Burgess Matting uses reclaimed rubber to make a wide range of safety products. Some are used on sports fields, others in playgrounds and still others on vehicles, in buildings and on farms.
Much of the rubber is from tyres, and comes from a subsidiary business - Matman Rubber Surfaces - based in South Auckland. The tyres arrive shredded and ready for use.
At its busiest the plant used to process up to 15 tonnes of rubber a week. Business is a bit slower at present with about half that much used - but there are still 15 staff employed.
Through a Palmerston North company Burgess Matting exports a hockey deflector all around the world. Four-wheeled all terrain vehicles come with Wanganui-made rubber matting on the back of their carriers to protect farm dogs and other passengers.
Another Burgess product is an acoustic underlay, and others are the various rubber surfaces that keep little children safe when they fall in playgrounds.
The company has to seize any niche market opportunity and continually develop new products. It has just launched a thick, tough, spongy black pad that is used on farms.
The pad is set in a bath of chemical fluid. Cattle walk over it and the fluid treats their feet, without splashing up onto their bodies.
About 25 per cent of Burgess production is used in agriculture, 20 per cent in architecture and 50 per cent in education, especially early childhood education.
The economic downturn has made one facet of the business easier.
"Five years ago we were scouring the country looking for rubber. But not now," Burgess said.
His father, Alan, started Burgess Matting nearby in suburban Wanganui East in 1951. The business moved to Duncan St in 1967, where Burgess put up a factory and office - now the Wanganui East Hospice Shop - and also owned the church across the street.
His son has taken the business onward from there.
"The range has expanded hugely and the way we reach the market has changed. We have had to go direct and really specialise in niche products."
