Laverton (VIC) based BPW Transpec has passed a major milestone with the production of its 250,000th trailer axle, a drum brake Eco Plus 3 unit.

The company, which specialises in trailer axles for the heavy-duty market, first started local axle assembly in 1987 at which time the production rate was 10 to 12 units per day.

Today production is running at 45 units per day and according to BPW Transpec Production Manager, Steve Civelle, increased capacity and enhanced quality control have been made possible by the evolutionary development of processes and procedures.

“In 2004 we converted our production process from fixed single-build stations to an assembly line where we build the axles on trolleys that run around an oval track with components installed at various stations,” said Civelle.

The markedly increased production rate accompanied by a similarly dramatic improvement in quality control were due to the implementation of a number of measures including the recording of component batch numbers with each corresponding axle assembly to ensure future traceability.

“Every axle we produce has an ID tag with a unique serial number that is traceable through our records,” said Civelle.

“We also upgraded to electronic tooling which enables us to consistently maintain and document all bolt and nut torque settings which are kept in our records for future reference if needed.”

While the axles are assembled locally under the strict standards of German parent company BPW, the design of BPW Transpec’s assembly line was customised after visits by Steve and his colleagues to a number of overseas facilities.

“Germany and Hungary have automated assembly lines due to less variations and significantly higher production rates, so we ended up modelling our assembly line like a tram line in an oval shape. The trolleys on which the axles are assembled are pushed around the line, stopping at a number of build stations where the various components are fitted to the axles.”

There are currently around 26 employees on the assembly line at BPW Transpec. According to Civelle, a production high tide of 60 axles per day operating in one shift was achieved not long before the Global Financial Crisis hit in 2008. “We train our new employees in a buddy system with the long term employees so they can learn the process on a particular station. This enables them to learn quickly and move around the various stations as needs dictate. The welding is more specialised and it takes longer to train workers for this task.”

Civelle went on to say that the manual welding is necessary to suit Australian conditions and the variety of axle configurations produced for the local market.

Speaking about the future, Civelle said he expects the production rate will continue to climb steadily as it has for the past 10 years to keep pace with the increasing demand for new trailers.

“We’re finishing off this year in a very strong position and I expect next year to be similar, if not better,” he said.