Launched on the 4th of February, Machineryhouse is a new brand for the New Zealand market, but backed by Hare & Forbes – a leading name in workshop machinery in Australia since the 1930s. Hare & Forbes is still a family business with 125 employees and headquartered in Sydney.

Rick Foster, the sales and marketing manager for Machineryhouse says the company has been supplying some workshop machines into the New Zealand market for some years. However, with the opening of the new warehouse and showroom at 38 Highbrook Drive, East Tamaki (close to the South Auckland motorway), New Zealand’s workshop operators now have access to a vastly improved service.

"The difference is that we hold around $15 million worth of stock in Australia, which means a much shorter four-week turnaround on specific workshop machines. Even better, around $1.5 million worth of stock will be kept on hand in New Zealand – which means delivery on a comprehensive range of machines, tooling and accessories is virtually overnight.

"Our philosophy is: ‘if it’s in the catalogue, then we have it in stock," he says.

"While our competitors have long lead times, we aim for quick despatch. Our spare parts will be available overnight, even when sourced from our Australian warehouse," he adds.

Experience counts

The Machineryhouse team of five is long on industry experience. Service engineer George Nam has 30 years of experience in the machine tool industry, and he says running and testing each machine before it leaves the warehouse is standard procedure to ensure fast on-site commissioning for customers.

Bill Lee is sales manager, and his machine tool experience dates back as far as Nam’s.

Assisting with technical sales, Darren Sharpe has an extensive background in the machining, automotive and spray-painting industries, while New Zealand branch manager Kevin Lamb is another well-known face in the industry, with 18 years experience in machine tools.

"With Machineryhouse you are effectively buying direct and cutting out the middle-man," says Lamb. "It’s all about stock availability and service."

The Machineryhouse catalogue covers a full range of machines and workshop equipment, including rotary tables, milling arbors, dividing heads, Easson digital readouts, MeasumaX precision measuring instruments, lathe accessories, cutting tools and much, much more.

"We’ve not only filled a major hole in the market – we’ve also added new product lines for the woodworking and automotive sectors," says Foster.

"It’s an exciting new era for New Zealand’s metalworking and woodworking machine tool industry."