David is the Engineering general manager at Stevenson Engineering, where he manages around 50 staff and four different workshops. Ever since he followed his father’s footsteps into Stevenson Engineering 24 years ago, David has risen from an apprentice fitter turner, to leading hand and foreman, and eventually, general manager.
He credits the variety of work and the challenges that come with it as being reasons why he is still passionate about his job, and believes those same reasons are also why Stevenson Engineering is one of the premier workshops in New Zealand.
“We work on anything from overhauling 12-metre long dam gate cylinders to honing 12-tonne 10-metre long roll shells. It’s our ability to do everything, our tradition of rigorous training and multi-skilling our people – that’s our real strength.”
One of the best parts of his job, he says, is the people he works with.
“It’s very rewarding seeing some of the apprentices get awarded Apprentice of the Year, and then seeing them progress from apprentice through to supervisory roles. We’ve got a particularly good crew here and it’s a good place to work, which is why many people stay for as long as they have.”
As one of two general managers, David works closely with the other general manager – Grant Wearing – and the management team on the day-to-day running of the workshop, as well as focusing on growing the business.