Based in Orange, NSW, Unilift’s story has been unfolding for over two decades now. Specialising in lifting and rigging equipment, the company pushes itself to provide technical expertise and durable, sustainable, quality products to whoever seeks their services.
Back in 2001, Edwin Scott and his son Ben were opening a lifting and rigging equipment store to help supply the local mining, drilling and transport industries in Orange, NSW. Fast forward to 2023, Unilift has transformed from a small family business into a multi-disciplinary company that manufactures, tests and dispatches a complete range of heavy lift rigging from growing facilities in Orange and Perth and additional warehousing in Mackay, QLD. Operations extend across Australia and — in some cases —internationally, with a growing number of products and services hitting the shores of the USA, New Zealand, EMENA and parts of Asia.
Despite its significant growth, Unilift continues to uphold many of the attitudes, values and flexibility that make for a successful family-owned business. Top-to-bottom familiarity with client needs and the company’s products and processes has allowed Unilift to fulfil its aim of remaining in front of the curve every step of the way, according to General Manager Ben Scott.
“Everyone who works with us has been on the floor, has gone out on site, has installed rigging or spooled rope with clients to help meet their specialist needs,” he says. “So, what our team offers is more than just a product range, but support and advice to give people the best lifting results available through their knowledge of the industry and an understanding of what our customers need.” And, that induction to the company applies to everyone – regardless of their name.
As well as his father Edwin, Ben also works alongside brothers Caleb and Calvin, each of them have experienced the same induction into their roles at Unilift. “We’ve all done our time!” Ben laughs. “Working our way up through the ranks really helped us familiarise ourselves with the expectations at every level and develop a greater understanding of what it is we’re creating here.”
Having been at the company since its inception, Ben remains fully committed to the Unilift approach. Holding over 20 years of experience in the industry, Ben’s vision for the company is “strong growth through excellence”; a multi-faceted approach targeting excellence in product range, engineering know-how, and customer service.
“What we recognise is that industry experience is crucial; a lot of retailers, especially online, will happily sell you a product, but without really knowing the system required to make it work safely and efficiently.” he explains. “At Unilift, our emphasis is on customer service, supporting our customers out in the field, providing them with what they need, and knowing why they need it.”
When operating in such a vast arena, it’s evident why Unilift places such a high emphasis on ensuring the right person is talking to the right customer to ensure everyone walks away happy. With their products and services available in any industry that requires lifting and rigging equipment, Unilift products feature in the oil & gas, engineering, construction, shipping and transportation, renewable energy and mining and resources sectors.
But a key specialisation over the years and a key driver for the future of the company is specialised wire rope. Unilift is in the unique position of being exclusive Australian suppliers for the internationally acclaimed German rope manufacturer Diepa Special Wire Ropes. “These ropes really are the very best in the industry when it comes to specialised applications” says Ben. “In use these ropes are superior to any other rope that runs over a sheave or winch drum.”
“When you’re investing heavily in the very latest crane technology, it’s a false economy to spool it with inferior rope” Ben cautions. “Not only are you risking the safety of those beneath the load, but you’re risking greater wear and tear on the crane workings. Due to their construction, the Diepa ropes we supply are maintenance free, requiring no external lubrication. Not only is this cleaner — keeping your pristine rig pristine — but has the added benefit of making visual inspection easier. Any obvious wear is clearly visible, and unlike most other ropes on the market, where the majority of damage can hide within the core, Diepa ropes wear from the outside-in due to the patented manufacturing process used in the construction of the core.”
To back up this range of premium rope products, Unilift also employs trained installation technicians, mechanical fabricators and NATA-accredited rigging inspectors to refurbish, proof load test and certify ropes, crane blocks or other rig components, either in-house or on-site.
“Part of our system is being able to properly test and certify rigging even at the pointy end of heavy-lift, and our 45m x 1000 tonne test bed makes this possible,” says Ben. “Not only can we certify the new gear, we manufacture in-house, but we have customers who will send lifting gear from overseas just to have them tested here then returned — that’s just part of their regulation process. We’re in the position to offer that because we have the right facilities.”
