When we face challenges in business, we look for opportunities. Earlier this year we agreed to provide our American agent, Left Coast Supplies, with Peterson mills for the US market WITHOUT certain standard components. Left Coast Supplies saw opportunities to reduce imports of full Peterson mill kits by purchasing blades, engines and electric winches in the United States.
In May, we sent our first container of ‘partial’ Peterson mills – ordered without blades or petrol motors – to Left Coast Supplies for re-assembly and final testing before distribution.
We were cautiously optimistic about the challenges and opportunities of our agreement.
Peterson Portable Sawmills pride ourselves on our quality control and testing regime. Each machine we produce is a custom order, with options for frame size, blades, motor, electric winch, and accessories. Each mill is assembled and tested over a log to ensure accuracy. All of the components for each mill are identified and labelled, then packed into our custom flat-pack for the final customer.
When we agreed to provide portable mills WITHOUT motors or blades, we limited our opportunities for full component testing in New Zealand. We also increased the opportunities for Left Coast Supplies to become “more than mere sales and distribution agents”. Our US agents would be responsible for sourcing US-made componentry, and for re-assembling and testing the machines before delivery or pickup by the customer. With the move to provide final quality assurance at Left Coast Supplies’ California warehouse, our relationship can realistically be called a partnership.
In May we also made arrangements to send Chris Browne, Factory Manager and Sawmill Specialist, to Canada in June, to provide one-on-one sawmill training for new Automatic Saw Mill (ASM) owners. The challenges of providing hands-on training outside New Zealand, led us to look for further opportunities to demonstrate our portable sawmill range while in Canada.
So, be sure to look out for the Peterson logo in Canada in June! Peterson Portable Sawmills will be an outside exhibitor at the Saw Tech Log Expo in Renfrew, Ontario, from 23-25 June. Peterson Owner Peter Throop is making his 8″ Winch Production Frame (WPF) available for demonstrations at the Expo, taking advantage of the opportunities to quiz Chris and share his own WPF milling experiences with the Expo crowd.
It’s been a challenging month, making the most of these opportunities!
