Innovation in design and diversification are helping Australian precision sheet metal manufacturer Catten Industries succeed in a traditionally tough sector. The wide range of products it makes is as broad as the multiple industry sectors that Catten supplies to. Carole Goldsmith reports.
Catten Industries is proudly owned and operated by husband-and-wife team Ian and Latinka Cubitt and their three talented adult children: Nicole, Sean and Bianca. A long-term AMTIL member based in Bayswater in Melbourne’s east, Catten is a thriving hub of custom design and creative activity. There is no typical work day for Ian, the company’s Managing Director, and Latinka, its General Manger – Administration, because of the variety of products it manufactures and the industries it supplies.
“We are a jobbing shop and new varying jobs come in regularly,” says Ian. “At Catten, there is a constant requirement to innovate and develop new projects.”
Ian speaks about some exciting jobs completed recently in the company’s factory: “We made a steel circular spinning apparatus for an Australian Institute of Sport supplier. This is used by high-board divers to practice their pikes and spinning plus it’s helped cut their training time substantially.
“We work with our customers to come up with solutions. For example, we recently made some handle prototypes for easier movement of humidity cribs for a medical company. We also made large metal stainless-steel hood/ducts for the CFA training centre, which they use to simulate the skills required to extinguish motor vehicle fires. The ducts ensure that the smoke is filtered before discharging to the atmosphere.
“Catten also supplied bracket work for a 3D ice glacier construction, ‘Floe’, that was on display in the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV)’s entrance. This installation has since travelled to galleries in Hong Kong and London.”
As well as these special projects that can come at any time, Catten also supplies to many different industry sectors such as: building, electrical and electronics, transport, shopfitting, display/point of sale, communications, furniture, material handling, general engineering and defence.
In addition Latinka heads up an exciting product range, LaTink, which was launched in 2017. This started from a range of personal customised Christmas wreaths and then grew to offer further custom-made decorative products in both rusted and powder-coated finish. Daughter Bianca has been designing the products, after Latinka and the team research and visualise various product ideas for manufacture. They recently released an attractive catalogue of the growing LaTink range consisting of decorative metal garden screens, custom-made etched wooden products and metal wreaths, outdoor furniture, light boxes and an Australian animal range, all fabricated by Catten at the Bayswater factory.
“LaTink is currently working alongside AMTIL with an industry advisor, and are in the process of working through a Federal Government’s Entrepreneurs’ Programme grant to assist us with our LaTink marketing for further exposure,” says Latinka excitedly.
Catten’s history
Catten Sheet Metal was started in 1993 by the Frederick’s family, and was purchased the McGovern family in 2000. A veteran of 35-plus years in the metal industry, Ian had started out as an apprentice with Siemens, as a first-class sheet metal worker and then as an engineering draftsman. His career took in more than 12 years as an engineer at Eliott Engineering, as well as stints with an engineering firm in London, and back in Australia working on the Collins Class Submarine project at Rockwell Collins, before taking on the General Manager position at Catten in 2005.
“On Father’s Day 2016, I received a call asking if I was interested in purchasing Catten,” he explains. “Latinka, our children and I sat down as a family to discuss this offer and we decided to take it on as a family business early in January 2017. Each member of the family now contributes important skills to the business.
“Latinka with her extensive IT background has an MBA plus years of experience in project management and systems implementation. Our oldest daughter Nicole is a qualified scientist, having worked in the pharmaceutical industry and in quality control. She helped further develop our quality systems and now operates and maintains them.
“Sean, our son, is a qualified plumber by trade and he has been learning the ropes of the operational factory floor and our machines. As well as the LaTink design work, Bianca, who has a Cert IV in Design and a Bachelor’s Degree in Media & Communications, does our social media communications, plus the design and marketing aspect of LaTink and Catten.
“We also have 32 skilled employees and that’s a lot of people to keep busy, with safety at Catten being an obvious priority. When we look at the business, that’s 32 families that we need to support and provide a safe and rewarding workplace for, as every single family is very important “
Among the many employee activities offered by Catten, are the ‘RUOK’ mental health awareness days, and celebrations for Christmas, Easter and Chinese New Year.
