That’s a challenge that small Wairarapa company Tuatahi Racing Axes and Saws has not only risen to, it has exceeded.

 

Exporting around 90% of the manual saws and axes produced at its Masterton factory to 20 countries worldwide, Tuatahi now supplies everyone from the US Forest Service to Peter Jackson’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies.

 

And they’re the weapon of choice for the top wood-chopping competitions all over the globe.

 

It’s how the founder of the family company, Eddie Fawcett, got into the business in the first place.

 

His daughter Jo who, along with her brother Grant now helms the business, says Eddie  started the company after his fellow competitors asked him to fix their inferior imported axes.

 

“Dad started out as a saw doctor but has always competed in wood-chopping competitions. He saw a business opportunity when other competitors came to him with their chipped axes. He would try to repair them and they would fall apart, so he decided to make his own,” says Jo.                   

 

That was almost four decades ago and since then, the company has grown from strength to strength and now is considered the foremost supplier of racing axes and saws in the world.

 

In fact, demand is such that the company is in the process of creating its own automated system for grinding saws and is working with a local engineer to do so.

 

Assistance from Grow Wellington, the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology and TechNZ’s capability investments has helped with this R&D.

 

“We need to get our product quicker to our export markets, but we will still retain the personal Tuatahi touch. We are hugely indebted to the business development support and advice we received from Grow Wellington in helping us make this major shift,” says Jo.          

 

Tuatahi also worked with Wellington’s Export Bridge, a company that pairs registered companies with a team of students at participating universities who then work to assist the client company reach specific goals in the students’ local market. In the case of Tuatahi, that was the students at San Diego University.

 

“The report we received back from San Diego regarding marketing and potential sales markets for our work saws in USA brought about some very exciting results,” says Jo.

 

“As a result, we have developed a new line of work saws which are currently being tested with the US Forest Service.”