Most people are happy to own just one or two vehicles, but at just 33 years of age, Bryce O’Sullivan has already amassed a fleet of more than 70.
Why so many you ask? The young man who grew up in Cannons Creek north of Wellington has built a civil construction company from the ground up, striking out on his own in 2010 at the age of 19, with just two years of on-the-job experience.
His company Bryce O-Sullivan Contracting – known as BOSCO – is now a major player in the Wellington earthmoving scene, with 90 staff, a fleet of 50 excavators and more than 20 trucks all primed and ready to build the infrastructure the capital needs.
When the EPIC team spoke to Bryce he was still buzzing after winning the McConnell Dowell Jim Juno Memorial Emerging Leader Award at the Civil Contractors New Zealand Wellington Wairarapa Construction Awards in August – a sign of how far he has come.
Bryce says he always knew he wanted to work in a hands-on role and left school in 2008 at the age of 17 to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather – both earthmovers.
“School wasn’t for me. I already knew what I wanted to do, which was to drive diggers. It was in the blood.”
Cutting his teeth working for Quality Demolition and Contracting, there quickly came a point when he decided to pursue his long-held dream of starting a civil construction firm.
“I knew I wanted to be self-employed. I wanted to give it a go and do my own thing. I thought if I didn’t do it then I’d never do it. It was time for me to be free.
“I started with a little digger and a truck, took opportunities as they came up and grew from there. I’m no different than anyone else – if I can do it anyone can do it.”
Based in Porirua, BOSCO has become well established, specialising in earthmoving but also installing drainage, utilities, paths and curbing infrastructure throughout the Wellington and Wairarapa regions.
Bryce says despite owning such a large fleet of heavy machinery, no job is too small. His team is just as happy using excavators to dig out rose bushes in someone’s garden as they are installing civil infrastructure for an 800-lot subdivision.
He says his favourite project was a mission his team accomplished in just 16 weeks to remove 570,000 cubic metres of material from Belmont Quarry in Lower Hutt to allow the aggregate underneath to be used for roading – more than 5,000 cubic metres a day. The BOSCO team also played a key role in the epic earthworks required to construct Transmission Gully.
Bryce says as BOSCO grows it’s important to stay humble. He still has the first truck he bought in 2010 in the yard at the company’s headquarters to remind him of how he started out.
“It doesn’t matter what big projects we’re doing now, we never forget where we came from.”
Having his family on board also helps Bryce stay grounded. His partner Becs manages the office, his mother takes care of accounts, and his father Suds still drives excavators at the age of 73, while his sister, younger brother and Bec’s father are all part of the BOSCO team.
BOSCO is a family operation in more ways than one, he says.
“A big thing for me is that we’ve had guys here and their sons or daughters have started as labourers not knowing what a shovel is and fast-forward five or ten years and they’re some of our best operators. We really like that.”
Bryce says he’s proud of the mix of cultures within his team, welcoming people from all walks of life and origins: from Hawaii to Canada and from Ireland to the Māori and Pasefika he grew up with in Cannon’s Creek, Porirua.
“We’re open to anyone who is keen to learn and keen to work – we’re willing to teach them everything they need to know.”
He says he gets a big kick out of seeing his staff grow and develop, especially when they become better at a task than he is.
“It’s brilliant when I go to a job to help out and think ‘how are we going to do that?’ and the team have already thought it out and they’re suggesting a solution. I find that amazing.”
Bryce says he advises school leavers or career seekers thinking of exploring careers in civil construction to be willing to try new things and get out of their comfort zone.
“Have an open mind and if you’re willing to work and put in the effort it will reward you 110 per cent. It has for me. You just need to give it a go – otherwise you’ll never know.”
There’s not many industries where you can carve your own path and create your own destiny, but civil construction is one of them, he says.
“Build something that’s positive and keep pushing forward with it. Just persevere and don’t give up. The world’s your oyster in civil and you can go as far as you want to go – it’s up to you to determine that.”
