Leading The Way In Steel Fabrication
Brightwater Engineering is one of the largest independent engineering companies in the South Island, Brightwater Engineering provides a wide variety of fabrication services throughout New Zealand. With workshops in Nelson and Greymouth and a team of over 80 highly skilled trades staff, our facilities can produce up to 600 tonnes of heavy fabrication per month. For projects demanding larger volumes, we leverage our partnerships with overseas fabrication companies to meet any steel volume requirement.
Comprehensive Fabrication Services
Our production engineers, estimators, designers, and project managers work together to provide a complete range of services, from initial design to fabrication and site installation. Our extensive fabrication services include:
- Structural steel fabrication
- Stainless steel fabrication
- Pipe welding
- Conveyor fabrication
- Fabrication and assembly of mobile industrial machinery
Nelson Steel Fabrication Workshop
Our main fabrication workshop in Nelson, with a floor area of 1600m² and double entry doors measuring 14m wide by 6m high, is equipped to handle significant fabrication volumes. Key equipment includes:
- Plate rolls with 32mm capacity up to 3.0m width
- Submerged arc welding capacity of 1500 amps with cylindrical welding on controlled rotators
- Heavy manipulators
Greymouth Steel Fabrication Workshop
Brightwater Engineering in Greymouth has a long-standing tradition of providing a variety of fabrication services to the West Coast and Canterbury regions. The 860m² Greymouth workshop handles substantial quantities of light to heavy fabricated structural steel, equipped with:
- Plate rolls with 32mm capacity up to 3.0m wide
- Submerged arc welding capacity of 1500 amps with cylindrical welding on controlled rotators
Advanced Machining Capabilities
Nelson and Greymouth workshops feature fully operational machine shops. Our experienced machinists specialise in CNC production turning and milling. We catering to both mass volume repetition. We can do custom parts machining.
Capabilities include:
- Line boring
- Milling/slotting
- Turning, with a large CNC lathe (4m centres, 1.8m swing, 16t capacity)
- Separate designated fitting shops
Painting & Blasting
Brightwater’s two undercover blast and paint facilities handle large volumes of prefabricated and fabricated steelwork. Our experienced applicators use various media blasting and coating techniques, overseen by an in-house coating specialist and QA inspector, ensuring quality control.
Single Point Accountability
Every fabrication project is managed by a dedicated Brightwater account manager, ensuring continuous collaboration and clear communication. This single point of accountability provides consistency and transparency throughout the project’s lifecycle.
Commitment to Safety
Safety is a core value at Brightwater. Our extensive experience in large and small-scale projects fosters a robust health and safety culture supported by internal structures and processes. All work adheres to stringent health and safety policies, overseen by our health and safety advisor, resulting in lower insurance and liability rates.
Quality Assurance
The Brightwater Quality Management System (QMS) covers every aspect of our business, with continuous improvement supported by in-house qualified staff performing quality checks at key stages. These checks include raw materials validation, dimensional checks pre- and post-welding, visual testing, and magnetic particle testing.
About Brightwater Engineering
Founded in Brightwater, Nelson in 1979, our mission has been to understand our client’s requirements and deliver fit-for-purpose industrial engineering solutions through collaborative partnerships. Specialising in industrial bulk materials handling, our comprehensive in-house capabilities cover engineering and design to fabrication, site maintenance, and installation. Our multi-disciplined projects team has completed significant upgrades and projects across Australasia in the mining, quarry, resources, dairy, and wood processing sectors.
With substantial workshops in Nelson and Greymouth, we provide a full range of fabrication services alongside on-site installation, repairs, and maintenance work.
Machining & Fitting Capabilities:
- Fully equipped machine shops
- Line boring
- Milling/slotting
- Turning, including a large CNC lathe with 4m centres, 1.8m swing, and 16t capacity
- Separate designated fitting shops
Lifting Capacities:
- Mobile cranes up to 25t
- Forklifts up to 9t
- Gantry cranes with a maximum lift of 20t (tandem)
Welding Capabilities:
- Submerged arc 1500 amp capacity
- Tractor unit – 1000 amp capacity
- Over twenty-five 350 amp power packs with wire feed units
- AS/NZS 2980 & ASME 9 capable
For more information about our comprehensive fabrication services, or to discuss your next project, contact Brightwater Engineering today. Let us provide you with the high-quality engineering solutions you need.
