“Our approach is to tailor solutions to the application, rather than just supplying a product,” says Andrew Suckling, Marketing Manager for Ulti Group.
Ulti Group is leading the way in industrial doors and loading systems by working with clients to protect what matters most: people, products and profits. Ulti Group’s doors, docks, barriers and accessories help New Zealand businesses control temperature, keep their spaces and people safe, and increase efficiency and productivity. “We’re environmental control specialists,” Andrew says, “and temperature is one of the more obvious ways we do that. Our freezer doors maintain temperature to reduce energy costs and ensure that food doesn’t spoil.” “Safety is a big part of that as well,” adds Mateo Saldarriaga, Marketing Specialist. “By maintaining temperatures, we can prevent ice from forming in freezers and creating an unnecessary hazard for workers.”
One type of space that Ulti Group frequently supports is the transition from retail areas to back-of-house areas. “In supermarkets, for instance, we can optimise those transitional spaces to help increase their air conditioning capacity,” Andrew says. “This makes the retail environment more comfortable for staff and customers and saves on energy costs, while also providing temperature control and consistency for cold stores out back.”
Some of Ulti Group’s other environmental control applications are less obvious, particularly their dock loading systems, including levellers, seals, and equipment that can increase safety and ease the burden of transport. “Our dock system applications vary from dry stores right through to frozen and generally include seals mounted on the outside of a building,” Andrew says. “They prevent the ingress of dirt and dust and increase security. They also provide a critical link in the cold chain by preventing moist air from entering refrigerated spaces. Efficient and safe dock loading systems are critical to a warehouse’s productivity and profitability. For example, we had one client who was taking 45 minutes to load a truck with a lot of manual handling required. We put in a solution that cut that time down to 10-15 minutes and reduced the amount of lifting, making it both faster and safer for staff.”
The New Zealand family-owned business was founded more than 30 years ago and first supplied garage doors before moving into industrial applications. “I put Ulti Group’s success down to the long-term nature of our partnerships,” Mateo says, “which comes from our family-owned foundation. We treat customers as individuals and tailor solutions for them with a high level of professionalism, rather than just thinking of them as a number.” “We’ve invested a lot in our team culture over the years,” Andrew adds, “and that flows right through the business to our clients in the form of better service and long-lasting relationships. Our customer approval percentage is in the 90s, which tells us what an amazing job the team is doing.”
While Ulti Group might punch above its weight in terms of its portfolio of products and clients, it still remains small and nimble enough to adapt to new trends and technologies. “We believe that every project and installation is important, regardless of the size,” Mateo says. “Our approach is to partner with businesses to bring out the best solutions for their facilities. But we’re also operating on a worldwide scale, constantly travelling to international expos to gain knowledge and exposure to new products and technologies. We want to bring the best of the best to New Zealand, and we have a very specialised and professional R&D team working on integrating AI, automation, and other emerging technologies into our products.”
Ulti Group is currently broadening its range of fire doors and introducing a system of fully automated truck and container loading systems. “Those are both really exciting spaces for us this year,” Andrew says. “Fire doors that work for temperature-controlled spaces, such as cold storage facilities, are quite a specialised product that we are experienced with. And automation is allowing us to create dock solutions that will reduce a 15-minute manual load time down to about four minutes, with no people or forklifts required. Those types of solutions could be game-changing in the years ahead, with New Zealand facing increasing workforce shortages. Suddenly, you can load your trucks with the push of a button.”
They are also expanding their presence in the Australian and Asia Pacific markets, where Ulti Group is seeing a lot of interest. “It helps that we manufacture many of our products right here in New Zealand,” Mateo says, “such as our sectional doors and container loading shelters. This means that our lead times throughout the region are very good.”
“One way we’re supporting those overseas markets is through an interactive online showroom experience that enables virtual, hands-on live demonstrations with one of our team,” Andrew says. Moving forward, Ulti Group is working with Teulo on an upcoming showroom tour that will help them showcase their comprehensive range in person whilst earning CPD points. “We want the industry to understand that we’re not just supplying doors for freezers. Once in our Auckland showroom, virtually or physically, we can really demonstrate the value we can add to many areas of their business.”
To learn more and connect with Ulti Group, visit https://ultigroup.co.nz/experience-the-ulti-difference-your-way/, follow them on LinkedIn, and keep an eye on Teulo for details about their upcoming showroom tour.
