Profile
MaxiTRANS is Australia’s largest supplier of road transport trailing solutions.
The Company's operations consist of a complementary mix of activities centred on the broad needs of road transport operators. They include manufacture of leading trailer brands, supply and distribution of parts, provision of service and repair support, manufacture of urethane foam and body panels and the sales and finance of new and used trailing equipment.
In 1998 Maxi-CUBE, a company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange since 1994, purchased Freighter Industries to create a group that was subsequently renamed MaxiTRANS. The acquisition united two prominent transport trailer brands – Freighter (founded in 1946) and Maxi-CUBE (founded in 1972) - that had pioneered their sectors of the Australian road transport industry. MaxiTRANS has since acquired 3 other leading trailer brands (Hamelex White, Lusty EMS and Peki) and the Colrain parts business.
In 1996, Maxi-CUBE established a Chinese joint venture operation with THT, a major Chinese transport equipment manufacturer, to produce insulated fibreglass wall panels. The joint venture operates under the name of MTC (Yangzhou Maxi-Cube Tong Composites Co. Ltd), with panels sold throughout China. This joint venture partnership continues to experience significant growth in sales and profitability.
MaxiTRANS has made significant capital investments in its original and acquired businesses, including $13M invested in the Ballarat facility to improve efficiency, safety and quality, transforming the facility into a modern production line operation. Further investments have been made at Lusty EMS (a new factory shortly after acquisition) and Hamelex White where a $5 million capital investment program has commenced with the installation of a CNC profile cutter and a precision plasma plate cutter.
MaxiTRANS will continue to focus on providing the best possible innovative road transport solutions to its customers in the form of carefully engineered, high quality trailers. Investment in its people and in modern manufacturing facilities will continue to be key priorities in the future. MaxiTRANS plans to remain at the forefront of trailer technology, continuing to build on Freighter’s 60 years of market leadership. We have, after all, been “Behind Trucking Since 1946”.
Key Dates in our History:
1946 Freighter Industries commenced operations
1972 Maxi-CUBE commenced operations
1973 Freighter Industries moved manufacturing operations from Moorabbin to Ballarat
1988 Maxi-CUBE acquired Fruehauf Trailers
1994 Maxi-CUBE listed as a public company
1995 New Zealand (Maxi-CUBE) operations commenced
1996 China Joint Venture established (MTC)
1998 Maxi-CUBE purchased Freighter Industries and acquired Coonara wood heaters
1998 Maxi-CUBE Ltd renamed MaxiTRANS Industries Ltd (Maxi-CUBE retained as a product brand)
1999 Maxi-CUBE van assembly operations transferred to Ballarat to consolidate all existing Company trailer assembly operations
2000 Michael Brockhoff (formerly MD Linfox) appointed as Managing Director
2002 Coonara divested
2002 New Victorian sales, service and parts facility opened at Derrimut (incorporating MaxiTRANS Head Office)
2003 Initial $5m upgrade of Ballarat manufacturing operations completed
2003 Lusty EMS Pty Ltd acquired
2004 New manufacturing facility for Lusty EMS at Richlands, Brisbane
2004 Hamelex White acquired
2004 Parts joint venture established with Colrain
2005 Acquired certain assets of Peki
2006 Acquired the remaining 30% shareholding in Colrain Pty Ltd