6 | Waikato Business Awards: Profile Group Flexibility and scope underpins success Profile Group’s impressive new plant at Hautapu will eventually house all of the group’s production units. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Premium precision engineering service. Specialists wirecutting and multi axis machining. Proud to be supporting PPL www.torks.co.nz PREC I S I ON ENG I NEER I NG Sue Russell Profile Group Ltd CEO, Craig Vincent, agrees that a spirit of collaboration underpins how all the companies in the Group’s suite operate. Craig’s been part of the business since 1988, working in a variety of roles, including General Manager until his appointment as CEO in 1998. He says receiving the Service Excellence and Supreme Winner Awards is recognition of the commitment everyone engaged in the Group’s businesses to our ongoing success. “PGL is a privately owned family business which is something that really appeals to me. As a private entity you have flexibility and scope, freedoms you don’t generally get in the corporate world.” In his role Craig provides support to the Group’s General Managers and maintains strong relationships with all its clients. “Strategically I’m always looking for opportunities, however overseeing the building of the Hautapu plant and planning Profile Group’s gradual relocation from its sites in Hamilton is occupying a good chunk of my time.” As the move takes place over the next 5/7 years, Craig says that PGL will not waste the opportunity to increase automation, setting the company up for future growth. “We’re not as efficient as we would like to be and are looking at what a modern distribution centre can look like.” “Our service ethos sets very high standards for us to maintain. APL has a 6 day lead time for meeting orders. Our customers have come to expect this from us.” Craig emphasises that the Supreme Award sits across the Profile Group business in total. “Everyone working in our companies has contributed their bit to achieving that.” PPL Plastic Solutions specialises in designing and manufacturing plastic profile extrusion and injection moulded parts. The business has been in operation 10 years and employs a team of 40 staff, across design, engineering, machine operation and administration/management. Ian Baines is the businesses General Manager. He says historically the core of activity has been aligned to the aluminium window and door manufacturing sector though over time, with more and more clients knocking on their door, the industries they service has broadened. Being nimble and responsive to market conditions has been key to PPL’s growth and success Ian says. “When Covid came along and in those very early days there was a shortage of masks available to the DHB we set to and created a clear head-fitted mask using over-head projector slides.” Over 90% of extruded products produced by PPL are coiled and stacked on pallets. Cardboard coils were manually assembled using staples, glue and plastic, which were not able to be recycled. The cardboard structure also lacked strength, according to feedback from clients and would fall apart if not handled properly and once used the cardboard coil would end up in landfill. Coiled products were stacked on pallets for
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