Vehicle firm finds more custom across Tasman

Rotorua custom-built vehicle manufacturer Mills-Tui is opening a plant in Brisbane to meet the demands of contracts in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia.

But general manager Ron Edmonds says the company, which has been one of the region's success stories in winning big contracts in New Zealand and overseas, will still operate from Rotorua.

The decision to open the Brisbane plant coincides with news of yet another contract success against national and international competition.

It has won the first stage of a deal with the Fire Service which could lead to a $13 million contract to build 40 fire trucks.

Mills-Tui will initially build three test fire trucks, each with different pumps and chassis, for evaluation by the service.

After a six-month trial period, the service will decide which components and chassis work best.

At that stage the company would again have to tender for a three-year contract to manufacture 40 trucks.

Mills-Tui is completing eight fire engines for the NSW Fire Brigade, to be ready in time for the Sydney Olympics. In the last few days the brigade has ordered two more with a possibility of increasing that number to 14 over the next two years.

Mr Edmonds said his company was about to start building airport crash trucks for Rarotonga and Wellington airports and would put up a tender for Auckland International airport vehicles.

Mr Edmonds said the company had been in Rotorua for 30 years and had built up business to the point where "each contract produces a telephone number" of income.

"We are slowly building up a period of growth. We can now see contracts for the next three or four years in advance, and as things progress we will have to employ more people."

NZPA