A third-generation family company manufacturing tooling and components from its base in Edwardstown, South Australia, Conma Industries has successfully focused on alternative market opportunities in advance of the loss of its key automotive business, and today it looks to the future with confidence.
“The writing was on the wall some years back that we would ultimately see a dramatic loss of our automotive business,” says Ron Miller, Managing Director of Conma Industries. “With this in mind we diversified our product range, which is now greater than ever. Whilst we have retained some automotive business our product range takes us into many different industries today such as viticulture, food, and the building trades.”
Following on from the successful purchase of a Fanuc Robocut wire-cut electric discharge machine (EDM) from Okuma Australia in 2018, Conma Industries has recently invested in the latest Okuma CNC vertical machining centre. This is a positive step towards upgrading its tool room with highly accurate and advanced technologies, building a strong relationship with Okuma Australia as it moves into the future.
Ben Miller from the tool room commented that the choice of the Okuma machine was a ‘no brainer’ given the great name that the Okuma brand has in the market for delivering high-end precision and quality machines, along with the outstanding service support that the company provides.
“The new machine has 48 tools installed providing great time saving, speed of output, accuracy and much improved efficiency,” said Ben. “It is the largest investment the company has made and it opens up new opportunities for us to undertake work in other areas such as mining and defence in the future, and allows us to further diversify our offering going forward.”
Founded in the 1970s, Conma Industries today employs some 18 personnel and has a positive policy of training future tradespeople, with one currently in apprenticeship training and another due to start. The company services a diverse range of customers from its home base of South Australia plus Western Australia and the Eastern Seaboard, along with some indirect export business via its customers.
“There is an air of confidence in the market and we are seeing a number of clients bringing component manufacturing back on-shore,” Ben remarks. “To take advantage of this and enhance manufacturing in Australia we will continue to invest in technology and automation to keep us ahead in component manufacture and metal stamping through quality and efficiency.”
The investment in the future has provided the staff at Conma with greater job security, and all the young toolmakers are keen to get some time on the new machine. This young team is also identifying new opportunities for expansion of the company’s product range and with advanced technology attracting new customers, there is a bright future for this family business.
“Conma Industries is a relatively new customer with a strong relationship with our company now established,” says Dean McCarroll, Managing Director of Okuma Australia. “It is exciting to see the enthusiasm from management and the engineering floor staff on the valuable new opportunities their first Okuma machine is opening up. It is a large commitment for a family business which occupies a brand new facility, and we share their confidence in the future.”