by Natalie Edwards

Extreme Boats, Whakatane – Success Story

 

'Happy staff are going to stay around for longer. It does take a long time to get staff trained up. They've got a pretty special skill set, a lot of them. So we want to hang on to them.'

 

Mat from Extreme Boats tells us why they made the move to powered air respirators for their team, and how TECMEN became the PAPR unit of choice.

TELL US A BIT ABOUT EXTREME BOATS…

Extreme Boats is a family-owned and operated business here in Whakatāne. We produce award-winning aluminium trailer boats.

 

The company was started about 25 years ago by Glenn and Di Shaw and their two boys on the family farm. Today, the company employs around 100 staff.

 

We produce about 250 boats per year, and we've established a dealer network throughout New Zealand, Australia, into the United States, Europe and also New Caledonia. So the boats  are going all around the world these days.

 

We've got about 20 different models in the range, from five metres right through to nine metres. And we've also established another company called Legacy Marine, which has been established for larger commercial jobs and we've released a range of luxury motor yachts, which range from 30ft right up to just over 70ft in length.

 

We carry out all aspects of the job on-site, from the design work through to the cutting, folding of the material, the fabrication, welding of the boats, right through to the painting, the fit-out, upholstery, and then off to the dealer network they go.

 

We pride ourselves heavily on producing a high-quality product, a product that you can rely on. And we love what we do. We just love building boats.

Mat Cranswick, Marketing Manager

Extreme BoatsExtreme Boats

WHAT RESPIRATORY PROTECTION WERE YOU USING BEFORE YOU TRIED THE TECMEN RESPIRATORY UNITS?

Before the TECMEN equipment here at Extreme Boats, we were using a range of various respirators — filtered respirators, some various air-feed helmets.

WHAT MADE YOU START LOOKING AT USING POWERED AIR RESPIRATOR UNITS?

Our staff here at Extreme Boats — we value very highly. They mean a lot to us, and they put a lot into their day. So, yeah, we want them to be healthy. We want them to be happy, and we want them to be comfortable. Also, happy staff are going to stay around for longer. It does take a long time to get staff trained up. They've got a pretty special skill set, a lot of them. So we want to hang on to them. Yeah, we are one big family.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO BUY THE TECMEN RESPIRAOTR UNITS?

We looked into various powered respirator units, and the TECMEN one, for us, ticks a lot of the boxes. They are compliant. They’re light in weight. It's a quality product and has become the powered respirator unit of choice here at Extreme Boats.

WHAT DIFFERENCE HAS IT MADE TO YOUR STAFF IN HAVING THE PAPR UNITS?

It's good for the guys. They're doing a mixture between grinding and welding. They can be grinding away one moment, drop the visor down, and then be straight into welding.

 

So yeah, it's working really well. The guys are super happy that are wearing them. Super good over the summer months when things get a bit hotter. They're also priced well as well.

WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TECMEN RESPIRATOR UNITS TO OTHER ENGINEERS?

Yeah, we would recommend the TECMEN respirator unit to other engineers. Our staff are happy and comfortable in them. They're enjoying breathing clean air, and they're certainly proving to be a good, reliable unit.

Yeah, it's really good.