This story shows the step-by-step process of the packing of a motorbike into a timber crate we custom built at our Kewdale, Perth factory.

The motorbike in its crate, was being transported to an international destination.

1. The custom built timber crate arrives in the packing yard.	2. The crate is forklifted off the vehicle bed.	3. The crate is designed for quick disassembly for easy loading of the motorbike.
4. The motorbike is loaded into the crate.	5. The motorbike is secured to the crate floor.	6. Dunnage is use to prevent forward movement of the motorbike.
7. Dunnage is used to prevent rearward movement of the motorbike.	8. Blankets are used to protect the bike as it is strapped to the crate floor.	9. More protective blankets are placed over the motorbike.
10. The crate sides are reassembled and bags of packing are added for further protection.	11. The lid is attached then the crate is strengthened with metal strapping.	12. Ready for transportation!

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The Certificate IV in Competitive Manufacturing is part of the Australian Apprenticeships Scheme and is an Australian Government Initiative.

Course training gives participants the skills and knowledge they need to improve production using best practice methods, and covers the following key areas of learning -

• Competitive Systems and Practices
• Statistical Control
• Theory of Constraints
• Morale Improvement and Team Building
• Occupational Health and Safety

We would like to acknowledge and thank Reg Mifflin (pictured right with Axis Packaging staff), from the National Institute of Training who conducted our Certificate training and assessment.  Out staff found Reg to have a wealth of knowledge and experience and he was very motivating in all aspects of training.  We would also like to thank Reg for coming out to our Kewdale, Perth office to present the certificates to our proud employees.

Paweena (pictured right top), Tenetta (pictured right centre) and Thanaphong (pictured right bottom) commenced their training in March 2010 and completed their Certificate in September 2011.

Sharon Bagnall, General Manager of Axis Packaging was pleased with the dedication and commitment of the employees who participated in the training and said -

“The skills training Paweena, Tenetta and Thanaphong have gained has been invaluable.  It has been great to see improvements in the production of our timber crates and cases, and other areas of our packaging products and services.

The training has been so successful, we have another three employees Chris, Sayan and Vichai who commenced their training this month and another three currently registering for training.”
Sharon Bagnall, General Manager.

Pictured left are the latest round of Axis Packaging employees currently working towards their Certificate IV in Competitive Manufacturing. From left to right – Chris Lee, Sayan Kaewphaluk and Vichai Phanno with Reg Mifflin.

In continuing Axis Packaging’s commitment to training, Sharon Bagnall – General Manager, and Lea Unsworth – Production Manager, are both about to commence their Diploma of Management. We wish them every success.

A large crowd turned up to enjoy the many activities for adults and children, delicious food, and the art & craft market stalls.  Axis Packaging were pleased to support the fair by donating the funds that allowed the hire of a stage for the excellent live music and entertainment.

“I cannot thank you enough for providing the stage for the fair.  It would not have been the event it was without it so from the bottom of my heart I say thank you, thank you thank you.”
Gail Pillai – Head Co-ordinator, Melville Primary School Community Fair.

Our congratulations go to the hardworking team, headed by Gail Pillai, on the hugely successful fair that raised over $26,000.  We would also like to thank the team for allowing us to set up a display in the undercover area to showcase some of our timber pallets, plastic pallets and Pelican cases.

Sharon Bagnall, General Manager (left) and Tammara Duncan, Account Manager (right), setting up the Axis Packaging display at the Melville Primary School Community Fair.

We would also like to, congratulate Bruce Wharton (pictured right) who was the successful winner of the Axis Packaging gift box, and thank Bruce for coming out to our Kewdale office to collect his prize from Sharon Bagnall our General Manager (pictured left).

Client Requirements

• To secure a 1500kg high voltage electrical cable drum for transport on an international passenger aircraft.
  (Although height restrictions are not as limiting on airfreight flights, there were no international airfreight flights out of Perth.  If the drum could not be secured on a Perth international passenger flight, then it would have to be road transported to the eastern states before uplift on an international airfreight flight.  This would have resulted in a significant delay in international delivery.)

