From honey shed to chipper new digs
Hansa has built a new outlet and manufacturing centre in the Northgate Business Park, north of Hamilton, as demand for its products booms.
Starting in a honey shed at Ohaupo, Hansa has been making chippers and shredding equipment in New Zealand for more than 40 years and exporting to Australia for 25 years.
The company had outgrown its previous Hamilton premises and set about locating a new site.
Formerly based in a 828-square-metre building, the business had set itself ambitious production targets and has relocated to a 8500sqm Northgate site, managing director Martin Vogel said.
The new headquarters includes a new and larger factory, storage, plus service and office space. The facilities include a dedicated powder-coating plant, pre-coating facilities and a robot welder.
The new premises are intended to cater to growing demand in Australia, New Zealand and beyond, Vogel said.
‘‘We will continue to focus on quality, which is important when competing in the world market. It’s about retaining market share and doing business sustainably.’’
Hansa Products, now referred to simply as ‘‘Hansa’’, was established by Manfred Vogel in the early 1980s when, soon after settling in New Zealand, he recognised a need for chippers.
About two years ago the decision was made to seek out a larger site for a purposebuilt facility. The Northgate site was selected due to its size, room for growth, location and proximity to the old premises.
Design was undertaken by architecture and engineering firm Stiles & Hooker, with construction by Livingston.
Hansa has 31 staff at its north-Hamilton headquarters but numbers are constantly changing due to the company’s growth.