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Inter-island transport in the Pacific has long relied on imported fossil fuels. That means higher running costs, emissions, and vulnerability to supply disruption for the communities that depend on it. Project E-Alia changes that equation. McKay delivered five solar-powered, battery-electric catamarans for Samoa’s first low-carbon passenger vessel network, connecting the islands of Manono, Namu’a, and Upolu. Our team trained local shipbuilders and supported commissioning on the ground in Samoa, building lasting capability alongside the fleet itself. See how McKay is helping power the Pacific’s electric marine future. Together, we’re powering progress.

Inter-island transport in the Pacific has long relied on imported fossil fuels. That means higher running costs, emissions, and vulnerability to supply disruption for the communities that depend on it. Project E-Alia changes that equation. McKay delivered five solar-powered, battery-electric catamarans for Samoa’s first low-carbon passenger vessel network, connecting the islands of Manono, Namu’a, and Upolu. Our team trained local shipbuilders and supported commissioning on the ground in Samoa, building lasting capability alongside the fleet itself. See how McKay is helping power the Pacific’s electric marine future. Together, we’re powering progress.

In the early 1970s, McKay took a bold step beyond New Zealand's shores and into the Pacific. While most New Zealand companies remained focused on getting through the 1978–79 oil crises, Joe Faithfull recognised the potential that lay beyond our borders. For more than 50 years since, McKay has played a role in the development of critical infrastructure across the Pacific Islands, delivering airports, power stations, government facilities and community projects that have helped support growing island communities.

For more than 60 years, McKay has proudly partnered with Channel Infrastructure NZ at Marsden Point. This long-standing relationship established from the outset with Joe Faithful, has been built on trust, technical expertise, and generations of people dedicated to keeping one of New Zealand's most significant industrial sites moving forward. Russell Heywood is one of those people. Beginning his electrical apprenticeship in Whangārei in 1978, Russell has spent decades working in the industry and on site at Marsden Point, witnessing first-hand the evolution of both the facility and the partnership.

For 90 years, McKay has helped power New Zealand through decades of change. What started in a small Northland town has grown into one of the country's leading electrotechnology companies, delivering projects across New Zealand's renewable energy, industrial, infrastructure, marine and construction sectors. Watch the first chapter of our 90 year journey.

When Wellington City Council needed its Te Papa and Taranaki Promenades lit in time for the Pride Parade and Homegrown Festival, the deadline was fixed and the site was anything but straightforward. Work had to be completed over water, in full public view, through the peak summer period, after a delayed start date pushed the original programme back by more than two months. McKay brought together crews from Wellington, Hamilton and Whangarei, completed 3.6km of new power and fibre circuits, installed 19 decorative lighting poles, and had both white and RGB lighting fully commissioned by 7 March 2025.