Client Focused Culture

Our relationships have always been at the heart of our operation. We’re open with our clients, because we know that good communication is the surest way to the best product.

We understand there’s nothing worse than realizing that part you were expecting never showed up, and no one told you. Our clients need us to be on time so that they can deliver to theirs.

We’ve built custom reporting with our manufacturing software - providing live links to client’s production schedules with a real-time list of what’s on order, what stage of manufacture each item is at and scheduled delivery dates.

Then there’s our responsiveness: quick turnarounds and flexibility, because we understand that timeliness can make the difference. We’re known for moving mountains to meet urgent one-off custom, prototyping or repair work

 Continual Innovation

United Machinists is one of NZ’s most fully equipped contract CNC milling and turning machine shops.

As a family owned business, we’ve been careful to bring on new talent that sees our industry the way we do: experienced operators and ambitious apprentices keen to raise the bar. We’re thinking engineers, and it shows.

We’ve grown a lot in the last 40 years, and expanded hugely in the last three under the next generation of ownership, investing in new machinery and new people. New systems have also come into play, bringing broad gains in efficiency and competitiveness, while pushing us to the forefront of the industry.

Our plant is world class. Over the past five years we have invested in four new CNC machines, including lights out 24/7 capability and a vision coordinate measuring machine (the only vision system in the South Island that we know of).

Our workshop features live KPI dashboards, showing real time data about productivity, on time delivery and profitability.

Prototyping and R&D Capability

Technology is only as powerful as the people driving it. United Machinists’ advantage comes from expert engineers, programmers and operators, whose experience and invention allows us to draw the absolute highest performance from our machines.

Programming is the heart of every smart CNC operation. If you’re looking for strong R&D support, you want a swift and cost-effective prototyping process – so you can test your components quickly.

We work closely with Callaghan Innovation on R&D into production automation and process invention projects.

For customers who have regular and predictable production needs we offer custom robotic automation – leading to real efficiency gains that we can pass on in competitive pricing.

We are the first contract manufacturer in New Zealand to use TopSolid, a next-generation CAD/CAM software system. Using TopSolid we’re enabled to machine to the highest standards, while offering industry-leading turnaround times – every design being programmed with production in mind, ensuring that when design is locked down, you get your components fast.

Processes & Quality

We produce critical components for some of the most cutting edge companies in this country. We provide our own internal quality reporting to clients, or custom quality reporting such as for TASKA Prosthetics where they have 100% inspection requirements and tolerances of .009mm.

We are ISO9001:2015 Accredited, utilising the very latest in ISO software and expect to be certified by July 2020.

Our enterprise resource planning (ERP) system allows us to streamline our processes and have greater visibility of workflow – both internally for work in process and external supply chain. Enabling us to both increase our capacity and improve our scheduling – ultimately leading to better turnaround times and customer service.

Beyond this, we foster a culture of collaboration, applying LEAN philosophies which encourage our team to contribute to improvements in machining processes, scheduling, machine enhancements and workshop setup.