Fletchers a Centennial History of Fletcher Building. by Paul Goldsmith

'The idea that an old company is superior is nonsense. A business is only as good as the people that are in it at the time - they all make mistakes.' Who would deny JC Fletcher's dispassionate assessment of business reality? Most of New Zealand's great business icons of the twentieth century have withered, disappeared or been swallowed by other firms. But a century after James Fletcher began his work in Dunedin, in 1909, Fletcher Building continues to perform as one of New Zealand's largest and most trusted companies, with a significant international presence. This book tells the story of how Fletchers, in its many manifestations over the decades, has transformed New Zealand's built environment by constructing such renowned structures as the Auckland University Clock Tower and the Museum of New Zealand: Te Papa Tongarewa. Equally, the company has helped shaped the country's economic development by creating efficiencies of scale in construction and building materials, and by pioneering many new industries. This is a centennial history that sets the company's history in the broadest political and economic context. It traces the many dilemmas its leaders faced as they searched for growth and responded to the relentless challenges of business: slumps, credit squeezes, marauding governments and asset strippers, capricious policy makers, demanding customers, internal arguments, fleet-footed new competitors and changing investor attitudes. Paul Goldsmith is an Auckland writer. He has produced several biographies and histories, including The Myers (co-authored with Michael Bassett) and a political history of tax in New Zealand, We Won, You Lost. Eat That!. This 2009 David Ling Publishing Limited Hardback is in near mint condition. Heavy.

ISBN: 9781877378355 SKU: 1232279 Note: Any image shown is from a stock photo and is not the actual book.

Location: NZ NF