OZ Manufacturers What's Still Here and What's Gone and Missed?

[aussiblue]

Sad topic I know, but as local vehicle manufacture went some time ago I thought it was time for a review of the associated parts and tool manufacturers status. Those that are gone however many decades ago or just recently departed and those still here or recent additions even. Can we add to this list (I am sure we can for at least the "Gone" list ):

Gone (as in closed or here in name only on imported parts)

Litchfield Tools
Siddons Industries/Sidchrome Tools
PBR Brakes
Olympic Spark Plugs
Lodge Spark Plugs Australia
ACL Gaskets, Bearings and piston rings etc
BORG-Warner, BTR, ION, Drivetrain Systems International and DSI
Septone paints
Aungar Plastics (and wheels)
Kmac (now part of Whiteline)
BTR - Dana Spicer Australia (still here but I don't think they make diffs or anything here anymore
Ryco Filters (all made offshore now)
Ferris Car Radios
AWA Car Radios
Echlin Australia
Bridgestone (ex Uniroyal) Australia
Olympic Tyre & Rubber Co (Tyres)

Still Here (I think) and making things in Oz
Century Batteries (Still making batteries in Qld)
Kilkenny casting Adelaide
Lukey Performance Products (Exhausts)
Bosch Australia
Monroe Australia Pty Ltd (Tenneco Ltd) Clovelly Park Adelaide.
Unidrive Clayton, Victoria ?

[aussiblue]

Still here too I think:
DBA Disk Brakes Australia (oops how did I forget them?)
Australian Clutch Services (ACS)
Davies Craig
Flexible Drive Agencies
Mackay Consolidated Industries/Mackay Rubber
Nissan Casting Australia Pty Ltd

Sadly, Gone too I think:

Chassis Brakes International (Australia) Pty Ltd

Unsure:
Hella Australia - are they still manufacturing here?

[Trevor 57]

There is still one vehicle manufacturer left in Australia, some parts are imported but a lot of parts are manufactured here:

Kenworth Trucks - Bayswater Victoria

[roKWiz]

Beat me to it, Just about to type that Kev.

I think A B Denning are still manufacturing here. Denning coaches.

[Trevor 57]

Trev, not Kev (Big Kev is dead and is Paul Morris's mate hahahahaha)

Not sure about Denning. I know Kenworth get the chassis made here, I think Denning might buy theirs in

[roKWiz]

Sorry Trev, Keyboard wrong turn !
my Kenworth has BHP chassis rails so yeah Aussie steel, don't know about the aluminium chassis rail ones.

[XR Martin]

GME
Sutton tools still make some stuff here.
Finkal - owned by kingchrome but I think they still make some of their stuff here.
Carbon revolution

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by aussiblue

Flexible Drive Agencies

Was rebranded as 'Flexible Drive' circa 5 years ago.

That company has interesting history, was three companies at one point with cable manufacturing, instrumentation (in 1970s Kingswood) and an aftermarket side.

The only part of the business still in existence is the aftermarket side that split off on 1985.

I heard an interesting rumour that their manufacturing location is probably going to turn into circa 100+ apartments, how much longer will they manufacture in Australia? I guess only Flexible Drive knows

[hawke]

K Mac is still going, at least it was a few weeks ago.

A friend works for Davis Craig. He's still employed as far as I know.

Listec in Sydney, and Spectrum in Melbourne still manufacture cars.

[hayseed]

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

There is still one vehicle manufacturer left in Australia, some parts are imported but a lot of parts are manufactured here:

Kenworth Trucks - Bayswater Victoria

IVECO still produce the ACCO Truck here (as well as assembling Trucks), Though they now use an IVECO sourced Cab as they killed off the Aussie built ACCO one 6-8 Weeks ago..


Volvo/Mack still assemble trucks here with a fair bit of Aussie R & D input. the Mack Sleepers & Bonnets are made here, along with a fair bit of the interior Trim

[Raptor]

Originally Posted by roKWiz

....
my Kenworth has BHP chassis rails so yeah Aussie steel, don't know about the aluminium chassis rail ones.

Not if it's less than 20 yeras old it doesn't. BHP got out of the steel industry decades ago.

If it's made from a plate section its from Bluescope Steel - still an Australian listed company and manufacturing steel in Port Kembla, NSW. Though these days earns just as much, some years more, from it's global operations/acquisitions. (Also major operations in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the USA as well as several joint-ventures)

The other half of the BHP steel making operations were either closed down (Newcastle, NSW) or become Onesteel (Whyalla, SA). Onesteel is now known as Liberty or more recently InfraBuild and was saved from closure when purchased by Indian/British bilionaire Sanjeev Kumar Gupta (Gupta Family Group) a few years ago.

