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About

Who we are?

SWE is a leading technology and consultancy company in Marlborough, New Zealand – specialising in water engineering, electrical and automation solutions and irrigation. We design, build, install and service irrigation, fertigation, stockwater, effluent, and wastewater systems, as well as undertaking civic water engineering projects.

We have proven expertise in delivering outstanding value in terms of quality, environmental and economic outcomes. We pride ourselves on acting as strategic partners for our clients, with a planned and systematic approach, leaving our clients free to focus on their core business, knowing it’s all taken care of.

We provide tailored solutions with expert design, excellent advice, and exceptional service – and have a reputation for delivering on time and to budget.

We have a specialist team of qualified and experienced professionals, a full fabrication workshop, and a commitment to bringing you leading edge service, quality and products.

We are a member of IrrigationNZ and Blue Tick accredited. All our work meets the standards set by IrrigationNZ. We also hold ACC secondary accreditation.

Our adherence to quality underpins all we do:

Quality design leading to long-term value
Quality components and workmanship
Quality auditing and maintenance to optimise systems and equipment
Hiring the best staff, who can then deliver…
Excellent advice and exceptional customer service

Recent recognition of our company includes:

* Supreme winner of the Marlborough Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards (2013), winners of the “Innovation Award” and the “Adding Value to Marlborough” Award.

* Shortlisted for the Irrigation New Zealand Innovation in Irrigation Award (2014).

* Finalists in the Cawthron Marlborough Environment Awards (2015) for our SmartAudit service, and commended with positive feedback from the judges.

Read on to find out more about the team at SWE, read about some of our recent projects, or contact us to arrange a consultation.

Our Commitment to Excellence in Health and Safety

Commitment

At SWE we insist that everyone has the right to come to work with the expectation that they will return home safe and healthy, every day.

Looking after our people is one of our core values. This is not mere lip-service. We are committed to a safe and healthy work environment for our employees, contractors, and the communities in which we operate.

Our underlying focus is simple: everyone home safe, every day.

Industry Leading

We operate comprehensive Health and Safety procedures that begin with new employee induction and continue through all our day-to-day operations – and are underpinned by ACC Workplace Safety Management Practices Secondary Accreditation.

We are currently preparing for Tertiary level accreditation.

High Quality

We seek continuous improvements to achieve excellence in the management of health and safety in all of our workplaces.

Using the Swiss cheese model, we have adopted a holistic approach to accident prevention and health promotion. We recognise that everything we do (from company culture to organisation and process design) must work together to provide adequate defensive layers against possible accident situations. Our focus on Health and Safety is therefore throughout every ‘layer’ of our company, pervading everything we do.

Our People Behind the Scenes

Our people are dedicated specialists who come together to make SWE the success it is today. Behind the scenes is a team of people who provide input into the management and operations at SWE, because better never stops.

Show All
Automation
Electrical Services
Logistics and Yard Team
Management Team
Mechanical Engineers
Office Team
Project Team
Service Division
Winery Division

Stephen Leitch

Management Team

Managing DirectorB.Hort, Grad Dip Ed (Agriculture)Stephen Leitch has been designing and project managing pumping and dairy and vineyard irrigation installations in Marlborough for nearly two decades. His focus on excellent design and return on investment for clients is combined with honesty and integrity in his business relationships. When you book your first consultation, it will probably be Stephen who comes to call.

Mike Cooper

Management Team

General ManagerMBA (Dist), NZ Cert Eng (Civil)Mike has a Civil Engineering background as well as considerable management experience. He brings a wealth of operational, technical, and strategic skills to the business. Mike also champions our Health and Safety focus, ensuring our track record in this area remains impeccable. He is a self-confessed perfectionist on behalf of our clients, and is always looking for ways we can do things better. Mike heads up our team of professional staff.

Dean Marshall

Office Team

Business Development ManagerDean's people skills come to the fore as he works closely with SWE's new and existing clients to identify needs - and opportunities. Dean has a keen eye for products and technological solutions which enhance our clients' businesses.

Kath Langton

Management Team, Office Team

Office AdministratorKath expertly manages the back office function for SWE, coordinating service schedules and invoicing, and making sure our projects run smoothly. If you’ve got any query at all, if Kath doesn’t know the answer, she’ll know where to get it for you.

Jasmine Wilson

Office Team

Administration AssistantJasmine works closely with Kath to assist in the smooth running of the office. Jasmine is likely to be the friendly voice on the other end of the phone when you ring us.

John Ihaka

Logistics and Yard Team

Logistics CoordinatorJohn ensures the smooth running of all logistics and stock here at SWE – at every stage in the process from ordering and distribution of parts for all our projects. He keeps the yard organised and makes sure all our Field Techs have what they need to get the job done. You can think of him as our ‘Mr Efficiency’.

