News Release
18 July 2005
Infrastructure Talent Pool Strengthened
Leading consultant to the New Zealand infrastructure market, Sinclair
Knight Merz (SKM), has strengthened its presence in the capital following
the appointment of five key professionals.
The team, with expertise in transport planning, traffic engineering and
sustainable development will work with the Buildings and Industrial groups
already operating out of SKM's Wellington office.
SKM's New Zealand Infrastructure Manager, Derek McCoy said the move to
bolster the firm's Infrastructure capability in Wellington has been taken
in response to a range of market factors.
"Greater focus being placed on transportation issues, along with
centralised project co-ordination being implemented by national
organisations such as Transit New Zealand, has been the catalyst behind
our move," Mr McCoy said.
"Recent transport legislation and heightened community expectations for
improved transport links has also increased the level of interest and
activity from clients in this critical area," he said.
"Sustainable development is another area gaining increasing interest from
a wide variety of clients, as developers recognise the need for greater
emphasis on environmental and social issues," Mr McCoy added.
SKM has considerable expertise and skills that support these initiatives.
In the past it has brought into skills and expertise from other SKM
offices around the globe.
"While those resources will still be available, this initiative will allow
us to provide heightened levels of service to our Wellington-based
clients, as well as those in the rest of the country," Mr McCoy
concluded
Background on Sinclair Knight Merz
Sinclair Knight Merz is a leading project delivery firm, employing more
than 4000 staff in offices across the globe.
The firm operates across five broad market areas: Infrastructure, the
Environment, Buildings & Property, Power and Industrial, and Resources.
In New Zealand, the firm has offices in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch
and Invercargill.
It is involved in a range of key transportation projects such as
Auckland's Central Motorway Junction, along with the Wellington Regional
Road Pricing Study and Transit New Zealand's Advanced Traffic Management
Systems Project in Auckland.
Key Appointments
Sinclair Knight Merz is pleased to announce the appointment of the
following key professionals:
Fainks Rossouw
Fainks Rossouw is a Senior Transportation Engineer based in the Wellington
Office of Sinclair Knight Merz.
He has more than nine years' experience, specialising in transportation
planning and traffic engineering.
Fainks started his career in South Africa, where his experience included
landside transportation planning for Johannesburg International Airport
and Road Sector Institutional Studies in Tanzania and Swaziland.
Prior to joining Sinclair Knight Merz in New Zealand, Fainks worked in
Dublin, Ireland for 18 months and undertook traffic assignments for
several developments in Dublin, as well as leading a regional freight
study for the Greater Dublin Area.
Andrew Bell
Andrew joined SKM at the beginning of April 2005 after spending three
years with Transport for London (TfL) in the UK.
Andrew has a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) from Auckland University
before beginning his career with Duffill Watts & King Ltd. in Auckland,
where he worked as a Traffic and Highways Engineer, focusing on highway
design and construction, road safety and project management.
He then went on to work for another consulting firm in Auckland as a
Traffic & Highways Engineer managing traffic engineering and traffic
management projects.
Prior to departing for the UK, Andrew acted as the replacement Traffic
Manager on the Grafton Gully "Freeflow" project.
In his role at TfL, Andrew was responsible for managing a wide variety
projects in the North & East Area, including large transportation
modelling projects.
Gunther Wild
A "born'n'bred" Wellingtonian, Günther joins the new SKM Wellington
Infrastructure Team as an intermediate level Transport Analyst.
Günther is a confident public speaker with public consultation experience
from time working in both UK and NZ local government.
He specialises in strategic policy development and Travel Demand
Management (TDM) initiatives, most recently leading the development of the
Wellington Regional TDM Strategy as well as working on the Wellington
Regional Road Pricing Study.
In his last role, Günther was involved in a variety of projects including
representing the Regional Council on the Socio-Economic Stream of the
Wellington Transport Project and LTNZ National Travel Behaviour Change
Advisory Group.
He also managed the Close2:Kapiti teleworking trial, and prepared the
Regional Road Safety Strategy and Regional Land Transport Strategy Annual
Monitoring Reports.
Joe Metcalfe
Joe has BE (Civil) Hons from Canterbury University and is currently
studying part-time towards an ME in Transportation.
Joe has spent the past year working at the Wellington Regional Council as
a transportation modeller where he has been involved in work for the
Western Corridor Project.
Domenico (Miko) Betanzo
Miko has extensive experience in New Zealand and Canada on providing land
development consultation, design and management to private and public
sector clients on a variety of projects.
He has been involved in advice on greenfield development projects, along
with commercial and industrial civil infrastructure projects.
ENDS