The ethos and team behind JaCo Contracting

Thursday, 24/08/2023

Administrator

230

24/08/2023, Administrator

230

Working closely with growers and farmers for more than 20 years, we know a thing or two about protecting crops and animals from the elements. Our director and company founder Jason Gregory and his knowledgeable team of polyhouse specialists are the people to call if you need a commercial grade greenhouse, animal shelter or livestock housing for your business, school or home.

Jason’s enthusiasm for honest food combined with an interest in structural design and electronics resulted in the creation of this specialist business back in 2007. He is a passionate plastic house crop grower himself and has taught organic horticulture at Northtec. Jason has a wealth of knowledge around growing plants, from exotic vegetables to sub-tropical fruits and from salad greens to bespoke edible gardens. If you can eat it, Jason has probably grown it.

His vast experience in the horticulture, agriculture, floriculture and aquaculture construction industry, alongside his unwavering focus on customer service, has earned Jason and his team a fantastic reputation and a lot of repeat business from as far as Taupō in the Waikato to Kaitaia in the Far North.

 

An expert solution for kingfish

Many of the shelters we build are designed to cover spaces that are 1000 m2 or larger, and used on dairy farms, goat farms, pig farms and even duck farms. We’ve built greenhouses for a huge range of commercial growing operations, and we’ve also built much smaller home garden shelters and structures. It’s fair to say that our shelters and greenhouses come in all shapes and sizes.

The team also enjoys taking on a more challenging project from time to time. One of these was a project we’ve done with NIWA, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. Their research is helping sustainable yellowtail kingfish aquaculture, and their hatchery at the Northland Aquaculture Centre (NAC) at Ruakākā can consistently produce 500,000 kingfish fingerlings per year.

Northland Regional Council (NRC) partnered with NIWA to build a commercial-scale kingfish RAS farm at the Northland Aquaculture Centre, and a purpose-built polytunnel attached to the side of a chiller to grow algae was required for this interesting aquaculture project to succeed. JaCo Contracting was up to the job, and Ruakākā kingfish is now in an excellent position to become a premium product on to feature on the menus of restaurants both here and overseas.

 

Read more about NIWA’s kingfish project here – link to https://niwa.co.nz/sites/niwa.co.nz/files/Getting_a_taste_for_kingfish.pdf

 

Beating the odds to make deadlines 

Sometimes, meeting the client’s timeframe to save them from financial stress is the biggest challenge. Starting in June and working through to September this year (2022), the JaCo team built a 3 spans, 12.6m x 114m x 4m (4309sqm) greenhouse for Kauri Park Nursery in Waipu, alongside a 12.6m x 108m x 4m, (1360sqm) shaded work area and combined growing area.

During the build, the original requirements and scope of the project changed several times, and the weather was horrendous. The new growing spaces were construction during one of the wettest and stormiest winters in years. On top of this, there were serious material shortages and staffing issues in New Zealand due to the covid lockdowns. The pressure was on, because if the project would not be completed on time, the nursery would miss the upcoming growing season which would be a huge issue.

Kauri Park works on large-scale planting projects for their clients in a unique ‘Grow To Order’ process. Every year they nurture, craft and grow 20 million seeds and 250+ species of plants, which is why they know like no other that timing is everything. Fortunately, JaCo Contracting managed to build their new greenhouse and growing areas in a way which allowed other contractors to complete their work, and the tight deadlines were met.

 

Looking after you and each other

JaCo Contracting is a family business and we’re a passionate bunch of good local Kiwi blokes who take pride in delivering a high standard of work. We love nothing more than providing our customers with the right advice, so they receive the shelter or polyhouse they need to suit their exact requirements, whether it’s a kitset or custom-build.

When working with us you can count on honest advice, an end-to-end service, and a reliable ongoing scheduled maintenance service for your structure if you wish. Our team of experienced installers, some of whom have been with JaCo for more than a decade. We know that together, we can achieve the best results in the shortest time and provide you with the best advice possible on growing successfully in a polyhouse.

You can also count on our team for repairs, maintenance, and modification of existing tunnel houses, polyhousing and greenhouses. With regular maintenance and specialist care, your commercial-grade JaCo structure should last and fit your needs for up to 30 years.

Feel free to contact us any time to discuss your ideas and requirements. Just keep in mind that the demand for our services is high, which means a lead time of 6 to 9 months for new projects may apply.