About Britkin
Britkin designs, project manages and builds commercial and industrial facilities across New Zealand. We’ve been doing it for a long time, and we’ve been doing it differently from the start.
Most construction companies build what clients ask for. We help clients work out what they actually need, then deliver it. That distinction matters more than it might sound.
Where We Come From
Britkin’s story starts with Gordon Kinnear, a genuine pioneer in refrigerated food storage in New Zealand.
In the early 1980s, Gordon developed his first controlled-atmosphere coolstore complex in Napier Road, Havelock North, at a time when the technology and the approach were largely unproven in New Zealand. He went on to partner in the purchase of the Whakatu freezer storage facilities after the closure of the meat works, and built further coolstore capacity across the region. He was a lateral thinker who challenged conventional approaches, questioned so-called experts, and never stopped looking for a better way to do things.
Gordon passed away in 2016, but his influence is very much present in how Britkin operates today. He mentored his children, Barbara Brittin and Richard Kinnear, not just in construction but in a way of thinking: understand the operation, challenge the assumption, build for performance.
Barbara and Richard took that foundation and built on it, developing Britkin into one of Hawke’s Bay’s most experienced commercial and industrial construction businesses.
What Makes Us Different
We’ve operated what we build.
This is the thing that genuinely sets Britkin apart, and it’s worth understanding properly.
Britkin has had ownership interests in major coolstore facilities in Hawke’s Bay, including Henderson Road Coolstores and Hill Road Coolstores, both used by leading horticulture operators. Barbara and Richard have managed these facilities through harvest seasons, dealt with the operational pressures they create, and lived with the long-term consequences of every design and construction decision.
That experience changes everything about how they approach a project. They know which design decisions matter and which ones don’t. They know what a facility needs to do at 2am during a busy harvest, not just on the day of handover. And they know how to ask the questions that a construction company without that operational background simply wouldn’t think to ask.
It also means something important to clients: when Britkin says a facility will perform, they’re speaking from experience, not theory.
What We Do
Britkin provides end-to-end design, project management and construction services for commercial and industrial facilities. Our work spans:
Our Approach
We prefer to be involved early.
The decisions made before a design is finalised, on site selection, layout, structure, services and budget, have the most significant long-term impact on how a facility performs. Getting them right at the start costs nothing extra. Discovering they’re wrong mid-construction is expensive.
When we take on a project, we bring a trusted network of designers, structural and geotech engineers, surveyors and specialist consultants. These are long-standing relationships built over decades of working together on demanding projects. We pull together the right team for the job, manage them throughout, and stay accountable for the outcome.
Our Clients
Britkin has delivered projects for some of New Zealand’s most respected primary sector and commercial operators, including:
Bostock New Zealand
Freshmax, Omahu Road
Hastings Coolstore Partnership / GEK Management
Twin City Aluminium
Ruminate
Isaacs Electrical and Plumbing
Our project portfolio also extends to Australia, with controlled-atmosphere storage work completed for Pozzebon in Stanthorpe, Queensland.
Based in Hawke’s Bay, Building Across New Zealand
Britkin is based in Havelock North and has deep roots in the Hawke’s Bay business community. The region’s primary sector has shaped our experience and our expertise, from the apple and kiwifruit orchards of Central Hawke’s Bay to the food processing operations of the Hastings plains.
We take projects nationally, and our track record across coolstore, food processing and commercial construction speaks to that capability. But Hawke’s Bay is home, and we bring genuine local knowledge to every project in the region.
Get in Touch
If you’re planning a project, whether it’s a clear brief or still just an idea, we’re worth talking to early.
Contact us or call Richard directly on 021 870 631.