Intercontinental Spares at Shepparton is an agent for leading truck and trailer component manufacturer Fuwa K-Hitch. The company also builds trailers under the banner of ICS Trailers, using the tried and tested Fuwa K-Hitch products including axles, suspension, fifth wheels and landing legs.
Intercontinental Spares (ICS) has been in operation for the past 20 years and has been associated with Fuwa K-Hitch for the previous 15 years.
The company builds a wide range of trailers including single and B-double flat-tops and drop-decks, the latter either with or without beaver-tails and ramps. Other variants include machinery-carrying drop-deck wideners with either one-piece or bi-fold ramps as well as pig, tag and dog trailers.
The business was started by Jack Nind and is now managed by his son Scott who says that the company previously used another brand of trailer axles and suspension in its trailer builds but switched to Fuwa K-hitch on the strength of the brand’s product support, quality, availability and value for money.
“Our specialty is drop-deck trailers including drop-deck wideners and standard drop decks for machinery,” Scott says.
The company employs 15 people including five who build the trailers, all of whom take pride in their workmanship and in building trailers of the highest quality and style for valued clientele.
According to Scott, the popularity of ICS trailers can be gauged by the fact that the company has an order book that stretches four months ahead, which ensures the fabricators are always kept busy.
“These days we go to great lengths to produce tailor-made trailers for our customers, many of whom appreciate the extra attention to detail that we put into them and the fact that we regularly correspond with them to ensure they are getting exactly what they want,” Scott says.
“We really like to get the customer fully involved with the build rather than just pushing trailers out the door as quickly as possible. That way we are able to finish off the trailer exactly how the customer wants it and they have a lot of input into what gets welded on where and things
like that.”
One such customer is Adrian Tyndall who owns an excavation business based at Waaia, about 40km north of Shepparton.
This is the first trailer Adrian has had built by ICS Trailers, and he says he is highly impressed by the quality and the fact that nothing was too much trouble to incorporate into the build. Adrian adds that good old-fashioned word-of-mouth from a friend set him on the path to ICS Trailers’ door.
“A friend of mine who had a tag trailer built by the company put me onto them,” he says. “I really liked the look of it and wanted my new trailer to have a similar high-end appearance, which is why I asked ICS Trailers to build it.
With his new trailer Adrian wanted a number of bespoke features and he says Scott has shown a willingness to provide the exact product to meet Adrian’s needs.
“It’s the interaction and constant talking to and fro that ensures everything has been done exactly the way I want it,” Adrian says.
“This is a really special trailer for me and I wanted it to look really good,” he adds. “I’m 60 now and I’ve had a good year so it was time to make that happen.”
The trailer is a 47’ drop-deck with ramps and outriggers that slide out from each side for carting wide machinery.
Adrian says he recently refurbished a 14-year-old Kenworth T404 SAR which will be a fitting complement for the new trailer.
Asked about the Fuwa K-Hitch axles and suspension fitted to his new trailer, Adrian said he was pleased to use the running gear that Scott supplies and overall he couldn’t be happier with the finished product.
Scott says in addition to using the robust and reliable Fuwa K-Hitch components, he employs a talented team of trailer builders, including his head builder who has been with him for over 20 years and who prior to starting with ICS learnt his skills with another prominent trailer builder.
ICS is a diverse business that entails considerably more than its core specialties of trailer component supply and trailer building. The company also carries out refurbishments and repairs to trailers including fridge vans, and also supplies and fits Carrier and Thermo King refrigeration plants.
Other strings to its bow include the modification and sale of shipping containers for various uses including portable buildings, offices and shower blocks. The company also builds and installs V-drive gearboxes for boats.
“We pretty much do everything connected with trailers which makes you head in a lot of different directions,” Scott says. “Shepparton is a good place to have a trailer business as there is no shortage of truck operators.”
As a supplier of Fuwa K-Hitch components and a trailer builder that uses and recommends the products, ICS will continue to build high-quality trailers specifically tailored to individual operators’ needs.
Fast Fact: Formed 15 years ago, Intercontinental Spares is an agent for Fuwa K-Hitch components and also a trailer builder that uses Fuwa K-Hitch axles, suspension, fifth wheels and landing legs in the trailers it builds.