A Wellington man who started making cable cars as a hobby in his garage has won international recognition for two large lifts his company built at the Vietnamese resort of Da Nang.
Mark Galvin's firm Access Automation designs, manufactures and installs lifts and cable cars in New Zealand and the Asia Pacific.
From his first project making a lift to carry his father's building materials, his company employing 10 people now competes against large European manufacturers for jobs in the region's top tourist resorts.
Mr Galvin said his work on steep residential sites in Wellington was the springboard to international projects.
He said the most demanding engineering challenge has been for a cable car at the Bulgari Resort in Bali, which sits on a plateau 200 metres above a beach.
His Da Nang installation in Vietnam won Best Inclined Elevator in an international competition hosted by US-based magazine Elevator World.