About us
The team at Liquidstone™ understands the importance of partnering with suppliers who can reliably deliver quality products and services. That’s why we’ve focused our business on doing GRC the right way with an uncompromising focus on quality, cost and delivery. We are committed to delivering world class GRC, in full, on time, to your specification, every time.
Our Team
Iain Hobson
Founder/Director
Iain is a qualified industrial designer and has worked in manufacturing and construction across a wide range of disciplines including contract negotiation, quantity surveying and business development.
m. 021 574 315
Jon Williams
Managing Director
A master stonemason with 20+ years experience in design for manufacture, project management and installation of some of New Zealand' s most prestigious installations including the Auckland Art Gallery, Stamford Plaza and City Rail Link.
m. 021 765 835
Rickard Engineering
Rickard Engineering is renowned for its expertise in structural and façade engineering (particularly glass reinforced concrete (GRC) and curtain wall construction). Based in Sydney, Australia and with offices in Dubai and London, Rickard Engineering manages engineering projects across the globe with major works in the U.K., Middle East, India, Singapore and the United States.
GRCA
Liquidstone Ltd are affiliates of the International GRCA Association. You will benefit from our close personal contacts within the international GRC community and their specific expertise in delivering projects of this scale. The GRCA also provides a wealth of information for architects, engineers and developers specifically related to design, specification and quality control of GRC.
w: grca.online
Social Responsibility & Environment
LOW EMBEDDED CARBON / LOW ENERGY
Liquidstone products are manufactured locally here at our purpose built factory in Swanson, Auckland using raw materials and aggregates largely sourced from within New Zealand. Not all raw materials are available ex NZ and so where necessary we look to minimise or replace where possible
Our products can be specified with up to 30% Fly Ash as a cement replacement and can even use recycled ex-demolition concrete waste in lieu of quarried aggregate. By using high strength formula’s where possible we eliminate any requirement for steel reinforcement
GRC neither uses nor emits volatiles (VOC's)
Our factory is fitted out with bespoke water recycling and treatment plant. This enables us to reuse up to 80% of the water from our manufacturing process over and over again and minimises the amount of fresh water required for manufacture. It also ensures that any slurry from the finishing process does not enter into local streams and waterways.
Our manufacturing facility has been designed in accordance with LEAN principles (the highly successful Toyota production philosophy) which promotes the elimination of waste in all its forms
GRC & The Environment - GRC as An environmentally friendly product
The main constituents of GRC are based on naturally occurring earth oxides which are not generally considered pollutants. Wash water used in the manufacturing process contains activated cement slurry which is alkaline and our factory is fitted out with settlement tanks so that the solids are not put into the drainage system.
The reduced weight of GRC compared to standard reinforced concrete products does provide environmental benefits. Independant testing showed that GRC has lower environmental impact over standard precast concrete construction when the overall reduced cement usage per product and reduced transport costs were taken into account.
PRODUCT DURABILITY - Future generations
All of our products are made to last at least the life of the building structure and even after many years and even decades they can be re-finished to once again look like new.
Our products tend to have excellent thermal mass eg in the summer they provide a cool surface and in the winter they can retain the heat from the sun and help to warm during the day.
Our products have comparatively low maintenance costs requiring no chemical cleaners or waxes e.g. routine maintenance includes dry and damp mopping using a PH Neutral cleaner, with an occasional mechanical buff.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
We aim to be a good neighbour and treat our community and all of our employees with respect.
We employ local and have high staff retention
We pay a Living wage as a minimum
We offer planned training and development opportunities as part of our commitment to continuous improvement.
LIVING WAGE
We strive to pay our staff a minimum living wage which is over and above the minimum wage and better reflects the true costs associated with living.
We pay our staff for the skills they have and reflect this with increases the more skilled they become.
We offer on the job up-skilling and training.
We believe in up-skilling our current work force and ensuring they work on the areas in the business which best suit their ability.
Liquidstone Accreditation & Partnerships
LEAN MANUFACTURING
At Liquidstone our subscribe to the LEAN manufacturing philosophy i.e. to eliminate waste in all its forms and to create quality product, delivered in full, on time and to specification.
SITEWISE
Our installation team are all SiteSafe accredited and we are prequalified with Sitewise for our health and safety procedures.
GRCA
We are currently working towards accreditation with the International Glass Fibre Reinforced Concrete Association