Our Challenges

• The potential for cable drooping required that the cable drum be transported upright with no lashings, dunnage or bracing coming into contact with any of the cable.  This meant that the entire weight of the cable drum was born on the outside circular rim of the drum and therefore the rim alone had to be used to secure and support the full drum and cable weight.
• The drum required the strength of a reverse base pallet to fully support its weight.  A standard reverse base pallet is 250mm, but there was only an allowance of 155mm between the drum height of 1450mm and the maximum external cargo height of 1600mm.

Our Solution

•  A standard reverse base pallet was modified to allow the cable rim to drop into the base and therefore meet the height restrictions.
• The pallet modification included creating a cradle to distribute the weight of the cable drum across a greater area of the rim
• To increase stability of the drum, lateral and vertical dunnage was incorporated into the modified pallet design and two 2500kg ratchet straps were used to further secure the drum to the pallet.

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Last month, we were pleased to open up our factory floor to a group of students participating in Communicare Inc’s Industrial Work Preparation Training program.

Communicare Inc. is a dynamic charity supported by a staff of over 280 and a strong base of volunteers, which helps more than a quarter of a million Australians every year. Since 1977, the organisation has grown rapidly establishing a reputation for innovation, leadership and professional excellence in Support Services.  Communicare’s philosophy is one of local people helping local people, and as Perth’s leading Industrial Packaging Specialists, we were pleased to help the training program with a workplace demonstration of the importance of occupational health and safety.

During the safety of a production break, we conducted a tour of our production factories, focusing on aspects of Workplace Occupational Health and Safety.  This allowed students to see policies and practices learnt in a classroom actually being carried out in a workplace environment.

Sharon Bagnall, our General Manager, started out with an introduction into Axis Packaging’s background.  Sharon then outlined the products and services we offer, before stating how seriously management regard our policies of occupation workplace health and safety.

Trish Riley, our Production Manager, followed on from Sharon with a more detailed look at production.  Trish then conducted a factory tour covering the particular strategies and policies we have in place to ensure the safety of all staff and visitors.

Tenetta Haimona, our Supervisor, then gave practical demonstrations on several pieces of equipment.  This enabled Tenetta to directly show how important it is to have specific operational practice procedures for each piece of equipment on the factory floor.  In this photo Tenetta is demonstrating the procedures for operating a bandsaw.

The Communicare Inc staff and students assured us that the tour was a great success, and we would like to thank them for the opportunity to show-off our operations and safety procedures.

If your business would like to be part of  “local people helping local people”, please contact

Janette Mendoza
Site Manager
Communicare Inc.
11 Pattie Street
Cannington WA 6107
PO Box 730
T: 9458 2611
F: 9451 5818

What is PROBE?

David Reid from David Reid Group, a management consulting company, put us into contact with Enterprise Connect, part of the Australian Government Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.

Enterprise Connect then appointed David Richens as Business Adviser and facilitator for the PROBE analysis.  David came with a wealth of experience in manufacturing as well as knowledge, at a management level, of financial and legal issues, and a great understanding of company structures.

After several consultation meeting between David Richens and Sharon Bagnall, our General Manager, the PROBE analysis was carried out at our Perth, Kewdale premises with our PROBE team consisting of five staff members from both administration and production.

David’s friendly, honest, and easy to talk to nature, provided a safe forum that enabled him to extract accurate information from all participants of our PROBE team.

What did the PROBE report reveal about us?

The following summary is taken from the official PROBE report.

David Richens

“This result positions the organisation in the ‘Contenders’ zone of the world class model, with a practice index of 80% and a performance index of 74%.  This would indicate that the company has relatively recently improved its practices and therefore performance should catch up – eventually putting the company just inside the ‘World Class Performance’ zone.”

The report also indicated that our key areas for improvement included

1.  increased communication between management and production staff of company goals and direction.
2.  increased involvement from employees and consideration from management of factory floor improvement ideas.
3.  increased reporting back to production staff on day-to-day achievements.

