Local company secures Council contract
Cambridge company Elite Building Compliance has secured a three-year contract with Waipā District Council.
The long-standing Waipā firm was one of four companies which tendered for work to keep all Council buildings compliant. Elite ensures all Council building-specified systems are operating correctly, checked, tested and maintained and meet all compliance standards.
Elite Building Compliance won the work in an open tender, following a stringent process. But the fact the company is Waipā-based was in the company’s favour, following the adoption last year of a new strategy to ensure Council suppliers contribute to the Waipā economy.
The procurement strategy was adopted by Council in June 2020. It forms part of a suite of measures to help the district recover from Covid-19 and covers the sourcing and delivery of all goods, works and services, from simple and straightforward purchases to complex, high-risk projects.
Waipā Mayor Jim Mylchreest said the policy “unashamedly” ensures Council uses its funding, including ratepayer funding, in the best way possible to support and develop Waipā communities.
“That’s even more important in light of the stresses caused by Covid-19 and that’s certainly not going away,” Mylchreest said.
“So when tenders are assessed, companies are also scored on whether or not they are making any contribution to Waipā and that is formally put into the mix. Local companies employ and train local people, they spend locally, they contribute to our community. So if Council can support that via our own purchasing, we absolutely should and the policy now ensures we do,” he said.
“Price is important, but so are other qualities. It’s about providing the best possible public value that we can and doing what we can to look after our own.”
Council’s procurement advisor Adele Bird said ensuring there’s a local contribution outcome from Council’s procurement benefits the whole community.
“Local businesses are more likely to survive, expand, innovate, train and invest, right here in Waipā. It’s our people who will directly benefit from their success. If our suppliers are not locally-based, we want to see they are contributing to Waipā in other ways and that they can get recognised for that.”
Elite Building Compliance owner Don Harris said the company was thrilled to win the tender after having worked for Council previously. The company has been based in Cambridge for 25 years and supports five staff, he said.
