About Us

We’re All On The Same Mission

United Machinists is a second-generation, family-owned machine shop on a mission to build New Zealand's most skilled precision machining team. We manufacture precision components for mission-critical applications across aerospace, defence, medical, electronics and automotive industries worldwide, where low-volume, high-complexity parts need to be made to tight tolerances and compliance standards, every time.

We partner with clients to implement agile and responsive delivery around their production requirements, from prototype machining to high-volume Swiss-style turning, or JIT low-volume stock management.

DIFOTIS, Delivered In-Full, On-Time, In-Specification, isn't a slogan here. It's backed by a team we've deliberately built to remove key-person risk, so the standard holds whoever is on the floor.

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Founded in 1977. Built for the World Stage.

United Machinists was founded in Dunedin in 1977 by Doug Ramsay as a jobbing shop serving local industry. The business grew quickly, supporting some of New Zealand's best-known manufacturers, including Methven Tapware and Fisher & Paykel, alongside the mining and industrial sector, where precision casting machining became a specialty.

In 2016, Alex and Sarah Ramsay took ownership with a clear view of where manufacturing was heading. The local industrial base that had sustained the business for nearly four decades was contracting, while New Zealand's hi-tech export sector was growing and under-served by the precision machining capability it needed.

The transformation since has been deliberate. From a team of six doing almost entirely local work, United Machinists today is a team of 26 producing for the world's leading aerospace, medical and defence companies. We've gone from our first 5-axis CNC machine in 2014 to an operation running almost entirely on 5-axis and 7-axis mill-turn capability, with 40% of production fully lights-out, a robotically operated 5-axis CMM, in-house anodising, and real-time production monitoring throughout.

None of that happened by buying equipment. It happened by building a team capable of running it, and a culture that made people want to stay. The mission hasn't changed since Doug started it: make things well, deliver when you say you will, and stand behind your work. What's changed is the scale of ambition, and the industries depending on us to get it right.

Our Mission, Vision & Purpose

Our Mission:

To build New Zealand's most skilled precision manufacturing team by combining great people with advanced technology, so the companies changing the world can depend on what we make.

Our Vision:

To be the global precision machining partner of choice for mission-critical, low-run, high-complexity components, built from New Zealand, competing worldwide.

Our Purpose:

We exist to prove that world-class advanced manufacturing is possible from New Zealand, and that doing it right creates genuine opportunity for the people who build it.

What We Stand For

Our values aren't just a poster on the wall. They show up in how we work with you.

GO FOR IT:

Grow

We invest in our people, so our capabilities keep pace with yours.

Own It

Every person on our floor understands what their work is for. That accountability is how quality holds, job after job.

Fun

We're a team that genuinely enjoys the work. That comes through in how we work with you.

Original

We don't default to “how it's always been done.” We'll find a better way if one exists.

Remain

We're long-term partners, not transactional suppliers. When your programme grows, we grow with it.

Inspired

We see what you're building, not just a component. That's what drives the standard we hold ourselves to.

Together

We take the success of your mission personally, because your mission is ours.

Machining Certainty

Clients come to United Machinists when the part is difficult, the material is demanding, the volumes are low, and the timeline is critical. Complex geometry. Fine tolerances. Controlled finishes. Inspection records. Work that cannot drift. At United Machinists, we make complex simple, and we've built a team capable enough to make that look easy.

Our facility is built for agile precision machining, with 24/7 lights-out production, a fully equipped, climate-controlled metrology laboratory and in-house anodising. More capability under one roof means fewer handovers and fewer places for risk to hide.

That means faster answers, cleaner process control and better visibility from first setup to final inspection.

View Our Machining Capabilities

Quality Built Into Every Step

Mission-critical components need more than a good machine. They need control and traceability: evidence that every step, from material to labour, in-process, final and surface treatment inspection, is compliant and traceable.

United Machinists is ISO 9001 certified. Every job moves through a defined process, supported by the right people, calibrated equipment and the latest inspection technology.

That matters when the component is installed in an aircraft, medical device, defence electronics system, or high-performance vehicle.

View our measuring & quality capabilities

About Us

We’re All On The Same Mission

Founded in 1977. Built for the World Stage.