Sharon Bagnall, General Manager – Axis Packaging said,

“It was great to hear our staff speaking so honestly and openly on how they felt in their workplace environment. 

I was very pleased to see how well we rated but not especially surprised as I felt we were already a world class company.  This was reinforced when the analysis showed that both administration and production staff rated our company very highly in terms of customer satisfaction, meeting of client expectations and timely delivery of goods. 

Of great significance was the imbalance between how well informed administration staff felt on company goals and vision, compared to how uninformed production staff felt on where our company is heading.  To have this imbalance pointed out to us was invaluable and we have already implemented procedure to address this and the other key areas for improvement.“

The procedures in place to addresses the key areas for improvement include -

• regular monthly meetings between the General Manager and production staff to increase communication on company goals and direction.
• a “suggestion box” in the factory for production improvement ideas, with suggestions to be reviewed by management and monthly prizes awarded for the best suggestion.
• an “Achievement Board” inside the factory showing the day-to-day production of products such as timber cases and crates, alloy road cases, pallets, steel framed cases, cradles, supports and Pelican product sales.
• a second “Safety Record” sign board in the factory – currently there is only one record board outside the Kewdale office front door.

Sharon Bagnall said that although the process required a considerable time commitment over the four sessions, she would definitely recommend the PROBE analysis to those companies not just looking to improve but also willing to listen in an open forum to both the positive and negative aspects of their company’s business practices.

The Axis Packaging PROBE team in consultation with David Richens.

This acquisition brings two premium brands under one corporation. Both will continue to manufacture their full product lines with a united focus on further developing the Protective Packaging and Storage and Transit Case markets in Australia and worldwide.

Trimcast is an Australian-owned leader in the design and manufacture of custom packaging solutions and has been serving the market for more than 30 years. It has distinguished itself with a reputation for premium products and protective packaging services and is the major case supplier to the Australian Defence Force, as well as other NATO militaries around the world.

Pelican products are preferred by professionals such as military, fire services, law enforcement and outdoor enthusiasts who work and play in extreme conditions across the globe. Pelican’s global operation includes 5 manufacturing facilities, with offices in 22 countries.

The merger of these two companies creates a great opportunity for Pelican to establish a manufacturing facility in Australia.  Current Pelican customers will benefit from Trimcast’s Technical Packaging expertise and full Engineering services supported out of Australia. Additionally, there will be significantly enhanced product options with their popular line of Spacecase© Storage and Transit Cases. Your company will benefit from the integration of these two industry leaders with cutting edge packaging technology paired with the security of the support and resources of a global corporation.

” Please know that as our company expands, we will never outgrow our commitment to the quality, dependability and service that you’ve come to expect over the years. We look forward to Trimcast’s introduction into the Pelican Products family and to bringing you the best products and services on the market.”
Christian Nyman – Managing Director, Pelican Products Pty Ltd.
Alan Gibson – Founder, Trimcast Products Pty Ltd.

Click here to download this Pelican brochure. 286 KB

Client Requirements

• To adequately restrain bore casings in the sea
  container to minimise movement.
• Ensure the restraint system employed complies
  with marine surveyor’s requirements.

Our Challenges

• To develop a system that would adequately
  restrain the bore casings.
• The small size of the bull-rings in the sea
  container, meant the ratchet straps would
  not draw due to pinching.
• Due to the dynamics of the load, the ratchet
  mechanism needed to be relocated higher
  in the sea container to allow for access.

Our Solution

• We developed a combination shackle system
  with the use of a 2 tonne bow shackle in
  conjunction with a 4.75 tonne bow shackle,
  to eliminate pinching and allow the straps
  to adequately draw.
• In conjunction with the bow shackle system,
  the ratchet mechanism was cable tied to the
  top bull-ring allowing ease of loading without
  fouling on the straps.

Click here to download this Success Story. 605 KB