Over the years, we’ve told bits and pieces of the C & R Developments story. However, since this is the first cover story to feature one of its trucks, it’s only right to recap. We can’t, of course, assume everyone’s read everything we’ve ever published. So, whether you know the C & R story or not, head with us back to 1998, when brothers Mike, Tony, Tim and Simon Ross established the company.

Standing for Coleman and Ross, the roots of C & R’s story actually run back to 1960… The brothers’ father, Jim Ross, was a stalwart of the Kiwi trucking industry mid-century, having started Ross Todd Motors in Leamington, near Cambridge, with Norm Todd in the post-war years. That company would eventually become TRT, but in 1960, Jim decided to get into earthmoving.

With chance backing by Arthur Baker – a well-known businessman, whose interests included farming, land development, fertiliser, and agricultural aviation – Jim formed Baker Construction, which enjoyed success on projects from the Hutt Motorway (the company’s first), Twizel, the Cromwell Gorge realignment, Runanga Deviation on the Napier-Taupō Road, Huntly coalfields, Auckland Airport, as well as offshore in Australia, and even the Hong Kong airport development.

In 1994, Baker Construction was bought out by Downer Mining Ltd (DML), with the Ross brothers running the business by then with well-known surveyor Mike Coleman, who became involved in the early 1990s. Following the buy-out, the brothers explored several other successful business opportunities. However, when DML largely quit the local market, it didn’t take long for local clients to start reaching out to the Ross brothers once more, and C & R was born. (For a more comprehensive account of the story, see New Zealand Trucking, November 2020.)

Based alongside the Waikato Expressway at Hautapu, C & R Developments specialises in civil earthworks and bulk earthmoving – the team does it all, from roading, major subdivisions, quarrying and mining, overburden removal and transporter services.

The plant fleet ranges from five-tonne to 200-tonne machines, with a fleet of five transporters tasked with getting them to and from jobsites. Almost all aspects of keeping these behemoths in operation are managed at the comprehensive in-house workshop, particularly machinery maintenance.

Staff members number more than 200 and include civil engineers, surveyors, mechanical engineers, health and safety managers, mechanics, data analysts and, of course, drivers. Many staff have spent their entire careers with the company, some joining straight from school.

“A lot of our work is repeat business, work for quarrying companies and mining, anything requiring bulk or civil earthworks,” explains Simon. The company is currently involved in several major projects across the North Island, including Project REWA, the new inland port development at Ruakura. While primarily operating in the North Island, C & R Developments does work in the South Island, too, such as the Lyttelton Port reclamation project in the South Island – as discussed in the main story, starting page 16 – and has even completed projects in Western Australia and Hong Kong.

The Ross brothers’ story is one of those that epitomises the sentiments of loving what you do and doing what you do well. It’s always been, and continues to be, a family- run business – the brothers’ office is the C & R boardroom, with Mike, Tony, Tim and Simon working together around the one table. It’s about clear communication and quick decision-making, says Simon. They’re hands-on, operate on a personal basis with clients and staff alike, and have no intention of stopping anytime soon.

As Simon says, “Moving dirt is the only thing we know how to do. From playing in the sand pit as young fellas and then our parents instilling the business in us from a young age from their company Baker Construction.”