New Zealand skills do the job
- Details
- Published Date
Improving the flow
Kitchen specialist, Burns & Ferrall, has had a working relationship with the hotel going back some years. A strong point of the company is its expertise in design and it was invited to give advice on improving diner flow and equipment in the buffet breakfast area – the ground floor restaurant, Straits Cafe.
Burns & Ferrall then co-designed a new flow pattern for the restaurant so that guests wanting a hot breakfast now go in a different side from those seeking cold food.
The company also provided some state-of-the-art equipment. "With buffet breakfasts, food on display for guests has to be maintained at the right temperature, whether hot or cold," said commercial kitchen specialist, Richie Gray. "For hot dishes, our new induction hobs now keep the food warm. They're much safer and cheaper to operate than the older style liquid burners which can be a safety hazard.
"We also installed Cossiga chill-wells to keep food cold for the continental breakfasts." Burns & Ferrall also used cabinetry manufactured by the New Zealand-based company, Cossiga and provided new, crockery, glassware and cutlery to match existing stock.
Gray is well pleased with the way Straits has turned out. "It looks great and works fantastically," he said. Burns & Ferrall also advised on the best flow for the kitchen-bar area in Katsura.
Quality furniture
The hotel's original furnishings had been of such high quality that much of it was still being used after 21 years. But new stock was needed and hotel general manager, Paul Gallop, and others involved in administering the project, such as the architects, wanted to use local suppliers if possible. The question was, which companies were capable of matching that standard?
They found a significant part of their answer in a Northland firm, Archer Concepts, a family business that was started in 1975 and now has the third generation of family involved in all aspects of the company. It has a long track record of supplying hotel and resort furniture throughout New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
Primarily focused on exceptional service and quality, with a slogan of 'creating comfortable environments,' it seemed an ideal solution, and Archer Concepts ended up filling about two thirds of the new furniture contract.
Obviously price was a major factor in being awarded the work, said sales manager Lionel Don, but also because the company was considered well capable of carrying out the designs the architect specified. Archer's achieved the economics although most of the product was especially designed for the project. "They were mostly not our standard ranges – they were custom made, and a lot of effort went into that, but on a big run, custom-made can be quite economical.
"A big advantage was that we furnished the first three floors before the Rugby World Cup, and the service we provided then definitely helped us get the next and bigger stage of the contract," Don said.
"For the dining chairs in the Katsura Japanese restaurant, they were looking for a very particular style. We offered many design options until we came up with the right one. Once we'd reached agreement on the price, it was all fairly straightforward."
Largely New Zealand materials were used, obtained from local suppliers. "We did import a few of the chairs from Italy but they were assembled, polished and upholstered out here, in our factory. Rendezvous definitely proved the benefit of buying direct off a manufacturer."
Effective, economic lighting
Lighting presented a major challenge. Not only did it have to carry out requirements of practicality and aesthetics, it had to be very economic as well. That meant custom-made lighting involving technical breakthroughs and Tauranga based company ZeroUno had just the attributes needed.
The company was established as a dedicated lighting manufacturer in 2002. In 2007 the focus started moving from traditional lamps to LED. Ian McIver, part owner and technical director, assisted with project management for lighting at the Rendezvous.
ZeroUno has two factories in southern China where it manufactures lamps and lights in all forms. McIver said Rendezvous liked the look of a ZeroUno LED floor light and that led to a request for a modified LED bed head light. ZeroUno's creation proved to be exactly what the hotel design team was after. Next came a modification to an imported halogen desk lamp, which the company's team again successfully converted to LED.
"They wanted 12 volt LED," said McIver. "They also wanted 12 volt LED floor lighting. In fact, they wanted every light in the hotel to be LED.
"From there we moved through other areas within the hotel – conference rooms, bars and common areas. We have created a diffused effect in many places by using coloured strip lighting. We installed large floodlights outside that will wash the building with blue LED lamps with a life span of 50-70000 hours and an energy saving of 75 per cent. To the best of my knowledge, we're the only company in the southern hemisphere that manufactures LED lamps in all forms. "Especially satisfying was converting the original nine very expensive halogen floodlights in the foyer to LED. They'd been used only on special occasions as expended bulbs had to be changed by two abseilers at $600 a time. Now the internal LED components will last somewhere between 50-70,000 hours and are far cheaper to run. Where they were using 50 watts per hour, they are now using 18 watts, and this with a 20 per cent increase in light output. Where they were using 50 watts per hour on all their downlights, they'll now be using about six watts," McIver said.
ZeroUno is currently involved with at least seven other hotel lighting projects in New Zealand, Fiji and Australia.
Modern televisions
If there is anything that will make a room look dated, it is an old television, and the sets at the hotel were the old box style. In any refurbishment, the latest models at an economic price were essential. Tenders were called for and Panasonic won the day with a bid spearheaded by its business development manager for Hospitality, Sid Bear.
Panasonic's commercial division had been involved in the commercial hotel and hospitality industry for the last 10-15 years, he said.
"We were asked for quote on 295 sets of 32 inch and a dozen or so of 42 inch for the larger suite rooms. We were also asked to look at two or three large displays for the upstairs atrium bar," said Bear.
"We quoted on a particular 32 inch and were successful. We rolled out the deliveries in a way to suit Rendezvous – 100 televisions every month over a period of three or four months. That allowed their own staff to install them at a reasonable rate." Although Panasonic sometimes takes a much more hands-on role, in this case it was mainly to give basic training to the in-house installation team.
"Rendezvous staff also installed the 42 inch screens. Our main role was to deliver them delivered on time and assist if there were any problems. We also supplied the upstairs bar area with two top of the line 60 inch LED televisions, which mainly screen sport or news."
Of more than 300 sets delivered, there was only one out-of-the box-failure, Bear said. "It's proved to be a very good contract for us and we've had nothing but positive feedback from the hotel."
Finishing touches
The final touches – those of painting and wall papering, went to Auckland firm, Excelsior Decorators Limited, which had gained experience in completing high quality work at the Copthorne. The company had up to 10 experienced painters on the job over a period of several months. Excelsior Decorators became involved with the project through its 30-year relationship with Stan Ash Builders, which was also working on the
hotel.
"The hotel project manager saw the quality of our work and asked for us to decorate 120 guest rooms for them," said owner/director, Murray Gatt.
"In the Japanese restaurant, Katzura, which had dark stained beams, we stripped them back and blonded them, changing the whole look. We then painted and wallpapered, along with the downstairs restaurant,
Straits. We also painted the elaborate new ceiling in the reception area and applied new wallpaper there."
Gatt had no misgivings about the standard of the makeover. "It looks awesome," he said.
