By Susan Sandys  September 8 2010

Mid Canterbury builders expect to be busy until Christmas following Saturday's earthquake, but it will not be enough to rejuvenate the ailing industry long-term.

The recession has knocked the industry district-wide, with a number of firms down-sizing.

Bradfords general manager and Mid Canterbury Master Builders president, Mark Wilson, said while a lot of contractors in Christchurch were breathing a sigh of relief with the huge influx of work they now had, it was a different story in Mid Canterbury. "I don't think it (quake) is going to give it a kick in the guts, it will certainly be a little bit of work for the next couple of months," Mr Wilson said.

Builders who were prepared to commute to Christchurch would benefit from a large amount of work in the quake-ravaged city. Those with skills such as bricklaying and stone masonry could find themselves in particular demand.

In Mid Canterbury there were pockets of worse damage in the towns of Rakaia and Methven, while the majority of Mid Canterbury had escaped with cosmetic damage. There was only a minority of buildings showing structural damage.

General manager of Bradford Precast Ltd Greg Fleming said the building industry had been in rapid decline in the past two years.

His department was running with only half the staff it was, while Bradfords was down 20 to 25% in staff overall. It could thus be a challenge to find skilled labour within a short time-frame.

"It would be very hard for everyone to upsize their teams of employees again, the first thing on everyone's minds will be where can we find the resources to do it."

The precast section conducted 90% of its work outside the district, and the quake had created more work for the industry throughout Canterbury.

"There's going to be a lot of work out there for the building and construction industry that wasn't there Friday," Mr Fleming said.

He was not aware of any major damage having occurred at sites where the company has supplied panels at Christchurch Airport, Antarctic Centre and New Zealand agriculture and snow centre in Methven.