When you’ve been crafting quality kitchens and joinery for nearly four decades, you understand that attention to detail makes all the difference. Advanced Joinery, Canterbury’s multi-award winning joinery company, recently made a significant investment in their most valuable assets – their people – by upgrading their industrial dust extraction system with Egmont Air.
The Challenge: Outgrowing Their Space
Darrin Dudson, Managing Director of Advanced Joinery, faced a familiar challenge for successful businesses: growth. “We just needed more space, more capacity,” Darrin explains. “We had no room to consider more dust extraction. No room in our office, no room in our factory – it was unproductive and, to me, a little bit unhealthy, especially dust-wise.”
For a company that prides itself on manufacturing excellence and has built a reputation for craftsmanship over 39 years, maintaining a clean, safe working environment isn’t just about compliance – it’s about protecting their greatest asset. “That’s a massive thing for me, to keep the guys fit and healthy,” Darrin emphasises. “They’re our biggest asset out of this whole business – it’s the guys.”
The Solution: Egmont Air’s Industrial Dust Extraction System
Working with Todd Prestidge, Director and Clean Air Consultant at Egmont Air, Advanced Joinery implemented a comprehensive industrial dust extraction solution centred around the Egmont FMM3 Filter System. With a maximum capacity of 15,000m³/h, the system was specifically designed to handle the workshop’s total airflow requirements of 11,339m³/hr with room to grow.
The FMM3 industrial dust extraction system represents the cutting edge of dust collection technology, specifically engineered for New Zealand’s medium to large-sized manufacturers. Its modular galvanised construction ensures years of reliable outdoor operation while providing the flexibility to expand as the business grows.
Key features of the installation include:
- Generous filter surface area designed to handle the combination of fine polystyrene particles and timber dust
- High-efficiency needle-felt media that allows clean air discharge to atmosphere
- Automatic reverse-pulse jet cleaning that maintains filter sleeves every 30 minutes
- Rotary-valve airlock for efficient waste discharge
- Compact footprint that maximises workshop space
The Eco-Power Advantage
One of the standout features of the Advanced Joinery installation is the Eco-Power system, which includes a variable speed drive and pressure stabiliser controller. This intelligent system automatically adjusts fan speed based on the number of outlets in use, providing substantial power savings and noise reduction.
For Advanced Joinery’s 18.5kW system, even a 20% reduction in fan speed translates to 50% power savings – approximately $4,440 annually in ongoing energy costs. It’s an investment that pays for itself while contributing to the company’s environmental responsibility.
Real-World Results: A Transformed Workshop
The transformation has been immediately apparent to everyone at Advanced Joinery. “The workshop’s a lot tidier, not as much dust flying around everywhere,” Darrin notes with satisfaction. The improvements extend beyond just cleanliness. Previously, workers spent considerable time managing dust – blowing down tables, changing bags on individual extractors, and dealing with dust clouds that would settle throughout the workshop.
“I reckon that would save us at least 6 hours a week of not changing bags,” Darrin calculates. “Now we just pull that pneumatic button, drive the forklift under it, put it on the skip on the rubbish truck, and job done.”
The old system required constant maintenance, with bags falling off improperly fitted extractors and creating more dust problems. The centralised system has eliminated these issues entirely. “All those timber machines are all on one system now,” explains Darrin, highlighting the efficiency gains from the integrated approach.
Beyond Compliance: A Matter of Pride
For Advanced Joinery, this investment represents more than just meeting health and safety requirements – it shows their commitment to excellence in every aspect of their operation. “We like to have a tidy operation. I don’t like going out there and seeing dust and stuff everywhere – to me it looks bad,” Darrin explains. “But now it’s nice and tidy and presentable.”
This attention to detail aligns perfectly with Advanced Joinery’s reputation for quality that has been built over decades of serving clients throughout New Zealand. As members of the National Kitchen and Bathroom and Master Joiners Associations, they understand that excellence extends beyond the final product to encompass every aspect of the manufacturing process.
A Partnership Built on Local Expertise
The success of this project highlights the value of working with local specialists who understand New Zealand conditions. Egmont Air’s combination of European quality technology with local expertise and service provided Advanced Joinery with a solution perfectly tailored to their needs.
As Advanced Joinery continues to grow and serve clients across New Zealand with their custom kitchens, doors, windows, and specialised joinery, their investment in a professional dust extraction system ensures they can maintain the high standards that have defined their business for nearly four decades – while keeping their most valuable assets, their skilled craftspeople, healthy and productive.
For businesses looking to improve their dust extraction systems, Egmont Air offers comprehensive consultation and custom solutions. Contact us at 0800 781 200 to discuss your requirements.