Millennium Joinery runs a busy Oamaru workshop turning out precision joinery and cabinetry for builders, developers and homeowners across Otago. With a CNC, edge-bander and supporting machinery operating through the day, the team needed a joinery dust extraction system that could keep pace — capturing dust and shavings at every machine, protecting the health of staff working alongside it, and meeting New Zealand’s clean-air and workplace safety rules.

Michael at Millennium Joinery wanted a system with no constraints on production — and a workshop that was a healthy place to work. A typical day might see the CNC, edge-bander and several other machines running together, generating MDF, particleboard and fine sanding dust. The extraction had to handle that full load without losing suction at any single machine, and capture dust at the source before it reached the people working around it.

The starting point was a site visit from Egmont Air’s Todd Prestidge, who walked the workshop, assessed the machine list and dust loads, and designed a solution sized to Millennium’s production needs rather than an off-the-shelf fit.

The specified system is the Egmont FM2 modular filter unit paired with an 11.0kW PRM three-phase fan delivering 8,000–10,000m³/h, with ducting to six machines, onsite installation and a 12-month warranty.

At this airflow rating, every machine on the floor can extract at once. Millennium’s team isn’t sequencing work around the dust extractor — the extractor works around them. The everyday difference shows up in the air quality and the clean-up. With dust captured at the source, less ends up settled on benches and finished joinery, and end-of-day clean-down is faster.

MDF, particleboard and fine sanding dust are recognised respiratory hazards — best controlled by capture-at-source local exhaust ventilation rather than general ventilation or PPE alone. The FM2 system does exactly that, pulling dust out of the air before it reaches the operator’s breathing zone. The filter media also meets clean-air discharge rules, covering both worker exposure and emissions to the surrounding environment.

If you run a joinery, cabinetmaking or woodworking shop and want to talk through what a properly sized joinery dust extraction system could look like for your operation, get in touch with Egmont Air. We design, supply and install systems across New Zealand — sized to your machines, your space and your budget.