November 28, 2025
Helping build and unite communities through our work, has always been an integral part of our business. Since we began more than 35 years ago, we’ve focused on delivering more than structural steel solutions to the projects we’re involved in.
We’ve humbled to be in a position where our work helps shape communities and for these projects to be part of the growth in these areas. We value being able to work in the communities we live and play and be a part of shaping the landscape for future generations to come.
As the end of the year approaches, we pause to reflect on the communities we’re part of and the key services we’ve been involved in delivering – everything from airports to apartments, schools and universities, retirement villages, shopping centres and more.
In this blog we explore just some of the sectors we’ve had the privilege of being part of, and how these projects have provided key services for those in the community.
Many of the projects we’re involved in support businesses in the agricultural, construction and geo-thermal sectors. The range of projects and sectors are varied and we never take for granted the trust these companies put in us, to erect the key foundations for these projects.
Some examples of the types of projects include: Zespri Head Office at Mount Maunganui, geothermal plants, cool stores and cold stores, and the Winstone Gib Plant. This project saw us use over 4000 tonne of steel. Our work included large lattice truss framed warehouses, office space and also the large milling tower. This was an exciting project of national significance for Jensen Steel to be part of.
Also, we’re involved in the construction of office buildings such as the ANZ Elizabeth Street, the Trustpower building and more recently 90 Devonport Road which is occupied by Tauranga City Council. This was an exciting project to be part of - a Green Star project, with it being the largest modern mass timber office building in New Zealand! What was exciting for Jensen Steel is we were able to play our part in the project too, providing the large K-Frame bracing elements which run the height of the structure in different locations. Throughout the building, steel is also incorporated in aesthetic design features, as well as stairways and plant rooms.
When it comes to Primary Industries specifically, we have completed a range of projects across a number of sectors. The Bay of Plenty is world renowned for its strong kiwifruit industry, and we’re proud to have played a part. Projects are many and across a number of kiwifruit companies including: JACE Coolstores at Tauriko and Project Opal, Trevelyans, Eastpack, Seeka, and DMS where we have completed many coolstore projects for each company.
As well as kiwifruit, we’ve worked in the dairy industry with dairy factory projects in Kawerau and the Olam Dairy Factory in Tokoroa.
We’ve also been involved in a number of projects relating to timber processing, including the Redstag Facility in Rotorua, Kinleith Pulp and Paper Mill and other sawmills and timber processing plants around Eastern Bay of Plenty.
Our teams have been involved with the building of a number of health and educational facilities. Quality Assurance is of the highest priority in these projects and we have robust systems to make sure our quality standards remain throughout the whole project.
In the health space we were involved in the purpose-built Kathleen Kilgour Centre – a state-of-the-art facility for radiation treatment which supports people in the Bay of Plenty and beyond providing both public and privately funded patients. This was a unique build for us as the walls in the radiotherapy theatre had to be constructed of incredibly thick solid steel to prevent radiation escaping.
We have worked on the Tauranga Hospital, the Rotorua Hospital and Whakatane Hospital. Also, we’ve worked on projects for the Blood Donor Centre in Tauranga. It’s always rewarding for our team when they work on such projects, knowing the end result is providing much needed services to those in the community and surrounding areas.
When it comes to Education, we’ve worked on projects from schools to tertiary training including Te Wananga O Aotearoa Whakatane and more recently the University of Waikato campus in Tauranga CBD. The city campus offers a modern learning environment shaped by community, culture, innovation and world-class university study and it allows students the convenience to study locally.
Covering a range of ages and stages, we’ve been involved in projects that provide living options! From apartments to retirement villages, we’ve helped in this construction across the Bay. Devonport Towers and Kingsview Apartments were some of the original large apartment buildings in Tauranga CBD. Our most recent projects include the apartments at Thirty Eight Elizabeth (above the Farmers building in the Tauranga CBD) to Bethlehem Shores Retirement Village. This project, which involved 320 tonne of steel, brought together steel, mass timber and concrete - each of the buildings was unique in the way the steel was used alongside other structural materials.
The Port of Tauranga is the busiest port in New Zealand and is centrally located in the city of Tauranga. Not only does it play a vital role in the movement of cargo and containers, it’s also responsible for a significant percentage of the country’s exports and creating jobs and wealth for the region.
We’re proud of our relationship with the Port of Tauranga and over the years we have worked with the Port of Tauranga on many projects including coolstores and many other storage facilities such as Shed 16. The Light Towers we fabricated for the Port is one of the more unique jobs we’ve completed for them. Overall, a Light Tower measures nearly 32m and weighs over 7 tonnes. We’ve also worked with the Port of Tauranga on large sheds and cool stores to name a few.
Also, linked to the ports, is logistics and ensuring goods can be transported across the country efficiently. We have completed a number of projects for Mainfreight including the large local distribution centre – which saw us use 900 tonnes of steel!
And let’s not forget regular travel! We were fortunate to be part of the Tauranga Airport revamp a few years ago, as well as the Tauranga Harbour Bridge Girder Beams and Bayfair to Baypark Barrier Rails.
When it comes to living in a city, shopping facilities are also a key ingredient! Over the years we’ve been fortunate to be involved in many of the key retail landmarks of the Bay of Plenty including Bayfair Shopping Centre, Tauranga Crossing Shopping Centre, Farmers at Thirty Eight Elizabeth and The Sands, Papamoa. Working on these projects is quite humbling, as they tend to be places that our team will visit regularly themselves as active members of the community, and there is sense of pride that when you go and do your shopping, you’ve been part of shaping the space!
As well as key services, a community also needs to provide sport and recreational facilities to a variety of ages and needs. Over the years, we’ve worked on a number of projects in this space including Baypark Stadium, Rotorua Events Centre, ASB Arena Tauranga, Avanti Velodrome in Cambridge and the Turoa Ski Field. These latter two projects as you can imagine were quite unique, with the shape of the Velodrome and the weather conditions of the ski field.
The velodrome required large trusses that run the width of the enclosed arena and ran nearly the full length of the Jensen Steel fabrication shop. These huge trusses we fabricated and trial assembled at the Jensen Steel yard, before being broken apart and taken over to Cambridge in the middle of the night on the Truck and Jinka unit. This project saw Jensen Steel Fabricators win the Steel Excellence award in 2015 for projects over $3 million.
The Turoa Ski Field project would be one of the most memorable for the Jensen Steel riggers who erected the steel work. Working in very unforgiving conditions, they had to erect the steel structure for the Turoa Café, and Bottom and Top Lift Terminals. Large helicopters were required in the project for lifting steel into place.
In addition to this, is the Tauranga CBD revitalisation and revamp programme of work which has seen a number of new building and facilities created for those who live here and those that come to visit. We’re grateful to have been involved in several of these projects and are currently working on Pokapū Hapori me Whare Pukapuka– Library and Community Hub as well as the Te Whare Taonga o Tauranga – Tauranga Museum – so watch this space!
These are just some of the amazing projects Jensen Steel Fabricators have been fortunate to be involved in. We’re forever grateful for all those who have put their trust in us to deliver such important projects that shape where we all live, work and play. As is the Jensen Steel way, we never take these relationships for granted and continue to deliver the highest quality solutions and continue to look at ways to improve.
If you’d like to explore any of the projects mentioned in this blog: Please view here
Or if you have a project you’d like help with, our team would love the opportunity to see how we can support you and the growth in the community. Please get in touch