New Location Fuels Business Growth for Transtank

09 May 2005

About 75 per cent of each self bunded fuel storage tank is constructed from XLERPLATE® steel. The largest tanks, with a volume of 110,000 litres, are made from around 19 tonnes of steel.

Proud Australian owned manufacturing company Transtank are set to shine on the world stage, with a new name, a new location, and new state of the art premises. The company began operations 19 years ago in Bendigo, Victoria, under the name Nash Tank and Pipe Pty Ltd, specialising in automotive LP Gas installation, service and equipment manufacture.

Four years ago, Production Director, Neil Harrison foresaw the downturn of the automotive LP Gas industry and diversified the business, with two close friends, to design and manufacture self bunded fuel storage tanks. Dedication to the development, design and manufacture of better tanks has seen the company's reputation and business grow substantially.

Transtank is owned through the joint investment of three people, each with a different area of expertise; Neil Harrison, Production Director; Philip Kemm, Safety, OH&S and Hazardous Goods Specialist; and John Steel, Container Industry Specialist. The three recognised a unique opportunity and have now created an efficient fuel storage system which services a broad range of applications.

The company supplies its products mainly to the mining and transport industry. In February 2004, Transtank moved to the town of Parkes in New South Wales, which offered direct rail shipment to Western Australia, as well as being central to the Eastern Australian mining belt. Set on 3.9 hectares, Transtank's new 3,000 square metre purpose built manufacturing facility features a custom designed abrasive blast room and state of the art dust free paint booth.

Designed to suit standard transportation, the tanks themselves range from 2,250 litres to 110,000 litres and may be identical in external dimensions to that of a 40 foot container. Their fabrication to a box like construction offers efficiencies in transport and maximises fuel storage capability.

The design of the tanks is unique, featuring enclosed pumping facilities and interlocking characteristics making them far superior to traditional tank design. In addition, each Transtank tank is 'self bunded' which means it features an environmentally friendly leak retention system that ensures that any leak is contained within the unit.

If a leak occurs, the tank itself identifies that this has happened, which makes the Transtank system foolproof, even under the arduous conditions of mine sites and constant movement throughout their life cycle.

"Transtank tanks can store either fuel or oil, or provide a multi product storage facility, with different oils/fuels in separate cells within the one external body," explains Neil. "Versatility is the key."

All tanks are designed in house, he says. "We invest a great deal of time and effort in research and development. All R&D is conducted in house, by our expert team of engineers and draftsmen. Our approach is simply listening to what our customers want and developing the best solution for them. Each tank we produce can be custom designed to suit our customer's needs."

Transtank's innovative approach to fuel storage systems has led to exporting its product overseas. "We started exporting products into South Africa about 6 months ago, and we've received our first few orders from Canada," says Neil.

About 75 per cent of each tank is constructed from XLERPLATE® steel. XLERPLATE® is a brand of high quality hot rolled plate steel from BlueScope Steel. The largest tanks, with a volume of 110,000 litres, are made from around 19 tonnes of steel.

"We use a variety of grades to construct the tanks, mainly 250 grade, 350 grade and Bisalloy," says Neil. "We receive the XLERPLATE® steel already cut and profiled by one of BlueScope Steel's distributors. The tanks are then assembled and welded to very stringent requirements. We have an automatic seam welder that we use on long welds, which can be up to 12 metres long."

When it comes to fuel storage, strength and reliability are paramount, says Neil. "We use XLERPLATE® steel mainly because of the consistent quality of the product. Additionally, we are an Australian company and would always prefer to keep the dollar in Australia. We use as much Australian made material in our products as we can."

According to Neil, a good supplier is critical to his business, particularly when it comes to mining projects. "When a tank is ordered for a new project, if the tank doesn't make the deadline, it starts costing the client a lot of money," he says. "We expect the same performance from our suppliers as our clients expect from us. XLERPLATE® lead times have always been good, BlueScope Steel has looked after us very well."

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