard. I ended up being the top sales rep in the country. Not sure what to take from that, as his initial instinct was wrong, but he was also prepared to listen to advice & not act on it. He was pretty young then, as we all were.

I met with Fletchers again when I came back from overseas about 10 years ago and after a twenty minute meeting, quickly realised they had no clue. I doubt much has changed in that time.

[whatsup]

I started my working career at Fletchers as a Management Cadet based within Fletcher Steel.
I worked under Rhys both in Wellington when he was sales manager of the local branch & in Auckland when he became Auckland branch manager. He was ahead of his time within the industry. Very smart bloke.

I found out when I left that he had thought about sacking me when he moved to Auckland, as he thought I was a trouble maker & I probably was as I pushed everyone above me hard. I ended up being the top sales rep in the country. Not sure what to take from that, as his initial instinct was wrong, but he was also prepared to listen to advice & not act on it. He was pretty young then, as we all were.

I met with Fletchers again when I came back from overseas about 10 years ago and after a twenty minute meeting, quickly realised they had no clue. I doubt much has changed in that time.

Mate of mine worked at FBU said that they survived inspite of themselves not because of themselves !!

[malreid]

We are in the manufacturing sector and based on the reduced level of enquiries currently and going back 6-9 months, are in total agreement with of Rhys' comment regarding outlook which is also a recurring theme in conversations across the full gamut of customers, suppliers and competitors.

A very tough 12-18 months lies ahead.