DEMM Engineering & Manufacturing
Huge new plant for COMBILIFT
FOR A COMPANY that has 40,000 units in use worldwide, Combilift i s a brand that has f lown a bit under the radar in New Zealand, but that could change with the opening of a new plant that will enable the manufacturer to double i t s output within the next five years.
The company was founded t wo decades ago by Martin McVicar and Robert Moffett who had already made a name for himself by designing the Moffett Mounty, a truckmounted forklift.
There are t wo main product lines. The first i s with Combilift’s roots in what i s described as a unique range of forklifts, which were devloped when the company saw a need to have innovative rather than ‘me too’ products in a crowded market space. These started with the unique multidirectional C Series and now includes
other models for sideloading and narrow aisle work. Rather than work i n the standard forklift area Combilift has specialised around long loads, narrow aisle logistics and manufacturing applications – with the varied f leet in i t s own plant showing just how well they work in that environment. We will cover the range further in a future i ssue.
The second line i s the straddle carriers. These were originally built for container handling at depots, where they provide an efficient way to l oad and unload containers and stack up to t wo- high. This range has now been developed for handling any l ong l oad with applications i n moving structural steel, concrete beams and panels and such like. They find applications i n manufacturing, bridge building as well as l ogistics. There are around 50 currently operating i n New Zealand and we will also cover these i n a f uture i ssue.
Over t he years, t he company expanded t hrough several f actories, so i n 2015 i t was decided to bring all t he strands back together and build a new plant.
The new f actory covers 46,500 sqm on a 100- acre site at a cost EUR50m. There are f our production l i nes churning out a f i nished t r uck every 15 minutes. Combilift employs around 550 staf f directly and another 250 i n l ocal suppliers – i t only manufactures some key components i nhouse, bringing many others i n f rom subcontractors.
The f actory i s very close to the Northern I reland border, across which around 60 staff l i ve. Currently, the biggest i ndicator that you have crossed i nto the South i s that the road signs change f rom kilometres to miles and the l i nes at the side of the road f rom yellow to white. Should Brexit go ahead and a hard border i s put i n place, staff will be af fected.
Combilift exports 98 percent of i t s production to 85 countries and the new plant will enable i t to double production. At the official opening, McVicar commented that the company’s strength i s mass customisation; that i s, having proven models but being willing and able to adapt to customer needs whilst still producing on a production line. This i s aided by i nvesting 7 percent of turnover i n R& D.
Sustainability i s also t aken care of. The new plant now uses water- based paint, r ainwater i s harvested f or j et washing and bathrooms, solar panels are on the roof and t here i s a 1 MW biomass plant f uelled by recycled wood f rom pallets and packaging f rom i nwards goods.
With the new plant in operation and some interesting new products we can expect to see many more Combilifts in New Zealand.