There is nothing the designers at Motus love more than a quirky request – an application enquiry that is just that little bit different and gets those creative juices flowing.
And as the hydraulic cylinder specialist makes its move into Australia, it is bringing that passion with it.
“We get really excited by a special OEM made-to-order request,” says Motus Australia Sales Manager, Seth McCallum. “Some manufacturers avoid those hard requests, whereas we love design and engineering. It’s exactly what we’re passionate about. Seeing a customer satisfied with their machine or trailer, fitted with the correct Motus designed cylinders, is what we love.”
That dedication is what has made Motus an industry leader in New Zealand, with offerings that are well-known in Australasia for their quality and durability.
It’s had a presence in Australia for three years but is now making an official foray into the Australian market with a sales office and warehouse in Brisbane, and Perth joining in the next few months.
“With the warehouses being stocked with cylinders for the equipment manufacturers that we partner with in both Brisbane and Perth, we can service both sides of Australia quickly, as well as continuing our custom build offering ex New Zealand with four to five weeks manufacturing lead time,” Seth says, adding that most components and materials are imported from Europe, directly by Motus.
Motus was founded in 1963, a direct result of Hastings, New Zealand local, RH Currie, making cylinders in his shed for orchard equipment.
Today, the company is still in the family and Hastings based, but now includes a purpose-built factory and more than 50 staff and contractors.
Motus supply hydraulic cylinders to a range of industries including forestry, waste, earthmoving, mining and transport, and while it does customised work, it also has a standard ‘stock cylinder’ range, which offers four styles with 156 sizes to choose from. Every cylinder dispatched from the factory in Hastings is pressure tested and carries an industry leading product warranty.
When it comes to its customised products, Seth says the communication process with clients differs from some other cylinder manufacturers.
“We listen to what our customers need, what isn’t working for them or what they require for upcoming projects,” he says. “We bring our design team into the process early to work with customers to achieve the best solution quickly.”
Connecting the design team to deal directly with the customer saves time and achieves the right solution fast, Seth says, and Motus are also protective of their customers’ cylinder designs – keeping them all confidential.
“Because many products our customers build are unique to them, the cylinders they fit are unique as well, so we don’t share these designs with anyone else,” he says. “We fully support them having control and ownership of the design.”
Other special offerings from Motus are:
- No fee for R&D input and drawings;
- Individual pressure testing on every cylinder;
- Four-week build time on special build cylinders;
- A four-year warrantee on every cylinder; and
- Unique tracking numbers stamped on every product.
Bringing its expertise and customer offerings to Australia is an exciting move for the business and the team is confident that its ultimate goal of being the go-to for hydraulic cylinders in Australia is just a few cylinders away.
Fast fact
In 1985, Motus applied for a patent for a WRC hydraulic cylinder series. It was a simple, but robust design, and today is still it’s most popular cylinder.
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