The right machine for the job

For Craig Phillips, owner of Reconstruct Joinery based in Hastings, the last few years has seen a steady growth in his business. A qualified timber joiner with some eighteen years experience, he established his business back in 2014. The business purchased an existing joinery factory at its current location in Fenwick St in 2020 and has grown from just two staff to eight in the intervening time.

“The business designs, builds and installs mainly interior refurbishments in both commercial and residential settings including custom made joinery and cabinetry for kitchens and bathrooms as well as wardrobes, staircases and doors. We also specialise in retrofitted double glazed windows.” Craig says.

With the growth of the business has come the need to increase production to keep up with demand. “In recent times we have become more involved in residential work so we needed to be more geared to handle it and that is why we looked to get into CNC based production technology.”

In investigating what they needed they came across Rob at Proform CNC Ltd out of Levin. Craig explains “We decided on one of the Proform ATC 25/13 flatbed CNC machines they sell and the reasons were simple: it was a robust gantry based CNC machine with a small footprint with its 1200 by 2400 flatbed, which suited our factory. The key feature was the automatic tool change which saved time and afforded versatility which gave us the ability to better organise production of primarily panel based product for such things as kitchen cabinetry. It has been transforming for us.”

These practical factors were underwritten by Proform and their team. “The install was done by Aiden and was quick and efficiently done and training was not a big issue with this machine.

What I liked was the after sales support. You were always talking to the horse’s mouth so to speak. This and the positive comments we got from other buyers of their machines and of course it’s pricing, swung the deal.”

What has it meant for the business?

“This machine gets regular daily use so it means we can do more in a week with confidence in it’s accuracy and reliability. It’s a tough little machine that does the job for us.”

And of the future? “Business has been hectic” says Craig. “We are just keeping up with orders and making sure our clientele are happy with the quality and ontime delivery we offer.”

For more info contact Craig Phillips at Reconstruct Joinery on 021 731 207, email craig@ reconstruct.co.nz or visit www. reconstruct.co.nz