-Rebecca Reed

“I am proud to have spent more than 40 years of my life manufacturing products that save lives. I am proud that my company has remained competitive against international suppliers and most of all that we have managed to create products that add value to New Zealand.”

Poignant words from the owner of award-winning high-tech manufacturing company Pertronic Industries, David Percy.

What started with one person in Ngauranga Gorge, Wellington, has turned into quite the success story for Hutt Valley manufacturer Pertronic Industries. Fast forward forty years later, the company now employs 140 people and proudly operates out of a 6,000 square metre factory site in Wingate, Lower Hutt.

Pertronic Industries manufacturing business, designs and makes fire detection systems that it sells to installation companies, who fit systems in commercial and industrial buildings such as hotels, hospitals, high-rise office blocks, schools, tunnels, and shopping malls.

The company, founded by electrical engineer David Percy in 1982, has grown to be the largest manufacturer of fire detection systems in New Zealand. At least 50% of its business is now in Australia where it has offices in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth.

They have exciting plans in the pipeline to launch in the US market.

“We are in the process of getting a product certified for sale in the large USA market. We have a small team of people based in the US who have been working tirelessly on our first US product which has been going through R&D / Certification to meet the local requirements. The opportunities in the US market are significant. With our recent investment in new technology and ongoing R&D, we are setting ourselves up for growth in the US market.”

Investing in R&D and new technology

With an eye to the future, David says the company has invested heavily in R&D so they can continue to manufacture high quality competitive products.

Pertronic’s Production Manager Stephen Mills says if it wasn’t for David and his willingness to reinvest the profits of the company back into R&D, the business wouldn’t be the leading manufacturer for fire protection in NZ and they certainly wouldn’t be entering the US market.

“The investment in R&D and new equipment has enabled us to get through Covid-19 and be positioned for continued growth. The R&D component of this company, with 30 people in the team, is unbelievable in terms of the investment spent so that’s why this is so successful – it has enabled us to create better products and keep Pertronic at the leading edge of our industry.”

The company also understands the importance of continuing to develop high quality products that stand out amongst its competitors. To keep up with productivity demands it recently invested $1 million in new technology which will increase their printed circuit board manufacturing capacity by 50%.

The new Surface Mount Technology Europlacer, purchased from France, can be configured to run up to 30,000 components per hour and most importantly reduces the set-up time on production from 2.5 hours to 7 minutes.

“The growth we have been experiencing has meant we needed to add capacity and increase productivity, and the Europlacer met all of our requirements. For a number of years, we have used older technology machines which have given us good service, but technology has moved on considerably, so we needed to think about our future growth and demands.”

Growth in the wake of challenges

Despite challenges relating to the global pandemic, Pertronic Industries achieved a record 30% growth last year, which David puts down to several factors.

“Like many other high tech manufacturing businesses, we haven’t been immune to the challenges faced because of Covid-19 such as supply chain disruptions, hyperinflation and staff shortages. However, our growth is a result of a combination of reasons including our excellent relationship with our suppliers, being a NZ based manufacturer of fire detection products, our investment in R&D, and our team.”

David says a clear advantage of being a NZ based manufacturer is they are able to stay very close to their customers and offer a degree of customisation that suits each project, which suppliers with imported products struggle to meet. He says a major fire detection system installed in the  Waterview Tunnel in Auckland is an example of this.

“One of the key requirements to win the business for Waterview tunnel was to be able to fix any programming problems, or be there in the event of any equipment being damaged during the installation or commissioning process. This would not be so easy to achieve if the products were imported – because we manufacture locally, we are able to offer far more support than our competitors.”

David says although they use local suppliers such as metal working firms Metco in Seaview and RH Freemans in Grenada North, they also have to rely on imported products such as semiconductor components of which there is a worldwide shortage.

“The whole supply chain disruption over the last couple of years has been challenging and Stephen Mills, our Production Manager, has managed to put a lot of time and effort into ensuring we have the shipments.

“Unfortunately, due to demand and hyperinflation, we have had to pay prices for the products  up to 15 times higher than what we normally pay. It does put us in a difficult position, and we have had to put some price increases through although we have absorbed some of those price increases to assist our customers.”

Investing in future generations

As Pertronic Industries continues to grow it is looking to invest in its future workforce. It has been involved in the Gateway programme offered through High Schools and offers selected secondary school pupils work experience during the school holidays.

“We have had some great students who have worked for us through the school holidays. One has decided to study Electrical Engineering at Canterbury University and every holiday he comes back to work for us. Having enthusiastic hard working young people work for us is of great benefit because older staff are keen to pass knowledge on, and simple projects that usually sit on the backburner are worked on by these people who are exposed to an industry they might want to consider in the future.”

Hutt based opportunities

Pertronic have been based in Lower Hutt for 30 years and have made four major expansions over that time, including a $5 million building extension just before Covid lockdown.

David says the Hutt has been an ideal location to run a manufacturing business.

“Lower Hutt is a great place to run a business, there is a lot of manufacturing history out here and a good workforce. There’s also a lot of growth in the region and it’s an attractive place to work and live. Accessibility is excellent with proximity to the ports, airport, and transport links. Collaboration in the Hutt Valley manufacturing community is also strong with many beneficial relationships.”

David is also positive when it comes to the support they receive from local agencies such as the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce.

“Patrick McKibbin and the Chamber have been really supportive when it comes to manufacturing in our region. They acknowledge the important role we play economically.”

He says one of the things we can do better as a country is to empower and support the manufacturing sector which will in turn generate the income required to transform this economy and lead the world to a social and sustainable future.

“We don’t want New Zealand to decline into becoming a low skilled country. We need to remain at the forefront and be competitive against imported products so that’s why high-tech manufacturing needs to be taken seriously and be at the front of the government’s thinking. Support, especially when it comes to R&D, is vital because if we don’t do this then we can’t develop enough innovative products to stay ahead of our international competitors.”

 Patrick McKibbin, CEO of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce agrees.

“Manufacturing and technology in the Hutt Valley are pivotal to the Hutt Valley and the Wellington region’s future, providing high paid employment, generating revenue, and stimulating economic growth. In fact, the manufacturing and technology sectors in the Hutt Valley contribute in excess of $1 billion of GDP to the country’s economy. We need to support and champion these sectors because the Hutt Valley is a major centre of manufacturing, technology of innovation excellence.”

Patrick says the region is home to several research and development centres and innovation hubs that support the development of new products, processes, and technologies.

“We have a responsibility to support the sector because they are pivotal to our economy and our future, they are important employers in our communities, and they need our support.”

High tech manufacturing companies like Pertronic Industries are doing Hutt Valley and NZ Inc proud and the future is looking incredibly bright for a business that was started by one passionate electrical engineer 40 years ago.