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Inside Drainways
About Us
Drainways is a Hawke’s Bay family-owned business started in 1976.
We’re a tight-knit team that believes in professional service and old-fashioned values: we do what we say we’ll do and our word is our bond.
Our track record of high calibre workmanship, thinking on our feet and willingness to do whatever is needed to complete projects within set timeframes and budgets has made us a trusted partner of councils and local bodies, as well as large industrial and commercial interests.
If you have a drainage or water project you would like to discuss, please contact Mark Currie on 021 220 1382, or email: mark@drainways.co.nz
Forging a Reputation
Like the projects we usually do – which are below ground – that’s what you could say about us as a business, that we’ve operated out of the spotlight, but now we’re front and centre.
Mark Currie / Drainways Director
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Who we are
Meet the Drainways Team
Founder
Owen Currie
Owen established Drainways in 1976 after buying the company he had worked for since 1970. He soon established a reputation as an honest, friendly, and professional drain layer and machinery operator. Owen enjoys helping out wherever he can and his vast experience makes him the go-to source of wisdom and advice for everyone in the company.
Managing Director
Mark Currie
To his work colleagues Mark is known as Winnie the pooh, not for any odour that he leaves in the office but because he has a calm and warm nature or as he puts it ‘a bit of a softy’. Under the soft exterior though Mark is driven and under his watch Drainways has not only grown in staff numbers but has taken on larger scale projects that have expanded the businesses portfolio.
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They may once have been a drainlaying business (hence the company name) but today under Mark’s watch, they’ve completed some hefty and complex projects such as all the underground services and internal roading for a retirement village to partnering with Hastings District Council on its ambitious and New Zealand-leading 3 Waters investment.
“I keep trying to push the boat in the right direction and am still driven to expand the business further.”
As well as interacting and building good relationships with clients, Mark also oversees sales and marketing and HR.
He doesn’t get the opportunity too often to get his hands dirty at work, but at home he enjoys tinkering with wood, metal and now a new 3D printer.
He’s honing his workmanship skills to perhaps tackle a bigger project into the future – buying and doing up a VW combi van.
“I love making things and pottering around in the shed making relatively small and random items.”
Mark also loves spending time with family and taking his wife and three children to large family and community gatherings and firing up the mobile BBQ unit at the beach.
Director
Brendan Currie
Brendan’s the more serious guy in the office – the self-professed ‘office grump” but actually he’s got a heart of gold and loves nothing more than helping others. Brendan, rejoined the family business in 2019, having successfully built and then sellng his own business. His first stint with the business was after leaving school in 1992 before taking a 10 year break to pursue his own business interests.
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Although he is the serious guy, he loves being back in the family business and the vibrant work environment, Drainways now offers. He gets a real kick from out of the fact that the company is making a significant positive impact in the community with safe drinking water and infrastructure.
He’s been busy overseeing the development of Hastings’ Water Treatment Plants, a major investment for Hastings District Council.
Community and family are incredibly important to Brendan and he enjoys making a positive contribution within his community as well as the wider Hawke’s Bay community.
So much so that Brendan has also dedicated much of his spare time to charity, volunteering at his children’s local school as a campus administrator as well as other causes. He played a big role with Rapid Relief Team (RRT) when the devastating cyclone hit Hawke’s Bay in early 2023. So much so – that if he was to take another break from work, he would become a fulltime charity volunteer.
“Although you’re doing stuff for others, you get so much back for yourself. There’s just so much energy that comes from helping others.”
In his spare time Brendan loves spending time with his family and community, especially at the beach overseeing the BBQ while another enjoyable past time is …. “mowing the lawns”.
Project Manager
Carlton Currie
It must be something to do with having CC as your initials and your happy place being on a digger, excavator or on the end of a chainsaw instead of sitting at an office desk.
Carlton Currie says there’s nothing better than getting wet and cold working on the tools on projects across Hawke’s Bay and he’s passed that enjoyment on to the other CC, nephew Crawford Currie.
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“I’m not that academic, if you can call it that, I really enjoy being hands on when it comes to the wide range of work we do.
Carlton rejoined Drainways in 2014, coinciding with the expansion of the business from primarily drainlayers to broader projects in land development projects and council 3 water projects.
