Dunedin providers spoken to reported they were hiring extra staff with one more than tripling its workforce to keep up with demand since the Warm Up New Zealand scheme was announced in the Budget.
Energy Smart project manager Nathan Brown said the national firm opened an office in Dunedin 18 months ago with a staff of four in Dunedin.
It now had 12 new staff, including six new installers and two more in the office.
If its latest contracts were approved it hoped to employ further staff in October to meet that demand and reduce the two- to three-week waiting time for a home assessment, he said.
To put the demand in perspective, he said on July 2, EnergySmart nationally had received 1800 calls and had missed 300 more, yet it only insulated about 3000 homes throughout New Zealand last year.
Those people it was employing mostly had building or trade experience.
Davies Heat and Cool scheme co-ordinator Della Hopkins said they had hired a temporary administrator to help deal with demand and it continued to be very busy, as was its partner company Salmac Insulation.
Craig Scoullar Electrical co-owner Becky Scoullar said they had not yet taken more people on as it was still early days in the programme.
"It is so busy and if it continues this way we will take a look at taking more people on."
Selina Watson, manager of the national Premier Insulation, which has 16 branches, said 80 people had come off the dole to join her firm.
Laid-off building apprentices, a locksmith, labourers and gibfixers had all been snapped up by Premier, she said.
Details were not available from Premier's South Island contractor except it was very busy and had employed more workers since the scheme was introduced.
Thousands of homeowners are tapping into the Government's $323 million home insulation and heating fund, which was announced in this year's Budget.
The Warm Up New Zealand scheme, developed with the Green Party, began on July 1 and is being run by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority.
The fund will subsidise the insulation of 180,000 pre-2000 houses by 2013.
ECCA spokeswoman Tamara Lee, said demand for the scheme was extremely high.
"Since the programme started on July 1 we've had nearly 8500 calls and over 90,000 unique visitors to our websites," she said.
Fletcher Building, which makes and distributes Pink Batts, has increased production in Auckland to seven days a week 24 hours a day to keep pace with demand.
Ewen Anderson, Fletcher's building products division commercial manager, said his company had forecast a $10 million-$15 million annual operating profit increase from the Australian and New Zealand government insulation packages.
Insulation sales were up 25% to 30% and Pinkfitt which installs Pink Batts has lately taken on an extra 30 staff.
Work and Income southern labour marketing manager Paul Casson said in the past fortnight, it had placed three clients in work in the insulation industry and expected to place more as links between the industry and the department were fostered.
- Additional reporting by The New Zealand Herald
