Business Central September 2021

82 | Safety specialist eyes positive future T T Sue Russell QSi general managerPaula Goudie ssy the company has a bright future. Buy NZ: Quality Safety International “We are ISO accredited and all our development and manufacturing systems are externally audited to meet New Zealand and international standards.” P aula Goudie is General Manager of Whanganui-based QSi, Quality Safety In- ternational. It is a role she has been in since 2019, having joined the company initially in 2016 as the Quality Assurance Manager. In her role, Paula, supported by a new team of five directors, oversees QSi’s manufactur - ing divisions and explores future business opportunities. “I love this role. No two days are the same and it is a very forward-thinking company where all involved share the same passion to produce the highest possible standard prod- ucts,” Paula says. QSi manufactures a wide range of health and safety products, including first-aid and survival kits, safety signage, spill solutions, working at height safety equipment, industrial clothing and respiratory protection. QSi founder Brian Bland, arrived in New Zealand, with wife Kathy in 2001, from South Africa and began manufacturing height safety equipment out of one building with industrial sewing machines. Both came to the country with a ton of drive and determination to establish a manufactur- ing business and chose Whanganui, which had plenty of space to grow in. Over time Brian brought more of his prod- uct line from South Africa to be manufactured in his new home. “Brian always said that if you manufacture it, you will sell it and that’s certainly been the experience of QSi, to this day,” says Paula. When the Ministry of Health approached QSi to manufacture masks it set the business on a pathway that would lead to its size and scope now. Today, eight of the ten buildings on the Whanganui site are occupied by QSi divisions. Paula says the way the business is set up is extremely efficient in nature, with each division, such as signage for instance, having input into all products manufactured, and for plant to be used to manufacture any number of items. “It makes for a very flexible nimble way to operate with efficient use of our resources, efficiencies we pass on to our retailers in terms of price.” Another point of difference from other safety system manufacturers in New Zealand is that the manufacturing plant has been set up to create a wide range of products, rather than specialising. When the team of directors took over the company last November, they saw a lot of potential. “Building on from what Brian created here, the directors see a future full of potential growth, given the strong foundations the com- pany was founded on,” says Paula. A new respiratory testing laboratory on site means that respirators are batch tested during manufacture rather than being sent to overseas testing laboratories. Paula says this will bring about huge gains and efficiencies. “We want to add more research and devel- opment and innovation into our products.” “We are ISO accredited and all our de- velopment and manufacturing systems are externally audited to meet New Zealand and international standards.” Responding to the demand for more masks the factory in Whanganui increased capability by increasing manufacturers and shifts, work- ing in rosters 24/7. Once registered as an essential business Paula says the support they received from Government agencies was impressive. “They wanted to know how they could help us in any way to ensure we had materials to manufacture our range of safety equipment from.” Paula says supporting locally made is more important than ever, delivering economic ben- efits to local communities at a time when the ravages of Covid have impacted on interna- tional supply chains. Giving back to the community is a priority for the company. Sales of the QSi NZ made Nikki hard hat, for instance, provides funding to the local Brain Injury Trust. Proud to support QSI Safety Phone: 06 348 0033 Email: admin@strongelectrical.co.nz Electrical Services, Fire Security & BWOF and Heat Pumps & Ventilation MANUFACTURING