Supreme side loaders

SPONSORED CONTENT: Proven design and quality engineering is behind the success of The Drake Group’s O’Phee Boxloader and Swinglift side loader

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For years, The Drake Group has been pushing the envelope of excellence in the transport sector with its O’Phee Boxloader range; and with the same aim in mind the company has introduced the Swinglift range of container side loaders to the group. 

Although unique in their features and capabilities, both product ranges exhibit unsurpassed design ingenuity, quality and reliability.

SIX DECADES OF ENGINEERING EXPERTISE 

The Drake Group brings together more than six decades of engineering and manufacturing expertise to design and deliver quality, reliable and innovative products for the local and international markets.

The diversification and integration of the business over the years has led to enhancements across its transport and heavy haulage offerings and internal growth. With presence across the eastern and western coasts of Australia, the business now employs in excess of 320 staff. 

“The Drake family started their trailer business from a small trailer engineering and alterations workshop in Brisbane in 1958. Over the years they pioneered and developed specialised trailers for the heavy haulage industry and today they are the market leader in the field,” The Drake Group’s technical sales representative Rory Gerhardt says.

“The business has grown over the years and in 2015 The Drake Group acquired O’Phee Trailers, with this came the already strongly forged relationship O’Phee had with Boxloader.  

The Swinglift’s I Beam chassis is constructed from ultra-high strength tensile steel resulting in a low tare with no compromise in strength

“In 2016, O’Phee moved to Drake’s manufacturing plant at Wacol and which aligned all manufacturing under one roof.

“In 2019, Boxloader acquired the Swinglift brand both here in Australia and internationally. As O’Phee is the Australian partner with Boxloader this extended the range to now include the Swinglift container side loader product.”

O’Phee has more than 40 years of experience manufacturing high-quality, reliable and superior semi-trailers for Australian conditions. The entire range is constructed at the Brisbane-based factory using only the highest grade of Australian, Japanese or Swedish steels.

The O’Phee brand is a known leader in the Australian semi-trailer manufacture industry. It is well-known for introducing Performance Based Standards (PBS) to the transport industry here. Some of its most successful products include container skels, flattops, drop decks, curtain slidas and special builds, all individually engineered at the Wacol factory to suit the customer’s specific freight tasks.

The Drake Group’s other Australian industrial and commercial partner, Boxloader, has more than three decades of expertise in building quality container transport products, particularly in the side loader category. Its acquisition of the Swinglift brand from Patchell Industries in New Zealand last year means the business is better-equipped to offer greater choice to the side loader community. 

The Boxloader’s unique light-weight high-tensile steel frame with integral bracing offers a lighter tare weight and quicker operation

O’PHEE BOXLOADER MULTI LOADER CRANE

“One of the most popular models in The Drake Group’s range is the O’Phee Boxloader multi loader, Simplex. Its unique light-weight high-tensile steel frame with integral bracing offers a lighter tare weight and quicker operation without sacrificing strength or reliability,” Gerhardt says.

Designed for trailer-to-trailer and trailer-to-ground transfers, one of the best features of the Boxloader multi-loader is the fast un-pack and pack-up functions compared to other models, which increases the potential for more container movement within a certain timeframe. The single extension leg allows lighter tare and quicker operation. 

The multi loader also has the ability to double-stack containers, including high cube containers.

The driver-side chassis is completely clean of ancillary equipment, reducing the chance of damage. Each cylinder is designed and built to perform a particular function, which increases speed and strength and utilises less oil for each function. 

The crane arm pins are mounted with bronze rings, while the integrated greasing system greases every pivot point on the crane from the ground.

The in-built ‘Canbus’ safety feature stops the crane when operating in an unsafe situation. In the event of a failure, the cranes can be operated in three ways – via remote control, hand control or the touch screen. 

Other features include dangerous goods (flameproof) wiring and an integrated fuel and hydraulic oil tank, with a special high-pressure filter system that filters the oil
before it reaches the cranes and a low-pressure filter that cleans the oil returning
to the tank. 

Two of the most popular models in The Drake Group’s range are the O’Phee Boxloader and the Swinglift In-line I beam

SWINGLIFT IN-LINE I BEAM LEG OVER

“Another model from our most-popular list is the Swinglift In-line I beam. This model offers greater stability and fast container transfer speed due to the unique design of the single action leg over.,” Gerhardt says.

“The I Beam chassis is constructed from ultra-high strength tensile steel resulting in a low tare with no compromise in strength. The low tare weight also results in higher payloads.

“It has the ability to unload a secondary trailer while the primary is loaded with a container, which allows the secondary trailer to be driven off when empty because the cranes do not need to be packed away.” 

Its unique leg design reduces the number of steps required to open and close the unit, increasing the transfer and operating speeds. Controlled by a hydraulic system and powered by an auxiliary power unit (APU), the extended lift module or crane allows greater outreach and stability. 

Swinglift’s trusted container alignment system enables fast truck to container alignment. The hardened pivot pins and bushes ensure a longer service life. Meanwhile, the integrated human machine interface (HMI) system increases operator protection.   

The Boxloader multi loader also has the ability to double-stack containers, including high cube containers.

SERVICE AND REPAIR

With fully-equipped workshops in Brisbane and Perth and agents nationally, The Drake Group handles service and repair of all makes of transport equipment. Supported by its core engineering business, the company offers maintenance services, fleet servicing, on-site breakdown servicing, rebuilds, wheel alignments, machinery inspections and has access to the Heavy Vehicle Regulation Assessment Scheme (HVRAS), vehicle registration and third-party roadworthy certificates. 

It has a comprehensive range of quality spare parts for trailers manufactured by Drake Trailers, O’Phee Trailers, Boxloader and Cometto, including parts for models that are over five decades old.

The Drake Group aims to continue working at the cutting edge of design and engineering to support its existing and new customers. Their products are in stock now, available for immediate delivery! 

For more information on O’Phee Boxloader and Swinglift In-line I, or Drake Trailers, O’Phee Trailers and Drake Collectibles, visit www.thedrakegroup.com.au. 

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