Reward for export

Press, 30 December 1980, Page 15

Reward for export

Jenkin Timber, Ltd, of;; Auckland, has exported p enough louvre door blades ;i to stretch from Auckland to: Wellington, according to theil managing director, Mr J. W.!i Jenkin. The company recently re- 1 ceived a Trade Promotion i Council's export award, in i recognition of raising its ’ export of radiata products < from $254,000 in 1977 to $730,000 in the last financial 1 year. The exported louvre door ’ blades would stretch in a i line for 500 km and the i amount of finger-jointed ar- 1 chitrave sold overseas would < stretch 400 km, said the man r 1 aging director, . Mr J. W. < .Jenkin. . ; ■ .. ' 1 The firm found its prod- i uCts made for the • domestic s market were not wanted by overseas customers and it ’ has been forced on numer- | ous occasions to adapt its i factory. to make entirely I new products for export. . 1 “In fact, we don’t export any product made for the 1 local market and don’t sell ’ Any export products within New Zealand,” he; said. 1 In 1.975 the company im- 1 ported a finger-jointing machine from West Ger- i many using a suspensory 1 loan from the Development s Finance Corporation. The loan for the plant was conditional_on company 1 se^irig ? '?e?ip6¥t markets’ for its products' and. Mr- Jenkin ' made' three' trips . to. Australia in an attempt to sell fin- 1 ger-jointed; sash esand doors, ( The' Australians only 1 wanted-clear finishes and he was unable to break their prejudice against the fingerjointed products. ; ! ’ However, he discovered a demand for finger-jointed and tanalised fascia boards in Sydney and on his return to Auckland adapted production, lines to make the new product. " , : j. ’ ’ "I-wasn’t keen on supplying fascia board — we made it just to get into exporting ■— but Jenkins Timber ended up ’selling more than 3 million metres in Australia,” he said. • '■ • ■ Mr Jenkin has been quick to seize export opportunities when they arose - in unexpected situations. , , He failed to land a single export order bri one visit to Australia and was. in the process, of "drowning his sorrows,” ■ in a Brisbane hotel before leaving for New Zealand, when he struck up a conversation with an ; Australia who manufactured billiard tables. -The result of the conversation was al request for sample, Mamin-1

ated billiard table legs —| | which Jenkin Timber hadl never made. ■. : j j. An initial order for 2001 legs was the beginning of: regular export shipments. ■ j Mr Jenkin also entered the lucrative Japanese market by striking up a conversation over a few drinks at. a Government-sponsored reception in Auckland. He was invited to the reception for a group of Japanese businessmen who were to ;tour his factory, next day with officials from the Forest Service and the Department of Trade and Industry. The Japanese wanted to see radiata being processed — including the fin-ger-jointing process and the manufacture of doors and sashes. Mr Jenkin discovered he was chatting with the vicepresident of a large building supply company and,.went home to examine the possibility of exporting to Japan. By the time the Japanese delegation arrived at his factory he was able to give his potential client a complete breakdown of prices in yen for products landed in Tokyo with customs, insurance, and freight charges inclusive, and a batch of sample mouldings. The resulting orders gave the company four to five containers of exports a ■month up until six months ago when North American timber ; companies . began dumping in Japan because of a domestic building ■ recession. Mr Jenkin has always followed up export orders with a visit to the market area to "see how the products are being used.” On his last trip to Japan, he was able to regain some of the lost market for architraving and is investigating export . orders for louvre doors and exterior entrance doors. He is also negotiating the supply of ~ colonial mouldings for the construction of Japan’s own Disneyland-. Again, Jenkin Timber has not made these products previously but it converted its factory operation to enable it to manufacture for export. The export products have a high New Zealand content comprising 95 per cent radiata timber and only 5 per ; cent imported glue, strap- ; pines and fastenings. • The potential for New i Zealand’s timber products in . Japan was “mind boggling,” he said. ■ One Japanese businessman [I supplies a company which (builds 360 houses a- weeks

and there were 1,500,000| (homes constructed iri Japan .every year.. .... '■ j ! . Businessmen seeking to [enter« the Japanese • market [should avail themselves of the services of a goOd interpreter who can’ give guidance in Japanese customs. "A foreign businessman must honour' Japanese customs to succeed.”’ ” New Zealand exporters should exercise patience ’in dealing, with- Japanese importer's and : to' be; prompt in following up inquiries and meeting deliveries, Mr Jenkins said.