16 | Innovation recognised at awards The Baskiville team service New Zealand’s nationwide electronic manufacturing industry from a warehouse in Methven. Baskiville T T Hugh de Lacy REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT New Zealand’s nationwide electronic manufacturing industry is being serviced by an importing and distribution company, Baskiville Ltd, from a warehouse in the relatively isolated Mid-Canterbury skiing village of Methven. Baskiville, owned by former diesel mechanic Ian Fowler, has grown with the electronics industry since he bought it from its founder, Harold Baskiville Robinson, in 2006. This year the company was recognised for its innovative approach to its work by making the final of the ANZ Business of the Year Awards in the Excellence in Technology and Innovation section. Baskiville stocks 7000 items of electronics parts and tools at its 200m2 warehouse, and it gained its award recognition for its manufacturers’ world’s-first installation of a Surface Mounted Technology (SMT) Placement machine for a client during Covid. The work would normally be done by technicians brought in from the UK, but travel restrictions meant the only option was for Baskiville to do the installation with the use of virtual reality glasses, and with the support of technicians in the UK and France. The machine installs the components on a circuit board (PCB) that in turn is used in many products manufactured in New Zealand. “We entered the awards because we were encouraged to do so by one of the companies we work for,” Ian says. “We were really pleased with the result – actually quite humbled by it.” Baskiville was founded in Waikanae in the 1970s to meet a growing demand for electronic assembly, sourcing equipment from around the world, especially from the US and the Europe. Ian completed his diesel mechanic’s apprenticeship with the big Canterbury trucking firm Frews Transport in Darfield before moving to Methven in 1984 to join Lyttles Transport, then started a company called Diesel Tech. Ian ended up owning half that company, and sold his share to buy Baskiville “because I could see a future for myself in an electronics business I could own 100%,” he says. He acquired Baskiville at a time when electronic manufacturing in New Zealand was growing. He added a website, moved it south, and today it services the 500-odd companies nationwide that specialise in various aspects of the technology. The stock the company imports and markets covers a range of items from ESD static ionisation equipment for a variety of applications, to x-ray machines, ovens, storage and clothing, soldering irons and hand tools. There’s a staff of three involved in quality-checking the imports, then making up and dispatching the orders to the clients – mostly by courier, sometimes by truck – while the large machinery items that Baskiville imports are usually sent directly to the client from the overseas supplier. Among the companies Baskiville supplies are Fisher and Paykel Healthcare, Rakon, PEC Fuels and the technology group Gallaghers. Far from being limited by remoteness, Ian says there are big advantages to having his company based in Methven, aside from excellent courier and transport services. “If I was in Auckland I’d be wasting three hours a day just commuting,” he says. 85 Main Street, Methven 03 302 9664 ABM is a robust accounting software solution designed to fulfil the needs of modern businesses. Sophisticated features, user-friendly design and flexibility to grow with your business are hallmarks of the ABM system. Streamline your business management processes with ABM today. Import Costing Billfeeds E-Commerce Job Management and Timesheets Manufacturing Sales Purchasing Cashbook Inventory Control T: 0800 424 9626 | E: contact@advancedbusinessmanager.co.nz | www.abm.nz
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