Q&M magazine talks to Jason Withers, the Production Manager at Pacific Aggregates in Otorohanga.
Jason was born and raised in Otorohanga and still lives there in Kio Kio, a small rural community in the district on SH3 between Otorohanga and Te Awamutu, and less than 10 minutes from the Pacific Aggregates Barton Quarry where he works.
Jason started working for the family business, River Run Products, under his father, the late and widely respected Brian Withers. At the end of 2023, River Run Products, operating both the Barton Quarry, Rangiatea Quarry, and Cleanfill sites, sold these quarrying operations to Rob Smith (Director of Pacific Aggregates), where Jason now works.
“In the early days, it was only a land-based quarrying operation adjacent to the Waipa River: screening, washing, and crushing of river resource,” says Jason.
In 2000, Jason started an engineering apprenticeship in heavy fabrication for Costain Engineering in Te Awamutu. Local engineer Wolfgang Weinzettl contracted Costain to fabricate screens and associated equipment for quarrying and mining applications and provide maintenance services for local quarries and manufacturers. One of the first jobs at Costain was fabricating items for River Run Products’ new wash plant.
“I was always interested in machinery and engineering and started getting involved directly in quarrying through the family business – River Run Products. This included working straight out of school and rejoining the business after working for Costain Engineering.”
These days, Jason has completed his qualifications in engineering–heavy fabrication, has a Class 5 driver’s licence, and is the quarry Production Manager working with multi-skilled staff to manage production, machinery, maintenance activities, and site works.
He says a typical workday starts with “A team meeting in the morning to discuss or firm up plans for the day, and a mix of supervision, support, and working on the tools/machinery to deliver these tasks. It involves regular contact with staff and managing changes during the day.”
Jason says he enjoys the variety of his job, with the different areas of the quarry business: different machinery, overburden stripping, infrastructure development, production activities, and maintenance.
“And it’s very handy to home. No two days are the same, and it certainly helps having a versatile team here.”
The negatives are the usual Kiwi weather elements – wet weather and the colder days.
His work over the years has included setting up base facilities at a new site called Rangiatea Quarry. The raw resource from this quarry is transported and processed at Barton Quarry.
The Barton Quarry has undergone significant development, with Jason involved in developing entrance infrastructure onto SH3 and a two-kilometre access road.
He has also been involved in moving all the processing equipment at the original River Site to the newly established and dual-purpose Barton Hard Rock Quarry, which processes river resources, including new foundations and infrastructure.
This involved a new transformer and power feed to the wash plant and workshop area, pumps, significant retaining works, relocation of site offices, workshop facilities, and associated equipment, including considerable concrete works for building pads and product bins. Second-hand crushing equipment, both fixed and mobile, was bought and refurbished. Fixed crushing and screening plants were installed along with a new power feed.
Jason says his career aspirations for the future involve helping develop the quarrying business pioneered by his parents (the late Brian Withers and Gretta Withers).
‘I am also looking to get along to some of the IOQ events moving forward, and to visit other quarrying operations to learn about other resources and approaches to processing and quarry management.”
Brian Withers, who was well-known in the quarrying community, tragically passed away earlier this year in a road accident, aged 64. Brian was a member of the IOQ and attended many Waikato/Bay of Plenty branch meetings and Christmas functions, as well as a few conferences. His last outing was to the combined Auckland-Waikato/BOP branch Drury Quarry field trip on 27 March.
