Our client is the leading manufacturer and fabricator of heavy vehicle equipment to the mobile waste collection industry.
The company is the go-to manufacturer for vehicles and waste collection systems in Australia and New Zealand and is responsible for developing and building much of the innovation in waste collection in Australasia.
“We build and deliver over 350 waste collection vehicles each year. Essentially, we are a maxi and sophisticated production line with a large order book.
Key to our success is the quality of our work and our ability to deliver orders on time and to specification without fault.
This is where we rely 100% on the skills, workmanship and organisational diligence of RPG Australia to supply the steel components, rolled, folded, drilled and tapped to exact standards so our fabrication and welding divisions can put everything together without fuss.”
More like a partnership
The company has been working with RPG Australia for approximately ten years. Over the journey, the two businesses have learned to collaborate on introducing innovation to ensure the components can meet the designed tolerances and look for their purpose.
The businesses regularly discuss forecasting and supply chain challenges that keep them in sync with each other and mitigate order failure. This type of relationship quickly forms a partnership status that is hard to replicate or replace.
Working together to meet the challenges
The biggest challenge is the supply pipeline of quality steel pre-conditioned to specification to keep the large quantities of orders filled within tight deadlines.
It is critical for the company to have a reliable steel supplier that knows the business, sources the best product, has the onsite capability to manufacture complex components and, in short, makes them look good. If the supply pipeline fails then assembly fails and when assembly fails the whole business is negatively exposed.
“RPG Australia has a more complicated pipeline fill than we do, because of us. They would be required to have stock for at least six to nine months ahead of our ordering scheduling, which probably goes a little unheralded within the relationship. We are acutely aware of the pressure that would place on their inventory control and that is one of a number of reasons that makes them irreplaceable for our needs.”
Capability, capacity and know-how are the keys to the strength of this relationship. RPG Australia has the in-house capability to manufacture the components required to continually service their market with high-quality equipment.
RPG Australia, through its network of mills and the backing of Southern Steel Group, has access to the best quality steel. And its years of experience and team of quality trades and procurement systems ensures it has the know-how to act with agility and flexibility to produce steel components of the highest grade for this important and long-standing client.
Trust cannot be understated
The company places more than delivery trust in RPG Australia. At the beginning of any design implementation or upgrade to existing builds, they will engage RPG Australia to provide feedback on their planned changes or new innovation.
This level of collaboration deepens the relationship, and they rely on RPG Australia’s feedback and alternative ideas before committing to costly design changes. They have total faith in the expertise of RPG Australia, which is a testament to the high standards of professionalism displayed within the team at RPG Australia.
“It is more than trust with RPG Australia. They know we are fully reliant on their business for our business to flourish, yet we have never felt vulnerable. They have always treated us as a valued client and take as much pride in seeing us succeed as we do. Further, I know when I press the button on an order I don’t need to stress.
Even in these very trying times of COVID influences, where supply is low and steel prices are at an all-time high, RPG Australia has the network to deliver without issue. They place a very high price on communication, professionalism and maturing the relationship and their work philosophy is authentically aligned to our own,”
RPG Australia is your go-to steel partner. With everything under one roof and access to the highest quality grade steel and expertise, experience the difference RPG Australia makes. Contact us to discuss your steel needs. Read more of our case studies.
