The Metalform management team. From left, Campbell Easton, Tim Henman, Alan Benbow and Geoff Easton
The Metalform management team. From left, Campbell Easton, Tim Henman, Alan Benbow and Geoff Easton
WHILE New Zealand's high dollar has affected Metalform's sales into Australia, sales to the United States are benefiting from the currency being better than it has been in a long time, company general manager Allan Benbow says.
"Our orders are very solid and we're working flat out," he said.
Lastyear Metalform was named as one of New Zealand's top 10 emerging companies in the the Technology Investment Network annual report, which provides a snapshot of the industry, including trends and analysis.
Despite the high dollar and lower payout to dairy farmers, Mr Benbow said the company was experiencing regular sales in the United States, where Metalform has its own direct marketing and warehousing. "We're also working with a new distributor, which gives us the potential to increase sales," he said.
Metalform has been working with a distributor in the United Kingdom for two years and Mr Benbow said the company was seeing increasing sales there.
"We're also expecting our United Kingdom distributor to expand into Europe," he said.
However, Mr Benbow confirmed that, with the changing focus of the company from design to sales and customer service, some restructuring of staff at the company has taken place, with the net loss of one job in Dannevirke.
"We're concentrating on making sales as opposed to development and our restructuring meant jobs changed in the process. But, overall we're very, very busy, although we do have a seasonal fluctuation, with our seasonal low period November through to February."
