RMOA BCOH TI NI CE SR Y
The robot taking the pod out of the machine for placement onto the conveyor
relationship with a key customer
which allowed for the purchase of
the new injection moulding machine.
The new piece of kit was to replace
an old 1500 tonne machine which
Proline Plastics had inherited when
the company moved to its 69
Portage Road, Otahuhu premise.
“The old machine ran 24/6 but we
consistently ran into problems
with break downs and the quality
of the product was inconsistent
with all product produced requiring
inspection. As you can imagine
this was not a great job for us
and change was required,” says
Cameron.
“With the help of some longstanding
industry experts we
carried out the necessary work
and investigations regarding the
machinery which would best suited
our needs. We were not just looking
for an out and out replacement
machine, but we wanted to ensure
we selected a machine which suited
our needs now and in the future.
Therefore, we decided on a 1850
tonne machine and we sourced
pricing from four trusted suppliers
and manufacturers located around
the world as only a handful of them
made machinery to the size we
required.”
The machine was shipped by
Oceanbridge Shipping, a local
Kiwi shipping company based in
Takapuna – a company Plastic
Machinery Solutions has been
aligned with for over 20 years.
The challenge was great, but the
experienced shipping firm spread
the nett weight of the machine
across two 20 foot flat racks, two
40 foot flat racks, two 40 foot GP
and a 20 foot GP container and the
machine arrived without a hitch.
Ross had Haitians’ chief engineer
Johan Venter along with local
engineers for Australia and New
Zealand on site to Install the
machine.
Rick Ranger of Rick's Trucking was
engaged to unpack, skate, lift and
The pod on the inspection table after coming off the conveyor
place the machine into position
with the guidance of Johan and his
team of engineers; the machine was
assembled in just five days, with
guards put in place and the robot
installed.
“In August 2018 we took delivery of
our new machine… nine containers
full of components that were
skilfully put together by the Plastic
Machinery Solutions and Haitian
Machinery team with the help of the
guys from Rick’s Trucking.
Within just two weeks, the machine
was assembled, commissioned, and
in production.
“For the first week of production,
we decided not to run a night shift
just in case they had any problems,
but we needn’t have worried. We
now start the machine on a Monday
morning and stop it on a Saturday
morning, it runs all week and never
stops,” says Ian.
“We’ve nearly doubled our output
and haven’t had any rejects. The
machine is so quiet, you wouldn’t
know its running. And the staff love
it, a hassle-free shift every day.”
Ian says that Ross and his extended
team made the process seamless
from the time of order right the
way through to delivery and
commissioning, and Proline Plastics
is already working on its next project
with Plastic Machinery Solutions:
a twin-barrel injection moulding
machine that will produce road cones
using 50% recycled old road cones.
It’s another Haitian success story, and
one that Plastic Machinery Solutions
is dedicated to continuing with Proline
Plastics and others.
“Over 100 Haitian injection moulding
machines varying between 1850
down to 60 ton have been sold
between Australia and New Zealand
in the last five years,” says Ross.
“Haitian’s reliability and price has
certainly been a contributing factor.”
Couple that with a strong post-saleservice
underbelly and Engineering
News is sure to be writing more about
companies like Proline Plastics and
Plastics Machinery Solutions – out
there, making the difference.