Firth Concrete Cements Its Journey To Tikanga Māori

Fletcher Building company Firth is celebrating its journey to Tikanga Māori and Pasifika culture with a bold new concrete truck, about to hit the roads in Auckland.

Firth General Manager Cameron Lee says: “We’ve transformed a concrete truck with a bespoke commissioned Māori and Pasifika tā moko to represent Firth’s story and people, our customer promise and the strength our cultures give us.

“We have a large proportion of Māori and Pasifika people in our team. The truck embraces and celebrates who we are, and the journey we are on.

“It’s great to see this idea, which originated from our Māori and Pacific leadership programme Whakatupu, become a reality.”

Firth worked with up-and-coming Te Puke-based artist Michael Collins on the tā moko, which proved quite a challenge given the asymmetrical shape of the truck bowl as well as handles and hatches that had to be worked around.

“The Harakeke weave represents strength, the shark teeth show the journey, and the koru is about new life. The tā moko tells the story of Firth’s path to tikanga Māori, its values and culture.

“The design process was unique and a fun challenge that I’m really proud of. I’ve never designed for something like this before.”

The application of the one-off decal was completed in around 5 hours over a single day. The intricate process was captured by time-lapse photography.

The concrete truck is the first of a new series of head-turning trucks for Firth. Over the past two years, Firth introduced a number of Rainbow trucks to its fleet. These are a common sight on Auckland’s Southern Motorway, Kapiti Coast, Christchurch and Queenstown.

“When we saw what one Rainbow truck did, it opened our eyes to the difference we could make as a national company. We hope to inspire people with our Tikanga Māori and Pasifika truck and connect with them through our values and culture,” says Mr Lee.

Firth employs 673 people and has around 460 concrete trucks transporting concrete from its 64 concrete plants around New Zealand. Over time Firth plans to transform more and more of its trucks to turn heads and promote an inclusive culture around the country.

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