Conqueror article featured in NZ Construction News

September 3, 2015Blog

Christchurch entrepreneur Trevor Bills has recently opened a state-of-the-art factory that has been applauded by Government and is being celebrated as part of a world- leading enterprise.

In October, that enterprise – Conqueror International ltd – officially opened what has been dubbed a “super factory” to cater for the manufacture of thermally efficient and environmentally friendly PIR insulated panels for use in the construction industry.

Spanning more than 7500 square meters and creating jobs for a whole new workforce, the Conqueror factory in Christchurch is indisputably an investment in the earthquake-ravaged city’s future. Its impact, however, is also likely to be much further reaching.

The manufacturing plant is “genuinely a world first”, Bills’ attests.

It is able to produce a multitude of PIR insulated panel product and is able to be produced on a scale never before seen in this part of the world.

“Typically in the world you would find sandwich panel factories producing either roof or wall panels or they could often have the machinery able to do both.

“Conqueror’s new plant however produces:

PIR steel clad sandwich panel insulated external wall panel in four different styles, in varying thicknesses and with optional surface finishes.

PIR steel clad sandwich panel insulated Roof panel with a unique clipping system starting at 50mm thick and up to 250mm.

PIR steel clad sandwich panel insulated internal wall panels in optional thicknesses ideal for internal office and cool-store construction.

PIR steel clad sandwich panel 40 mm thick insulated sectional garage doors in several different optional/styles @ 40mm thick.

PIR insulated panel clad both sides with either Kraft paper and or aluminium foil in optional thicknesses, which is ideal for both subsurface and above surface insulation.

So, we are a very versatile plant,” he says and it is a plant that is attracting attention.

The factory commissioning for example, was attended to by the NZ Prime Minister John Key, the Minister for Primary Industries David Carter, and Selwyn MP Amy Adams whose portfolios include the Environment and Technology.

Speaking at the official opening at Yaldhurst Business Park, John Key said the new factory represented a very positive story and an example to New Zealand.

“If New Zealand is going to continue to have a strong manufacturing base then it has to invest in doing what is happening here. The pattern here is investment in new equipment and good technology … and moving up the value curve.

“If we do that, New Zealand can win on the world stage.”

Conqueror is also going the right way about preserving the general global perception of New Zealand as a clean, green country. Conqueror is proud to market its PIR product as the only “insulated panel construction system with a green heart” given that the PIR core in all its panels is devoid of harmful CFC’s of HCFC’s .

The PIR insulation provides the perfect solution for meeting both current and perceived future building regulations and other carbon reduction programmes, Mr Bills believes.
Plaudits for the product go beyond its sustainable makeup.

Its PIR core also typically offers superior insulation properties that outperform other less environmentally friendly products by more than 50 per cent.

“The product also has remarkable acoustic qualities, an exceptional fire rating and it can boast a seismic performance second to none,” he says.

It’s little wonder then that when it came to building this super factory, the very same PIR insulated panel methodology was adopted. Not only did it mean using a product the Conqueror team had utter faith in, it meant building time was minimal in comparison to historical methods.

Work on the factory – where more than 7,500 square metres is dedicated to purpose built insulated panel and garage door production space – began on the six hectare site in February. The first of the plant arrived in June and the production of all products was then trialled in September.

The factory features ipad controlled state of the art plant and has the ability to output a substantial volume of product. For example, it can produce 14 metres of insulated panel per minute. It also has the capacity in an ideal world to produce New Zealand’s entire annual garage door requirement in less than 30 days.

Trevor Bills

Conqueror’s garage doors are PIR thermally insulated and being chosen by consumers wanting a quieter, warmer – and consequently more cost efficient – home. Garage doors are something this skilled businessman knows plenty about.

Trevor Bills came out of early retirement to invest heavily in the Conqueror phenomenon, having successfully established an automatic-garage door firm, Dominator Doors, in 1987. He sold that business about 17 years later to an Australian firm named Alesco Corp.

He says the decision to come out of retirement was carefully considered and driven largely by a desire to again offer superior product to the NZ market and beyond.

At the time of the sale of his previous business in 2004, he was considering doing exactly what he has done now, except PIR a more recent development in insulation material, has enabled him to deliver absolutely clean green product without any damage to the environment. Not to mention or underestimate the obvious seismic advantages that this relatively lightweight product offers to earthquake prone Canterbury and indeed New Zealand as a whole.

The Conqueror factory and its product he says, provides the opportunity to change the common current building mindset, whilst simultaneously offering, genuine functional advantage, incredible energy efficiency and aesthetically desirable options not previously available in NZ.

That plus its many other attributes, including its sound environmental base, make it an exercise and a product that is well worth backing, he says.

John Key expresses little surprise at Mr Bills’ return to the entrepreneurial marketplace. He has proven his success in the past, and that is being repeated.