This morning’s groundbreaking ceremony was held on site in Lunns Road, Christchurch and marks an exciting new chapter for the organisation.

HamiltonJet has over 70 years of experience designing and manufacturing waterjet propulsion systems. It was founded in the 1950s by Sir William Hamilton - who pioneered the first commercial waterjet - and the company remains a market leader of waterjets and vessel controls, producing some of the most advanced and innovative high performance propulsion technology in the world.

The new plant, which will be situated on the same site as the organisation’s existing facility, will have a footprint of 7,320 square metres. It is being built in response to the firm’s continued growth both here in New Zealand and in the global market - HamiltonJet now exports to the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia.

With an estimated 12-15 month build time, and a six-month window for the equipment install, the production facility aims to be fully operational by April 2026. It will house new technologically-advanced facilities including CNC (computer numerical control) machining equipment, temperature controlled and a safer, more efficient paint process. The facility will be built with ready capacity for future rooftop solar panels.

By investing in these significant upgrades to its manufacturing and production HamiltonJet aims to deliver significant efficiencies for the business and uplift production capacity by up to 40%, allowing for much shorter lead times for customers.

HamiltonJet’s Managing Director, Ben Reed, says: “We are delighted to see the ground works beginning for the new factory. As it is with projects of this size and scale, it has been years of planning, designing and consenting to get to this stage. HamiltonJet has been going from strength to strength, with increasing demand from the global market, so this is the next exciting chapter in our 85-year history as we look ahead to the future growth of the business.”