Takes Us Back To Our Roots.
A group of over 50 enthusiastic engineers were treated to a lesson in New Zealand history and heavy engineering when A&G Price opened their Thames plant up to the MESNZ Kaeser Compressors Network Evening in August.
The A&G Price story started in the 1860’s in Auckland when two pioneering English brothers, Alfred and George Price, opened an engineering workshop in Onehunga. After burning that factory down, the brothers made the call to move the operation to Thames, at that stage larger than Auckland thanks to the booming gold rush. The links forged (pun intended) with gold mining, rail and crushing equipment reverberate through the company’s heritage today. A & G Prices built the first 100 steam locomotive’s for NZ rail and a total of 298 steam & Diesel electrics through to the 1960’s.
A century and a half later and the company is still supplying high quality engineering to New Zealand and the world. Items like track links for APC’s from the Singapore Army, railway carriage components for NZ and Australia and 3m x 40mm wide long solid bronze cast hooks for Australian primary industries.
A&G Price enjoys strong demand for these products because of their experience, reputation and quality systems. In a strange twist, customers burnt by price driven Asian products are returning to Thames when they realize the true cost of poor quality. While the challenge for A&G rice is in repositioning the company to deal with the modern world, as the last one stop foundry in New Zealand, the company is a physical reminder of why the New Zealand government needs to work a lot harder to support industry. Railway carriage contracts are a classic example of letting work leave our shores to the detriment of centuries of experience.
While the engineers were surprised at the scale, quality and size of the workshop equipment, able to machine up to 40 tonnes, 6.3m diameter and 10m long, many had not experienced a foundry operation and it was this feature that was the star of the show. From the design of the patterns, 3D modeling, pattern molding, to learning how the molten metal travels through the cavities in the mold and the effects of cooling, the group were treated to a lesson in the engineering black arts.
Topping off the tour of the foundry was a show put on especially by the A&G Price team for the group, a 500kg cast steel pour of a wharf bollard. The teamwork and science that goes into the pour was a credit to their art, underscored with the calm reaction to a mold failure. A rare blow out of the mold resulting in molten metal cascading to the floor was quietly dealt to without stress, a direct contrast to the possum like stares of the gathered group!
The Kaeser Compressors Network Evenings are hosted to showcase local operations and provide networking opportunities for engineers across all regions of New Zealand. The evenings offer the opportunity to take a look at the host operation and discuss common issues and solutions in a relaxed after work environment. Open to interested members of the public, the nights are well patronised as proven at A&G Price. As well as learning firsthand about the capabilities and achievements of the A&G Price team, the group enjoyed light refreshments and benefited from the opportunity to network with their peers, taking new connections and solutions back to their workplaces.
The Maintenance Engineering Society is active across New Zealand, providing opportunities for maintenance engineers and manufacturing operations to network and share innovations and experiences; both at these regional events and at their annual national conference. The 2016 National Maintenance Engineering Conference, to be held at the Claudelands Event Centre, Hamilton in November is shaping up as the largest ever, with a major Exhibition Hall featuring 60 exhibitors, a Training Village featuring short course training opportunities and 200 attendees expected for the main conference. Registrations are now open and filling fast. Details can be found at http://www.mesnz.org.nz/conference/.
