STE has been manufacturing tippers for over 46 years.
Image: STE
Australian family owned and operated, Shephard Transport Equipment (STE) specialises in the design and manufacture of tippers and trailers, as well as offering services and repairs.
STE has over 46 years of experience, catering to all tipping needs – both large and small – thanks to its highly experienced in-house team, who can provide engineering and drafting capability for standard and customised builds.
Based at Larapinta in South-East Queensland, STE custom builds aluminium and steel truck bodies and trailers including semi-tippers in either tip-over-axle or chassis tipper designs.
STE can help design and manufacture a variety of trailers and truck bodies including dog, semi, side tipping, B-double, road train, dolly, flat deck dog, machinery, scissor lift and tag trailers. For truck bodies, the business can assist with two-way tipping, water, hook lift and skip bins.
These Mitchelmore Transport trailers highlighted the company’s 50th anniversary. Image: STESTE is well versed in Performance-Based Standards (PBS) builds and has become a one-stop shop for customers wanting to increase productivity with PBS-approved equipment.
The company was started in 1979 by a group of five people – one of whom still works with the business today.
Graham Weatherhog started his career as a cadet draftsman at a Queensland cement works in the early 1960s before moving into truck body and trailer building and eventually helping to form STE.
Graham fondly recalls how he and two workmates worked at a Brisbane-based truck and coach body builder in the 1970s. They joined forces with John Shephard to form a new trailer building company called Shephard Transport Equipment.
“STE was started in February 1979 after we met John Shephard who with his wife Val owned a second-hand trailer sales business and was looking to expand into trailer manufacturing,” Graham recalls.
“He invited the three of us from Domino Hedges and another bloke he had working for him to jointly acquire a 20 per cent stake in the company while he retained 80 per cent.”
As Graham continued, “When we started STE in 1979, John Shephard was doing sales, I was doing the design drawings, pricing, invoicing, purchasing and pick-ups and the other three guys were building the gear in the workshop.”
Eventually Graham bought the shares of the others in the business, including John and Val Shephard. Then, his son, daughter, son-in-law and spare parts manager each bought 25 per cent shares in the business, and Graham continued to work for them.
STE designs and manufactures a variety of trailers and truck bodies including side tippers. Image: STEAlong with its trailer building capabilities, STE also has a workshop, offering a variety of services including straightening and repairs of roll overs; repairing accidentally damaged trailers and bodies; general repairs; re-sheeting floors; welding cracks, replacing hinges, pivots and other wearable parts; overhauling axles, suspensions, turntable and couplings; and tarp repair.
To add, STE is well versed in hydraulics, offering the supply and fitment of hydraulic equipment. STE performs full hydraulic kit installations on truck and dog and semi-tippers, including PTO and pump installations and aluminium or steel tank modifications and repairs.
STE also a comprehensive range of spare parts and components covering everything from hydraulics and fifth wheels, to tow couplings, tarps, axles and suspensions, tanks, tyres and wheels, and lights.
For more information, please visit ste.com.au.
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