RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Reduce workload with smarter fencing Lincoln-based Central Fencing signed on as Approved Installers with Summit Steel & Wire towards the end of 2020 and have since forged a strong partnership, providing a combination of effective product and installation solutions. As a part of Summit’s Approved Installer network, select contractors are assisted with a number of resources, such as the use of the Solonet fencing pay out machine (pictured) to increase productivity and maximise resource usage — to provide the highest quality and most cost-effective outcomes for their customers. Nigel Broadbridge from Central Fencing has experienced a steady increase in work for his fencing contracting company, due to both Government and private land development projects that require large-scale fencing. With this increase in work a major priority is being able to meet timeframes given to clients, while ensuring his small, tight-knit team are not feeling overwhelmed by the growing workload. Summit visited Nigel and his team on a project they were completing for the Christchurch City Council Park Ranger division. On this occasion, the project for Central Fencing was to build a wildlife exclusion fence on a very steep incline to remove pigs, goats and deer in the area — to enable native flora and fauna to prosper. To install the fencing required, Nigel and his team utilised the Solonet, one of Summit’s newest, ground-breaking fencing innovations. One of the benefits of using the Solonet on this job was that the fencing rolls were never manually-handled, resulting in
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very happy staff who were not fatigued from carrying these heavy materials, especially on the steep undulating ground in Christchurch’s Port Hills — resulting in high quality work from start to finish. Another advantage of the Solonet is it can hold two 500m rolls of netting at one time. Utilising these longer rolls of Summit’s Pro Fence or X Fence netting allows contractors to save time and money, by requiring less joins for each roll used — while also being able to strain whole fence lines in seconds, rather than minutes, using the side mounted hydraulic tensioner. In the right environment, these efficiencies can increase productivity by 40 percent, when compared to traditional fencing methods — while reducing the labour intensity required for each project.
| Central Fencing’s digger mounted Solonet on a fence line in the Port Hills of Christchurch.
Machinery such as the Solonet is one of the many ways that Summit continues to assist its Approved Installer Network. “We are proud to be supporting contractors around New Zealand with resources that continue to help improve both the quality and efficiency of fencing work completed nationwide,” Nigel says. Keep an eye out in the coming months for Solonet pay out machines and your local Summit Approved Installers in your Farmlands store. These highlytrained field experts, accompanied with Summit’s quality wire products and world class installation kits, must be considered for your next fencing project. For further information, contact your Farmlands Technical Field Officer or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store. Article supplied by Summit Steel & Wire
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| Once tensioned the Central Fencing team attach netting to the posts.
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