Morden a year on - 2022 in review
When the right people come together, anything can happen.
Dave Morris and Phil Hebden can attest to that.
Phil sums up the past year ”2022 was phenomenal and has exceeded every expectation. We are just starting out building this company, and we have got some great partners working alongside us, both internally and externally. It is going to be a great journey and we are hugely confident of continuing to achieve our goals and taking a team of highly skilled professionals along with us.”
Why Morden?
When Dave set up the company people asked why he called it Morden. He replied with a wry smile, it was “because we get more done”. There was more to it than that, with this only coming out quite a few months after launch. Morden is a mix of the letters forming Dave and Phil’s last names: Morris and Hebden. Dave and Phil had always talked about setting up a company together but Dave was ready before Phil so he had started out on his own, hoping Phil would soon join him.
It was a year later, when Phil turned up out of the blue to announce to a surprised and ecstatic Dave, “The time has come.” It wasn’t a long conversation. Dave reflected, “That was the biggest moment of the year.” He adds with certainty, “I knew Phil would turn up. It was only a matter of time.”
While it had been 14 months since they last worked together, it was an easy partnership to step into as the two men had shared values, drive, and enthusiasm, along with mutual respect.
Morden on site for a construction project in the Hutt Valley, Wellington.
Project management assignments have been a signficant focus for the Morden team in 2022, with a wide range of project types keeping them busy.
Growing Quickly
This was the moment that Morden truly took shape and began to grow quickly. Both focused, Phil and Dave set to work on their vision and plan for the business. Then they were asked to write an editorial piece for the Australian Institute of QS magazine and to sit on a discussion panel for the Arbitrators and Mediators Conference. These were defining moments - Morden had arrived.
What began as Dave’s broad vision for the company to progress skills in the construction industry, has catapulted Morden into an established presence in the building consultancy and legal disputes arena. Just 8 months on, Morden can boast a solid base of medium to large companies, eagerly capitalising on the specialist skills of this unique and growing team of professionals.
Another success during the year came when Morden was accepted onto the All-of-Government (AoG) Construction Consultancy Service (CCS) panel for Project Management, Cost Management, H&S and Programme and Planning. This has marked the start of working on some significant government construction projects. Watch this space as there will be more news to share on this in 2023.
Dave and Phil are both surprised at the fast growth of the business and client base, and equally humbly proud of the difference they have been making in the construction sector.
Dave sums it up succinctly by saying, “Because we know what has worked and what has not worked, we have been able to take our experiences and use these to help our clients. The reality is we’ve got years of experience and that is invaluable.”
“We were main contractors and now, we are consultants unlike any other consultants out there.”
Dave and Phil with the Mayor Campbell Barry, the Mayor of Lower Hutt.,
Mayor Barry took the time to visit the Morden offices in 2022, a great opportunity to discuss the future direction of the Hutt Valley and share perspectives on the local construction industry.
The benefits of the main contracting background Dave and Phil bring to Morden is perhaps best evidenced by some of the work they have completed this year. From guiding external teams through the challenges of the construction industry, the resource market, sourcing materials and helping them make strategic decisions about what they were planning to do and when; to supplying expert witness opinions on high profile disputes in the tens of millions on behalf of national legal firms, Morden is on the fast-track to becoming the go-to building consultancy firm of choice, with clients spread out across New Zealand.
While Morden is based in Wellington, Dave always says “if we’re needed, we’ll travel”. More than anything, what matters to Dave and Phil is using their skills and expertise to help others where their specialist help is so desperately needed in a sector that has taken such a battering lately, with supply complications alongside a challenging and rapidly changing economic market.
Where to from here?
Morden has a three-year business strategy split up into 12-month, two and three-year horizons aimed at goal planning, with initiatives to achieve those goals and actions against them. The management team will continue to maintain and follow that plan as they did this year.
Dave and Phil know that doing this is how they hit every goal they aimed for this year, and that is how success is made. In saying that, adds Phil, “No plan can survive if it is so rigid that it cannot adapt to external forces and the market. We must be flexible enough to navigate successfully through the ups and downs of our industry which by its very nature is volatile.”
The team at Morden already has some big contracts lined up for 2023 including longer term and nationally significant projects. The overall feeling is optimistic about the year ahead.
Where are your projects heading in 2023?
Is it time you had a conversation with the team at Morden?
With their experience there’s not a lot of projects the team hasn’t been involved with. Dave and Phil understand that when you are in the middle of big construction projects sometimes you can’t see the wood for the trees. The pressure of trying to achieve what you’re trying to achieve can be enormous and seem insurmountable. Dave and Phil can come in with a fresh perspective and help guide and lead you through to a successful outcome.
If you need professional help to achieve your goals, get in touch. Some of the areas Morden specialises in programming and planning, project management, cost management and construction management.
Get in touch today and provide some information on your project or goals.
