The duo, both 65, are closing their construction outfit Fahey Kwiat Builders Ltd after 35 years of running it together.
Mr Kwiatkowski said he was looking forward to working less and socialising more with Mr Fahey — his friend for about 60 years after they met in primary school.
“He’s like a brother, he is my best friend.”
They were like chalk and cheese, he said.
If he was a bit more of a hard-nosed business man, Mr Fahey was the placid quiet one who would calm things down with the clients.
Being business partners, the pair did not spend a lot of time together in their personal lives.
“We’d catch up three to four times a year and grab a beer, but we generally started forming that separation.”
They would see each other at least eight hours a day for work.
But now they would have the time to just be mates again.
They were both very proud of what they had achieved.
They had only built nine houses through their entire tenure, but had completed hundreds of alteration projects.
After 2015, about 40% of their work was insurance claims for firms, including Tower and AA.
Mr Fahey said they had received about 100 jobs overnight after the 2015 South Dunedin floods.
At that time, they had needed to borrow staff from other Dunedin firms.
For the first 10 years of the business, it was just the two of them. After that, they had a crew of six to seven people at any given point and they had employed about 90 different staff over the years.
“A lot of our employees over the years are our friends and we look after them,” Mr Fahey said.
“Some Monday mornings you come in here and its like the psychology department and you help them out with what’s gone on over the weekend.”
It was the key to keeping a successful business afloat all those years, he said.
“If you can’t have a team, then you’re b……., basically.”
With retirement, Mr Kwiatkowski plans on fishing, kayaking and biking around his lifestyle home in Warrington and Mr Fahey is planning on finding part-time work in maintenance.
The business was closing and would not be passed on.
The duo are hosting a retirement and closing down party tonight at the Kensington Tavern to celebrate.
