looking at the bigger picture...

No-one could doubt that heat treating is in the McGregor blood. Founded by W.D. McGregor in 1946, Heat Treatments has always had a succession of McGregors’ working either at the helm or within the business itself. On board currently are Keith and his two son’s, Kevin and Reece, and whether they are tweaking the Heat Treatment racing cars or working on a customer’s product, they each derive immense satisfaction from being part of an organisation their father / grandfather started.

To get a ‘big picture’ perspective on the business, Celsius spoke with Keith McGregor:-

What do you see as the key factors influencing the business over the last few years?
“The increase in operating costs has been a significant factor impacting the business over the last decade. Energy charges have increased dramatically, as have labour costs. Compliance costs have risen and, although adherence to legislation has had a positive impact on the quality aspects of our business, it comes at a price.”

“Simply passing on such large cost increases is not possible in a market the size of New Zealand and consequently we’ve had to look at ways of making the business more cost efficient.”

What would you say were the major changes that have occurred in the business?
“Investment in new plant has been a hallmark of Heat Treatments throughout the years and it’s been one way we’ve countered the rise in operational costs. By installing newer, faster machines, and looking at automating as many processes as possible, we are working towards making the business more efficient.”

“Examples of this include a new fully automated shaker hearth which operates unmanned throughout the night and a new induction hardening machine [not yet commissioned] that is capable of working on two pins at a time rather than the current machine which can only do one.”

What are customers looking for?
“Customers are looking for us to be even more accurate in our work so that they can avoid any post-working which costs both time and money. This demand was a key driver behind our commissioning the Co-ordinate Measuring Machine (see page 4).”

“We’ve seen a lot of work head off-shore only for it to end up back at Heat Treatments as the quality of the work has been so poor. For example we recently had to re-work some screws that had been made overseas and which were breaking due to incorrect heat treatment.”

Where to from here?
“There is always a way of improving what you do and when you pull together a group of like-minded people there is always a new idea brewing somewhere. Many concepts have been born on the back of a lunch wrapper and many more come from our involvement with heat treating organisations overseas. Wherever the ideas come from our goal is to make good on those that will see us continue to lead the heat treatment industry in New Zealand.”