One-out-of-box Aussie company opens depot

Catherine Anderson is educating customers on the versatility of shipping containers from her Onekawa depot. Photo / Paul Taylor

Listed Australian company Royal Wolf, which provides shipping containers for storage and modified containers for myriad purposes, has opened a depot in Napier.

Senior sales executive Catherine Anderson said there was a high level of interest but education was a big part of her job since the depot opened last week.

Royal Wolf supplies facilities including accommodation, ablutions, lunch rooms and offices - all based on a shipping container.

New Zealand executive manager Paul Creighton said it had added customer requests to its range. "When a customer is in need of a bespoke design we have taken that, and it, apart and found a market for it.

"They are more than metal box, they can be offices, lunch rooms, ablutions, storerooms, refrigerators - and there are different sizes: 8 foot (2.4m), 10 foot, 20 foot to 40 foot - we have over 100 product lines now which we generally have got on the ground at any one time," he said.

The latest offering was a pop-up kiosk for events.

He said the Onekawa depot would hold up to 100 containers.

The company had done well from the mining and petroleum industries.

"We have full mining camps - accommodation, mess hall, commercial kitchens - all out of a container footprint that can easily move to locations to set up camp.

"Because they are transportable and robust, they are well sought after - they have to move the camps to where they are drilling the next hole."

Napier was always going to be a likely depot venue - Conroy Removals is one of its biggest New Zealand customers.

"They hire containers from us when they need them for removals - mum and dad's possessions moved around the country or moving businesses from one part of the country to the other. They hire containers from Royal Wolf from other parts of the country as well."