Newcastle, NSW – At Access Industries, we’ve always believed that if things in the workplace don’t quite fit for our supported employees, we adjust them—preferably with a dash of ingenuity and a bit of heart.
Around 30 years ago, our team faced a challenge: how could we make the fiddly, highly technical task of producing perfectly sized polypropylene lashings (or packaging twine) in a method to suit our supported employees with different abilities? The solution wasn’t to make people fit the machine—it was to make the machine fit the people. The now-legendary Lashings Machine was born.
The brilliance of this invention lies in its simplicity. Rather than demanding years of technical skill or training, the Lashings Machine cleverly breaks the process into easy, repeatable steps. Employees simply wind a long-form rope around hooks, close the cabinet, and let the machine work its magic—heat-lasering perfect lengths of rope in seconds. From there, other supported employees step in to add the finishing touches: twisting, knotting, and looping the rope exactly as the client requires. It’s packaging perfection, delivered with teamwork and pride.
The Lashings Machine isn’t flashy—it doesn’t whistle, it doesn’t dance, and it doesn’t make coffee (though we wish it did!). What it does do is far more important: it provides stable, meaningful employment for people with disability, empowering them to gain confidence, learn new skills, and contribute to producing high-quality industry-standard products.
Over the years, many employees have proudly become “machine masters,” passing on their knowledge to others and proving that inclusion can be both practical and powerful.
Today, the Lashings Machine stands as more than just an industrial workhorse. It is a symbol of empathy, creativity, and the belief that with the right tools, everyone can shine. For three decades, it has been quietly churning out not just twine, but also opportunity, dignity, and independence. Innovation doesn’t always need to be shiny and new—sometimes the greatest inventions are the ones that keep on giving, year after year, lashing after lashing.