Parkside Timber in Wondai, Qld recently picked up a prestigious award, Most Innovative TABMA Member in Australia. After being nominated in 2016, TABMA and industry representatives visited Parkside and were suitably enough impressed to present them with the state award that year.
Last month, they visited again and voted Parkside the most innovative operation in the country. Ross Lakin, Parkside’s Operations Manager says the equipment that particularly captured TABMA’s attention was the state-of-the-art packaging machine the company has spent several years designing and implementing.
“It’s a multimillion dollar project,” Ross says. “We run hardwood at 110 metres per minute which is incredibly fast. And the finishes are second to none. In fact, what we’re doing at Parkside is so impressive that we’ve coined the term ‘industry tourism’ because we’ve got people coming from all over Australia to inspect it!”
Originally created to deliver quality wood into major timber retailers in an appropriate packaging format, the machine has been developed from the ground up.
“We couldn’t have accomplished what we have without Craig and the Accurate team and products,” Ross insists. “We’ve partnered with Accurate for more than ten years and when the time came to improve our tooling needs, Craig was not only supportive, but hugely enthusiastic. I know for a fact that no other company would have had the patience, the understanding and the diligence to deliver us a standard of finish that exceeded even our expectations.”
Accurate enlisted the help of suppliers to create a grade of tungsten carbide that could handle the task and worked with Parkside to develop a diamond jointing system that delivers finishes and speeds unheard of in Queensland hardwood manufacturing. Ultimately, all the challenges of design and development culminated in being awarded Most Innovative TABMA Member in the country, recognition that makes a significant impact on a business’s profile and ongoing growth.
Congratulations to Parkside Timber, and may the innovations continue! We will be delighted to go along for the ride with you.