Victorian-based trailer builder, MaxiTRANS has officially rebranded at a major launch event.
Unveiling a new logo and visual identity yesterday, the company will now be known as Freighter Group.
At an event held over two days in Ballarat where key suppliers, partners, industry representatives, media and stakeholders were in attendance Executive Chairman Greg L’Estrange made several major announcements for the group which marks a significant milestone in the company history.
The MaxiTRANS trailer business was purchased by a group of local private investors in September 2021.
Since then the focus of the business including a $50 million advanced manufacturing upgrade to its Ballarat facility has been on long-term sustainability.
“We set about embarking on a significant transformation journey when we purchased the trailer business, with the aim of creating a new era for the future of the company and the trailer manufacturing industry in Australia,” said L’Estrange.
“The journey started with a $50 million investment into our Ballarat site. This investment has seen the introduction of a range of state-of-the-art equipment and an expansion of the overall footprint of the facility, transforming it into a modern manufacturing environment.
“The completion of the upgrade puts the business in a position to be able to continue to evolve with the changing needs of our customers long into the future.”
Several Tier 1 fleets were present including representatives from Ron Finemore Transport, Lindsay Australia, KS Easter, Hentschke Loxton and Wettenhalls among others.
The name change to Freighter Group reflected the new era the company was entering into while recognising its past legacy.
The Freighter brand dates back to 1946.
“The Freighter Group name not only connects our rich heritage but importantly it connects our vision of ‘freight it for life’, which is our total commitment to supporting our customers for the life of our product,” said L’Estrange.
“We are excited to take the business forward under the Freighter name and continue to deliver product solutions through our wide range of industry leading brands.”
One of which will be Freez-R, a new refrigerated trailer offering.
Launched in collaboration with partners Schmitz Cargobull, Freez-R is constructed from Ferroplast technology and will be the first of Freighter Group’s trailers to come with TrailerConnect telematics as standard.
“Through our partnership with Schmitz Cargobull, collaboration with customers and our industry experience, we have been able to design and create a product with the exacting needs of the Australian market,” said L’Estrange.
Freighter Group will offer spare parts for all of its OEM products manufactured under the new name given the agreement with MaxiPARTS to supply parts has formally concluded.
Customers will be able to contact their local Freighter Group dealer for their spare parts needs.
With that Freighter Group introduced Hitcher Parts as its new spare parts brand.
“Hitcher Parts will consist of an expansive range of quality trailer parts that are designed to go the distance,” said L’Estrange.
“The Hitcher Parts range continues to expand and will soon be available on our product, as well as available in the aftermarket.”
In addition, Freighter Group announced it had developed a pre-engineered product offering — the Ready Range of trailers.
Designed for a wide range of applications, the Ready Range will be competitively priced and further streamline the ordering process by assisting in delivering shorter manufacturing lead times.
“We are excited about the significant transformation the Freighter Group business has been going through,” said L’Estrange.
“Our whole team has been dedicated to our vision and I can’t thank them enough for the hard work and dedication they have shown through this transition.”