FAQs

  • What timber do you use to produce your Dowels and Broom Handles?
    We use mainly 2 species, both selected for stability, and high strength to weight ratio. The most commonly used is Kembang Semangkuk abbreviated to K.S.K. (Scaphium Spp) The timber is also called Malaysian Oak because it has a distinct “Oak” like figure on the quarter sawn face. The colour is a uniform straw to pale cream. To the unqualified eye it bears a striking resemblance to American or European Oak (Quercus Spp). but it is not related We also use White Meranti (Shorea Spp) which has little or no figure and is white in colour. Both have a density of approx. 635 Kg. per Cu. Met. (40 lb. per cu. ft.)

  • Is your timber dry?
    Yes, all timber is Kiln Dried to 10 to 12 % moisture content. In the production process it may pick up a little moisture but will not exceed 14 % at any time. Given that in most places to which we export, the timber will have an Equilibrium Moisture Content (E.M.C.) of 12 to 14 % the M.C. is correct and will not cause any problem to the buyer on arrival. Some buyers, notably non timber people, think that a M.C. of 6 or 8 % is better; it is not. Timber dried to such low M.C. will cause more problems on arrival that wet timber (16 – 18 %). All timber used has been pressure treated with borax to make the finished dowel immune from borer / insect attack.

  • How do you pack your Dowels and Handles for export and can you guarantee damage free arrival?
    Over many years we have developed and have constantly improved our own design “Euro–Crates”. These are based on the Euro–Pallet principle and can be lifted from the side in our factory and in your warehouse but when being loaded into and taken out of a container, they are handled from the end. We regularly load crates 3.6M (12 ft) long and they always arrive in good condition. In our factory, crates are often stacked three high, without any problem. In order to load or unload our “Euro–Crates” into and out of a container, a fork-lift is required with a three stage mast. These can drive into the container and place one crate on top of another. These fork – lifts are very common in most countries. Many of our customers use our Euro–Crates as storage bins in their stores after removing the end braces and cleat. (See Wood Dowel and Wood Handles page for photos.)

  • Are your products certified F.S.C. Can you be sure your timber is legally harvested?
    All our timber comes from legal sources and we can provide documentation to that effect. (Certificates issued by Malaysian Timber Industry Board – MTIB). Almost all our timber comes from sawmills that are certified as cutting only sustainably sourced logs. We have not put in place the Chain of Custody (C. o. C.) because of the significant auditing cost and the simple fact that our current customers do not require F.S.C. certification. We could supply a F.S.C. certified product but the estimated extra cost is about 6 %.

  • You have standard bundle sizes; can these be varied if a customer wants his own specific number of pieces in a bundle?
    The bundle sizes we have adopted are based on an Australian standard. (See Dowel and Handle page for details). The larger the size, the less pieces in a bundle. These have evolved over maybe 40 years as the best model. There were two criteria. One was an ideal size for the staff (often ladies) in a store to handle but just as important is the efficiency in the packing of crates for shipping. It is most important that the dowels, when packed into a Euro – Crate utilize as much of the available space as possible. We can pack any number of pieces to a bundle to suit the customers requirements but in most cases there may be some shipping space lost.

  • Can you colour code the ends of dowels, if so what is the cost?
    We colour code the ends of dowels for two distinctly different reasons; both at minimal cost. In a factory situation where dowels are components in a manufactured product, we colour code in order to separate dowels of the same diameter but different length. (See Wood Dowel page; the picture left 2nd from the bottom.) Here we have 16mm Dowel components. The dowels with blue ends are 20mm longer than dowels with green ends. Colour coding eliminates any confusion in the production process. The second application for colour coding the ends is for retail sales. The colour designates the diameter; the staff in the store as well as customers can instantly separate dowels of similar sizes, by the colour.

  • Can you provide Bar-Codes (U.P.Cs)?
    We can individually B/C every piece of dowel in a container and usually at much lower cost than if the buyer were to do it. The application of a B/C is performed at the last point of Q.C. in the packing process.

  • Do you have minimum order quantities (M.O.Q.)?
    The simple answer to this is no but there are practical limits due to transportation factors. We could and have sent one crate overseas but the transport cost are very high. To send two crates is usually workable but the total cost will reduce (per unit) for more crates shipped. Small quantities (2 or 3 crates) are best shipped L.C.L. and F.O.B.

  • What is your lead time for an order to be shipped?
    Normally, with regular buyers we are prepared with some stock of raw material. We can ship within a month of receiving an order. If all large sizes it’ a little shorter time if there are a large number of small sizes, a little longer. A new customer who orders lengths and sizes different to our norm may have the initial order delayed a little but if ongoing, we would carry raw material stock accordingly. About 30 days is average.

  • Can you provide invoicing and other paper work in imperial and metric?
    Yes. Normally we work in metric but in Australia for example they buy imperial sizes (diameters and lengths) but use metric terminology. (See Dowel Page for details). In the U.S. all terminology is imperial. i.e. inches and feet. The dowels are imperial (inches and feet) and so is the paper work. What the customer wants, we provide.