b'A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWNThe building took a hammering. In the end it was rough like a farmyard, Workshop #2windy and leaky. The smoko Barry, Judy and Bob settled on a new section at Span Farm, onroom was dingy and the the edge of the Whau River down near the mangroves. There, incarpets were black from the the late 70s, they designed and built a 23,000 square feet factory, which was home to Dixon & Haddon for close to 30 years.steel. There was no workflow Half of the plant was reserved for fabrication, the otherbetween the buildings half for painting. Each had a gantry crane. The team wouldbut, mate, the steel that fabricate the steel and the gantry would shift it outside. Fromthe people and that place there a Goliath crane would pick it up and deliver it next door to the paint shop where the second gantry would take it insidemanaged to turn over was for painting. Then back out the door, onto the back of a truckunbelievable. and away. It did away with a lot of the double handling that had plagued them at the first workshop. DEAN POUWHAREIt was a big step up and allowed Dixon & Haddon to tackle bigger jobs. But it was far from state of the art.In those days there was a lot of secondhand equipment, including an old punch and shears machine that Barry and Judy had brought from their workshop in Mt Roskill. And they used basic arc weldersMIG machines didnt make an appearance until well into the 80s.Time took its toll on the workshop; nearer the end of its lifeas a steel fabrication facility, it was showing its age.Right: The second workshop atSpan Farm, a 23,000 square feet factory,was home to Dixon & Haddon for close to30 years. Photo: Christoph Hoessly.38'