Case Study
Engineering change through changing times
@TidyInt
Michelle Nicol, writer, Wordstruck writing and training Michelle is a copywriter, trainer and brand storyteller who helps businesses tell their story through words that attract attention. A former BBC journalist, she loves nosing out a great story and sharing her writing expertise through training and workshops.
Investment in technology and skills is key to survival in the everchanging world of business. We spoke to family-owned engineering company F.V. Evans & Sons about how it has adapted to changing markets throughout its history and how always looking in new directions will help ensure future success.
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here’s an unmistakable note of pride as General Manager, Peter Evans spoke of his company’s history. This family-owned design and build engineering company, based in Upper Hutt, New Zealand, was started by his grandfather, father, and uncle after the Second World War. Over the years, the business has gone from blacksmithing to mechanical engineering, making jigs for vehicle manufacturers, to today, manufacturing specialised equipment for the expanding recycling industry. Using a skilled workforce, some of whom have over 20 years’ experience, F.V. Evans & Sons take on projects large and small and have built foot bridges, locomotive inspection platforms, logging equipment, radial saws and more, which are used around the world. Technology for changing times Peter explains how the company has always looked to the future and invested in technology to meet the changing demands of the engineering industry. “We were one of the first to have computerised machines in our workshop, way back in the 80s. It seemed like a 36 / Issue 25
lot of money at the time, but we did it and we haven’t looked back. When economic policies meant that we needed to look beyond vehicle jigs to other work, we got into the business of making industrial shredders. Now we do a lot of CAD work for our drawings, so technology is always changing.”
focused economy has also meant investing in business software. F.V. Evans & Sons uses TidyWork to keep track of engineering projects and links it to Xero for invoicing.
Peter explains: “It can take 6 weeks to build one of our Eva-Shred shredders. They’re made to order, with every one slightly different, With New Zealand’s with different relatively low labour “It helps us keep an eye cutters, hoppers, and material on materials and labour stands, blades costs, companies costs, mark-up and things and so on, so we across the world like that and then we don’t hold lots of turn to F.V. invoice through Xero, so stock. TidyWork Evans & Sons for that’s a really good feature, is our project engineering skills that saves a lot of double management tool. and expertise handling.” We use it mainly at a competitive for billing and time price. You’ll find one management. It helps us of their shredders working keep an eye on materials and in a flower farm in Kenya where labour costs, mark-up and things it helps recycle old rose stems, like that and then we invoice bushes and roots into compost for through Xero, so that’s a really good the next generation in the plant’s lifecycle. They are currently working feature, that saves a lot of double handling.” on a huge wash down tank for New Zealand’s rail company which will From lockdown to pick up clean locomotives and recycle the water used. Peter says Coronavirus has made international business more Software for a modern business challenging: “Covid-19 has made freight more difficult. It’s a lot Managing high-quality engineering more expensive now to send our projects in today’s technologyXU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users.
