About Us
Palm Outdoor Australia is a design and technology driven company.
Palm Outdoor Australia is an Australian owned and operated designer and manufacturer of unbreakable drink and tableware products and of precision plastic automotive and building parts. Palm’s consumer products are sold in Australia and in over 30 countries world-wide. The company is the largest supplier of unbreakable drinkware in Australia. Palm’s precision automotive parts are found in Toyota, General Motors, Ford, Porsche, Hyundai vehicles and in Volvo and Iveco trucks. Parts are exported to Thailand, Hungary, Sweden, Spain, India and South Africa. Palm is a leader in automotive lens manufacture and 2-material moulding.
All products are made in our facility in Melbourne, Australia. We only market products we make.
Our consumer products are building worldwide markets based upon:
- Beautiful and tactile design
- Beautiful functionality
- Being the choice for the environment
Our Environmental advantage is based upon:
- Engineering our products for longer life using the best available materials.
- All our products are 100% Recyclable
- In-house manufacture is low energy, low waste
- We avoiding "Green-wash" solutions
Our Decisive Edge. Our strategic vision is to maintain a balance between manufacturing consumer products and contract moulding. Excellence in manufacturing is the foundation of the company. We are accredited to quality standard IS0 9001 and environment standard ISO 14001. Palm uses the principles of the Toyota Production Method to continuously improve, to drive up quality and to drive out waste. Supplying leading automotive companies has forced disciplines that gives our consumer products and our contract customers a decisive edge in efficiency, productivity and consistent quality, as well as traceability that give confidence that there is no substitution of inferior materials.
We are vertically integrated – designing, producing, warehousing, distributing and marketing. This gives us significant advantages in cost, quality, flexibility and being first-to-market.
Design Driven The winning of a Red Dot Award (Germany) for our Marc Newson range of drinkware in 2014, our Sorona® Plate and Bowl Collection in 2016 and a the Good Design Award (Chicago, USA) for the Caffe Cup in 2018 is a significant achievement that has led to commercial success and sales worldwide – these awards set Palm apart.
Craft Based Values. Palm is more like a craft based company, in the Italian tradition, than a mass producer. It is a place where passion and skill are alive. A deep understanding of the injection moulding process and a spirit of adventure have led to many “light bulb” moments. Our consumer products and contract products are made in a Hall of Fame finalist facility in Melbourne Australia, using best available environmental and lean-production practices. It is a synergy of state-of-the-art European equipment, robotics, systems and passionate motivated staff. Values of mutual thrust and goal congruence drive innovation, productivity, quality and our customer focus.
Less but Better Products. We believe that people should own less but better products – ones that give pleasure in use and last. So our products are beautiful and timeless and avoid trends, they have outstanding functionality and quality, and use the best available materials for a long life. This is Palm’s commitment and contribution to the environment.
About Our Products
Designed to be Beautiful and to Perform Beautifully
Beautiful design and beautiful performance are central to Palm Products’ strategic vision.
Our aim is to develop products that are functionally, aesthetically, and commercially more efficient, improving people’s lives and leading to the smallest possible impact on the environment.
The core idea is that our products should give pleasure in use. Pleasure in use is an emotional reaction that is a combination of the sensibilities of the consumer which encompass the aesthetic, the functional, the health and safety and the sustainable.
We seek that indefinable magic that elevates great art, or great music or great architecture from the noise.
Most of our products are Guaranteed Unbreakable Forever and so are Reuseable Forever.
We are the first and still only company giving this guarantee (to our knowledge).
This guarantee is possible because we use the best materials, our designs are without weak-points and our automotive quality control ensures consistency.
All products are 100% recyclable.
History
The story of Palm Products is as much about innovation in product design and manufacturing as it is the story of a simple philosophy that guides the company’s success: continuously make improvements, however small they are, and the business will transform to meet the needs of the market.
Building global markets has always been our goal – with the company motto from the early 90’s being “Quality Products for World Markets”.
Palm Tooling was founded by a tool-maker, Jack Sullivan, in the 1960s as a specialist die-making business to which was added moulding machines to become Palm Plastics. Back then all dies were made without the aid of computer controlled machines and CAD designs. Mills and lathes were operated by winding small wheels. Tool-making is a most exacting skill where tolerances are measured in 100th of a mm. To achieve these tolerances by hand and eye without making an error requires great skill and patience. Jack transferred this exactness to the moulding side of the business.
Robert Wilson purchased the business in the late 80’s, after a corporate career in engineering and with senior roles in sales, marketing and general management. His last 2 roles were Sales and Marketing Director of Cussons (soaps and detergents) and General Manager of Herbert Adams (pies and cakes). His dream was to use the engineering and production skills of the business to develop a complementary consumer products business.
And so began the transformation of the business to one that has embraced the best technology and systems and the Toyota production method with its emphasis on lean manufacturing and continuous improvement. Palm Products is unrecognisable today. Technologically advanced machinery, automation and processes place the company at the forefront of innovation and design globally.
Robert’s experience in consumer marketing instilled in him a customer-centric attitude that demands the end-user’s needs are addressed in every product. Fit for purpose design is a mandate of all product research and development. He knew that a customer-focused company would not be realized without a workforce that was motivated. Respect, mutual trust and goal congruence underpin the loyalty and commitment of staff. All employees are valued equally within the business, and decisions are made in concert with those directly affected. As a result, the staff place a high value on their role within the company and the quality of the products.
Despite high interest rates and a crippling recession, Palm Products grew in the early 1990s. The principles that guide the business were formed: drive the costs down, simplify processes and constantly invest in the business. Continual improvements were made to machinery, processes, training and an increasing investment made in product development. By 1995, Palm Products was manufacturing and marketing a stackable tumbler, which is still in production today.
The product and engineering excellence achieved in the automotive sector directly impacts the manufacture of consumer products. Palm Products developed the skills to make automotive instrument cluster lenses for Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi without rejects. These skills are directly transferable to making clear consumer products. In 2004, Palm Products purchased its first two-shot injection moulding machines to manufacture 2 material drinkware.
The transformation of the company from an automotive moulder to a consumer products company has accelerated with continual investment in new products and advanced equipment.
All consumer products are made in-house.
The Future
Ongoing investment in new products and equipment will continue to place our products at the leading edge of design, function, quality, environmental credentials and cost competitiveness.
The challenge to meet expectations regarding sustainability and environmental footprint is increasing in importance. Our aim is to be at the forefront of technology and to adopt new materials and processes as they become viable.
Despite the growth of consumer products, the automotive industry continues to be an important part of the business. The engineering and production skills necessary to remain globally competitive in the automotive industry is an important part of being globally competitive in consumer products. A measure of this commitment is Robert Wilson’s past position as Treasurer of the Federation of Automotive Products Manufacturers.
Palm Products supplies high precision automotive components are found in Toyota, Ford, GM, Porsche and Hyundai vehicles and in Volvo and IVECO trucks.
The company has also been involved in 2-shot moulding R&D through GM North America – a testament to the company’s innovation and technical ability.
The collaboration with Marc Newson in 2013 marked a recognition that a stronger integration of good design into Palm Products corporate vision is a necessary part of being internationally competitive. It is no longer enough to have the best functionality.
Development of new innovative products that combine good design with Palm Products DNA of functionality and production capability is driving an exciting future for the company.