Lead Times Made Easier
Fernlea Cabinetry & Joinery in Frankton have been making a variety of commercial joinery for 25 years, fitouts for hospitals, prisons, retail business, whatever the architect wants – an ideal business in a city and region experiencing considerable growth. Owners Linda and Frank Lawrence has been keeping abreast of the growth with new machinery, new software and more space.
The slogan goes ‘Hamilton – it’s happening here’, and it is. Hamilton is growing and so are the other towns and cities in the area. There are big infrastructure developments going on with such projects as the new inland port at Ruakura and the extensive re-routing of State Highway 1 creating thousands of new jobs throughout the region.
It’s great for business, says Frank Lawrence. But with the growth comes competition and tendering for commercial business is aggressive, lead times are very important and there is pressure on to be able perform quickly and capably. Two recent purchases have helped Fernlea in both these aspects. The company recently invested in an Ascent Pro CNC from Jacks and Cabinet Vision software from Joinery IT.
“Together they enable us to not only do the job a little quicker but instill confidence in those looking at our tender, that we can perform to it. In fact we often assist designers and architects with technical support on a project before tendering, it shows we can interpret what they want and gives us a good idea of what is required.”
“The AscentPro was a good selection for us, well priced a solid all round work horse that suited our space and links very well with Cabinet Vision. The install was simple and Jacks back up has been good, online cameras mean very quick and very simple remedies if any issues arise.”
“In selecting Cabinet Vision we talked to other locals who were using it and they had good things to say. The screen to machine nature was appealing to us for speed of flow and accuracy in taking our designs to production. We purchased just as a new version was coming out and because of that it took us a little longer to come to terms with. But the Joinery IT team led by Phil Smith have been great in their support. They have been very available, giving us increased tutorial time, and invaluable help in setting up our library. The latest version is proving faster, easier to use with the screen-to-machine and easier to manipulate and alter jobs – a real asset.”
A further element in performing to tenders is having the right support partners for hardware.
“We have used Hettich product for a long time they account for about 80% of our hardware. Very good quality, great range, well priced. Our Hettich rep Grant Waugh is always available if we need him – which is usually to get something to us quickly.”
Having outgrown its current site the company is moving to Te Rapa in December. “I expect the New Year to be more of the same, a little uncertainty still around, but generally steady. The only real cloud on the horizon is finding staff, which can be a challenge. We are currently looking for a QS and tradesmen … if you know anybody out there interested.”
Fernlea Cabinetry & Joinery
Unit 3, 593 Te Rapa Road
Hamilton
Tel: 07 849 4944