In New Zealand’s competitive construction industry, MVM Group showcases the power of collaboration, connections and networking. Formed as a joint venture between three Amotai suppliers – Vakalahi Construction, NM Projects, and Benchmark Building – MVM Group combines over 30 years of construction experience. Kelly Vakalahi, Director of Vakalahi Construction, shares how their partnership with Amotai and the formation of MVM Group helped them secure a place on KiwiRail’s supplier panel, marking a significant milestone in their journey.

Where it all began

The idea for MVM Group came about through the shared connections each company had with Amotai’s Supplier Diversity Lead, Romero Tagi. In their catch ups with Romero, the three companies realised they shared similar goals and challenges and saw the potential of joining forces.

“Last year we formed MVM Group,” Kelly explains. “We discussed what we have been achieving individually, what we aimed to accomplish collectively, and the potential connections we could make with our combined capabilities.”

The leaders of MVM Group have a long history together. Kelly’s husband Jazz Vakalahi and Wayne McDade from Benchmark Building grew up together and worked with Wayne’s Dad throughout their high school years. Nella from NM Projects started as an apprentice with Vakalahi Construction and always had a vision of running his own business. When the time was right, Kelly and Jazz supported him to start his own venture.

“We’re all connected,” says Kelly, “and we realised, 'why are the three of us doing the same thing three times?' We knew we could only grow so much individually, but together we could achieve more and start going for larger projects.”

The KiwiRail Opportunity

Having worked on the City Rail Link project, MVM Group saw a natural fit with KiwiRail. Following an introduction from Amotai, MVM Group was given a week to submit a late tender, despite never having done one of this nature before.

“It was overwhelming, but we couldn’t miss this opportunity,” Kelly says. “We decided to put all our fears aside and focus on what we knew. Our thought was, if it doesn’t work, the worst-case scenario is that we get feedback and learn. Fortunately, we were successful.”

Overcoming tendering challenges

Initially, the tendering process seemed overwhelming. “We started networking with Amotai a few years ago and we’d request tender documents but they’d be so huge we’d usually stop and say ‘oh nah, we can only do a snippet of the project’,” recalls Kelly.

The pre-qualification documents were extensive, and managing their respective businesses alongside preparing a tender was daunting. As individual businesses, they found it easier to act as subcontractors, letting someone else handle the tendering. However, forming MVM Group provided the necessary resources and collective strength to tackle tenders head-on.

“With MVM, we have more resources to respond to tenders together and split up the questions, allowing us to manage the workload. We worked long days and nights putting everything we had into that tender for KiwiRail, but now that we’ve done it once, it’s so much easier.”

The power of collaboration

The collaborative effort hasn’t stopped at submitting tenders. MVM Group’s weekly catch-ups ensure that all three businesses are on the same page, understand each other’s capacity, and can share resourceswhere needed. This openness and frequent communication has been vital in their success so far.

“Because of the type of people we are, we just talk. We’re very open – the connections between us are strong,” notes Kelly.

Looking ahead

Securing a spot on KiwiRail’s supplier panel is just the beginning. The panel, expected to start in August, will provide opportunities for MVM Group to grow their business as a preferred supplier.

“We’re still in the learning stages, and we know challenges will come,” Kelly says. ”For now we’re excited about growing the business and providing more opportunities for our teams to grow and develop on larger projects.”

With the connections facilitated by Amotai, including potential opportunities to tender with Naylor Love, the Ministry of Eduction, and Auckland Council, MVM Group’s future looks promising.

“Amotai, and Romero in particular, has been a huge support for us,” says Kelly, “I’m so grateful we overcame our fear of tendering and took this crucial step forward.”