For almost 15 years, J&D McLennan Engineers and Key Skills Recruitment have worked side-by-side, building strong teams and even stronger relationships across Wellington’s manufacturing and engineering sectors.
To celebrate the partnership and check out J&D’s brand-new, state-of-the-art facility, the Key Skills crew recently headed to Lower Hutt to fire up the BBQ and put on lunch for the team. It was a great afternoon with good food, plenty of banter, and a reminder that the best partnerships are built on people, not just paperwork.
Family-owned and operated since the 1940s, J&D McLennan has become a quiet legend of New Zealand engineering. What started as a general engineering firm now leads Australasia in the design and production of air bridges – the raised tunnels that connect terminals to aircraft.
They’ve produced nearly 300 of them since 1974, including every air bridge currently in use across New Zealand’s major airports, plus many more in Australia and the Pacific. In 2005, their bridges were the first in the world to link simultaneously with both decks of the Airbus A380 in Melbourne – a milestone that put this Lower Hutt company on the global stage.
Each bridge takes months of planning, design, and fabrication. Built to last over 20 years, they’re moved out of the workshop in parts and assembled on-site, sometimes requiring late-night convoys to avoid traffic and clear the way for these 30-tonne giants.
Now led by James McLennan, the third generation of his family to run the business, J&D’s reputation is built on precision, pride, and genuine care for its people. “Whenever you see something that you’ve taken from planning to completion, it feels good,” James told Stuff earlier this year. “Especially when it’s something out of the ordinary, it gives you a sense of pride.”
Over the years, Key Skills has supported J&D with everyone from design engineers and office managers to welder fabricators, machinists, electricians, and maintenance staff. It’s been a genuine partnership built on trust, teamwork, and the odd sausage sizzle.
Fifteen years on, the J&D team continues to grow, innovate, and keep New Zealand’s manufacturing spirit alive, and we’re proud to have been part of that story.
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