Driven to diversify

You know you must be doing a lot right when customers are so happy with your product portfolio, they begin urging you to fill other product niches because they trust they are going to love them as much as the existing range. For Sloanebuilt Trailers (SBT), this wave of customer lobbying provided the confidence to make the biggest investment in the company’s history, resulting in a brand-new factory and facilities, along with a substantial expansion of skilled staff.

Interestingly, this sort of customer driven demand has been a factor at SBT since day-one, back in the mid-1970s, when Ken Sloane offered rare aluminium welding capabilities to Sydney’s tipper operators. After taking over the business in the mid-1980s, Fred and Helen Marano actually used their own experience as tipper operators to build custom designed tippers to suit the needs of customers. From a small factory in Camden, SBT expanded to a 2.5 acre site in Smeaton Grange in 2000, before making the step up to a vast nine acre site (still in Smeaton Grange) in mid2020. The decision to make the massive investment turned out to be a no-brainer, according to Bennett Haberbusch, SBT Business Relationship Manager.

“Sloanebuilt Trailers is best known for our long lasting, simple to use, safe and reliable tippers but a lot of our clients are fairly diverse in what they do. For example, they might have tippers but also drop-decks for transporting hay or machinery, or they might also do general freight using tautliners, etc. Over the years, customers kept asking us to be more of a one-stop-shop that covered even more of their needs. Instead of turning people away, the opportunity was there to expand our product range, as well as increase our service / repair offering, spare parts, etc. It was about reinvesting rather than standing still and that made the decision pretty easy.”

Spurred on by persistent customer requests to expand its range of quality services and products, Sloanebuilt Trailers embarked on a major investment in facilities and people.

With an empty, nine-acre site to work with, the SBT team were able to come up with a bespoke design just for them. In order to get smooth production flow, the management team did intensive research on other manufacturing operations, not just transport related. Over the years, the size of the average truck and trailer combination has become physically larger so plenty of work was also put into optimised traffic flow. The production line process begins with fabrication from raw aluminium or steel before flowing onto the blasting area and then the paint department. Returning to the main factory, it gets a fit out of electrics, hydraulics and parts, such as mudflaps, prior to rolling out the door. Start to finish takes around two to three weeks, depending on the product. Comprising 40,000m² under cover, the impressive layout of the new facility is fitted out with all the features needed to maximise efficiency, Bennett explains.

“Our large engineering, admin and sales hub is now housed within our centralised main building. Out in the factory we installed a 1000 tonne hydraulic press which is one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. It now allows us to press hardened steel and other steels in very large sections. We have our own grit blasting booth and then two drive through, heated spray booths. One booth will take a full, 26-metre-long B-double and the other is just over 20 metres long. These two booths mean we can be a hell of a lot more productive. In conjunction with our partnership with PPG, it takes our finish to the next level. PPG actually forms a major part of our selling strategy. The appearance, the durability, the ability to accurately colour match to

Driven to diversify

the truck manufacturers, the scope to offer our customers special finishes in metallics and pearls – it’s something we really talk up. When a customer is spending big money on a new Kenworth, Mack or Volvo, we point out that the PPG paint we put on is exactly the same as went onto the truck. That level of paintwork quality means the trailer is easy to clean and still looks great in five to ten years when changeover time comes. It’s a great image for the customer and, when people see that it’s a Sloanebuilt Trailer, it reflects well on our reputation.”

SBT’s strong relationship with PPG now spans around two decades and, depending on the application, takes advantage of the DELFLEET® Evolution range which is specially formulated for heavy vehicle applications, as well as products from the DELTRON® and Commercial Performance Coatings portfolios. In addition, SBT is a member of the regionwide PPG FleetPool network. This fits in nicely with the company’s significantly expanded maintenance / repair department built into the new facility.

“The old factory only had one dedicated repair bay which meant we had to turn people away. That made repairs and maintenance a major factor in the design of the new facility. Now we have four dedicated drive-through bays and it’s a standalone section with its own manager, its own team and its own specialised equipment. There is even a driver’s room with showers, toilets and refreshments to make use of while they wait. Another benefit of the new site is the ability to work 24/7 without the time curfew we had at the old site. Eventually, we want to get an afternoon or night shift going to help customers get back on the road quicker. To use our maintenance / repair section they don’t have to be a Sloanebuilt customer or even have a Sloanebuilt Trailer. Whether it’s an accident repair or a refurbishment job, we can leverage that FleetPool / PPG relationship to give customers the highest level of support.”

To go with the new facility, SBT has also invested heavily in personnel. It now has over 110 staff and is still actively looking for quality people to fill positions across the business. More than ever, Sloanebuilt Trailers remains a family operation. Fred Marano is still one of the first to arrive and last to leave each day and his four grown children play key management roles. One area that has been beefed up considerably is engineering and this has long given SBT an edge in innovative solutions. For example, since the Performance Based Standard (PBS) framework was introduced by the government in 2012, SBT’s engineering team has been able introduce a number of boundary-pushing concepts that have resulted in significant productivity gains for customers. SBT’s quality is even being recognised overseas. A special program is actually seeing small numbers of US specification tippers and flat top / drop deck style trailers shipped to clients in the United States.

More than anything, the investment in a purpose-built facility and skilled staff is set to cement the long-term future for Sloanebuilt Trailers.

“We continue to invest in design and the integration of technology in order to create products that make life easier and safer for our customers. Soon SBT’s range will offer pretty much any trailer you like, except stock crates and fuel tankers. Our production facility is now the jewel in the crown. We go to great lengths to get clients to come here, meet our staff and take a good look at the facilities, from fabrication to final assembly and maintenance / repairs. We believe Australian owned and made is a message well worth telling people!” R

With a dazzling palette of colours and an arsenal of mind-blowing special effects, the only limitation is your imagination. These high-energy finishes are easy to use and fully compatible with PPG’s market leading refinish systems, including the ENVIROBASE ® High Performance waterborne system, making eco-friendly custom paintwork a reality! Whether it’s for a hot rod, custom car or motorcycle, for a finish that turns heads, draws crowds and gets award winning recognition, there’s only one choice – PPG Vibrance Collection!