Bradley Duncan

Service Division

Service Team LeaderBradley heads up our Service Team and is SWE's lead irrigation technician. He combines computing skills with practical vineyard and machinery experience. Electronics, control systems and radio links are among Bradley’s areas of interest and expertise - and he works closely with Stephen on design for our clients. His favourite part of the job is being out on-site, so you’re bound to meet him early-on.

Brent Thomson

Mechanical Engineers, Project Team, Service Division

Project Team Leader and Irrigation DevelopmentsBrent is lead hand for SWE, keeping an eye on the team and the project in the field. Practical is Brent’s middle name (or it should be) as he can turn his hand to almost anything.

Phil Hughes

Electrical Services

Electrician and Electrical Team LeaderEWRB NZ Practising LicenceOur resident qualified electrician, Phil expertly installs, troubleshoots and maintains equipment and systems for our clients – from minor repairs to full industrial installations. Phil is committed to providing our clients with the highest quality electrical workmanship.

Zak Hayward

Automation, Electrical Services

Systems Integration EngineerNational Certificate Electrical Engineering Level 4, Schneider Electric Alliance Integration PartnerZak’s wide industry experience includes industrial and commercial projects throughout wineries and vineyards, as well as the marine, industrial, consumer, forestry, mining, recycling and refrigeration fields. His experience in instrumentation, process design, PLC/SCADA software development, electrical design, commissioning and diagnostics is second to none – and he helps us deliver sustainable system solutions for our clients. We call him our 'techs-pert', especially when it comes to automation and architecture.

Bill Clamp

Mechanical Engineers, Service Division, Winery Division

Service EngineerDiploma in Viticulture and Wine Production, NZ Trade Cert in Automotive EngineeringBill's strong mechanical background coupled with his wine industry experience and qualifications makes him uniquely positioned to assist our winery clients. Having worked in award-winning wineries for a number of years, he truly understands the unique requirements of a well-functioning winery and is able to help keep things ticking over smoothly. Bill's our 'go-to' guy for all winery-related projects.

Daryl Richardson

Project Team, Service Division

Field TechnicianDaryl has been installing irrigation here in Marlborough since he was 20. It’s fair to say there are very few properties he hasn’t worked on over the years. Friendly, rarely seen without a smile on his face, Daryl’s focus is always on delivering quality workmanship for our clients.

Rigger Hoek

Service Division

Field Technician & Trench ArtistRigger is SWE’s digger operator and as he says the job’s pretty well self explanatory. What he doesn’t say is that he’s probably the best digger operator around. We like to say he’s elevated trench digging into an art form.

Tony McConaghey

Mechanical Engineers, Service Division

Field Mechanical EngineerFitter WelderTony is SWE’s fitter/welder and mechanical engineer - with broad experience in engineering, mechanical and heavy diesel industries. Tony can fix pretty well anything; look at it, pull it apart, put it back together and it will work. You might say he’s our resident problem-solver. Tony’s expertise enhances our ability to complete fabrication work in-house.

Hayden Giles

Electrical Services

ElectricianEWRB NZ Practising License, Level 4 Electrical EngineerHayden is a key member of our electrical team, bringing to the table experience with new commercial installations, as well as winery maintenance and electrical maintenance for the aquaculture industry. Hayden works closely with Phil to deliver state of the art electrical installations and a proactive maintenance and development service.

Jared Silcock

Electrical Services, Service Division

Field TechnicianJared is a highly capable Field Technician at SWE, fully committed to delivering the best for our clients. He's a Star-in Training in our team, having recently also begun his electrical apprenticeship here.

Tony Mason

Service Division

Field TechnicianExperienced in all types of on-site field work and irrigation installation Tony's strengths include problem solving and his attention to detail, with a special interest in pumping. Tony keeps projects moving, and is a core part of the team assisting existing clients with current projects.

Peter Clark

Logistics and Yard Team

Logistics and Yard TeamPeter works closely with John, our Logistics Coordinator, to ensure the yard at SWE HQ runs at optimum efficiency. Peter cheerfully keeps things in tip top shape around the place, and running like a logistical dream.

Tony Thoms

Service Division

Contractor Representative & Field Supervisor National Certificate in Water Reticulation Services; National Certificate in Civil Works and Services; National Certificate in Road Opening (Trenching and Water Services); Site-Safe Certification; and Electrofusion Operators Registration Certificate.Contractor representative and field supervisor Tony partners with Brent to look after our onsite team, managing individual projects and their progress. Tony monitors quality control and provides technical support to keep everything running smoothly and on time, and embraces our company philosophy of continual improvement.

Plant and Machinery

We maintain a full fabrication workshop, fleet of vehicles and all plant and machinery in-house. This allows us to maintain high service and workmanship standards and to deliver on projects as promised.

Our plant and machinery includes everything from a full 150m² engineering workshop (incorporating portable gas plants, welding machines, and pumps) to excavators, trenchers and trucks – as well as our fleet of service vehicles.

In short, everything we need to get the job done, in full and on time, to the highest possible standards.

Our Discerning Clients

We are delighted to have partnered with some of New Zealand's leading companies, including:

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