We love promoting business success in Channel Mag and that is happening in spades at Birkdale-based business BFM® Global. This success has come off the back of Blair McPheat, the company owner and CEO, inventing the company's unique product as a solution for problems commonly experienced with traditional, clamped-style industrial connectors. He explains his invention as a simple case of “see a need, fill a need.” BFM® has now become an established global player, with over 60 authorised distributors and resellers selling its patented connection solution in more than 100 countries. This is a heartwarming story of a product being manufactured right here on the North Shore and being exported all over the world. Channel Mag’s Aidan Bennett caught up with Blair (a former head boy of Takapuna Grammar) during January at BFM®’s Birkdale factory.
How did the invention come about?
Blair McPheat: I was working with my father Forres and brother Kevin selling filtration products for Filtercorp, our family-owned business. I’d regularly visit manufacturing companies who had issues with dust leakage around their flexible connections. In those days, they were all using hose-clamps to fasten their connectors on the outside of the equipment, and they simply didn’t do a good job.
Massive amounts of production downtime was being spent on clean-ups and refits and the plant managers I spoke to always complained about the issue. I knew there had to be a better way and it played on my mind constantly.
I had a bit of a ‘eureka’ moment at 2am one morning with a vision of a flexible connector that sealed from the inside of the equipment without needing clamps. That's where the idea for the BLUEBAND™ connector actually started.
What is the product made from and who uses this product and for what purpose?
It’s a unique concept that’s been quickly embraced by leading manufacturers in the food, pharmaceutical, chemical and mineral industries around the world. Flexible connectors like ours are usually used in a processing line transporting bulk products – like flour or cereal – as they go through their production and packaging process. The BFM® fitting system itself encompasses two stainless steel spigots or adaptors that are welded to either end of a customer’s existing pipes or pieces of equipment they want to connect. The flexible connector itself is snap-fitted in between the two spigots without the need for clamps. It forms a 100% dust-tight seal, and our customers love the ease of installation because it takes seconds to change a connector with no tools needed.
We make a wide range of connectors in varying materials but our most popular by far is our proprietary Seeflex material which is a clear, ether-based polyurethane.
We understand these are all made right here on the Shore?
Yes, we make every BFM® product here in our Birkdale factory and they are exported all over the world. We’ve always been in Birkdale, but growing demand for our product saw us move one street over into new, much larger premises in 2022. That allowed us to scale up production, with additional expansion potential for future growth.
I love the fact that we employ so many local people too – virtually all our staff live on the Shore and many live within a just few kilometres of the factory.
You must be very proud of this success?
Immensely proud of our team and what we’ve achieved together. In the years since our inception, we’ve grown from a subsidiary manufacturing operation into a thriving, independent company with more than 12,000 customers worldwide.
Over 95% of the world's top food manufacturers, such as Nestle and Mondelez, use our products. So do giants in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, like Pfizer, Bayer, Akzo Nobel and Unilever among others - it's a real testament to BFM®'s ability to make manufacturing cleaner, safer and more efficient. Quality OEM manufacturers are also recognising the value BFM® fitting systems add to their products, installing them on their machinery as standard before they leave their factories.
Performance and reliability are why our existing users love our products, but our dedication to solving customers’ problems is what started this business. I’m determined that our ‘see a need, fill a need’ philosophy continues and we’ll go on innovating and evolving new products as our customers and markets need us to.
What have been the key challenges you have faced along the way?
Due to our product being so different to anything that had gone before it, we’ve had to effectively educate the whole manufacturing world on the ‘new’ way to connect their process lines. Hose-clamp connectors were just what everyone had used for years so it’s been quite a big culture shift for some in the industry. The good thing is that once someone who works in a processing factory sees a BFM® fitting in action, they realise how revolutionary it is and are often blown away by it. That’s why it’s been so important to actually get the product in front of as many people as possible.
The other key challenge for sure has been in the area of IP protection. Because our product is unique – and it’s so good at what it does – we’ve seen quite a few copycats pop up over the years. That’s meant a serious investment in defending our patents globally. It’s been a constant battle but protecting our brand’s high quality and integrity is extremely important to us.
What key nuggets of advice would you give to others trying to get their product(s) onto the world stage?
Firstly, I’d say learn from others who have done it already and don’t try and reinvent the wheel. There are so many successful small to medium Kiwi businesses that are manufacturing and exporting their products to the world. Call them, go and talk to them, and learn from their experience. They’re usually more than happy to share that knowledge and it will give you a genuine head start.
The other thing would be to actually hop on a plane and get face to face with your prospective customers. Don’t just rely on what third party agents or distributors tell you, particularly in the establishment phase of your business.
I spent a lot of time travelling, meeting the companies I knew would benefit from my product and physically getting in front of them. I learnt a lot from that and also built some really important relationships. I honestly believe that it’s still true today, even in this age of video conferencing, that there really is no substitute for in-person meetings.
You were born and bred on the Shore and the McPheat family is a prominent identity. What do you love about the place?
The beaches and lifestyle on the Shore are second to none – my wife Jan and I both grew up here and all our network of friends and family are here. We couldn’t imagine living anywhere else!
What does Blair McPheat do to relax away from business?
We love heading to the beach – I’ve always enjoyed many different water sports and there’s just nothing better than getting out on the water. Having said that, we’ve recently moved to a more rural property after spending our whole lives in Devonport, so our daily leisure activities have probably shifted a little more to the land now. We’re having fun redeveloping the gardens and property to put our stamp on it and find we’re actually really enjoying living the country life!
Visit: BFMfitting.com