IF YOU’RE a sawmill operator in New Zealand or Australia and you’re not running Mac Valves equipment, then you’re missing out on a wealth of industry expertise and leading-edge technology. Ask anyone in the timber milling industry – Mac Valves is the tried and trusted name for wood industry solutions – including world-renowned Mac valves, Canadian ‘Royal’ brand cylinders, customised Oilrite lubrication solutions, plus air springs, air service units, air dryers, Legris pneumatic fittings, and EDCO vacuum systems. Mac Valves is undoubtedly one of the most proactive companies in New Zealand’s timber industry, and a lot of this can be attributed to the fact that two of its timber industry development engineers, Cliff Bruning and Craig Banks, are both ex-sawmill engineers with many years hands-on experience. They are industry champions and they know the exact needs of their customers. Banks is ex-Carter-Holt Harvey. “I have first-hand knowledge of many of this country’s high-volume saw-mills over a period of 18 years – mills that employ cutting-edge technology. And I’ve a couple of years of full-time pneumatics industry experience,” he says. “Cliff, who covers the South Island, has 11 years hands-on experience in sawmilling, primarily in second-tier niche operations, and ten years of pneumatics industry experience under his belt too. “Together we can deliver solutions for any application in the timber industry – because we’ve already seen the ideal solution in-situ somewhere else.” The range of Mac valves, widely known as the ‘valves that don’t stick’, have reached almost legendary status in the timber industry and are globally recognised as the wood industry standard. They are designed to take a hammering over a long period and in the most atrocious of conditions. The lightweight valves come with an 18 month guarantee and an additional lifetime guarantee on the electrical coils. The Three ‘Rs’ Banks talks about the three ‘Rs’ when it comes to Mac valves: reliability, repeatability and repair-ability. “The repeatability factor is all about the valve’s ability to ‘go’ every time. On a high-speed multi-trimmer, for example, there is a heck of a lot of sequencing taking place, so repeatability is paramount. “Repair-ability relates to our Flat Rate Rebuild programme. We can rebuild a valve and send it back to the customer for up to half the price of a brand new one, and there is a three month warranty on the rebuilt product.” Mac has a valve solution for any application in the sawmilling industry – from the high flow requirements of debarkers to the high-speed multi-trimmers, planers and stackers. The valves are known for their very fast response time, and are an automatic choice in the sorting industry around the world. In New Zealand, the range of Mac products is distributed by a network of official MDN (Mac Distribution Network) representatives. And so, as Banks points out, customers are not just buying the valve, they are buying a full technical support service. The same can be said for the full range of products, including the heavy duty Royal cylinders, which Mac manufactures and assembles in New Zealand. Banks considers the Royal cylinders the ‘holy grail’ of timber application cylinders – made from highly durable materials, such as nitro-tech steel, for log turning and other functions within a timber mill. “By adding in the ‘New Zealand build’ factor, we’re also adding significant value to the cylinders,” he says. “One example is the addition of brass scrapers to the cylinder rods.” Mac also builds Oilrite lubrication solutions, based around the self-priming Purgex pump, which Banks describes as ‘nuggety’. “These lubrication systems also happen to be selling like hot cakes at the moment.” The pumps and associated componentry are either housed within a dustproof enclosure or panel mounted. They dispense liquids, greases (up to EP2) or a liquid spray/mist, and the pumps are tested for more than 360 million cycles without any signs of wear. Banks says the whole focus of Mac Valves is to be a ‘solutions based provider’ for New Zealand’s timber milling industry. His favourite expression when talking to potential customers is “tell me where your pain is?” “We want to know which area of production is causing you grief. The solution could be as simple as changing out a valve product,” he says. reader enquiries quote: D081023