Pulling all the right strings
Gisborne may be one of New Zealand's most isolated regional centres, but this has not stopped it from becoming home to Pultron Composites Ltd – one of the world's leading makers of products using pultrusion technology. Richard Worrall talks to the company's founder and Technical Director.
Pultron Composites is a classic example of one man's Kiwi ingenuity growing into a major export business. From humble beginnings 25 years ago, the Gisborne-based manufacturer has grown to employ approximately 80 people and export millions of dollars of high-tech fibreglass pultruded products. A combination of leading-edge technology and constant process and product improvement gives the company an edge over its offshore rivals, and it now boasts a customer base spread across 60 countries and expansion upwards of 30 per cent per annum.
Soon the company will open its first offshore manufacturing plant in the United Arab Emirates to cash in on the booming Middle East civil construction sector and eliminate the lag between receiving orders in Gisborne and shipping the finished product to the Arabian Peninsula.
This case study is reproduced with permission from e.nz magazine. Subscriptions to e.nz are discounted for schools and TENZ members.
