Auckland couple Karalee Tangiau (Ngāti Whātua ki Kaipara) and Quincy Tangiau (Rarotonga, Niue, Papua New Guinea) are confident the construction company they built from the ground up can meet the demands of supplying Air New Zealand.
Their business, Stronghold Group, is among a select group taking part in the airline’s 12-week Ka Rere mentoring programme, which aims to help Māori and Pacific owned businesses and other diverse suppliers become supplier-ready for future opportunities with the national carrier.
“Honestly, it’s really humbling and exciting to be part of Ka Rere, especially recognising that Air New Zealand is an iconic Kiwi company,” says Karalee, the company’s managing director.
“But it really reinforces for us that this is a space that we belong.”
Based in New Lynn, west Auckland, Stronghold — whose 70-strong team is about 80% Māori and Pasifika — works across Tāmaki Makaurau, taking on projects ranging from commercial construction to marae rebuilds. Currently, the company is involved in a full rebuild at Te Puea Memorial Marae in Māngere Bridge.
As well as Māori and Pasifika team members, the company has several Filipino, Vietnamese and Pākehā kaimahi.
“It’s quite a diverse team. In our company, we call it community building.
“We’ve got sisters and brothers working for us. We’ve got uncles and nephews. A father and son - actually, two fathers and two sons. We’ve got cousins.
“We are not all related but people are bringing in people from their own community looking for work and we’re helping to grow them.”
Occasionally, Stronghold undertakes projects further afield — for example, in Kaitaia and Whangārei, throughout the Waikato, and even in Gisborne.
“Depending on where the work is we’ll respond where the need is. We will work with local communities and try and put some of the local builders alongside our team from Tāmaki so that we’re supporting the communities we’re working in.”
Ka Rere has given the company significant insight into how Air New Zealand operates, says Quincy, Stronghold’s operations manager.
“It’s opened our eyes massively. The learning that we take away from Air New Zealand is supercharging our company,” he says.
Karalee says Stronghold wants to make the best of this opportunity.
“We’re definitely excited about the future pathway for us, and thinking about (the possibility of) a genuine partnership with Air New Zealand.”
The company is challenging itself to “level up”, she says.
“Already, we’ve been rethinking and reworking what the future of Stronghold looks like.”
Both Karalee and Quincy are optimistic about the positive flow-on effects of Ka Rere for Māori and Pasifika.
“When businesses like ours are given an opportunity to be seen, heard and supported it ripples out to the whānau, to the hapori - the communities we’re working in - and for future generations,” says Karalee.
“Even though our company is about building structures, we’re not just building buildings. We’re building people. That’s what stronghold is all about.
“Our people are the heart of everything that we do. Without them, we’re nothing.”
