Unprecedented cost increases!

14th October  2021
Hopes that polymer prices would return to 2020 levels have been totally dashed. Sustained higher polyer prices, polymer shortages, shipping delays  and huge increases to freight costs means that not only are polymer prices back at high levels but the cost of just about everything else has gone up - often more than  20% - in the last year alone,  .

Our polymer surcharge has been a fair and transparent way of passing through the cost increases in polymer, but it is all the other costs that now need to be included, This means that we have to immediately increase the base price of our products significantly to cover these increases..    Contact us for how this affects you and for the latest information

  Shipping Chaos Continues!

25th August 2021
Global shipping rates coninue to soar amid increasing choas.  In mid-August China's second largest port (Ningbo) went into lockdown, causing global shockwaves and ongoing issues with containers being available in the right place continue.  The container index (Graph on right) shows many routes are more than 6X the price they were a year ago,  For Australa and New Zealand this means that a shortage of ships and more lucrative freight to the USA and Europe means not only has the prices of shipment gone up, but there are virtually no ships available locally.

•  Empty containers for loading in Asia are almost non-existent. It can take 7-10 days t get a container even with a $1000 surcharge.

• Singapore has been overwhelmed by a literal tsunami of vessels after the Suez cleared. Delays in transhipments are being reported of up to a month

• Australia and New Zealand are not on the global priority list and services have been reduced dramatically (and prices increased)

• Due to the congestion, ships are changing their rotations (sequence of visiting all the ports) to avoid being held offshore, but this is adding up to 10 days to some trans-Tasman shipping. Melbourne to Lyttleton has been particularly badly affected with cancelled ships and unfavourable rotations to shipping.

• The MUA has chosen this moment to again do a series of rolling stoppages.

Although largely out of our control,we are working hard to minimise the impact of these problems on our customers.

  Additional manufacturing site opened

1st April 2021
In preparation for our new recycler we have moved all our bag making and slitting operations to 64-68 Leggo Court. This site is nearby in Dandenong South just off Hallam Valley Road.  Most stock items such as underground warning and barrier tapes, strapping, stretch wrap and asbestos removal bags will now need to be collected from this site.  

  AKD in the pink again

07 October 2020
AKD is Pinking Up again in support of the McGrath Foundation to help raise awareness and support to help fund McGrath Breast Care Nurses who provide invaluable support and care for the women and men who are experiencing breast cancer.

AKD is again encouraging all AKD team members and customers to wear their pink shirts and shoelaces for the month of October, and this year they are also supplying pink face masks free of charge to all employees and asking them to also make a personal donation to the charity.
“We have set ourselves a target of $50,000 this year which is more than double what we raised last year,” AKD CEO Shane Vicary said.
“We are pushing hard this year to reach this ambitious goal and we have already raised almost $10,000, and it’s only the start of October.
“To make a difference to this worthy cause, we need to rev up our generosity; everyone can make a positive difference and that’s got to feel good after the year we’ve all had so far.”
To promote the cause even more publicly and to really make heads turn, the company is even changing its product wrap for October to include the Pink AKD logo, the McGrath Foundation logo and the donation link that people can follow to donate.
This change in wrap was suggested by AKD’s product wrap supplier Pakaflex, which has agreed to do this new wrap design at no extra cost and has also donated $1000 to the McGrath Foundation. Many of AKD’s customers and suppliers are also getting on board with the pink face masks in support of raising donations and awareness.
“This is a great opportunity to really get the message out to everyone who interacts with our products – freight companies, fabricators, merchants, packaging manufacturers, builders – to create awareness for the cause and help us hit our fundraising target of $50,000,” Mr Vicary said.

  MORE NEWS