| 71 JOINERY Tweakit Joinery Solutions T T Sue Russell Tweakit Joinery Solutions wowed judges at this year’s Master Joinery Awards, taking line honours in the Central Region for the transformation of a national trucking company’s head Office. At this year’s Master Joinery Awards, Palmerston North-based Tweakit Joinery Solutions was recognised for its exceptional standard of work and attention to detail. Tweakit Joinery Solutions won line honours in the Central Region for the amazing transformation of a national trucking company’s head Office. Owner, Vaughn Tongs, says the brief was intriguing to say the least. ‘They wanted the joinery to look like their trucks. Come up with something that will make an impression. Use colours, shapes, chrome, clean lines, their signature graphic and most of all, a map of New Zealand and some way to identify each of their branches. And they wanted to be able to draw on the table too! We had a lot of fun designing and building the reception and boardroom fittings. There’s a real wow factor when you walk into their head office.’ The only disappointment, Vaughn admits, was not being present at the awards event. He and his wife, Nicky, had organised an overseas trip before the event date was announced. However, Vaughn says he is delighted for his team who came together to build something really quite remarkable – it showcases just what they are capable of creating. Vaughn describes the journey of his joinery business as an interesting story. “We started in 2014 with the vision for the business to provide mobile joinery repair services. I had been in commercial manufacturing for 20 years and had had enough of the pressures and stress. While everyone seemed to be looking for new kitchens, I began to think about the market of people who wanted Unusual client brief turned into head-turner to tweak their existing kitchen; and for six years that is what we have been doing.’ Then in 2019, a change in circumstances presented an opportunity. The need to relocate the business to new premises allowed Vaughn to rethink his business model, and the decision was made to get back into manufacturing. By March 2020, the shift was completed but the journey had only just begun. A plan Vaughn describes as his BHG (Big Hairy Goal), saw the purchase and installation of the latest Biesse CNC and edge-banding machines, custom design software and systems technologies, which provided him and the team with the means to work incredibly efficiently. Today, Tweakit is a nimble company with four craftsmen on the factory floor, two in the design/production office and Nicky as administrator in the office, all keeping the business well organised and responsive. Vaughn says the change was really an economic decision. “I had one chance to set the operation up. If I was going to do it, I had to do it once and do it right. So the investment was made upfront with a 10 year strategic plan in mind. We now service a number of markets: 10% is ‘tweaking’, what we have traditionally done, while about 30% is domestic joinery fit out with the remainder in the commercial joinery space.’ Looking back on his early days where the workspace was best described as high pressure Vaughn says he developed various skills at multiple levels. These skills and experiences equipped and inspired him to create a business model that removed those pressures. The means of doing so lay in the application of technologies to create maximum efficiency and output. Specifically, moving away from paper-based systems was a really positive step forward. Cloud-based management systems were just coming onto the market when Vaughn established Tweakit, so the timing couldn’t have been better. Vaughn admits he was an early adopter of those management systems which he has retained to this day. Vaughn also believes that the Joinery sector stands out among other industries because of the diverse range of materials used and products created - doors, stairs, kitchens and custom joinery fixtures, and consequently the skills required and the opportunities available are endless. Tool based craftsmanship continues in the form of timber joinery and cabinetry assembly, and machine operating is developing at a fast pace with the advancements in CNC technology and specialist banding machines. In the design and production space, CAD and custom design software is driving a lot of these advancements so the demand for skilled craftsmen in the virtual space is growing. Proud hardware supplier to Tweakit Joinery Solutions www.blum.com 621 Rosebank Road, Avondale, Auckland info.nz@blum.com | 09 820 5051 Visit our Auckland showroom to discover top quality Blum products and services and be inspired for your next home project.
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