Mr PETER DRAPER (Tamworth) [1.48 p.m.]: At the invitation of company director, Jamie Chaffey, recently I visited Gunnedah Industries, which is located on a 200-hectare site on the Tamworth road near Gunnedah. I was very impressed with the services and employment opportunities the company provides for the rapidly developing Gunnedah economy. Over the past few years, Gunnedah Industries has focused on the ever-growing need for products to service the waste management industry. It has had major success in promoting its waste collection stations and has won tenders and supplied these stations to all levels of government across all States of Australia. It has also launched a new range of recyclable collection stations, it has other related products under development, and it has just finished testing a new unload-on-the-run cotton boll buggy.

Jamie Chaffey told me that Gunnedah Industries' mission is based on ongoing quality control and product development in the fields of agricultural waste collection and minimisation industries. It strives to provide these products at the best possible prices, backed by prompt after-sales service and support. The group aims to provide its clients with the highest quality range of services and products related to engineering, manufacturing, transport and retail. Other Gunnedah Industries products include cotton module builders, cotton harvest machinery, waste oil collection centres, grain handling machinery, recyclables collection centres, oil filter crushers and other custom items. Gunnedah Industries is a real leader in Australian manufacturing and the design of many products and welcomes the opportunity to design and manufacture new products.

Stripes Services is committed to providing a large range of quality services and products to mining, agriculture and industry. It offers a 24/7 service in engineering, skilled labour hire, manufacturing, transport, product development and onsite repairs with fully equipped service vehicles, qualified project managers, pressure welding, poly welding, poly fitters, crane drivers, boilermakers, fitters and retail in steel, gas and all industrial consumables. The Stripes Engineering Services workshop is fitted with a guillotine, presses and specialised welding equipment and has the ability to weld aluminium, stainless steel and general steels. Standard machinery includes sawing and drilling equipment. The company can also perform guillotining to 12 millimetres, brake pressing to 200 tonnes and turning to a 500-millimetre diameter. To expedite services, it has a full mobile workshop for onsite jobs and fully equipped boilermaker trucks and fitters' vehicles. It also stocks heavy plate and sheet and has a full workshop fabrication ability. There are few other businesses in the region that can provide this flexibility or quality of service, and the company is planning ahead to provide for the needs of the expanding mining industry, being well positioned to supply it with quality tradesmen.

The third division of the group is Stripes Asset Services, a priority freight transport company that prides itself on deliveries commencing at 7.30 a.m. It has vans, utes, light trucks and trucks up to seven tonnes. It also subcontracts larger transport up to 25 tonnes and, when required, B-double flattop transport. One of the greatest assets of the combined group is its staff. It has 40 experienced and skilled team members including boilermakers, fitters and turners, engineers, machinists, heavy vehicle drivers, administration staff, customer service personnel, drafting personnel and qualified project managers. Amongst them are qualified project manager and site supervisor Neil Wade and Ian Coyle, a qualified boilermaker and leading hand. The group recently supplied quality engineering support onsite for Straits Hillgrove Gold, where staff have gained a large amount of specific experience that the company believes will provide advantages for other future projects. The group also services Whitehaven Coal with factory fabrication, site works and washery maintenance and repairs and maintenance for several drilling companies.

Jamie Chaffey pointed out to me that the group is committed to providing a safe and healthy work environment for all employees and visitors. Its policy dictates making every effort to prevent accidents, to protect employees from injury and to promote the health, safety and welfare of all employees. Employees are required to participate in workshops to ensure they are all up to date. The company is to be commended for managing risk by implementing management systems to identify, monitor and control hazards and by constantly reviewing performance. I thank Jamie for the invitation. His company and team are a great example of entrepreneurial vision in regional New South Wales.