Vaughan Austen.
Vaughan started his engineering training at A & G Price in 1987, specialising in heavy engineering and CNC machining, he completed his Trade training and then Advanced Trade. He worked for Kopu Engineering for 5 years before becoming a partner in 2001. Vaughan has extensive experience on site work both in NZ and overseas having been a key man in developing our work procedures for constructing rotary platforms both here in NZ and overseas.
Vaughan has hands-on experience with all things Engineering, Automotive, Marine, Farming and Industrial. Hobbies include building a 1934 Ford Coupe, including handmade independant front and rear suspension & handmade engine parts. After enjoying the finished project, he purchased a 1937 Miller & Tunnage kauri fishing boat with the vision to refurbish - which with the teamwork with a local cabinet maker - has been fully rebuilt, re skined and re engineered, now including stabilsers, aux engine dive compressor, trips have included the Three Kings Islands and Great Barrier. Vaughan designed and built the family home on a life style block in the Maratoto Valley, which included a Mancave that was then featured in Steve Hales The Kiwi Mane Cave book. Vaughan has an strong interest in all things Gardner, utilising the newly built Dyno room here at Kopu Engineering. He is married with three children.
Andrew Austen.
Andrew has vast engineering experience - Watch this space for his story....
About Kopu Engineering
1974 – Kopu Engineering was established by 3 working partners at Puriri. The aims of the company were to service the local dairy farmers with upgrading their existing herringbone cowsheds and to promote the Turnstyle rotary platform that had recently been launched, and had possibilities of revolutionising the milking of cows.
In 1976 construction began on a new sawmill at Kopu and this was seen as a new business opportunity and Kopu Engineering who were involved for 2 years on the construction and installation of plant on this project, at the same time Kopu Engineering became involved in plant maintenance with local quarry operators.
The area that the company was servicing and the client base grew rapidly, and by 1977 the company out grew the premises at Puriri and decided to relocate to Kopu, this gave better access to the Hauraki Plains and North Waikato areas where an ever increasing amount of business was being generated.
Rotary Cowshed work was busy, with over 150 installations within New Zealand, Kopu Engineering were servicing an area extending from Taupo in the south, to Kaitaia in the far north and from coast to coast. We became involved in the export market in 1984 with our first platform to Saudi Arabia and a year later in Texas.
In the eary 1990's we became involved with Delaval in exporting platforms to the former East German market after the collapse of the communist system in 1989, this opened up a new market not previously accessible to the free world. The interest grew and extended to other markets in Europe, America, & Asia. We have supplied and installed over 200 export platforms to date.
Transport work has been another steady line of work, with maintenance on the growing local trucking firms vehicles Building new specilist bodies, transport decks, Drawbeams and drawbars, Tie rails etc.
Kopu Engineering have built up a reputation as a problem solvers. We have a huge range of skills & expertise built up over years of on the job experience.
Our management & staff have a diverse skill base to call on. We have welders, machinist, mechanics, builders , concrete contractors, CAD drawing. We also have the skill and experience of one of the original partners, Jim Maxwell, who remains on our staff as a consultant.
Kopu Engineering is now well established on SH25 at Kopu, in a modern premises, with a well equipped workshop and large yard which will accommodate the company for the years ahead.
