Our History

C. Lund & Son Ltd  recently marked a half century since Ray Lund established the business as a limited liability company. The milestone is noteworthy because in the last 50 years the company has grown from being a local firm of builders to a construction company capable of handling some of the country's largest commercial  projects.

 

The 50^th anniversary was also somewhat arbitrary, however, because the Lund family was involved in the building industry for generations before that.

 

Founder Christian Valdermar Lund (Walter)

Walter was born in Copenhagen in 1854 and he came to New Zealand in 1875. Walter's grandfather was Peter Lund (1782-1825), a carpenter and shipwright who worked for the Royal Danish Navy.

 

Walter landed in Napier and travelled south to Canterbury where he went into business as a carpenter and bridge builder around Pleasant Point and later Christchurch. Walter's son Charles (born 1888) - followed in his footsteps and entered the building trade.

 

Charles Lund

After serving his apprenticeship in Pleasant Point, Charles and wife Barbara shifted to Timaru, where Charles developed a good reputation as a builder. He could do complex calculations in his head and was said to be the best man in Timaru for difficult roofing jobs.  Charles went into business on his own as Charles Lund - builder. He had a reputation for honesty and hard work, and his advertising slogan was ‘C. Lund - the Conscientious Builder'.

 

Charles' only son Ray entered the family business, and some of his daughters served as well. Most significant was Thora Lund who kept the company's books for 60 years. Charles Lund knew that after World War 2 there would be plenty of work for builders but he did not live to see it.  He died in 1943 and Ray ran it as C. Lund Builder but he was advised by his uncle, a chartered accountant, that it would be better to incorporate as a limited liability company. Rather than name the new company after himself, Ray decided on the name C. Lund & Son Ltd, to build on the reputation Charles had established.

 

An important addition to the company after the war was Charlie Kenny. Charlie's abilities as a quantity and land surveyor helped C. Lund & Son pursue larger and larger contracts. He was one of the original shareholders in the limited liability company.

 

On Ray's retirement Charlie Kenny and Ray's son Bruce Lund continued in construction. They successfully completed many projects throughout the South Island including the new DB Breweries plant in Timaru, Timaru Hospital Clinical Services Building, Nelson Chief Post Office and Telephone Exchange and the Christchurch Law Courts Building.

 

More recently Bruce's daughter Joanne and her husband, Andrew Macgregor, joined the business.  With their involvement C. Lund & Son has grown as an organisation, the company now has a robust business structure and has undertaken many of the South Island's largest construction projects. Nevertheless, C. Lund & Son Ltd continue to retain the values and strengths of the company Charles Lund established - conscientious hands-on excellence in building and commercial construction.