Quality control (QC) is at the heart of Titan Lifting Technologies’ precision hoisting and lifting equipment, with industry knowledge and traceability as its non-negotiables. Titan Chief Operating Officer John Di Michele explains how the Bundoora-based company helps the industry lift with some of the most trusted materials on the market.
Providing high-quality Products that can help the industry lift high capacity loads, the science of what sits between hook and load is a speciality of Titan Lifting Technologies.
The Australian company has designed and developed an extensive product range that spans the lifting, rigging, mining, shipping, construction and transport industries.
Specialising in chain and lever hoists as well as electric chain hoists and trolleys, the company has also designed lashing and loading equipment, load and lifting chains, shackles and ratchet straps, hooks and wire cable products.
John Di Michele said much of this equipment is manufactured overseas, adding that Titan works hard to ensure the product reaches the highest of standards before it enters the market.
“At Titan, we are proud to say we purchase from best manufacturers in China for lifting gear,” he said.
“The lifting industry is strongly-safety oriented, whether it’s lifting something into a high-rise building, on a construction site, on an offshore petroleum rig, on the ship or restraining something on the back of a semi-trailer, it’s all safety oriented. It’s got to be safe. It’s got to be secure; so the product has to perform how it’s meant to perform, and also in an efficient way.”
Knowledge
Founded in 1998 as Allan Marketing Group but known colloquially as Titan Lifting, Titan’s journey began back in 1974 when founder and current Managing Director, Ian Allan, moved from tools manufacturing with Bosch to working with an international lifting equipment company, PWB Anchor.
Ian’s investment in high quality, safe, reliable lifting equipment organically grew, resulting in the development of Titan Lifting Technologies.
John’s expertise in hoists and slings is the result of receiving Ian’s tutelage as well as many of his own visits to China, looking for the best products to bring back to Australian shores.
“The lifting solutions we provide customers with via our products is all knowledge-based.”
“We have a policy whereby we don’t buy anything from anywhere overseas unless either myself or Ian have met the local manufacturers on the ground and have inspected the premises, their product and their processes – particularly in quality control,” John added.
John said the cost of this exercise is worth the knowledge attained.
“There is a lot of cost and time involved when we travel to our overseas suppliers, but we pick up new ideas which then turns into new equipment that we can be proud of.”
AGency brand partnerships in lifting and rigging products
Apart from their own brand, Titan also has a number of overseas agency partnerships such as Wirop International, Van Beest Green Pin from the Netherlands, Tractel from France, and Probst from Germany.
Quality Control
Recently back from his annual trip to China and Taiwan, John explains how regular site visits help best inform his decisions when it comes to collecting information on current and future developments.
“Most of the factories we visit in China are ISO 9000 accredited and they are well organised too, with advanced machinery and robotics. This makes us feel incredibly confident about the products we are bringing back to Australia.”
John explained that if the products are not up to Australian standards at the overseas warehouses he visits, then it’s not worth pursuing either the factory or products at all.
But Titan’s strict testing regime is quite extensive.
Once a batch of new products arrives at its facilities, John says Titan quarantines the shipment in the first warehouse until it undergoes a battery of comprehensive tests.
“Apart from testing, we then check factors such as the packaging and the markings to ensure the products comply with or exceed Australian standards,” John said.
Traceability
Once a shipment has passed Titan’s Quality Assurance (QA) process, relevant test documentation is filed according to batch numbers.
Titan’s traceability mechanisms are in place to ensure that in the incredibly rare situation where a product seems faulty, Titan can trace back all recipients of that particular batch of product and conduct further investigations, as well as tracing the products to the overseas manufacturer.
“It’s one of our biggest litmus tests,” John said.
“If there are any issues out in the market, we can then go back to our factory and identify the batch number. Then they trace back to see what could have happened.”
Exciting outlook for Titan
With high quality control standards and a list of well-designed and innovative products, Titan products are widespread across Australia, and also overseas.
“We have over 200 distributors in Australia and supply a broad range of products,” John said.
“We are in the business of helping businesses ensure their haulage or lifting systems are strong with our strong Titan products.”
The company also supplies distributors internationally, sending its reliable Titan products to 13 other countries, such as the USA, South Africa, New Zealand, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Fiji.
John said Titan’s approach has been recognised in the industry as incredibly diligent when it comes to quality and therefore safety upkeep.
“We’ve been told that we do more than what’s required to ensure our products are reliable,” he said.
“But I want to sleep at night knowing everyone goes home at the end of the day, and I know our products allow this.”