At that time, Joe Faithfull was leading the business, and Lindsay was working as an Electrical Engineer. His early years at McKay were varied: one week he would be carrying out day-to-day supermarket maintenance; the next, he would be working on a large industrial refinery project, never quite knowing what type of work might come through the door. The refinery became a cornerstone of Russell’s own career and remains one of the sites where he still spends much of his time today.

Russell continued working across Whangārei. Not long afterwards, a major fire occurred at the refinery when a valve malfunctioned and ignited, tragically claiming the life of an operator. Russell and the team spent around three months on site supporting the extensive repair and restoration work that followed.

In the late 1980s, when McKay had significant work in the Pacific, Russell travelled with Joe Faithfull to Western Samoa to help progress the airport runway project. It was his first time overseas with McKay, and communication was limited to a telephone and a fax machine, with no computers. They went to accelerate the project and ended up staying to help the team complete it.

By this stage, Russell had been with McKay for around 12 years and had become an Electrical Supervisor, particularly known for his work on dairy factory projects. Winter was the busy season, and he and his team would be away for six weeks at a time, working 12–14 hours straight per day, staying in hotels or rented houses, which helped support the local communities. He sometimes managed several houses at once, with meals delivered daily. Many of the contractors he worked with were former McKay employees who preferred the winter-only lifestyle.

There was even a saying around Whangārei: if McKay trucks were in town, work was quiet around New Zealand, and if the trucks were gone, the team was somewhere else working on a major project. It reflected the need for the business to expand in order to continue growing.

At that time, proposals were still typed on an adding machine, letters were assembled manually, and tenders were mailed or faxed. In 1994, Russell stepped into the role of New Zealand Contracts Manager – a position he held for the next 21 years, until 2016. His main customers included Fonterra, Carter Holt Timber, and the New Zealand Refinery.

During that period, Russell helped approximately 85 apprentices through their training. Other companies often tried to poach them once they were qualified – a sign of the calibre of people McKay was producing. Apprenticeship recruitment ran like clockwork: the team forecast the workload for the coming year, advertised the roles, conducted interviews in December, and brought the new apprentices on board the following January. Russell always aimed to hire locally, following a principle Joe had instilled in him: hire locally and support the community.

Russell’s advice to apprentices and new team members has always been the same: keep a diary. Communication and organisation matter. “If you don’t remember something, speak up and talk to your team,” he says. He encourages people to put their phones away and write things down instead, as cell phones are not allowed on a number of sites and a diary does not need charging or mobile phone coverage. “Your subconscious will bring you back to your diary a couple of times a day.”

When McKay took on the Tīwai Point smelter project, Joe travelled south, hired local people, and established a McKay branch on site. Even after the main contract ended, the branch remained to handle maintenance and warranty work. It later continued operating under the McKay name after being sold, providing clients with a strong signal of McKay’s long-term commitment to the regions it served. Russell remembers Joe’s generosity and how strongly he believed in giving back.

Russell recalls how Joe had priced the Tīwai Point project without having completed one before. To prepare, Joe travelled to Australia to tour a smelter that was open to the public. When a security guard asked whether he had enjoyed the visit, Joe said that he had not quite seen what he needed. The guard then showed him around personally, giving him a clear sense of how things might look for the New Zealand project. Joe returned saying confidently, “It’s only a cable from A to B,” and went on to win the job.

One of Russell’s own memorable projects was a dairy factory build in Central Otago. The site featured a 5-tonne-per-hour milk powder dryer. Russell hired a local electrician and his team to help complete the project, spent nearly four months there himself, and left the local contractor in charge of warranty work. That was in 2012. Fourteen years later, Russell saw the same electrician on television helping farmers restore power after severe storm damage and recognised him instantly.

Russell tried to semi-retire early in 2016, leaving just before Christmas with no plans. That did not last long, as Lindsay asked whether he could return and support with tendering and project work it had under way. Russell agreed and was soon back in the mix. He returned in February 2017 as a part-time as a contractor and still supports the business today when required.

As Contracts Manager, Russell once had 60 full-time employees reporting to him. Today, at Glenbrook Steel Mill, he helps manage over 100 people, illustrating how the scale of the work has grown over the years. Throughout his career, his measure of success has been simple: a job completed well, with no need for the client to call back.

Russell credits much of his success to McKay’s family culture and the leadership of Joe and Lindsay. He has always valued the variety of the work.