Neither local steel maker were heavily reliant on the Aussie auto industry but did provide them with some product.

[aussiblue]

ABW Tools/Private Brand Tools also gone though I think they had most of their stuff made overseas.

[XP6]

We(Nyrstar) still make custom blends of lead for century batteries and other makers overseas... and bullets for the cops and others!

[Bolly47]

WIA welding manufacture no longer made in australia but all welder now made in china i believe
same with CIG welding manufacture no longer made in australia been sold to overseas

[smoo]

Originally Posted by hayseed

IVECO still produce the ACCO Truck here (as well as assembling Trucks), Though they now use an IVECO sourced Cab as they killed off the Aussie built ACCO one 6-8 Weeks ago..


Volvo/Mack still assemble trucks here with a fair bit of Aussie R & D input. the Mack Sleepers & Bonnets are made here, along with a fair bit of the interior Trim

The locally built Powerstar also has Aussie input and is exclusive to this market.
Although I think they outsourced the facelift bonnet design to the Chinese in a poor attempt to knock off a 9oh, Western Star and real Mack Titan/Superliner all in one.

[Hulsty]

Still a bit around,

Still Here
Yella Terra
ARB
S&K Plastics
MHG Plastics, last time I was there they were making Honda mower parts for Aussie assembly
Brown and Watson (Narva)
Lumen

Gone
QFM as of about 2-3 months ago
Moldtech
Unbrako (Warehouse only in Aus)
Ajax Fasteners

[aussiblue]

Natrad and Adrad are still here but do they still make radiators here or are they all imports now? Anyone know? For that matter are there any radiator manufacturers still in OZ?

[hayseed]

Originally Posted by smoo

The locally built Powerstar also has Aussie input and is exclusive to this market.
Although I think they outsourced the facelift bonnet design to the Chinese in a poor attempt to knock off a 9oh, Western Star and real Mack Titan/Superliner all in one.

Production of the Powerstar ceased back in late 2017 early 2018. about the same time IVECO became Aussie distributors for the International Prostar..

[XR Martin]

Originally Posted by aussiblue

Natrad and Adrad are still here but do they still make radiators here or are they all imports now? Anyone know? For that matter are there any radiator manufacturers still in OZ?

Bought a new genuine Ford radiator for my BA and it had made in Australia on it

[XR Martin]

Oh and don't forget PWR, they make radiators for F1 cars.

[Vesper Martini]

Jayco
Lumen
any place making colourbond

[smoo]

Originally Posted by hayseed

Production of the Powerstar ceased back in late 2017 early 2018. about the same time IVECO became Aussie distributors for the International Prostar..

Do they still make Stralis and Eurocargo here?
That is quite a shame, didn't look like too bad of a package, Euro cab with big sleeper, Cummins ZF and meritor. Although the amount of Powerstar I've seen in regional WA could be counted on one hand.

[Raptor]

Originally Posted by Bevsta007

Jayco
Lumen
any place making colourbond

What does that mean

COLORBOND(R) is still made by Bluescope Steel in Australia.

See my earlier post.






.

[aussiblue]

I am going to use this thread when I have to buy parts to see if I can get made in Oz bits. But I doubt I will be buying either a truck or a caravan in the foreseeable future and Colorbond panels on the Falcon just wouldn't look right :-) It's sad there appears there are no longer any Oz made tools.

[hayseed]

Originally Posted by Bevsta007

Jayco
Lumen
any place making colourbond

Pretty sure Most Jayco caravans come in Flatpack form From China & are Glued/stapled together here... BISTBC

[hayseed]

Originally Posted by smoo

Do they still make Stralis and Eurocargo here?

Most of the Stralis range come in CKD form, I think the ATi range come in CBU.

NFI on the Eurocargo, Sorry.. But assume they come CBU

[Vesper Martini]

Originally Posted by Raptor

What does that mean

COLORBOND(R) is still made by Bluescope Steel in Australia.

See my earlier post.






.

ok I was being generic, colorbond equivalent

[Vesper Martini]

Originally Posted by hayseed

Pretty sure Most Jayco caravans come in Flatpack form From China & are Glued/stapled together here... BISTBC

Perhaps it depends which caravan,
https://www.prestigejayco.com.au/manufacturing.html

[Franco Cozzo]

Bendix is still around but they're mostly a marketing company these days slapping their name on externally manufacturered product, they just keep the manufacturing plant around in Ballarat making a limited range because it'd cost significantly more to clean up the environmental damage they've caused

Aside from Jayco and New Age Caravans does anyone know any other locally manufactured van companies?

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Bevsta007

Jayco
Lumen
any place making colourbond

Lumen also outsources their manufacturing overseas so I'm assuming they do prototyping locally only.