BlueScope Distribution Helps Keep MaxiTRANS On The Road To Success

CATEGORY: Manufacturing

LOCATION: Ballarat

VIC PRODUCT: TruSpec® steel

Supported for over 30 years by BlueScope Distribution’s Ballarat branch, and producing their renowned, high quality trailing transport equipment using Australian-made TRU-SPEC® coil plate steel, MaxiTRANS has won a legion of loyal customers and also recently won a significant order which will contribute valuable work for Australian manufacturing.

Since its inception, MaxiTRANS has brought together decades of experience and excellence, through the acquisition of numerous leading trailer brands, to become a highly successful ASX listed company and Australia’s largest manufacturer of trailing transport equipment and solutions.

It’s an exceptional business journey which BlueScope Distribution’s Ballarat branch has proudly shared since the two companies first partnered together in 1983 – and one which the branch is now supporting through the supply of a range of steel products, in particular TRU-SPEC® coil plate steel.

Synonymous with road transport in Australia and New Zealand, MaxiTRANS is Australia and New Zealand’s leading manufacturer of high quality engineered road transport equipment for the general freight, temperature controlled freight and bulk transport market sectors.

Producing a large volume of trailers annually from its two Australian trailer manufacturing facilities in Ballarat, Victoria, and Richlands, Queensland, MaxiTRANS is also a leader in repair and service support through its network of company owned and operated repair and service divisions, its franchised dealer network and its MaxiPARTS division which has 21 wholesale and retail parts outlets across the country.

MaxiTRANS leads the way in manufacturing and supporting superior trailing transport equipment; a fact which recently led to them winning an order for the supply of almost 400 trailers for a leading Australian supermarket chain. This has resulted in the company adding 100 new Australian jobs, most of which are based in Ballarat, to enable fulfilment of the order.

It’s an impressive win for an Australian vehicle manufacturer and one which BlueScope Distribution is pleased to have played a part in through their years supplying steel to MaxiTRANS and the supply of the TRU-SPEC® steel now used in the manufacture of MaxiTRANS trailers.

Produced on BlueScope’s Port Kembla coil plate processing line, which utilises stretchlevelling technology, TRU-SPEC® steel delivers an industry-leading standard of consistently flat and memoryfree coil plate products which improve consistency of cutting, bending and press forming performance.

These are product qualities that have greatly benefitted MaxiTRANS in manufacturing the high quality equipment which their customers rely on, as Anthony Roder, MaxiTRANS Group General Manager Manufacturing, explained.

“TRU-SPEC® steel has proven to be superior in quality, particularly in regard to plate flatness and it has been a good product for MaxiTRANS,” Anthony said. “We use it in the main rails and some of the cross members in our trailer chassis’ and have converted our larger thickness plates from pattern plate to the TRU-SPEC® steel, delivering a cost saving and an improved aesthetic finish on our trailers without loss of strength.”

Along with quality products, quality service is also a key factor in the successful partnership, as Branch Manager Neil Grieves explained.

“It’s about understanding what’s important to a customer’s business and really drilling down and ensuring the product meets their production line when it’s required – everyone knows that is paramount,” Neil said. “We have regular meetings with MaxiTRANS to discuss upcoming projects, what’s likely to be impacted and what products are likely to spike, to make sure we always meet their requirements.

“In terms of delivery, the majority of the time it’s morning for afternoon production or afternoon for morning production, however we have also loaded product and had it on their door inside an hour when required,” Neil stated. “Everyone here understands if our customers have an urgent requirement, then we need to make it happen; we’re all tuned in to the fact that we can never negatively impact our customers’ production line.”

The close nature of the working relationship between the two companies is definitely appreciated by Anthony Roder and the MaxiTRANS team.

“The partnership with BlueScope Distribution has been terrific; over the journey of 34 years we’ve taken the good and the bad together by being honest and transparent on both sides, so it’s been a good relationship.

“We consider the BlueScope Ballarat branch to be part of our team; it’s a partnership where we know we can call on favours and they’re also clear they can do so from us, so it’s a bit more of a family relationship than a supplier relationship,” Anthony said.

“At the end of the day we know they work hard to look after us, but we appreciate the work they do for us, so we work hard to help them kick the goals where they need to as well.”

For more information visit www.maxitrans.com

Download Case Study: Maxitrans

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