| 41 Allied Industrial Engineering ENGINEERING T T Kim Newth Wide scope of work a key attraction The workshop team fabricate large mechanical equipment for shipping, energy, pulp and paper, plus a wide range of other industries. Providing Tool Management Solutions for Allied Industrial Engineering Ltd FREE PHONE 0800 000 144 www.duroweld.co.nz Proud to be supplying Allied Industrial Engineering with all their Welding requirements. - Welding Machines - Consumables - Gas Gear and Accessories NZ’s Cutting and Welding Specialists, we’ve got you covered. • NDT Services • Statutory Inspection Services • AIM Services • • • ROV Services info@3pi.co.nz 3pi.co.nz NZ OWNED & OPERATED • NATIONWIDE For apprentices starting their careers with Kawerau-based Allied Industrial Engineering (AIE), there are exciting opportunities to gain experience on machining, fitting and fabrication at scale in one of New Zealand’s largest heavy engineering workshops. The scope of work undertaken by the company is a key attraction for both new and existing staff, says AIE General Manager Lester Murfitt, who has been at the helm for six years, shaping and building the business for the future. “As a heavy engineering workshop, we are among the very few in New Zealand who have the scale and size. The conditions are such that our team can learn and take on jobs that we haven’t necessarily done before. What our staff get exposed to as mechanical tradespeople and engineers is not often found in New Zealand.” Out of the box projects undertaken by the workshop team include fabricating large mechanical equipment for shipping, energy, pulp and paper, plus a wide range of other industries including manufacturing components for equipment designed by machine manufacturers. Quality management systems and a positive company culture ensure that AIE has the right bedrock in place for fostering loyalty and a high standard of workmanship. Critical elements are always checked so any mistakes are quickly corrected. AIE has had ISO 9001 Quality Management accreditation for 20 years. “Our team takes pride in doing a good job and putting out good work. A large number of our tradespeople did their apprenticeships here. Some of our employees have even been here since the company began in the 1990s. Just recently we lost some of the younger ones who are off on their OE, but a large number plan to come back afterwards. Some leave to get experience elsewhere but then return later to work with us.” Allied Industrial Engineering is a member of Industrial Symbiosis Kawerau (ISK), a not for profit organisation working to promote and grow sustainable industrial development in the district. Lester says it is great to see ISK engaging with the community and raising awareness among young people about career pathways in engineering and the local industrial community. “We’re seeing more students taking subjects like mathematics that are needed to be able to learn trades and skills in industrial environments. We have a steady stream of cadets involved in pre-trade courses coming to us, as well as students doing Gateway courses or just wanting practical experience.” He says it is encouraging to see high schools investing in practical trades-based learning for students. AIE has trained apprentices since it began and currently there are five on the team. All are local, mostly school leavers. Company founder Paul Raethel is still active at AIE, passing on his experience, along several other experienced tradespeople who add to the pool of available knowledge to learn from. This provides a great place for people to learn. “We put our apprentices through the general engineering trade training. They get moved around different areas so they can learn multiple skills. Through doing that, they find out what they really enjoy and what they want to specialise in but they still have the skills to help out in other areas when required.” In a nimble company like this, learning does not stop once the apprenticeship is over. For example, the company recently commissioned a large CNC 5 axis milling machine, imported from Spain, that opens up new capabilities. “Even the guys who have been with us for a long time now need to learn a whole new set of skills; training is an ongoing process.” Since Covid-19, Lester says demand for AIE’s services has bounced back though there are still ongoing challenges with supply chain interruptions and a shortage of skilled people. Mechanical tradespeople and engineers looking for a new challenge are welcome to get in touch, he says.
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