Christchurch company Traffic Control Systems, contracted by the council to maintain and repair traffic lights, has gone into liquidation, leaving about 25 staff without jobs.

Staff were informed of their termination via an email sent by liquidator Insolvency Matters on Sunday at 1:30 pm. Just an hour earlier, the company filed for liquidation on the Companies Office website.

In the email, seen by chrislynchmedia.com, it said, “This letter confirms that your employment has been terminated with Traffic Control Systems Limited due to the company being placed into liquidation on 8th September 2024.”

The company’s website was still active on Monday afternoon and read “With over 30 years of experience in the industry, TCS has been providing and servicing traffic signals all over the Canterbury District.”

One of the employees, who spoke to Chris Lynch Media on the condition of anonymity, said the news came as a shock.

“This came totally unannounced. We were never informed by the directors, father and son Rodger and Simon Powley.

“They haven’t contacted any staff, there was no warning, and they haven’t responded to any of us reaching out for information. We’re unsure if we’ll even be paid this week.”

The worker said concerns had arisen in recent weeks as TCS began selling off fleet vehicles purchased earlier this year. Despite this, employees were assured by the directors that everything was fine.

“They even sold off our staff toilet block, which was a portable unit, last Monday. We were told it was part of a downsizing effort and that they were finalising plans to rearrange the building,” the worker said.

According to the employee, TCS had been operating at a loss for at least a year and was placed on stop-credit with many suppliers. This made it difficult for staff to acquire the materials necessary to continue servicing the council’s maintenance contract. Another senior manager backed up this claim.

“The signs were there for a long time, but countless attempts to raise concerns with the directors were ignored. I sent nearly a dozen emails asking when accounts would be paid so we could proceed with maintenance work, but none of my messages were answered.”

The worker described the frustration of several suppliers, many of whom are owed hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“Some suppliers are really angry and were knocking on our doors.

“Companies owed money included Isaac Construction, Bond Earthworks, Spunlite Poles, CSL Infrastructure, TSL, ChannelTen, Fulton Hogan, Quality Cut & Core, Intergroup.

“Some had been ringing us on a weekly basis, and no one answers or gets back to them.”

The company had been awarded eight major intersection upgrade projects in the past year, with contract values ranging from $250,000 to $2 million, the worker claimed.

Several staff raised concerns about where the funds from these projects went as the company’s financial troubles became more apparent.

Another worker said he asked director Simon on Friday if everything was ok. “He told me straight out everything is fine, nothing to worry about. Then, to get this email on Sunday, was absolutely ruthless, to be honest. I just feel for the people, and the staff—they’ve all got young families.”

Another worker also sought assurances from Simon on Friday. “I looked him straight in the eye, and he assured me everything was fine.”

Another senior worker said he approached Simon about leaving the company a month ago after receiving another job offer but was convinced to stay, being assured that the company was in strong financial shape.

“To make matters worse, I paid out of my own pocket for things like topsoil just to get the jobs done. I doubt I’ll ever be reimbursed.

The council was on the verge of paying the company for completed work on Tram Road when I had to step in and say, ‘Don’t bother, the company has gone under.’ The council staff member was grateful for the heads-up.”

The Christchurch City Council wouldn’t say how much money it had paid the company or when it became aware of its collapse. However, Head of Transport and Waste Lynette Ellis said the Council had two existing contracts with TCS—one for maintenance and one for capital works/upgrades to intersections.

“As your questions have commercial implications, the Council is unable to provide a response at this stage. We will be working closely with the liquidators to ensure any risk to the Council is minimised,” Ellis said. “We want to assure the public that we have contingency plans in place to enable the continued smooth running of the network.”

Rodger and Simon Powley did not respond to chrislynchmedia.com for comment.

However, Insolvency Practitioner Brenton Hunt said the first liquidators’ report would be made public by the end of the week.

He said he was dealing with four related companies, but only two were trading, its traffic lights unit, and maintenance.

He told chrislynchmedia.com that “a government slowdown in spending was a major contributing factor.”
“At one point, this was a highly successful company, bringing in a million dollars a month, but times had changed. It’s unfortunate, as it was a good operator.”