Commercial, Industrial & Mining Plastic Welding & Fabrications
Where we believe Quality & Good old fashion customer service should cost you no extra.
With over 30 years of experience from Trade Certified Craftsmen in all aspects of Thermo Plastic fabrications, we believe you are assured to receive customer satisfaction & Quality Second to None.
Whether it be a simple cut to size piece of plastic or an Acrylic display unit, to a complete Laboratory design & fit out
NO JOB IS TOO SMALL OR TOO LARGE!
Our Custom Fabrication & Dispatch is based in Perth, Western Australia. However, we have the ability to distribute Australia wide via a number of Logistic companies, often within 2-3 days depending on your order & location
Golden West Plastics was derived from a vision by a young man, David Smith, who entered the work force at the youthful age of 16, back in 1981.
David had an appetite for working with plastic materials as far back as his high school days, and enjoyed creating items for his father and mother, who were very proud of his achievements. He had a dream to become a major contributor in the plastics industry, to own his own company, and to help solve his customers’ problems.
In David’s own words – “My very first job in the plastics industry was the mixing of coloured pigments into the raw plastic material used in injection moulded products at one of the prominent plastics manufacturing facilities at the time in the Perth metro area, being “Bristle – Plastics Division” (formally “Lusterite Plastics”).
The machine setting staff were always on hand to teach me the art of die setting and machine set up, as I would always finish my required work load earlier than required and eagerly moved onto help setting & maintaining the machines.”
After approximately 12 months, the divisional manager saw my dedication to work and ability to learn quickly, so when an apprenticeship scheme was developed by the Plastics Institute of WA for training in thermo plastic fabrication I was approached to become one of the first of nine apprentices to become a fully certified (with trade papers) tradesman in the industry. From that moment, there was no looking back. I had to opportunity to absorb a wealth of skills and information from the fantastic and very experienced craftsmen in the workshop and technical education lecturers at the Carlisle Technical College facility.
Unfortunately, after 30 months into my apprenticeship; Bristle decided to disband as a company & shut down their Plastics division; however, having been in the industry as an experienced apprentice, it was only a matter of two days before another prominent plastics fabrication company, known then as “MR Plastics”, snapped me up.
At MR Plastics I managed to work with a whole new breed of experienced fabricators, absorbing as much information as was on offer. It was here that I extended my knowledge in other aspects of plastic fabrications, inclusive of fiberglass products (GRP) predominately for applications with chemical resistant resins.
I also gained extensive experience in the art of installations for all of the products that the company manufactured; this included the development and installation of the fume extraction systems for “Argyle Diamond Mines” in the Kimberly region of WA, and the manufacture and installation of fume cupboards and duct systems at the QE2 medical training facility for the “University of WA”.
It was also here that I finalised my trade studies and became a fully-fledged tradesman. I continued to work with MR Plastics for further 2 years & was the last standing tradesman prior to them being bought out by an upcoming Bath & Sanitary manufacturing company “Multiform Plastics” in which we manufactured Acrylic Vacuum Formed baths & basins for the housing sector; however my heart & expertise was really in specialized fabrications & looked at alternative employment .
Now, having been in the industry for some time and building a reputation as a first class fabricator, it wasn’t long before I was approached to become Senior member of another team of fabricators involved extensively in piping systems for the then booming mining and housing industry in WA.
I was able to pass on my acquired attributes and extensive experience to further the education of their existing trainees and tradesmen and acquired extensive knowledge working with HDPE, PVC, Polypropylene, PVDF, and ECTFE piping systems. After approximately three years of service, and a downturn in the mining industry, it was unfortunately with much regret, time to move on.
A leading fume cupboard and chemical tank supplier/manufacturer heard that I was on the market, and approached me to join their permanent staff. I spent a few years working in the workshop environment. I was involved in the manufacture and design of many systems, including electro winning cells for the extraction of gold and nickel, and large custom chemical tanks for major chemical companies manufactured to both Australian (AS) and British (BS) Standards from PVC-CPVC-HDPE-Polypropylene materials.
After three years on the workshop floor, I was offered the position of contracts/installations supervisor, which I grasped with ease due to my extensive prior experience in this area. The role involved liaising closely with customers, workshop management and office staff.
Soon after, I was promoted to manager/second-in-charge of the company. During that period, I learned more about the design of fume cupboards, extraction systems and duct design pressures, and gained extensive knowledge about how to run a company.
After ten years at the helm I left the company, and spent the next eight years involved in the development of the industrial division of another plastics company with outstanding results. I brought in major clients such as: BHP Nickel West, Wormall, Worley Parsons, Woodside Petroleum, Dampier Salt Mines, Alcoa, and Rio Tinto, along with a few junior exploration companies.
Whilst involved mainly in the industrial and mining divisions, this new job roll also presented the opportunity to further tune my skills in the running of company business and the commercial side of the industry; controlling and overseeing many projects manufactured from Acrylic ABS material, such as simple brochure holders and displays, to the more elaborate functions and corporations, along with large fish tanks from 65mm thick material; adding to my knowledge base and attributes.
After eight years in that role, and more than 25 years’ industry experience under my belt, it was time to venture out on my own, and for “Golden West Plastics Pty Ltd” to evolve.
David Smith
Golden West Plastics Pty Ltd, Managing Director
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