Renowned Christchurch Electrician Retires: Reflecting on a Career of Excellence

Christchurch Electrical Ltd, one of Christchurch’s most trusted electrical companies has been on the scene for over 65 years. Their reputation in the marketplace has not only contributed to their client base but has won the loyalty of many long-term staff members. Rowan Burtenshaw is one of those employees who this month has finally hung up his toolbelt and retired after originally joining the team 38 years ago.

In a recent interview, Rowan gave an insight into his background, his passions, his career and his time with Christchurch Electrical.

“I have been happily married for 44 years and have two children in their 30’s and two young grandchildren. I enjoy travelling and camping, family, and have a strong interest in music as well as classic and performance cars, and my main hobby is restoring my classic MG Roadster in my spare time.

Originally from Dunedin, our family moved to Christchurch in the early 70’s and I simultaneously left school and started an apprenticeship with a large well known electrical engineering company called T.L.Jones and son Ltd, where I obtained a solid grounding in a wide variety of electrical work. This included domestic and commercial installation and repairs, industrial installation and repairs, switchboard construction, lift installations and small appliance repairs. I obtained my Electrical Trade Certificate at age 19 and registration a short time later. I later continued my education and gained an Advanced Trade Certificate qualification.

I found I had a strong interest in the industrial electrical side of the industry as it offered a lot of diversity and was quite technical in nature. Being a very inquisitive type of person, and not one to back out of a challenge, this appealed to me. I also grew up working alongside my Dad repairing cars and other things, so have always enjoyed working with mechanical equipment and this side of the industry fitted in with my interests perfectly.

I quickly moved on from my first job to a fulltime Industrial Electrician’s role in a large Printing factory. There I progressed my knowledge and experience and enjoyed working on a large variety of machinery alongside very good printing engineers. I eventually left there and spent some years working and travelling in Australia before returning to New Zealand and gained a position with Christchurch Electrical after doing a short stint in the Motor Rewinding industry.

“I was a long way from knowing it all”

I was employed in 1983 by Christchurch Electrical as a Service Electrician specialising in industrial electrical work. I was a long way from “knowing it all” but was fortunate enough to have a very good mentor within the company whom I had worked with previously. I spent the first few years doing a mixture of domestic, commercial and industrial work, installation, repairs and maintenance. Work ranged from repairing plugs and lights in houses to repairing tower cranes on large construction sites.

“Every day was interesting and challenging and I never stopped learning new skills and acquiring new knowledge”

As the company grew, I found myself becoming involved more with standby generators, starting off with servicing/maintenance and progressing to full generator installations with associated control equipment. This led to becoming a service agent for an Auckland company who were looking for a reliable company to carry out work for them in Christchurch. I also became a Registered IQP (Independent Qualified Person) and started doing BWOF (Building Warrant of Fitness) inspection and repairs of emergency/exit lighting installations. I also spent some time as Service Manager. I then moved back out into the field again and started carrying out work for some key industrial and commercial clients under a self-managing role, picking up some very good new clients on the way. I settled into this role again and was involved in some very interesting projects which continued until my retirement. Every day was interesting and challenging as you did not know what each new day would bring, and I never stopped learning new skills and acquiring knowledge.”

How did you find Christchurch Electrical? “ I was approached by Christchurch Electrical during a growth phase for them and I wanted to be a piece of that growth and do my part.”

What makes the company unique? “ Two things. Diversity of work area’s (multiple specialist departments) coupled with very good internal culture. Both are valuable assets to a company and make for longevity of staff.”

What was your most memorable project? “ The most memorable job was the Steel and Tube Plastics Extrusion Plant Upgrade Project in Hororata. A 14-month project. This was a large plastics extrusion plant manufacturing small 150mm to large 1600mm irrigation pipe in a semi portable factory setup in a rural paddock. Everything from the basic building to the 3 x extruder lines were totally upgraded to achieve maximum production reliability. The weather conditions were challenging at times, as were the general work conditions. A significant part of the factory had to be re-engineered. Every day was a challenge in many ways, not only electrically, but we eventually finished all 3 x extruder lines and managed to get good production operating on a 24-7 basis, for their multi-million-dollar pipe supply contracts.”

Can you name a highlight of your time working with the firm? “ Generally speaking, my highlights would have to be the huge number of great people I have worked with and made friends with over the years. I have worked with some extraordinary people at times, employees and clients.”

What is your greatest professional achievement? “ It would have to be working on the Hororata project. I was at times working on the outer limits of my knowledge and it was a steep learning curve but was very satisfying and fulfilling to complete the project successfully. Also, good to see a great team work together and achieve an excellent result.”

How do you plan to spend your free time once you retire? “ I plan to spend my retirement working on my personal projects which include finish refurbishing our first caravan, completing my MG restoration, spending time with the family and grandchildren, lots of travelling in New Zealand in our caravan and I have lots of other projects in the pipeline. Generally enjoying life and leisure time - I won’t know how I had time for work!”