from the president diversity & diﬀerentiation

from Joiners Magazine March 2020

the manufacture and repair of complex components

Increasingly our industry has become specialised. Traditionally a joinery company would have undertaken a wide range of tasks and produced a full suite of products. Although there are still some companies around like that especially in regional New Zealand, the trend has been for business’s to remain or to become profitable even viable by specialising in a narrower range of the trade. This hasn’t meant we have lost any diversity but rather more differentiation between joiners. We have Master Joiner members that include Cabinet Makers, Timber Window and Door manufactures, Door Prehangers, Shopfitters, Benchtop Fabricators, Stairmakers, Furnituremakers, and Site Install specialists.

Combined with this are skills and allied trades that we rub shoulders with and even incorporate into our business’s such as glazing, painting, lighting, aluminium joinery, plumbing, appliance retailing, building, drafting, and design. When that is considered the realisation is that not only is it more difficult than previously to define “joinery” but that our reach is much bigger than it might first appear. It’s also a great reason to be part of the Master Joiners network and trade referrals with members who might specialise in something your firm no longer undertakes.

Despite the diversity of business’s within our ranks, we all have common ground. Recruitment and human resources challenges, disputes resolution, insurance complexities, our own and our staff well being, remaining efficient and competitive, and immigration issues. This years Master Joiners Conference themed “Inspire to Perform” addresses these on-your-business topics along with some industry in-your-business opportunities. Registrations will be open soon and I encourage you to get along and to also consider bringing some of your team. There will be opportunity for our associated professionals, non-members and affiliated organisation members to attend too. There is a change of focus this year but also plenty of networking time and time with our suppliers and industry supporters just like we’ve experienced before. The Master Joiners Excellence Awards will recognise the best within our industry, there is a great line up of guest speakers, and both high octane and slower paced activities available.

As the recognised voice of our industry we need to have our say and when doing so consider the reach that we have. In the last 12 months as a Federation we have advocated for safe levels of dust exposure, heath monitoring, industry training, and compliance to Standards NZ, MBIE, Worksafe, and the Minister of Education. If you have an interest in strengthening our voice as a MJ member, associate, or aﬃliated organisation member, we welcome you and I encourage you to get in touch.

That’s about it from me for this issue. Let’s hope that the economic fallout from the Corona virus outbreak isn’t too great Oh and before I go, check out the Jobs board on the Master Joiners website. A new tool for advertising opportunities within our member companies and for job seekers to register their interest.

All the best

Paul Ingram

National President

Registered Master Joiners

Biesse manager returns to Auckland

After ﬁve years in the Sydney oﬃces of Biesse as NSW Sales Manager, Dylan Staples recently returned to Auckland to again take up the role of NZ Manager for the Italian machinery supplier. Dylan spoke with JOINERS Magazine on being home.

Good to back?

Yeah, it was a great OE, the business experience was invaluable and Sydney is a great city to live in, but it is good to be back catching up with family and friends and renewing business contacts, we always intended returning and the birth of our second child meant the timing was good. Business is a lot more personal here which I enjoy and something I think I had previously taken for granted.

Do our markets diﬀer?

The product mix in NZ and Australia is very similar, however the uptake of technology in NZ is probably higher. Kiwis are very open to the latest innovations, a good example being edgebanding where New Zealanders have embraced the Biesse Airforce brand and the zero glueline concept.

What does the year look like for the machinery sector?

The current climate in NZ is very positive and very competitive. The year has started well and it is an AWISA year which is always good. AWISA is really a pipeline which sets us up for the next two years sales. Also the trend to automation looks set to continue as labour continues to be the big problem for manufacturers and they look to machinery to assist with that aspect.

What are your objectives for the coming year?

Obviously to continue our strong sales path. On top of that we are always looking to improve our service, identify issues and ensure we are getting our systems right. Part of this will be the improvement in our integrated systems and processes which, as a result we will see faster spare part response times. We will also look to assess levels of priority to reﬂect urgency of customers needs to provide all our clients with the best service we can - perhaps reﬁnding a little bit of old school personal touch.

We are also initiating new measures including training programs covering preventative maintenance and providing entry level technical skills aimed at improving knowledge and reducing downtime when there are breakages or issues.

The Biesse brand is extremely strong. Its systems, level of knowledge, parts operations and training structures are among the best globally. We will endeavour to make sure that continues to be the case in NZ.