Page 8 - HW July 2022

hard news
Sutton Tools: new start after Kaiapoi fire
“We are manufacturing in NZ again!” announced a resurgent Sutton Tools earlier this month on LinkedIn.
Six months after the devastating fire at its Kaiapoi factory, the old site has been cleared, and a temporary production building custom built, fitted out and two new machines installed.
These machines have since produced the first batch of drill bits and the photo below shows Richie and Graham from Sutton Tools’ NZ Engineering team proudly showing off the inaugural drill.
With new replacement machinery
on the way, a total of 11 machines
were salvaged from the fire and these “Phoenix Machines”, having literally risen from the ashes, have been rebuilt and deployed at the temporary production facility at the original Kaiapoi site.
Looking further out, although local production is ramping up again, over the next couple of years the Kaiapoi site will eventually give way to a brand-new facility which will become Sutton Tools’ centre of production.
Good news is that production will stay in New Zealand and even better that the new site for Sutton Tools’ new factory will be in Rangiora, less than 9km from the Kaiapoi factory.
With work on the new facility due
to start in the coming months, it is expected to take 12-18 months to build, with similar lead times for new machines to be delivered to the new site from overseas suppliers.
https://suttontools.co.nz/
PlaceMakers brings life back to Carisbrook
THE FIRST WEEK of July saw PlaceMakers Dunedin’s move to its new Carisbrook home, on the former historic home of the Highlanders and site of many All Black tests, complete and open for business
2018 Hardware Awards Retailer of the Year, PlaceMakers Dunedin and Mosgiel owner-operator Justin Macready has been working on this project for more than a decade.
Deciding whether to re-design the existing Portsmouth Drive site or move to Carisbrook, he says in PlaceMakers’ latest Under Construction publication: “I knew when I arrived in 2009 that we needed to move or upgrade the current site, so I’ve had a bit of time to mull it over.
“It was a tough decision, as it was a good location and people knew where we were; but we knew that moving would allow us to build a dedicated store with no compromises – which essentially means the best layout for our customers – and that was the most important factor.”
Justin says the business has changed completely since the previous store was built in 1997 and that the new store makes it clear just how much.
After demand driven by two Covid lockdowns and PlaceMakers’ digital platform being fast-tracked, Dunedin is the first new PlaceMakers store to have a dedicated click & collect zone, for example.
For tradies there is an efficient drive- through, a new landscaping yard with bulk aggregates, a new drywall aisle, a Toolshop, Fastenings Zone, Safety Store, Hardware Range and a trade-focused Paint, Adhesive & Sealants area.
And for their customers, Dunedin has high quality working bathroom, kitchen, wardrobe, and heating range displays.
Plus, as a bit more than a nod to the site’s storied sporting past, the store will feature original stadium signage and goal posts, as well as a collection of memorabilia, both donated and bought specially.
www.placemakers.co.nz
6 NZHJ | JULY 2022
MORE AT www.hardwarejournal.co.nz