“I love nothing better than a technical challenge on a site and having a go at making something work.”
He points to the Hawke’s Bay Airport redevelopment project and the challenge of some of the land being below sea level.
Carlton has a two children – a boy and a girl and enjoys relaxing with family and friends.
Contracts Manager
Matthew Donk
Matthew Donk is a pretty relaxed kind of guy. He’s been with Drainways for just over 2 years, having spent many years working as a project delivery manager for one of the big guys of civil contracting. Matthew wanted the best of both worlds – the opportunity to grow his career – but without the hectic hours he had been working so he could spend more time with his wife and four children.
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“I worked crazy hours and probably didn’t get the opportunities I wanted to grow my career.
He joined Drainways as an estimator but has since been promoted to contracts manager – a role that is quite broad and puts many of his skills and experience to good use.
With a bit more time on his hands, Matthew has been able to spend his weekends working on his own projects – such as renovating the family home and also undertaking his own ‘Amazing Spaces’ inspired project of refitting an old 1970s caravan.
The bright yellow caravan, inspired by his wife Mel’s love of yellow, heads up to Lake Waikaremoana once a year for the family to enjoy some off-grid adventure.
Back at Drainways Matthew has been focussing on introducing more structure and processes to the business and project delivery.
“At Drainways I feel really valued. Management listen and if you come up with an idea they back it and let you run with it. You’re not a number, you’re a member of the team and are well supported.
Project Manager
Gerome Naera
Burly Gerome isn’t one to be crossed in his role as a resource manager, making sure no important equipment is lost on job sites. Despite his best efforts, he says the most common misplaced item are digger buckets and although there’s GPS on some equipment, he has had to come up with other tactics to keep track of items. People are also a vital resource, so Gerome keeps a close on eye on projects making sure the right team is on the job.
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Gerome isn’t one to shirk the heavy lifting and having previously worked as a drainlayer, he enjoys the opportunity to get back on the tools.
It also gives him a greater perspective of complex projects and problem solving.
“It doesn’t take too much for me to jump on the tools and back into the trenches.”
He enjoys getting physical – having played premier rugby for Napier Pirates, regularly going to the gym and he’s now coaching his son’s junior rugby team. He also enjoys supporting his daughter who plays rippa rugby.
When time allows, he likes to get out on one of his two Harley motorbikes, “I got one pretty cheap” he says pretty quickly just in case his wife read the bio, while he cooks a pretty mean brisket on the coal BBQ.
Site Manager
Ben Soofaatasi
Drainways has its own Big Ben – who is one of the newest members of the team. Ben Soofaatasi, of Samoan decent, and partner Gloria moved to Hawke’s Bay in 2020, to be closer to his new wife’s family but also to enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle.
Getting out of the big city of Auckland has been a great decision and Ben is his enjoying his roles as a site manager and drainlayer.
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“My previous role was a bit repetitious, whereby with Drainways there’s lots of variety and it’s not all about drain laying. I’ve been on the digger, doing water reticulation and working across Hawke’s Bay on a range of projects.”
He’s also been involved in the cyclone recovery and the silt collection off hard hit properties.
Another big bonus of working at Drainways is the family orientated focus of the business, which is important to Ben, as he and Gloria look to the future and their own family aspirations.
“The business has a strong family feel to it and it’s a place where we can all enjoy each other’s company. “I like being a bit of a clown and having some fun.”
In his spare time Ben enjoys bible study and working out at the gym.
Site Manager
Luke Fitzsimmons
Luke is the long serving stalwart of Drainways. He’s been with the business for over 11 years, arriving around the same time as Mark returned to lead the business.
Back then, the business was primarily a small drainlaying business, but with Mark keen to expand the service offering, Luke says he’s pretty happy to have stayed on for the ride.
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“It’s great to see where we have come from and that we are now undertaking some pretty big and complex projects, which offer us all a fantastic opportunity to grow our skills and experience.
“We have done a lot of earthwork jobs which has transitioned into council projects and I’ve enjoyed the variety.
Although he’s the senior team member (in tenure, not age) he tries to pick the best jobs. However like many others, he did spend time removing silt from the many cyclone impacted properties across the region.
In his spare time Luke enjoys snowboarding and working on his lifestyle property, making it self sufficient, growing fruit and vegetables.
