Te Tai Tokerau has its own set of challenges – infrastructure constraints, remote access issues, and a delivery environment that doesn't always play by the same rules as a project in Auckland or Wellington. If you don't understand that going in, it can cost you and the client.
That's why, over the past three years, Rubix has been building a real, boots-on-the-ground presence in Northland.
We now have seven people working from our Whangārei and Kerikeri offices, all of whom who live in the region. Our offering is based on local knowledge backed by national capability – not a fly-in, fly-out service.
Why being local really matters
Rubix’s growth into Te Tai Tokerau comes from our belief that good project delivery depends on knowing the place you're working in. Not just the technical specs – the community, the contractors, and the practical realities on the ground.
Being local means we know the people involved, we understand the context, and when something needs resolving on-site, we can be there quickly. That's not a marketing line – it's just how things work when your team is based here fulltime.
A team built from experience
A lot of our Northland team – myself included – have come back to Te Tai Tokerau (or made it home) after years working on major projects elsewhere in New Zealand and overseas.
Across our team of seven, we cover a wide range of sectors. Karen Lees brings deep education sector knowledge from her time as a Regional Asset Planner for the Ministry of Education. Marc Forrester has delivered complex commercial, civic, and infrastructure projects in both New Zealand and South Africa. My own background – starting as a builder, then moving into site management and quality management – means I can apply a pragmatic lens to whether a design solution is actually going to work in practice.
That mix of hands-on and strategic experience has opened doors, with Rubix selected to work on projects for Whangārei, Bay of Islands, and Kaitaia Hospitals, KiwiRail and local iwi. The education sector is also a strong area for us, with several team members having worked within the Ministry of Education's asset management environment. Schools like Riverview School in Kerikeri and Dargaville High School are already seeing the benefit of their capability.
National reach, without losing the local edge
Being grounded in Northland doesn't mean we're limited to it. Rubix has offices in seven other locations throughout New Zealand, with more than 70 consultants working across commercial, industrial, residential, health, education, government, infrastructure, and Three Waters.
For clients in Te Tai Tokerau, that means access to serious depth of expertise – without getting a service that feels like it was designed for somewhere else.
In it for the long haul
Every time I work on a project up here, I'm reminded of how much people in this region care about its future. That energy is infectious, and it's a big part of why I do what I do. Rubix isn't just passing through Northland – we're here because we're genuinely invested in seeing it succeed.
About Myles Gordon – Northland Regional Manager
Myles brings more than 20 years’ construction industry experience to his role as Rubix’s Regional Manager in Te Tai Tokerau. His breadth of experience has seen him successfully deliver complex works in a variety of sectors, including local and central government, education, commercial and residential. Having worked in client-side, consulting and contracting contexts, Myles approaches each project with a unique appreciation for the perspectives of various stakeholders. He is known for his ability to deliver hands-on, pragmatic advice and his talent for fostering collaborative, high-performing project teams.
