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Septimus Trainor Owen (OBE) was a Major
in the New Zealand Military during the second world war, stationed in the
Pacific Islands. He was an entrepreneurial fellow and, in addition to his
noteworthy military service, managed to convince the US Army to gift their
roading and earthworks machinery, used during wartime, to New Zealand.
During the 1920s, Septimus’ father had
travelled to England and secured a license from Royal Dutch Shell to
manufacture and distribute bitumen & emulsion in the South Island.
New Zealand Highway Constructors Ltd.
was established in 1928. Utilising this licence, along with the machinery from
the war, NZ Highway Constructors forged the roading industry throughout the South
Island. Thousands of drums of bitumen were imported into Dunedin Harbour on
ships and were distributed throughout the region to form roadways in what was then
a fledgling industry. Used bitumen drums were then heated, cut down, and rolled
to form corrugated iron. This was sold as roofing iron and was used throughout
Otago and Southland for housing. Given the prolonged exposure to bitumen from
the inside of the barrels, it was some of the hardest wearing and weathertight
roofing material available at the time. For his enterprising efforts Septimus
was awarded an OBE in 1946.
NZ Highway Constructors ceased trading
in 1952. In order to continue utilising the bitumen license and begin
manufacturing, Road Materials Ltd. was established in April 1956. Our
foundation shareholders were Eric Lundquist, Septimus Owen, John Owen, Jules Fulton,
Bob Hogan, and Ralph Maxwell.
Throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s Road
Materials primarily supplied bitumen emulsion products to the expanding roading
and civil works industries (Bitufix was our proprietary brand of emulsion at
the time). Millions of litres were supplied annually by the end of the 1970s. Basic
work wear and footwear were added to our product range towards the end of this
period.
During the post-war years it was almost
impossible to source perfume locally. Our founders spotted a gap in the market
and decided to begin importing Egyptian Lavender Compound from the Bush Company
of London. They approached the head chemist from Speights Brewery and secured a
reliable supply of (extremely high strength) ethanol. The two ingredients were
combined into a top secret proprietary blend and House of DeCospra Lavender Water
was born. Thousands of bottles of this were sold to the public during the 50s
and 60s at 1 shilling & 6 pence. To this day, this is probably the most
unique, unexpected and brilliant product we have ever supplied!
By the late 1970s, work clothing and PPE were becoming increasingly larger portions of Road Materials business and this trend continued throughout the 80s and 90s. Distribution of emulsion ceased in 1987 and from this point onwards Road Materials (now trading as Road Materials Workgear) was a specialist supplier of work clothing, footwear and safety PPE.
Today, Road Materials Workgear continues
to grow and expand. We have one of the largest ranges of work wear, footwear
and safety PPE in the country and offer our customers true independent choice
and product advice. We have always been independently NZ owned and operated
throughout our history and this is set to continue with the 4th
generation of family about to take increased management roles within the
company.
We pride ourselves on our ability to
implement and deliver complex supply agreements in a timely fashion, to specification,
at scale. We have a diverse client base, ranging from small businesses to many
larger organisations with multiple operations throughout the country.
We currently operate out of 2 mixed-use
facilities that combine showroom and warehouse spaces in Dunedin and Cromwell,
Central Otago. We have account and territory managers that travel throughout New
Zealand to service our clients nationally. Our experienced team of industry
professionals are rewarded for the quality of service they provide to our
customers, not for pushing products.
We build lasting relationships with our customers
and suppliers – we believe we have been successful because we consistently
provide solutions which solve problems for our customers.
One
of our founding shareholders, Eric Lundquist, had a saying he loved; “Forget
history at your peril”. We are incredibly proud and mindful of our company’s
history. Throughout, we have been a supplier that listens to our clients and
delivers the solutions they ask for. We strive to do this every day.
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