Site Manager
Crawford Currie
Crawford is the latest generation of Curries to join the family business.
After watching grass grow – literally by working with a local grass grower and landscape business for over a year, he grabbed the opportunity to join his Dad, Brendan and his two uncles Mark and Carlton at Drainways.
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As a site manager Crawford is enjoys being amongst the action on a range of sites such as the Hastings District Council’s new water services facilities through to moving earth and clearing sites for development.
Like uncle Carlton, he has no ambition of moving into a cosy desk job.
“The further away from the office, the better. I want to push dirt, not a pen,” he says.
“I really enjoy being out in the field working directly on projects, it’s incredibly rewarding.
As a man in his early twenties, Crawford doesn’t see himself moving too far away from the family business and is keen to forge his own reputation within the business.
Away from the business, Crawford spends more time back on the grass, hitting golf balls at the local gold course.
He also enjoys spending time with family and friends.
Jnr Project Manager
Deepak Viswanathan
Deepak Viswanatha has had a bit of luck on his side over the last couple of years.
He arrived in New Zealand from India to complete his Masters in Civil Engineering from Canterbury University just prior to the country being locked down and then he scored a great role with Drainways as a site manager/project manager.
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Deepak is from Kerala in south India with a population in excess of 30 million people. That’s pretty hard to fathom for many of his workmates who’ve lived in Hawke’s Bay, and its population of less than 200,000!
Although he worked on some large big construction projects such as bridges and large scale housing developments in India, he says that working on Drainways projects in Hawke’s Bay has been an upgrade in professionalism.
He arrived at the right time, with Drainways involved in the construction of water treatment and storage facilities and new networking for Hastings District Council.
He learnt the ropes of working in a New Zealand setting on the new Frimley storage facility before moving on to the world-leading Waiaroha Water and education facility next to the council’s main office complex.
“They’ve been great projects to be involved in and knowing that I played a role in their construction.
“It’s great to be involved with projects that are vital to the wellbeing of the community and safe drinking water is so important.”
As an avid photographer it’s likely he’ll proudly send some photos back to friends and family in India.
Deepak is collating an impressive portfolio of photos and Vlogs and has seen more of New Zealand than many kiwis.
“I’ve seen about 80 percent of the North Island and about 60 percent of the South Island.
He’s also enjoying the Hawke’s Bay lifestyle, with good weather and great scenery (to photograph) and spending time with friends that have moved to the region before him.
Estimator
Toby Jacksaathof
Toby is the talker in the office. In fact he’s pretty hard to keep quiet, saying he’s genuinely happy and interested in what makes people tick. “Some might say I’m socially awkward,” he quips. “But … I want to have a positive impact on people’s lives.” Although young, Toby has already had one major career change. As a youngster he used to brew Mead with his father, which led to a university scholarship and a double degree in wine making and viticulture at Waikato University.
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However the romance of wine making quickly wore off, realising that it might not be as much a rewarding career as he hoped.
Word got around that Toby was back in the Bay and looking for a new job. At the time he was back studying – towards a degree in environmental science, but jumped at the job offer. He has since completed his study extramurally.
With support from colleague Matthew Donk he has quickly learned the ropes of estimating and loves the mix of the role – working with suppliers to cost up projects, looking over plans and getting out onto site.
Administrator
Celine Mabey
When it comes to working at Drainway’s there’s no “maybe’s” for our administrator Celine Mabey. So committed to her job and being part of the Drainways team sees Celine starting work at 4am, in an attempt to tackle a new phenomena in Hawke’s Bay – traffic queues (a fall out of the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle). For someone that rises early, surprisingly Celine is a HUGE fan of sleeping, so much so she says it’s a hobby, along with spending time cuddling up to her chihuahua called Moose and playing hockey.
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Obviously with Maybe as your last name, Celine bears the brunt of a few one liners – ‘maybe Celine’s here – not sure…” and “maybe she will do it…”
As the only female in the office, that’s about as much flack as she’ll get as they all know she’s super organised.
“I’m the mum of the office and will boss the guys around. I’m not too scared to speak my mind,” she says with a laugh.
“I love my role at Drainways, providing administration support, dealing internally with my team mates as well as meeting our many local clients and suppliers.
