Maintaining the strength and durability of the trailer from its initial concept to the final product that can withstand even the roughest Australian road conditions is at the heart of The Drake Group’s operations. Manufacturing trailers for a wide range of applications requires not just the best team of technicians but also the best materials available. This is where SSAB comes in.
Backed by a global network of mining and manufacturing operations, SSAB is one of the most trusted names in the steel-making market. Like The Drake Group, SSAB prides itself on delivering products that represent strength and durability.
“SSAB products are of extremely high quality and reliable material,” says Khali Lake, Group General Manager of The Drake Group. “These properties are consistent and the material is great to work with from a cutting, bending and welding perspective.”
SSAB is a global steel supplier in advanced high-strength steels (AHSS), quenched and tempered steels (Q&T), in addition to steels for the construction industry and strip, plate and tubular products. The Drake Group primarily uses Hardox® 450 wear plate and Strenx® 700, with some speciality products in its applications.
Hardox® wear plate, a popular choice with The Drake Group’s customers, is known for its surface hardness and overall strength. It is particularly suited to earthmoving applications. “Customers carrying earthmoving equipment with steel tracks, demolition equipment like compactors or anything with a metal track that needs to go up and down the ramps often request Hardox®, as these kinds of equipment can be quite damaging to the trailer,” Khali says.
The other major SSAB-supplied brand used by The Drake Group, Strenx® performance steel, is ideal for heavy duty applications where weight is as much a key consideration as structural strength. The Drake Group relies on Strenx® performance steel to make the trailers frames, decks and structural elements. As a result, SSAB is one of Drake’s top suppliers.
“SSAB delivers on reliability that comes from supplying high-quality materials,” Khali says. “Their service and technical support is excellent and the reliability we get from mill-to-door has always been exceptional.”
As the Group GM, Khali oversees the day-to-day operations of the entire Group of companies and in conjunction with the Directors, provides strategic and structural direction for growth and ongoing performance.
The Drake Group is a diversified engineering, manufacturing and supply group that has been in operation for over 60 years. The Group consists of four main manufacturing units – Drake Trailers, O’Phee Trailers, Drake Collectibles, and Dalzell and Bagley Engineering. It employs over 350 people, and has purpose-built facilities in Wacol and Archerfield in Queensland, with a support office in Perth in Western Australia.
“We pride ourselves on designing and manufacturing high-quality trailers and components that are standard and bespoke for the Australian market,” Khali says. “We have large spare parts, and service and repairs businesses that cater to the national market. In addition to this, we have agency agreements to manufacture the Swinglift and Boxloader container side loaders from France. We also have agency agreements to distribute the Cometto range out of Italy and Sunseeker Motor Yachts out of the UK.”
In the past decade, there has been a steady increase in the amount of SSAB-supplied steel used within the Drake, O’Phee, Boxloader, Swinglift and Dalzell and Bagley range of products. Apart from ensuring that its products are always delivered exactly to specification in terms of the size and thickness, the SSAB team is committed to providing the best technical support in the market.
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