In 1912, brothers William and Jim worked for their father (also named William) at his modest drainage business. These three pioneers would soon transform their small business into the large organisation that Stevenson is today. In 1917, W Stevenson & Sons Ltd became a registered company, and by 1921 Stevenson & Sons branched out into construction. Armed with picks, shovels, a few wheelbarrows and a Model-T Ford, the Stevensons went out in search of work. Sons William and Jim took over the business when their father became ill, and were later joined by William’s three sons. They soon became one of the forerunners in the industry with their fleet of trucks, caterpillar tractors, and earthmoving machinery used to construct drainage tunnels, runways, dams, and motorways.

In 1948 W Stevenson & Sons began the removal of overburden at the Kopuku opencast coal mine. This was a significant project which lasted over 39 years. Gough Gough & Hamer imported only two DW10s which were originally supplied to W Stevenson & Sons. These machines were used in the early stages of opening up the Kopuku mine.

By 1960 Stevenson & Sons had over 100 Caterpillar machines on the job, the largest privately-owned fleet of Caterpillars in the Southern hemisphere. The Kopuku opencast mine is still in operation today, producing 239,390 tonnes of sub-bituminous coal.

In July 1961, saloon car champion Ross Jensen suggested in a news story that a Grand Prix circuit could be built in Pukekohe. And just over a year later, construction of Pukekohe Park Raceway began. Even though there were delays in getting the green light from the Franklin Racing Club, and unusually wet spring weather, W A Stevenson & Sons finished the track in 41 days. There was a lot of peat in some areas of the track, making the £50,000 build difficult. Even though New Zealand Grand Prix was short of £15,000, Stevenson allowed the debt to be paid back over the years.

United Concrete was established in the South Auckland suburb of Takanini in 1962. Stevenson partnered with United Concrete and owned 50% of the business. The following year, a plant was established in Gavin Street in Penrose, where our ready mixed concrete plant still operates today. United Concrete acquired a fleet of new International and White trucks which set them apart from their competitors as these trucks enabled them to provide modern services and set new standards in the market. Where some concrete suppliers would run a pour with trucks on return, United would send much of the order in a single round of trucks. By 1987, Stevenson had gained 100% of the United Concrete business.

Jules Fulton and Bob Hogan started their own contracting business in Dunedin in 1933. Today Fulton Hogan employs over 7,800 people and provides services in transport and water infrastructure, road and pavement construction, building construction, and project management. In 2018 Fulton Hogan acquired Stevenson Construction Materials, securing Drury quarry, four ready-mix concrete plants, transport, and a lab testing facility. Now fully owned by Fulton Hogan, Stevenson’s concrete plants provide the Auckland region with high-quality ready-mix concrete, made from top quality aggregates sourced from the Drury quarry.

Fulton Hogan integrated two subsidiaries, Stahlton Engineered Concrete and Stevenson into the group, bringing half a century of experience to the concrete divisions, and delivering top quality concrete options throughout the country. The addition of Auckland based Stevenson has allowed Fulton Hogan to secure a long-term supply of quality aggregates to meet the growing demand in Auckland and Waikato. In 2019 Fulton Hogan rolled its existing upper North Island quarries into the Stevenson brand, expanding its offering in the evergrowing Auckland region.