NTS Transport Engineering Solutions specifies a complete offering of Fuwa K Hitch running gear as standard across all of its trailer builds.
Since forming in 2019, NTS Transport Engineering Solutions, which specialises in the manufacturing of flat tops, dollies, drop decks, skel trailers and much more in Forrestdale, Western Australia, has transitioned from a one-man operation into a larger entity.
Under the leadership of owner and Director, Nick Bailey, and his wife, Tanya Bailey, the business has continuously built itself from the ground up – and it has no end in sight.
“Since our inception, we’ve gone from a husband-and-wife team to now employing around 25 employees,” Nick says. “We didn’t grow as much as we would have liked to within the last year. We just didn’t have the room, which is why we chose to expand by building a new facility around the corner.
“We realised that space was our bottleneck. During the build of the second factory, a great opportunity arose where the building across the road from us went up for sale. We made the decision that for further growth and convenience, it would be a wise move for us to dive in and purchase it before the opportunity passed us by.”
Last year, NTS rolled out just over 220 trailers. Now, after opening up the new facility which completes all of the company’s assemblies, fit-outs and final inspections, NTS is expecting to build up to 300 items this year.
NTS chose Fuwa K Hitch to be the supplier of its trailer components from the get-go in 2019, due to the product’s value for money. Now, 80 per cent of NTS’ builds have Fuwa K Hitch running gear on them. Nick says this is because the OEM is the most suitable choice for his business’ operations.
“We do a lot for the north-west, and Fuwa K Hitch is cost-effective, low-maintenance and it can withstand the harshest conditions,” he says. “So, Fuwa K Hitch drum brake axles, suspension, turntables and kingpins are always specified as they are well-favoured by the end user, unless the customer requires something different. We use a range of their mechanical suspensions, airbag suspensions and twist locks too.”
Fuwa K Hitch’s mechanical suspensions are a popular choice for heavy-duty off-road combinations, Nick says, as they are tried, tested and made for the WA market. This is why they perform tirelessly on his trailer builds. The main components are made from cast steel and can be fitted to a wide range of axles and applications. In WA, Nick says they are second-to-none.
“We use a lot of their mechanical spring suspensions,” he says. “There’s always dollies and flat tops coming through the factory that run Fuwa K Hitch mechanical suspensions and drum brake axles. We’re also seeing a lot of drop skels coming through the factory at the moment which are all on Fuwa K Hitch airbag suspensions with the parallel bearing axles.”
Fuwa K Hitch holds a dominant presence at NTS, and for good reason. Last month, the trailer builder displayed its confidence in the OEM’s product yet again when it carried the Fuwa K Hitch fitment onto a trailer donated for cancer research.
The WA Mack Muster and Truck Show is an event in WA which raises funds towards cancer research, for the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research. For this year’s event, the team at NTS built a flat top trailer for the cause which was fitted with its standard specification of Fuwa K Hitch axles and running gear.
Nick says the various Fuwa K Hitch products are tried, tested and made for the WA market, which is why they perform tirelessly on his trailer builds.
“What you receive is hard to go by,” he says. “Fuwa K Hitch is a very popular choice. The customers love it. In the maintenance side of things, it’s cost-effective and it just works out great.”
Fuwa K Hitch’s aftersales service and stock availability are also factors which continue to play a part in Nick’s day-to-day operations. He says its maintenance and repair side is not only cost-effective but easily accessible due to the fact that parts are available in a large number or reputable stockists throughout WA.
“You can visit any of these stockists and they will carry their spare parts, so it makes it really easy for the end user to get their hands on the product and have minimal down-time which is the main goal for our industry,” he says.
Reflecting on the business’ growth since coming to fruition, Nick says aligning with Fuwa K Hitch has contributed to NTS’ success to a large degree.
“We didn’t have the means to carry the running gear needed to start off with, and they were able to support us with this from the start with the help of Fuwa K Hitch State Manager, Ryan Ussher, here in Perth,” he says. “The communication from Fuwa K Hitch is great. They’ve helped us grow from nothing to using the large amount of equipment we use today. They are extremely easy to deal with and accommodating, they have a great backup service when needed and they are able to deliver the amount of equipment we need in a short period of time.”
For Nick and Tanya, the focus ahead is to further build on NTS’ presence in the transport industry. With Fuwa K Hitch across its production process, Nick is confident that the business will continue to achieve unbounded success.
“We’d like to establish a proficient name in the market,” he says. “Not purely through the quantity of equipment we do, but with the quality of our equipment. We believe that continuing to work with Fuwa K Hitch is a great start to achieving our goals as their products are well-recognised and trusted that continue to deliver with their quality control and testing.
“NTS is looking forward to continuing our working relationship with the team at Fuwa K Hitch for the foreseeable future.”