In tandem with their importation of quality lifting components, Unilift also tailors complete complex lifting systems — from multi-leg wire-rope slings to modular engineered spreader bars — using only the very best hardware and engineering in their construction. As Ben says: “anyone could supply the world’s best wire rope or hook block, but it’s not a lot of use if it hasn’t been correctly prepared to suit the customer’s specific lift application.”
“In addition to Orange we’ve now got our Perth facility, and it’s growing to include additional manufacturing capabilities, which are desperately needed right across the country,” he continues.
“For example, while a retailer may have certain ropes on demand for whenever a customer calls, most of these ropes are not simply sold by the metre. They all need splicing for slings, or specific hooks or terminations fitted to suit various plant and equipment, or require installation. Products like these are almost never supplied off-the-shelf — they all need to be custom manufactured.”
“We can now offer that service quickly and relatively locally in both the Western and Eastern states, and business is booming. We know customers want their products back and in operation as soon as possible,” he says.
“So, it’s not just about selling them raw materials, but it’s about being able to provide what people need to keep their operations running with the barest minimum of downtime – especially in sectors like mining, drilling and offshore.”
“We’ve recently invested into a new 1500 tonne wire rope swaging press, a 10 tonne hi-speed automatic take-up spooler and a diesel-powered heavy-duty constant-tension compact spooler (capable of handling 30 tonne reels) which will be used by the Unilift installation team. These are the types of resources, combined with the expertise to use them well, that sets us apart.”
While highlighting mining and resources as a key component shaping Unilift’s success, Ben is also looking to establish the company’s reputation within the renewables market – in particular on-shore and off-shore wind energy projects.
Discussing wind energy and its growth in Australia, Ben highlights the competitive advantage that UniLift has with their products, thanks in no small part to the countries from which they come. When it comes to wind energy, he highlights the quality of the Extreema soft slings, imported straight from the Netherlands, stating the Dutch-designed soft-slings are “products that anyone in the lifting industry needs to be looking at”.
“In Europe wind energy is huge. These wind tower guys are very, very fussy about protecting their assets,” he says. “They’re fragile and quite delicate, but also massive, and have similar lifting complexities as those found in oil & gas.”
“A lot of synthetic slings and complicated spreader bar type systems were, in a way, developed to protect fragile lifts like these. In wind tower lifts you’re talking about aluminium and fibreglass. You can’t be just chucking a massive chain sling around that and hoping for the best.”
Citing the spread of wind energy in Europe, Ben is adamant that the international recognition of these products is testimony to their quality when it comes to working with delicate lifts, highlighting that if these slings have been manufactured for the vast projects in Europe and stood up to the test there, they are certain to achieve exceptional results in Australia too.
“Products such as Extreema slings and the new-to-Unilift Murlink synthetic chain have been designed and manufactured in countries investing lots in wind energy, and on a huge scale,” he says. “So, these products, some of which are rated to 4000 tonne capacity, are made for dealing with the massive offshore wind projects over in Scandinavia and the Netherlands to name a few.”
However, as Ben notes, convincing businesses to make the substantial investment in products such as these can be a challenge. While admitting that they are on the more expensive side, he underscores Unilift’s philosophy; that the improved working-life, safety and usability of these products provide huge long-term benefits and, therefore, greater return on investment.
“We’re saying to people, for example, that rather than buying an unmanageable kit of 20-30 round slings, ranging from 1-20 tonne with all the associated hardware, you could simply buy a handful of 20-tonne Extreema slings with small body shackles to suit every lift under 20-tonne,” he says. “It really comes down to the durability and transportability of our products.”
“It’s not just a matter of one sling being $100 dollars, and ours being $500. With these products, you don’t need to replace them after one or two lifts; they are extremely hard-wearing, they can be repaired, and they work well for many, many years if looked after. That’s what we’re trying to tell people.”
And so, with 20 years of industry insights behind him, Ben sees a positive future for Unilift in an industry featuring heavy, bulkier lifts with a greater need for simpler, lighter and more friendly lifting and rigging gear.
“The boundaries will continue to be pushed, and that is where Unilift comes into its own,” he says. “Our team tends to think outside the square and we always come up with a solution.”
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