Dean Worner, general manager, (left) and Hans Schuitman, managing director, of Shape Technology

Although Schuitman is not involved much in the day-to-day running of the business any longer – he leaves that to the very capable management team headed by Worner – his passion for the business is shared by all who work there. It’s that genuine passion to solve a client’s problem with the most effi cient solution that saw Shape Technology earn one of its bigger projects, and one in which they take great pleasure in admitting to having enticed from the Auckland region. The work was for the Auckland-based company, Cash Handling Systems, and the project was their new, Ezipark Global Pay and Display parking meters. Shape Technology now produces 120 machines a week, each comprising 650 parts, and has seen them become one of the most widely used parking meters in Australasia. Four years on and Cash Handling Systems’ technical director, Mark Oliver, says the good relationship will soon extend to a new product set to launch on to the United States and Canadian markets. “They [Shape Technology Ltd] started out just metal bending but have grown to accommodate our requirements. They’ve always been quick to respond in an innovative way and their approach to manufacturing has always been to add value.” But while big schemes may be attractive, the company’s philosophy of commitment to value and the building of loyal relationships have caused it to turn down million-dollar projects. “We had a project offered to us some years ago, which was worth $16 million, but decided to walk away from it because we wanted to preserve the well-being of our existing client base. Whilst this project was very good for us, potentially we could also see that it could do an enormous amount of damage to our sanity and to the hand that was feeding us,” says Worner. Even though the client upped his price, the management team made a decision to trade on loyalty and the pay-off has been huge with the company seeing 50 per cent compound growth annually since its inception. Fast growth comes with its own set of challenges, however. “We do feel that pain every time we have our annual growth spurt,” admits Schuitman, “and we know that there are issues to contend with and that we have to come out the other end with all the wheels intact. It’s all part of the exciting process.” The irony for both Schuitman and Worner is that these growth spurts always seem to happen in times of general economic downturn. Once again, it’s their creativity that reaps the rewards. “We are fi rm believers that we need to re-invent ourselves on an ongoing basis – every three years we need to be totally different and amazingly better,” says Worner. “We are a very balanced company and while the base stays the same, our capabilities have increased. We are always looking at new technology and at new, innovative ways of doing things in ways we can add value.” For Worner, that means establishing a new-look assembly division at Shape Technology. “We see a lot of future growth in that area, adding value to electronic-style products. So, where a company may have sheet metal enclosures but they have electronics fi tted out in it as well, we will work with contract manufacturers and others alike to take some of that product and assemble it with our componentry and send it out direct to the end user.” Developing these niche markets means the company is not intimidated in the slightest by the looming threat of manufacturing giants in China, and India. “Our competitors are no longer down the road, they are now offshore, but we still intend to meet them head on,” says Worner. “We actually accept that some of the projects we design will end up being manufactured in China, but we take pride in being there at the conception phase, which is really the most exciting.”

Schuitman agrees: “In New Zealand, we just don’t have the capacity for the volumes needed so we can’t compete on a one-to-one basis. But we are well equipped to create and to generate and to be part of the actual early part of the cycle and that can be the most lucrative part as well.” With creativity, of course, comes the need for a wellresourced design, engineering and R&D department that can put form to ideas, and Shape Technology Ltd prides itself on the mix of talents within their R&D team at the organisation. “We’ve got a mix of tradespeople that have a long experience of working in the fi eld and we also have recent engineering graduates,” says Worner. “A lot of products or prototyping stages also come from design, research and development companies in Christchurch, nationally, and from overseas sources, so we have a happy mix of outside designers and engineers who we’ve developed healthy partnerships with.” When he thinks about his design and engineering team, it’s probably the only time Schuitman, always the positive thinker, shows some frustration. Shape Technology Ltd’s R&D department could be three times the size, he says, if it wasn’t for some thoughtless government policies. “We still have no tax breaks on research and development in this great country, which is a complete mystery. If the politicians could see what amazing energy lies there untapped, ready to be realised by some good, encouraging policies... There is nothing magic about it, wealth needs to be generated to have a good welfare system. The whole welfare system is funded from the generation of wealth. There is no welfare unless we add value and create true wealth. The fi rst duty of any government should always be to do whatever is needed to make the wealth-generating machine lean, mean and effective, but…” So, while he’s resigned to the fact not much is going to change on that front any time soon, Schuitman keeps busy with his growing business, which has changed considerably from the early days in 1990 when there were just four people on the factory fl oor. He believes, however, that doing business now is easier than it was years ago. “I think we are living in a more honest environment now. There was a lot of distortion in relationships those days, deals done on golf courses and so on. Today, I’ve got to say, this is no longer the issue. We don’t do deals any more on the basis of whose back we pat and whose back we scratch, it’s all on quality performance and the end product. He adds, “We should never be intimidated by the environment. If you are, then you’ve lost already; the opportunities are as big as your vision.” Worner agrees that you have to change with the times but keep your focus on the direction you really want to go achieve and to keep your energies positive, even when you’re thinking of your competitors. “Actually, there is nobody we really view as a competitor or obstacles to projects we want to work on. We actually work with some of our competitors and will often contract out work to them; it brings everyone together.

The Ezipark Global Pay and Display parking meter

Dean Worner, general manager, (left) and Hans Schuitman, managing director, of Shape Technology