OUTLOOK - Grow Wellington

31Constructing SuccessIf you pass any major construction site in New Zealand,chances are that the machinery you see is usingattachments created by Upper-Hutt-basedcompany Wedgelock.Forty percent of New Zealand construction machinery usesWedgelock excavator attachments, and with skyrocketingsales internationally, the same may shortly be said aboutconstruction sites overseas.Established in 1994, the company is a family-ownedand operated business that specialises in the designand manufacture of excavator attachments. Their mostrecent innovation is a world-leading I-Lock safety systemfor their Wedgelock Quick Coupler. This safety innovationimproves significantly the safe use of quick couplersto change different devices on excavators quicklyand easily, and has driven skyrocketing international sales.“We are now in the top five in the world in terms of volumesales for Quick Couplers,” says CEO Matthew Calvert.“From no exporting five years ago, we are now distributingWedgelock products in the US, the UK, Australia, Russiaand parts of Asia.”PHOTO: Matthew Calvert, CEO of Wedgelock EQUIPMENT LIMITED.Demand for their products has necessitated expansionand review of production and distribution channels.The company has licenced manufacturers in the UK andin Australia and in the last year their Wellington operationhas expanded by twenty staff and their factory spacehas doubled to 4000 square metres.“This has enabled our production output to increaseby around 60%, and we estimate that the percentagethat we export will increase from 25% to 50% by theend of this year,” says Matthew.Wedgelock won the ‘Global Gold’ Award this yearat the Wellington Gold Awards.He says Wedgelock is not content with a place in thetop five – “We want to be the world-leader in QuickCoupler attachment design, manufacture and distribution.”This appears to be well within their reach. Wedgelock isinvestigating export to China, India, Brazil and Europe and ata recent trade show in Las Vegas they attracted the attentionof several large companies. They are now negotiating dealsfor the North American market." We estimate that the percentagethat we export will increase from25% to 50% by the end of this year."