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SUSTAINABILITY AT MATON GUITARS
Maton has a deep respect for the natural timber resources used in the making of guitars and the sustainable management of all wood species used by our industry.
A Maton guitar made today embodies two fundamentals of sustainability: responding to resource availability and the optimisation of resource efficiency. It’s in our DNA to be respectful of and resourceful with the timber we use, our people and our supply chains.
Having pioneered the use of Australian tonewoods as an alternative to timbers difficult and expensive to source from North America, one of our competitive advantages is the use of locally-grown Blackwood, Queensland Maple and Bunya timbers now considered worldwide to be more sustainable than traditional timbers.
Maton continues to research and develop the use of other alternate tone woods, especially for faces, fingerboards and bridges.
GREEN AND LEAN LOCAL OPERATIONS
Maton is ensuring our ability to craft a genuinely iconic Australian instrument for future generations to play by developing its processes to match its world-class product.
A key goal is to be a green and lean locally-based manufacturing operation.
The Maton team is focussed on ensuring our manufacturing processes and practices are as sustainable and as future-proof as the reputation of our world class product. Not only are we using sustainably sourced Australian timbers wherever possible, but we are investing in technology to reduce our timber consumption per guitar and improve our productivity..
An understanding of every process step from forest to finished guitar several years ago was the catalyst to increasing the materials efficiency and future sustainability of Maton.
Plans have been implemented that focus on avoiding waste and optimising material efficiency, as well as managing unavoidable waste streams. In recent years, our investment in Australian-first technology that thin slices timber has doubled the yield of raw timbers, halved the operation’s cost of waste management and reduced energy by over 20%.
MATON TIMBER PROCUREMENT SYSTEM
Maton sources timber from a network of preferred suppliers specialising in the supply of low volume high grade timber for the music industry. We purchase directly from local and international suppliers, billets of raw sawn timber, semi processed timber blanks, and timber components to size, cut and drying specifications.
Maton has developed a comprehensive Timber Procurement System to ensure our operation’s procedures support our Responsible Timber Sourcing Approach.
Refer Policy statement
Maton has embedded all Due Diligence legal requirements of the Australian Illegal Logging Prohibition Act 2012 into its systems and procedures to ensure that all suppliers are monitored against a risk mitigation framework that reduces the risk that illegally logged timber is imported to or used by our operations.
OUR RESPONSIBLE TIMBER SOURCING APPROACH
Our Commitment to Environmental Responsibility and Due Diligence (from our Systems and Procedures Manual) states
Maton is committed to procuring timber and processed timber components that have been sourced from legal and well managed forests, and at all times being able to demonstrate Due Diligence has been undertaken to minimise the likelihood of any timber being sourced from illegal sources.
We are committed to promoting responsible stewardship toward the environment and its natural resources and to reducing the impact on the environment caused by our own activities or those activities carried out by our suppliers and sub suppliers.
We are also committed to, where possible, procure wood products that have been certified against an internationally recognized standard for responsible forest management, to ensure that the material originates from a well-managed forest.
We will continuously improve the sustainability level of our sourcing by avoiding sourcing from unknown or unsustainable sources. Preference will be given to suppliers who can demonstrate formally documented systems and procedures that have been certified by an independent third party and cooperate fully to provide all information to enable us to complete a full assessment of the risk associated with sourcing timber from their organisation’s supply chain.
CITES AND ROSEWOOD
Since January 2017, new regulations adopted by The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) amplifies the protection of rosewood species (genus Dalbergia).
These regulations impact anyone buying or selling a rosewood guitar across international borders. Maton is equally committed to facilitate the compliance of our products with all CITES regulation
TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE
Maton’s Triple Bottom Line business approach supports the music community and engages with the local community to reuse unavoidable material waste.
We actively engage with local community groups - woodworkers, men's sheds, artists and local schools - to reuse unavoidable timber waste for wood turning, crafts and other options to landfill.
RECOGNITION OF OUR COMMITMENT
Maton has been inducted into the Victorian Government Manufacturing Hall of Fame in 2014.
In 2016, our commitment to innovation, sustainability and improvement was recognised by City of Whitehorse’s Most Sustainable Business and Innovation award and the Overall Sustainability Award.
Maton’s story has also featured as a case study on Sustainabilty Victoria’s website