On Friday, we welcomed Hon. Nicola Willis to our workshop, alongside MPs Joseph Mooney and Miles Anderson, and candidates Kristine Santos-Asuncion and Matthew French. Sarah Ramsay and Dave Folland led the tour, starting from where it all began and working through to the work leaving our doors today.

It was a chance to show the precision and mission-critical work our team produces for clients across the globe, and to talk about what makes New Zealand well-placed to deliver high-precision, low-volume work that others simply can’t.

Some of our team members had the chance to chat with Nicola Willis about their own career journey into precision manufacturing and how United Machinists has supported it through our close work with local schools, Otago Polytechnic, and universities. Building strong vocational pathways into this trade matters to us.

The group also got to see some of our new machinery, part of the ongoing investment we’re making into the workshop and our capability. From there, the conversation moved to automation, and how we’re using it to take on the repetitive work so our people can spend more time on the parts of the job that actually challenge and fulfil them.

As we continue to grow, so does our investment in new equipment and smarter ways of working, backing our team to keep meeting the demands of a growing industry.