Mixed ideas begin in shower

By KIM WILLIAMS

Five years ago, Auckland businessmen and friends Zdzis `Jesh' Jaskiewicz, Brad Houghton and Peter Jeromson got together in the hope of conceiving a product for the international market.

"We were sitting down over a pint and thinking what product we could develop that the world wants," Mr Jaskiewicz said.

They discovered they all hated getting into the shower and having the hot water go cold or the pressure fall away.

So the trio started Stainless Technology and began work to design and make an electronic valve to mix hot and cold water perfectly.

Not only did they succeed in making the valve, they also found a buyer - a United States-based company which produces 25 million taps a year.

Following the sale of the rights to the valve in December, Mr Jaskiewicz bought his partners' shares in Stainless Technology, and tweaked the company's long-term vision. Today it exports 90 per cent of its products.

The company currently specialises in developing packaging and processing machinery, and Mr Jaskiewicz would like to tap into transport and aerospace further on down the track.

"Customers come to us because they can't find what they need off-the-shelf. We sit down with them and come up with solutions or point them in the right direction if we can't help."

The company has recently installed a three-dimensional laser cutter, the only one in the Southern Hemisphere.

The $1 million machine cuts intricately shaped parts from stainless steel up to 12mm thick and operates up to 30 per cent faster than a traditional stamping machine (and with a lot less noise).

Mr Jaskiewicz says he prefers not to see other similar companies as competition.

"The stainless steel market is growing. There's a move to people using more and more stainless, away from traditional steels.

"I believe everyone who's in stainless steel should actually be growing their business."

He says New Zealand has a bright future in innovative technology because it is cheaper to make products here than it is overseas.

"We compete very well with European and American [production] prices. That's why we've gone out and made a huge investment in the laser cutter, because that will cut down the cost of production again, and will make it quicker," he said.

"This is going to be one of the cheapest places in the world to develop products."

However, half the company's business currently comes from its controlled atmosphere packaging machine. Captech, as it is called, packages meat in such a way that it gives meat a shelf life of 20 weeks without freezing.

"We build the machine to order and it was developed to meet the needs of supermarkets."

Almost 50 Captech machines have been exported to Australia, Canada, the US, Holland, Norway, Thailand and Wales, at a value of up to $400,000 each.

Mr Jaskiewicz, who employs 10 staff, firmly believes the key to the company's success comes down to communication and goal-setting.

"What I foster here is a lot of open communication, so that everyone knows what's going on all the time, and we know ... we're all trying to please our customer, and getting them a product that's high quality, at a good price and on time."

A review is conducted at the end of each job to capitalise on the things done well and to reduce mistakes next time around.

The company has kept on top of marketplace changes through seminars and courses, studying market trends and, where possible, acquiring the latest technology.

The other part of the equation is marketing.

"I'm in the market the whole time looking for new customers," Mr Jaskiewicz said.

"It can be as easy as going and talking to people and saying, `hey, what's on now, and what options are there for us in the future ... what would you like us to do?'."

Stainless Technology is a one-stop shop that can take a product from its inception right through to the finished item.

For that reason, the company sets out to employ multi-skilled tradespeople.

"We look for people who have a really large and broad range of skills, so then it's really easy to move them around and train them up. We look for aptitude and attitude in our staff, that's the real key to our success," he says.