Pultron Composites

Pultron Composites is an industrial technology company based in Tairāwhiti Gisborne, New Zealand. They are global specialists in the development and manufacture of smart, sustainable and competitive fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) alternatives for structural materials such as steel, wood and aluminium.

In July 2019, Pultron established a new company called Mateenbar™ Limited to focus on the growing commercialisation of its non-metallic composites concrete reinforcement product, Mateenbar™.

Mateenbar™ is a glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) rebar designed for heavy load applications. It is used widely for bridges and motorways, as well as in highly corrosive environments including underwater structures, coastal environments and industrial sites. Using Mateenbar™ as an alternative reinforcement to steel eliminates the risk of corrosion degradation. As there is no concrete spalling, maintenance and corrosion protection measures are not required. Mateenbar™ is four times lighter than steel, highly durable and delivers an extended asset lifespan compared to steel rebar.

In August 2020, a $5.3 million Kānoa – RDU loan was contracted to Pultron Composites to grow Mateenbar Limited in strategic international markets. This assisted Pultron in a new joint venture with a global company and has significantly increased Mateenbar’s manufacturing demand in the United States, as well as providing strong path to market networks. In addition, as part of the joint venture, all manufacturing equipment, research, product development and technical advice will be provided by Pultron from New Zealand.

Domestically, Kānoa – RDU’s loan has provided strong regional economic development benefits, with Pultron’s workforce increasing by over 60 full-time employees and work contracted out to other regional component suppliers.

Pultron – regional success

Transcript

Duration: 2:15

Jazzy music plays.

[Fade from black to a panning shot of a wharf. Construction workers wearing high-vis clothes stand on top]

[Logo appears: Kānoa Regional Economic Development and investment unit]

Pete Renshaw: Pultron really highlights the fact that you can run a good business from a small provincial town.

[Mid shot of Pete Renshaw of Pultron Composites as he speaks]

[a wide shot of the Gisborne waterfront. A person is fishing, their two children play nearby]

Anna Holdsworth: It's enormous for Tairāwhiti because it reflects our community.

[A person walks their dog along the waterfront]

Anna: You know, a lot of people have come to this region. It's a remarkable region.

[Various wide shots of the wharf and the ocean]

Anna: It's geographically isolated, but it doesn't mean there's not a lot of really innovative people here. And they are.

[Mid shot of Anna Holdsworth of Pultron Composites as she speaks]

Anna: And I think Pultron is a great example of a business in provincial New Zealand that can take their products to the world and can be hugely successful.

[Various shots of the Gisborne waterfront. A crane is in the background]

Anna: Whether you're in Auckland or here, it doesn't really matter when you're exporting.

[Wide shot of Gisborne town centre. There are lots of cars and a person crosses the road. A shot of people surfing at the beach]

Pete Renshaw: There are no downsides of living in Gisborne. The upsides are, it's five minutes to work, it's five minutes to the beach, five minutes to the town centre, where would you prefer to live?

[Anna and Pete stand together on the factory floor, having a conversation]

It forces you to be innovative. And one of our core values at Pultron is innovation. I mean, this business started when the founder of the company Peter Holdsworth, was a farmer out at Te Karaka.

[Drone shot over farming countryside]

And he, you know, was frustrated that the bulls were sitting on his traditional post and wire fence and decided, gosh, I need a better solution than this, you know, I need something that's flexible and lightweight.

[Mid shot of Anna as she speaks]

And if a bull sits on it'll pop back up again. And so he spent nine months developing the technology and, you know, created the first fiberglass fence post.

[Drone footage of the beach and a river]

Pete: Because we're isolated things haven't necessarily been easy. In some respects. You can't just go and get a specialist piece of equipment from a shop down the road because it doesn't exist.

[Wide shot of Gisborne town centre]

[Various shots of manufacturing on the factory floor]

Pete: So we built our own. Because we've built our own, we've become this kind of self-contained self-reliant entity.

[Mid shot of Pete as he speaks]

Pete: And that's put us in a position where we can do things that other companies wouldn't try and do that, you know, you look at the markets that we're in…

[Various shots of the products Pultron manufacture: composite rebar, A person in the factory packing trampoline rods, rods for snowmobile tracks]

Pete: …We've got the composite rebar, we have rods for trampolines, we have rods for snowmobile tracks, and so we have no idea what the next big niche for us will be.

[Mid shot of Pete as he speaks]

Pete: I can tell you it will be something completely different from everything we already do. But it will be really interesting and will come with a lot of challenges.

[Wide shot of Gisborne wharf. A truck drives past]

[Logos appear: Kānoa Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit; Ministry of Business Innovation & Employment Hīkina Whakatutuki; Te Kāwanatanga o Aotearoa New Zealand Government]

Music fades.

[Fade to black]

Pultron – It’s all about people

Transcript

Duration: 2:13

Jazzy music plays.

[Fade from black to a panning shot of a wharf. Construction workers wearing high-vis clothes stand on top]

[Logo appears: Kānoa Regional Economic Development and investment unit]

Pete Renshaw: Training the apprentices is absolutely fantastic.

[Mid shot of Pete Renshaw as he speaks. He sits in front of a neutral background]

Pete: You know, we are, in most cases, we're taking guys off the factory floor, who already have an understanding of the machines that they're typically working on. Giving these guys the opportunity to upskill themselves, do better for themselves, it's just been fantastic.

[Various shots of men working inside Pultron’s factory]

Pete: And it really, really pays dividends for the company.

[Mid-shot of John Harvey as he speaks]

John Harvey: Thirteen years worth of good decent income. But no, yeah, was able to purchase a house about three four years ago now with my wife. Yeah, that's been definitely a highlight there, wouldn't even think that I'd be able to purchase my own house. Yeah, I'm pleased about that, happy.

[Various shots of men working inside Pultron’s factory]

Anna Holdsworth: So through Kānoa, that's actually been a game changer for us.

[A still shot of a sign: ‘This project is supported by: Provincial Growth Fund’]

[Visuals shift between a mid shot of Anna speaking, and various shot of men working jobs on the factory floor.]

Anna: We have been able to invest our program with Kānoa was predominantly focused on empowering and uplifting and upskilling our current people that we have here to better jobs, you know, to higher paying roles. And that's been in the form of team leaders, supervisors, engineering apprentices, and those people have really benefited from the training.

[Various wide shots showing John hard at work]

John: Oh, yeah, definitely. The company has got big plans for us as well. The boss is over there, is wanting me to be lead hand. Yeah, that could be on the cards as well. But yeah, we'll see how it goes and where it takes me I suppose yeah, and see what type of money they offering me as well.

[Mid shot of John as he speaks]

John: Aye Pete, that comes with that pay rise through aye Pete (laughs).

[Wide shot of Anna and Pete standing together on the factory floor. Anna laughs]

Anna: Yeah, it's all about the people here.  

[Mid shot of Anna as she speaks]

Anna: And it is great to be part ofsomething that is actually disrupting technology as well and that it's actually happening here. In our little region, and we're all incredibly proud to be from Tairāwhiti.

[Panning shot of the wharf. Construction workers wearing high-vis clothes stand on top]

[Logos appear: Kānoa Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit; Ministry of Business Innovation & Employment Hīkina Whakatutuki; Te Kāwanatanga o Aotearoa New Zealand Government]

Music fades.

[Fade to black]