“When we took over the business, we took on all of the existing personnel and we have had a big emphasis on training, including bringing trainers on site. Three of our staff members are completing their Cert III in Sheet Metal Engineering, while we have two sheet metal apprentices at second and third-year level. Other employees have recently been trained in various welding accreditations and International Welding Inspector certifications.
“At Catten, we have diversity with employees from around the world. Together we provide sheet metal solutions from concept to completion for our customers.”
Ian reflects on how being an AMTIL member for 11 years has assisted the business: “AMTIL provides great support and credibility as a respected advocacy body for the manufacturing sector – plus AMTIL staff understand manufacturers’ needs. There’s also training and networking events where we can meet potential business contacts and colleagues to collaborate and share our experiences.”
Diversity in action at Catten’s factory.
During a tour of Catten’s modern 2,564sqm facility, Catten’s industrial designers and engineers are busy at their desks designing new products for clients using 3D CAD systems. At the LaTink showroom, Latinka proudly shares the company’s motto: ‘From the seeds of an idea, we create a piece of beauty’. On display are etched wooden boards plus platypus, koala and kangaroo metal animal sculptures – sure to be popular with the tourism market. The outdoor furniture sofa has sustainable cushions filled from recycled plastic bottles (provided by a local supplier), with an attractive ModWood and stainless-steel base.
The Catten workshop is a hive of activity, with employees busy at machines and a multitude of products at various stages of production. To ensure an environment of quality awareness and safe work practices, Catten works to the Quality Management System AS/NZS ISO 9001.
Latinka points to the cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) system screen at the entrance: “Our ERP system is very important for Catten, as it ensures that all our employees own the data and know what stage every product is at, plus how many jobs are in action. They have their toolbox meetings daily to discuss where the jobs are at.”
Our tour pasess a stack of tram doors that Catten completed the metal work for; these doors are bound for a local Australian train and tram manufacturer. Further along, a CNC press brake has just folded steel destined as a component for an industrial Australian-manufactured machine. Then there’s a laser cut sign ready for a playground entrance on display and a frame component for an outdoor kitchen, just completed. The laser cutting machine is constantly in use for jobs of this kind, according to Ian.
Catten uses many different types of metals: aluminium, mild steel, galvanized, copper, zinc and stainless-steel, to name a few. Ian explains that this just depends on the customer’s specific requirements. He points to a set of steel lids that are just coming off Catten’s assembly line.
“We’ve been making many of these items for a renewable energy manufacturer,” he explains. “One of its recent customers is a Victorian dairy farmer who was quoted approximately $180,000 for a fixed mains supply install for electricity, plus ongoing charges. The farmer’s renewable energy installation costs approximately $140,000 and this now generates and stores sufficient power for the entire farm, resulting in zero power expenses.”
Latinka adds: “Over there is the WiFi-controlled etching machine, which we are using for etching designs into our LaTink wooden products. Those stainless-steel electrical switch boards are for the mining industry and these soap dispensers are made for a supplier to domestic and global hotels.”
The diverse product range is very impressive indeed.
Business challenges and opportunities
“Overall, there are peaks and troughs in the sheet metal industry,” says Ian. “Securing a consistent workload and good cash flow is always a challenge, especially if a few customers take a long time to pay their bills.
“Having our own products with LaTink will help expand our business even further. We never know when the next customer will walk in the door and what they will order; that’s the exciting part of the business. It could be a small job to start with and this could grow to a million-dollar business deal in the future. We encourage factory tours as the more people we get through the door, the more potential customers we have, as they may need our services down the track
“It is vital that Australia continues to have a robust manufacturing sector. This requires ongoing support from State, Federal and Local Government, to ensure that Australian project requirements contain a large and achievable percentage of local content.
“Looking forward, our succession plan is already in place and the company will look to evolve, be agile and adaptable as required for our long-term future,” Ian concludes, with Latinka nodding in agreement. “We are constantly promoting and building the business for further success and to ensure manufacturing thrives into the future.”