Kiwi hardware, the New Zealand way Halliday + Baillie

We all know it’s generally cost efficient to manufacture product offshore. That’s because it’s often the case that overseas wages and compliance levels are lower so the end product can be priced more competitively.

That’s not something hardware designer and manufacturer Halliday + Baillie believes in as a company though, so they’ve strived to achieve cost efficiencies in New Zealand and provide a competitively priced product range.

Their product lines are continually evolving and developing – currently they have over 150 product lines, most of them available in 12 different finishes. And that’s always on the rise. Over the last 18 months they’ve released around 40 new product lines.

Halliday + Baillie’s speciality is sliding door hardware, specifically locks and flush pulls.

“All of our products are designed and manufactured in New Zealand, which is something we’ve been able to achieve by working very closely with our New Zealand manufacturing partners,” Halliday + Baillie’s Tiffiny Hodgson says.

“As we have grown, we’ve been able to look at efficiencies of scale in the production of products, and are constantly working to develop more effective production techniques, that work with whole ranges of our product.”

This is something that underpins everything Halliday + Baillie do. They believe that the end result of a product made in New Zealand is ultimately of a higher quality than something produced overseas. “Here, we have strict regulations that must be followed and raw material compliance issues that must be adhered to. These are things that are tested and checked and it ensures New Zealand products are what they say they are.

“Another thing we are proud of about New Zealand manufacturing is that people are paid a living salary, and we are avid supporters of local industry.”

For Tiffiny and her team, being geographically close to the manufacturing partners also means if any changes need to be made, adjustments can be worked out quickly and efficiently.

“New Zealand is becoming known around the world as a place of design expertise,” Tiffiny says. “That means that we have engineers and experienced professionals who are able to turn around and develop prototypes quickly.”

It’s this expertise that has allowed Halliday + Baillie to develop a global market presence, exporting much of their product overseas, particularly to Australia and the United States where their hardware is commonplace in high end homes, and seen in developments such as hotels and luxury condominium settings.

In New Zealand, the client base is more in the residential field, and that’s something that’s continually driving innovation and the development of new products, Tiffiny says. “Five or ten years ago even, things were very different and most of our products were specified by architects.

Now, home owners are taking much more of an interest in design and are asking for specific products to create a desired aesthetic they may have seen online.”

Halliday + Baillie work both with architects, merchants, builders, and directly with clients. Their showroom in Parnell, Auckland is a place of inspiration for both designer and end user, and their products are available from stockists around New Zealand.

Visit Halliday + Baillie on ArchiPro here before your next project to peruse some of New Zealand’s best hardware design.