Recognising 2024 Buyer of the Year

Raising the bar: JFC’s commitment to supplier diversity

When John Fillmore Contracting (JFC) was named Amotai’s Buyer of the Year in 2024, it was a powerful recognition of how far a company can go when supplier diversity is part of how they operate every day.  

With over 50 years in the industry, JFC is known as one of Aotearoa’s most experienced and respected civil infrastructure contractors. In recent years, they’ve become recognised for something else too: leading the way in how large buyers can uplift Māori and Pasifika businesses, through lasting partnerships. 

“Our supplier diversity journey with Amotai began in 2020,” says Adam Brown, General Manager New Business at JFC. “From the start, it’s been about backing Māori and Pasifika businesses to grow, and being open to learning from them along the way.” 

Adam Brown accepting Buyer of the Year 2024

Supplier diversity as a non-negotiable 

JFC’s commitment starts at the top. Supplier diversity is treated as a core business deliverable, on par with health and safety, or quality. They have KPIs embedded across the organisation, including a target of at least 8% of total annual revenue to be spent with diverse suppliers. 

“For us, it’s more than just a policy,” says Adam. “We’ve built the systems and culture to back it up.” 

This includes a live financial tracking software which gives real-time visibility into supplier diversity spend at both project and company level, a critical step in turning intention into measurable impact. 

“We spent five months building the backend of our reporting system so we could track subcontractor spend at the click of a button,” he says. “It used to be a nightmare, doing it all manually.  Now we can see who we’re spending with, what proportion of project spend, and what percentage of sub-contractor spend, and we can do this with a click of a button for both project specific and company spend annually.” 

For JFC this visibility has been game-changing. “It means we can measure our impact across the business so that supplier diversity is monitored like any other key deliverable.”  

Backing it up with results 

In FY23, JFC worked with 33 diverse contractors, achieving $10.5 million in spend. In FY24, despite a slower economy, they worked with 42 diverse suppliers, reaching $9.05 million, and by the end of FY25, they had already surpassed $13 million in diverse spend. 

For Adam Brown, the true impact isn’t just in the numbers, it’s in the relationships.  

‘“Our intention is to bring our suppliers on a journey,” he says. “That includes early engagement, visibility of our forward works programme, and support with things like contract advice, HSEQ upskilling, and business planning.” 

That support has delivered meaningful results across multiple projects.  In their 2024 award submission, JFC reported: 

• 24% of spend with Māori/Pasifika contractors on the Wellington Transitional Cycleways programme.  
• $1.9 million or 22% of total spend with local Māori suppliers at Wainuiomata Town Centre 
• Over $1.5 million spent and nine diverse subcontractors engaged at Te Hā Noa (Victoria Linear Park) 

These aren’t isolated examples, they represent a consistent approach to early engagement and collaboration. 

“We talk suppliers through the scope, check if they’ve got capacity, and get their input before we even submit a tender,” explains Adam. “Once the job’s live, we want their input on pricing and delivery.  If they’ve got innovations or a better way of doing things, we want to hear it.” 

“We don’t guarantee anyone the job, they still have to be competitive.” 

Helping suppliers succeed 

Beyond contracts, JFC works closely with Māori and Pasifika suppliers to build capacity, reduce barriers, and set them up for success.   

“We’ve worked with suppliers who have small teams and tight cash flow,” says Adam.  “In this industry, it’s tough, by the time a contract’s signed, they’ve already had to buy materials, hire staff, and cover upfront costs.  Monthly payment terms can really stretch them, so in those cases, we’ve said, ‘Let’s move to fortnightly payments to help you get moving and pay your people’.” 

That kind of practical support leads to mutual benefits, long term relationships and increased efficiencies.  

“It’s a win:win.  Over time, you build more trust and become more efficient,” says Adam. “We know they’re fully competent and compliant, so we can let them run their scope. That reduces how much we need to manage, which saves time and cost.”  

“Plus we learn a lot from our suppliers, they often bring new ideas and in some cases have even introduced us to work we wouldn’t have bid for otherwise.”   

A buyer that builds people, not just projects 

At the time of their submission, JFC’s internal 24-month training and development programme was enrolling 40 new candidates annually, with a goal of at least 20 participants being Māori or Pasifika. This targeted employment model aligns with Living Wage goals and creates intergenerational impact at the household level. With 25% of their current workforce identifying as Māori or Pasifika at the time, this is an example of how change can start within your own workforce. 

Their targeted employment work has extended beyond New Zealand. In 2022, JFC ran a recruitment drive in Nasinu, Fiji, conducting 160 interviews in two days. Over 70 candidates were offered roles, including Josefa Ceinaturaga, who relocated with his wife and four children. Since joining, Josefa has gained industry certifications and brought his family to Aotearoa. 

“We’re motivated by the idea that when we grow together, we all win,” says Adam. “We’re not trying to convince the ones already doing this work, we’re trying to shift the mindset of those who aren’t on board yet.” 

“We work with Amotai suppliers because they’re excellent, cost competitive, compliant and delivering to a high standard.”  

Adam Brown with Megan McNay from Downer

Recognition that matters 

Amotai Manukura Anna-Jane Edwards is quick to point out that JFC wasn’t recognised because they hit the highest spend, it was their approach that impressed. 

“Judges were struck by how JFC engages,” says Anna-Jane.  “Their submission showed that working with them opened doors for our suppliers, allowing them to grow, hire apprentices, and contribute to their local community.” 

For Adam Brown, the award reflects a long-term commitment that’s still evolving.  

“We know we’re doing well, but there’s more growth ahead, particularly in our cultural capability and how we engage with mana whenua” he says.  

Since receiving the award, JFC has continued to deepen its commitment to supplier diversity. In the past year alone, they’ve increased their spend with Māori and Pasifika businesses by 44%, partnering with 71 Māori and Pasifika suppliers across 22 projects, scaling their impact nationally.  

“Winning the award gave us huge internal traction,” says Adam.  “It’s been great to see project managers embracing supplier diversity and it’s really snow-balled across our on-site teams.   

“It’s also helped externally, being able to say we were the inaugural winners of the Amotai Buyer of the Year award, which gives us credibility and is something we’re really proud of.”