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Who we are

Established in 1985, Connell Contractors is an award-winning business with more than 60 employees working in New Zealand.

We are market leaders in deep and large diameter pipelines, trenchless pipeline rehabilitation, sheetpiling, dewatering, electrical and civil structures. We own and operate a modern fleet of plant and machinery.

We manage contracts from our HQ in Hamilton, with offices in Auckland and New Plymouth. We strongly believe in a culture of teamwork and training as our staff have been one of the main reasons for our on-going success over the last 35 years.

Connell Contractors is a family-owned business whose core values are honesty, integrity and commitment. We are proud of our reputation for being very easy to deal with.

OUR AWARDS & CERTIFICATIONS

  • Winner: 2023 National CCNZ Construction Excellence Awards - Poutu Intake
  • Winner: 2023 Waikato Hynds Civil Contractors New Zealand (CCNZ) Construction Awards ($1 – $5m projects) - Poutu Intake
  • Winner: 2023 Supreme Award - Waikato Hynds Civil Contractors New Zealand (CCNZ) Construction Awards - Poutu Intake
  • Winner: 2023 Health and Safety Award - Waikato Hynds Civil Contractors New Zealand (CCNZ) Construction Awards - Poutu Intake
  • Winner: Business & Growth Category, 2019 Westpac Waikato Business Awards
  • Winner: Supreme Business of the Year Award, 2019 Westpac Waikato Business Awards
  • Finalist for Maui St Tauranga
  • 2015 CCNZ National Construction Award (Category 3) Award
  • 2014 NZCF Waikato Branch Construction Award (Category 3) for Pressure Main 11 - Christchurch
  • 2003 NZCF National Construction Award (Category 1)
  • 1993 NZCF National Construction Award (Category 1)
  • We pride ourselves on friendly honest service and we value new and long term clients.

Our Team

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Our Board of Directors comprises a well-rounded blend of founding directors and construction/industry experts. Professional independent directors and advisors help give balance around the Board table.

DAVID CONNELL Director
MARGO CONNELL Director
LESTER Foxall CEO
JERRY RICKMAN Independent Director
BRUCE NIXON Independent Director
Gill Cox Consultant to the Board

CORPORATE TEAM

Lester Foxall CEO

Lester Foxall

CEO
Lester immigrated to New Zealand in 2002 having spent several years as joint owner of a Property Development Company. He worked for Tasman Design and Civil for nine years as General Manager prior to moving to Connell Contractors. Qualified in Construction Management, Lester spent twelve years working for the multi-national company Lafarge Aggregates (Formerly Redland Aggregates Ltd), working on major civil projects throughout the UK. Typical projects included major airfield construction at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stanstead and Brize Norton, motorway construction on the M4 / M5 networks and maintenance term contracts on all military establishments throughout the South West. He has extensive knowledge of Live Switchyard environments having spent the past ten years working in the power sector. Lester's early years were spent surveying and estimating, progressing through to general supervisory/management duties, to senior management level. Since arriving in New Zealand, Lester has become a member of both the Institute of Building Officials and the Institute of Building where he was committee member for the Northern Chapter responsible for Building Technology and Practise.
Michael van de pas CFO

Michael van de pas

CFO
Michael is a Chartered Accountant with over 16 years’ experience in the accounting and commercial space having previously worked for Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Hamilton Airport and Waikato Milking Systems. Michael brings experience working across all facets of business including at management and board levels.  He is responsible for the day to day management of the company’s finance and administration functions.

QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Bachelor of Business
  • Chartered Accountant
Ben Bouwer Construction Manager
Tejinder Sadhar Senior Estimator

Tejinder Sadhar

Senior Estimator
Tejinder (TJ) moved to New Zealand from northern India. Before coming to NZ, he completed his high school education and pursued further studies at Wintec. Before coming on board at Connell Contractors as an Estimator, TJ worked for Tasman Design & Civil. What TJ enjoys most about New Zealand is its greenery, lakes around the country, beaches and walking tracks in NZ. Some of his interests include cricket and travelling. TJ has been employed with Connell Contractors since September 2016. At Connell, he enjoys the feeling of being part of a team that all value and support each other.

QUALIFICATIONS:

  • NDQS
Jeffrey Setiawan Senior Estimator

Jeffrey Setiawan

Senior Estimator
Jeffrey moved to New Zealand in 2016 after working in Indonesia for several years. His roles prior to joining Connell Contractors include project administrator at Linmar Building & Construction and Junior Contract Manager at Pemberton Civil. His responsibilities include preparing bids and subcontractor engagement.

QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Bachelor of Engineering (Civil)
Valerie Lim Environmental Engineer

Valerie Lim

Environmental Engineer
Valerie's previous work experiences include design for infrastructure works of mixed development projects, as well as being the Subject Matter Expert (SME) in Erosion and Sedimentation Control aspect of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
Val believes New Zealand is a beautiful country with amazing scenery and clean fresh air. People here are friendly and best of all, she can get fresh produce directly from the garden such as herbs, apples, lemons, tomatoes and leafy vegetables!
Val and her family like to go for a walk in the park - her current favourite is Hamilton Lake. She enjoys watching Korean dramas during her free time.
The people at Connell Contractors have been very kind and helpful to Val. She feels blessed to have the management's support in beginning her career here and intends to make good use of her previous work experiences as well as current knowledge, in ensuring successful projects at Connell Contractors.

QUALIFICATIONS:

  • B.Eng – Civil Engineering
  • M. Eng – Environmental Engineering
  • Certified Professional in Erosion & Sediment Control (CPESC)
  • Confined Space & Gas Detection
Charlotte Blackler Junior Environmental Engineer
Tania Shepherd Systems Manager
Esther (KC) van der Merwe Health & Safety Manager
Natalie Hadley Business Support Administrator
Andrea Browne Accounts Assistant

PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM

Our project management team will play a lead role in the overall execution of the project from planning to completion, including operations coordination, progress reporting and risk controlling.

Ben Bouwer Construction Manager
Fabian Bracken Regional Manager Taranaki
Francios Fortuin Contracts Manager Auckland
Nigel Stiles Contracts Manager Waikato
Kieran Hines Site Engineer
Francois Steyn Site Engineer
Lana Sheerin Project Engineer in Operations