Taking tipping to whole new level

NEXT GEM: Lusty EMS has been manufacturing quality tipper trailers for the Australian road transport industry.

Since 1996, Lusty EMS has been manufacturing quality tipper trailers for the Australian road transport industry. In the past 16 years the company has seen many changes, both within its own walls and the industry around it.

Lusty EMS tippers were initially manufactured in Rocklea in a business that grew from mining and mineral processing equipment. The growth that came from manufacturing high-quality tippers to meet strong grain harvest demand soon caused the facility to be outgrown and inefficient, thus restricting sales.

However in 2003, when leading trailer manufacturer MaxiTRANS acquired Lusty EMS, it quickly moved production to the large, modern manufacturing facility in Richlands where it still resides today. Lusty EMS sales manager Rick Child recalls: "MaxiTRANS made very significant capital investments in facilities and tooling at Lusty EMS to improve operational efficiency, increase production volumes and, importantly, improve worker safety while maintaining high quality."

While the Lusty EMS brand was progressing through its own natural evolution, the tipper market saw some evolution of its own in those 16 years.

"Probably our key innovation has been the Stag B-double," Rick said. "Its ability to tip over frame without uncoupling has made it very popular with operators."

And the Stag has had some evolution of its own. "In 2005, a high percentage of trailers sold by Lusty EMS were 19-metre B-Doubles," Rick said. "Now the majority of interest is in 25-metre B-doubles and there is ever-increasing interest in PBS-approved vehicles to maximise payloads even further, as well as our recent developments such as steel and aluminium side-tippers."

Sixteen years has no doubt been a long time in the changing face of the Australian tipper market, and Rick is sure that Lusty EMS will be around to work with their customers for the next 16.

Further information regarding Lusty EMS trailers and tippers can be found at lustyems.com.au.