MaxiTRANS Makes Stronger, Lighter Trailers With Capral

As one of Australia’s largest semi-trailer manufacturers and suppliers behind leading brands such as Freighter, Maxi-CUBE, Hamelex White, Lusty EMS, Trout River and AZMEB, MaxiTRANS has a lot riding on the quality of its products. To deliver to the standard that has become synonymous with its products the company sources its material from the best in the industry.

Its manufacturing is heavily dependent on aluminium and different alloys that ensure that MaxiTRANS continues to provide some of the most robust and lightweight trailers to the industry. Since the early 70s, MaxiTRANS has trusted Capral Aluminium to source material for its product offering.

“MaxiTRANS’ history with Capral Aluminium spans back many decades. Throughout the years we have continued to evolve our products and produce stronger, lighter trailers which for our customers means increased payload and more profit. Aluminium sections have played a key part in this equation and Capral have supported MaxiTRANS on this journey by recommending different alloys or improved designs to deliver the result,” says Anthony Long, who is the Procurement Manager for MaxiTRANS. Anthony’s role involves selecting and partnering with vendors that align with MaxiTRANS’ company values, offering quality and value for money in the products they sell, and deliver those products using best practice methods.

“Capral have been in the industry for years and as such have gained a reputation that is befitting of their expertise and capability,” Anthony says.

“They proactively explore different alloys and manufacturing techniques to improve quality or reduce cost for their customers, and in more recent times have acquired another extrusion business which has bolstered their capacity and capability.

“Being a local Australian manufacturer means supply lead times can be reduced in comparison to imported product, and the risk associated with managing an imported supply chain is negated. This gives greater flexibility to us as a customer because we can place orders for short lead time project type work and have confidence in Capral being able to deliver in full and on time to meet our needs.

“MaxiTRANS shares build schedules with Capral which enables Capral to run ‘Just in time’ (JIT) delivery schedules, which in turn helps reduce our inventory and means we receive the products exactly when required. Through this practice Capral gain greater alignment with our overall business needs and allows them to be more flexible when we need it.”

While Covid-related disruptions had an impact on many within the industry, the team at Capral ensured there was minimum impact on its customers’ operations.

“All businesses were impacted by Covid in one way or another, Capral, like MaxiTRANS, was impacted from a manning perspective resulting in some delays in delivery. When these instances occurred, Capral worked diligently to get production back on schedule, and made special deliveries when required so as not to impact us too much,” he says.

The future of this customer-supplier relationship looks promising as MaxiTRANS plans to set in motion a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to further improve the management of its day-to-day business activities including procurement, compliance, and supply chain operations.

“MaxiTRANS will soon be embarking on the implementation of a new ERP system which is planned to drive more operational efficiency through our business,” Anthony says. “One of the key elements for procurement efficiency will be EDI trade with our preferred suppliers. Capral’s technical background and IT platform will put them in good stead to partner with us on this journey and see us develop our supplier / customer relationship even further.”

Capral is Australia’s largest manufacturer and distributor of aluminium products including extrusions, sheet and plate products. It has manufacturing facilities in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. It has eight extrusion presses which manufacture over 75,000 tonnes of products every year and deliver them through its six manufacturing plants and 17 trade centres across the country to a wide range of Australian industries. It also has a portfolio of extrusion presses including the largest in Australia – meaning it can produce the largest aluminium extrusion section in the country. This provides significant benefits to the transport sector.

This Case Study was originally published by Trailer Magazine