By Karen Pasco | Photos by Paul Terry
With the residential building industry taking a 15 percent plunge last year, a Canterbury-based home building company which managed 38 percent growth throughout New Zealand is obviously doing something remarkable. Stonewood Homes managing director Brent Mettrick explains what it takes to buck the trend.
“It’s not a construction business,” Mettrick announces part way through the interview. “It’s a retail home business.” From this very statement you know this man is always looking at tackling business a different way. In fact in every segment of his company, Mettrick is always looking to do things the smartest way possible often pushing convention aside in the process.
Looking at the building industry from a completely different perspective gives him the opportunity to deliver the service to his customers in a unique way. For instance, anyone building a house through his company can log onto Stonewood’s site during the process to see what is happening with their build; whether it be while waiting for building consent or part way through construction. Wanting a totally transparent process for the client – Mettrick says they can even look at the building’s progress through up-to-date online photos, documentation and check out what it’s costing them.
It was an initiative introduced when Mettrick could see the gap between builder and client. “Builders aren’t always the best communicators, so we had to come up with a way that we could get the information to our customer that was better and more effective for them – and it’s instant.”
Stonewood Homes is New Zealand’s second largest residential building company, with aspirations on becoming first. Based in Christchurch, it has 23 franchises throughout New Zealand. The benefit to its franchise holders and customers is that there are skilled builders with local knowledge who have access to the plans, purchasing and back office systems of a national company.
He’s quite open about the time things haven’t gone so well. But he doesn’t make excuses. He puts things right, learns from what has happened and puts systems in place so they don’t happen again. “At those points we (Mettrick and former business partner Tony Andersen) had the chance to continue or scrap it, but we decided we had to go forward.”
The continual boom and bust nature of the building industry and the problems each end of the cycle poses made him realise it wasn’t really about the money – it was about getting things right and doing right by those who relied on him, whether they be contractors, family members or customers. “If you do what’s right the rest follows.”
He remembers clearly one occasion, when the enormity of his situation really sunk in. It was Christmas drinks in 2002, when an invitation was sent out to all those involved with the business. “In 2002 we had 120 houses in construction in Christchurch with four to five builders working on each, as well as suppliers and sub-contractors. There were hundreds and hundreds of people who turned up. It was about that time it really sunk in to me the fear of failure. Call it confidence or non-confidence but it was about how many people relied on us for their income. I think I’ve got over that now especially given the size we have grown to around the country.”
He should have, his success, growth and dedication to the industry has been recognised through his involvement with both local and national industry bodies. He is Master Builders national past president, past president of Canterbury Registered Master Builders Association, and past chairman of Master Build Services Ltd (the Master Builders’ guarantee company) for more than eight years. He is also currently on the Department of Building and Construction Industry Productivity Partnership board; an inaugural and current director of the New Zealand Green Building Council; and sponsor of Homestar – the residential home energy rating tool.
The catalogue of industry positions has meant he has installed processes, drawn on specialist knowledge and hired expert people to give him enough confidence to step away from the day-to-day running and undertake other roles. It hasn’t been that big of an issue for him. He has never felt like he was the business – it has always been a separate entity from him.
“I don’t know if that was because it was originally a partnership or why, but it means I can look at the business as an outsider with it not being so personal. It means you can have a really objective view.”
His attention to the Stonewood business is more in research and development. Lined up against the wall of his office are an array of building, home design and architecture magazines from all around the globe. These publications, as well as overseas travel to research new technologies, provide inspiration for Mettrick who is constantly looking for new and innovative ways to make homes better. It is a rewarding experience as he passes on those efficiencies in processes and technology incorporated in to his homes.
The latest Stonewood show home at Lincoln is progression in the process. It is a 7-star Homestar home – kitted out with thermal efficient technologies, extra insulation, rain harvesting and storage as well as other innovations to make it a comfortable home that is more cost effective to run.
Although you would hardly declare Mettrick to be of the hippy brigade, his belief in “green systems” is really to create a better home environment but they have to prove their value. “Green has to be sustainable from a dollar perspective as well. To me it’s got to pay its way.”
Encouragement from an unlikely source, his daughter, who gave him a bit of grief about the wastage on building sites, has also brought about changes. There is far less rubbish being taken away from sites. “Now the first thing I look at when I go on a building site is the skip – I can’t stand waste.”
He explains that the New Zealand building industry is conservative. So Mettrick looks at inspiration, not only from overseas but also outside the building industry. That is how he has come to look at his as a retail business and has also searched further afield to the manufacturing industry to seek inspiration and direction from its streamlined processes.
This may eventually mean a turn to prefabrication so that a house is installed within a few weeks; with as much work as possible done away from the building site. Mettrick’s goal is for a six week start-to-finish timeframe without forsaking quality, and although some way off from that at present, he does confess; “if you don’t have that goal, there is no way you can achieve it”.
The rebuild
An incentive for this way of looking to manufacture homes in a quick turnaround, while still maintaining quality, is the Christchurch rebuild. The rebuild has been held up for a number of reasons, he says.
“The one (earthquake) at Christmas (2011) had more impact than people realised; it put things right back again.”
There is also a lack of consistency from both insurance companies and other agencies. “We would find we had several people with the same issues, but they were all being given different information.” Mettrick has done his part to try and keep the process moving. He sent a broker to London after the worst of the quakes to secure building insurance so that all his booked builds could continue.
While others are frustrated by the delays, Mettrick has been using it to his advantage, employing this time to gear up for the long job ahead. This has involved a look at back office systems, employing people and training them, in order that everything is in place so Stonewood can hit the ground running.
For Mettrick, a grave concern is that many businesses will not prepare enough – which could lead to delays for homeowners. “A lot of companies here are going to be at capacity, but they don’t have the systems to be able to take that. The availability of sub trades is also going to be an issue.”
He has never been a builder, but has 35 years experience in the residential construction industry – 25 of those at the helm of Stonewood. The excursion to where Mettrick is now has been a natural progression. Although not surprised with where the business is at, it is not really the result of a rigid, laid-out plan that has seen him get to his current destination. It is more the dedication of doing things right which has resulted in its success and always with the motivation to do the best for his family.
“They have always been my motivation. I want the business to be the best it can for a lot of reasons. Having invested 25 years into the business to date, I want it to become the best it can be. It’s not about ego; it’s about ensuring every person who relies on us enjoys the experience and is not let down.”
