Tooling Around

Comfort for seated bottoms at the Athens Olympic stadium, precision for Fisher & Paykel dishdrawers, and simple, sensible flip-tops for shampoo bottles: RPM International Tool & Dies is tooled up to make all sorts of moulds and dies and is selling its services overseas.

That was in October 2003. The dies have been completed, and the customer, who came to New Zealand to inspect them pre-signoff, was delighted with the job (and the fishing in the Hauraki Gulf). And RPM is pricing its next Chicago automotive project. Smith and Vincent have been a team since 1986, and their company has grown from a two-man outfit in a garage in Glenfield to employing 50 people in a purpose-built engineering workshop in Albany. The engineering shop works 20 hours a day, six days a week, in two shifts. RPM makes 18 to 20 dies per month, depending on the complexity of the projects. Their purposes include plastic moulding (for instance, flip-tops for shampoo bottles and seats for the Athens Olympic Stadium) and stamping anything from ironing boards to paper plates.

RPM's skilled tradespeople can work small and make moulds weighing just a few kilos for tiny plastic cosmetic-pottle parts; or they can handle big jobs, such as injection moulds for Fisher & Paykel dishwashers that weigh 12,000 kilos.

Though 75% of its business comes from New Zealand manufacturers the export component is important, and RPM is targeting more work offshore. "Like most businesses ours is inclined to swing with the economy," says Mr Smith; so they intend to avoid peaks and troughs by establishing a stronger export market.

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Equipment

He and Mr Vincent know what they want and work hard at getting it. Part of getting contracts is making sure the business is tooled up for them. They use the best technology available globally and, says Mr Smith, "We have no issue with spending a lot to buy the best machines, software and hardware. We need cutting-edge technology to stay on top".

Smith and Vincent's other baby ($500,000) is the Charmilles Robofil 510, a machine that uses electrified wire to machine metal precisely. It can be described as a computerised bandsaw, which uses wire instead of a blade and cuts through metal with the ease of a hot knife through butter. It's kept in a purpose-built, climate-controlled room with a separate floor to eliminate vibration, and provides high accuracy and exceptional surface finishing for components, even tiny ones.

The Process

The best CADCAM engineering and design software available (Pro- Engineer) is operated by seven designers, who are all also trained toolmakers, to help customers quickly turn their concepts into reality. It allows designers to create a model of the product and a model of the mould at the same time; when changes are made to either, the software automatically updates the design of the other to match. Customers can see the prototype in 3-D before tooling begins. When the 3-D model for the mould is perfected, it may need to be machined in numerous separate parts. It is downloaded to the CADCAM department where each part is programmed for machining. The size of the mould dictates which of the five machining centres the part will go to. Machining is a complex, precise and highly skilled job; a tradesman will have completed a five-year apprenticeship or the overseas equivalent. After machining, the parts of the die are assembled and fitted by toolmakers, who check every joint and tweak parts so that they fit together perfectly to create a seamless end-product for the customer.

Excellence in quality and service give RPM its edge. Mr Smith explains that a customer may have an idea of what they want to make, but no idea of how it can be moulded. "We help them with the design of the product, design the tool to make it, make the tool and then, because we have our own plastic moulding machine, we test every tool we make and ensure that it will mould a perfect end product."

The business's best weapon is their people, some of whom have worked with RPM since the late eighties. They have sourced excellent engineers from all over the world and pay them well. Four apprentices are being trained under the watchful eyes of experts.

Cluster

RPM has been instrumental in forming a business cluster, NZ Tool & Dye (NZTD), with six like-minded engineering companies on Auckland's North Shore. "None of the companies in the group has the capacity to bid for the really big jobs, but as a group we can get the economies of scale required and can fund the marketing of our capabilities in off-shore locations." They have a sales rep on the road in Australia, and have quoted for $5 million worth of jobs. Some negotiations are bearing fruit now, including those for a set of tooling for Electrolux. Mr Smith explains that NZTD can compete in Australia because New Zealand companies are known to be responsive and service focussed. Though labour rates are comparable Australian employers pay more in accident compensation and superannuation, so ultimately production costs are lower here, and the exchange rate is also favourable.

China has a plethora of tool and die companies making moulds cheaply, but RPM is not fazed because its place is at the top of the global market, providing the highest-quality products and service, reflecting its investment in the best technology and the best people available.

Elizabeth Light is an Auckland-based freelance journalist.