Transport & Motoring | Lowes Industries
New semi trailers and B-trains John and Sue Metcalf have owned Lowes Industries for five years and during that time have grown the business significantly. The company employs two design engineers, including their son Stuart, a graduate of Canterbury University. “Before we bought Lowes Industries, the company limited their product range in terms of the vehicles it built,” John Metcalf says. “The previous owner built farm trade tankers and four-axle dog trailers. We’ve expanded Lowes’ products range vertically, to include three and four-axle semi-trailers and B-trains, as well as horizontally across different markets to include dairy and bulk wcement tankers. “We’ve broadened the scope of the business and it’s a lot more technical now. Semi-trailers require a much higher level of engineering and design than the company’s previous trailer configurations. To facilitate this move, we’ve made a big investment in design and our design capabilities have grown as a result.” To improve its manufacturing processes, Lowes Industries has recently developed and built some new in-house equipment, including a “rotisserie”, which rotates the tank for welding purposes, making welding much easier and quicker. While Lowes Industries is primarily a transport engineering company, the business also undertakes general engineering and is a specialist in aluminium, stainless steel, mild steel and carbon steel fabrication.
Lowes knows tankers Lowes Industries’ engineering workshops contain: • 400T x 4m brake press • 3M x 6mm plate rollers • 6mm x 3m guillotine
The team at Lowes has been steadily perfecting its road tanker designs for 38 years and has done this by listening to its customers in order to determine the best way of building tankers, as well as what works for the operator and what doesn’t.
• 50T hydraulic press • 450 x 2m lathe • Milling machine • 450A Fronius MIG water-cooled welding machines • 400A Fronius TIG welding machines • Various MIG and TIG welding machines • Band saw • Cut-off saw • Degassing blower and test equipment • 5T, 3T, 2T and 1T hoists.
Lowes Industries has spent near on four decades listening to the people who drive its trucks ensuring the company has a clear understanding of what works and what doesn’t.
The company’s design engineers strive to create the right balance between strength and weight, making sure the layout is designed around the driver in order to make his job easier. Managing director John Metcalf says that feedback from drivers all over the country indicates that given the choice, they prefer to drive a Lowes Industries tanker. “Over the years we’ve been maintaining tanks of all makes and models. Typically our competitors don’t do that - they focus on manufacturing,” he says.
“We believe this has given us a real competitive advantage because we can see what works and what doesn’t. We get great feedback from the drivers who say they will always choose a Lowes tanker because they’re better laid out, have a higher standard of finish and are built to last.”
Leading the industry The innovation within Lowes Industries has put the Christchurch company at the front of the dangerous goods transport industry for many years. Lowes Industries was the first tanker builder in New Zealand to build a four-axle tanker trailer, and was also the first to build a tankertrailer with an all-aluminium chassis. It is the only tanker builder in NZ to have successfully designed and built a fully aluminium bulk cement tanker. Lowes also introduced New Zealand-made LPG tankers to the market more than 25 years ago. Its design and construction of bulk bitumen tankers has been particularly successful, while the company has also established a reputation as a builder of specialist forklift attachments.
Dress your business When you dress your business with Apparelmaster, we take care of everything! Overalls • Uniforms • Mats Drycleaning • Towels Washroom Services • Laundry
Phone 0800 808 820 www.apparelmaster.co.nz www.canterburytoday.co.nz April/May 2012 | 81