More companies thinking inside the steel box
Royal Wolf increases NZ locations and expands product range to meet demand for container solutions
Leading shipping container provider Royal Wolf continued to expand its New Zealand footprint and respond to increased demand in 2019 as a growing number of industries turn to containers to solve business challenges.
Uptake of the company’s Wolf Lock container, which makes opening container doors easier and safer, has exceeded the company’s expectations with more than 1000 leased across New Zealand and Australia in just over a year.
Container products continue to be used extensively in the construction sector, including an innovative six-container work site project on a tight inner-city Auckland location for the development of Auckland City Mission’s new building.
Royal Wolf, which is the leading supplier of shipping containers in Australasia, also continued to increase its local footprint this year with a larger site in Dunedin and a new facility opening in Cromwell to service the Queenstown, Wanaka, and wider Southern Lakes region.
Royal Wolf Executive General Manager Paul Creighton says more businesses are realising the potential and efficient nature of containers which has increased demand for both its standard and modified container products.
“We’re consistently coming up with innovative ways to improve our products and design new container products to expand our product range. The Wolf Lock is the perfect example of that, and its practicality and ease of use has led to new customers turning to containers for the first time.
“The Wolf Lock has set a new standard for safety because it can be opened from the inside, but it has also been a mini revolution in the shipping container and storage industry because of the easy opening doors – you can do it with one hand.”
Royal Wolf was also involved in a diverse range of projects across 2019, including construction of a giant maintenance shelter for Lyttleton Port’s 15m high container cranes, through to community projects such as customised container bike sheds for schools.
“Containers are being used for everything,” says Creighton. “We’ve just completed a specialised modification for storing Electric Vehicle batteries, people are purchasing general containers for projects such as granny flats and Man Caves, and then there are large-scale construction work sites with up to 10 containers which create mini container villages for long term projects.”
10 key Royal Wolf container projects in 2019:
The Wolf Lock Container
It was an award-winning year for this specialised product developed by Royal Wolf to make opening and closing containers easier and safer. Royal Wolf was recognised as an ABA100 Winner for New Product Innovation and Technology Innovation in the Australian Business Awards for the Wolf Lock. Since being launched in September 2018 more than 1000 units have been leased across New Zealand and Australia.
To read more about this innovative product Click Here>
Lyttelton Port Container Crane Workshop
When you take a 15m high container crane for a service you can’t just drive it into the garage. Lyttelton Port had the major challenge of building a giant shelter to allow them to do maintenance on their cranes. The design included 18 40-foot High Cube containers on either side with a canopy roof traversing the two rows of containers allowing enough height for the cranes to drive in undercover.
To read more about this project Click Here>
The Block Firehouse Container
It was a solitary pedestrian walkway container (also known as a hoarding) sitting on a footpath in the central Auckland suburb of Kingsland. Yet it was the most high-profile shipping container of the year with regular guest spots on TV each week as part of The Block Firehouse.
To read more about this project Click Here>
Cromwell Meets Queenstown Demand
With ongoing growth in the wider Queenstown region, a new Cromwell facility met demand for everything from storage containers through to container offices, pedestrian walkways, and lunchrooms for construction sites. Containers are ideal in Queenstown where space is often at a premium and many developments are taking place on tight challenging sites.
To read more about the opening Click Here>
Double stack at Auckland City Mission
Located on one of Auckland’s busiest roadways on a tight site, the Auckland City Mission development required a space-saving container work site solution. The result, six containers – four hoardings and two site offices – double stacked to create a slim line pedestrian walkway to keep the public safe with two site office containers up top.
To read more about this project Click Here>
Community Projects
Royal Wolf supported many community projects and charities this year through the donation of shipping containers, including St John ambulance and conservation project Kiwis for Kiwi. Christchurch’s Pathway Trust were donated a Wolf Lock container that doubles as a bike storage and workshop space for its Bike Programme which teaches young people from Christchurch Men’s Prison Youth Unit mechanic skills.
To read more about the St John Ambulance project Click Here>
To learn about the Kiwis for Kiwi organisation and the work they do Click Here>
To read more about the Christchurch's Pathway project Click Here>
Keeping Auckland – and NZ – Moving
From a bus stop container on Quay St to high-profile hoardings outside restaurant hub Ponsonby Central, container hoardings helped keep NZ’s biggest city moving. The product is also increasingly popular in other centres where major growth is happening. Located on foot paths and roadways around construction sites, the hoardings allow pedestrians a safe passageway and means workers can get on with the job.
To read more about the Quay Street project Click Here>
To read more about the Ponsonby Central project Click Here>
WeetBix Kids Tryathlon Container Roadshow
Moving one of New Zealand’s largest travelling roadshows around the country is made that little bit easier by packing the entire TRYathlon village into four bespoke 20-foot containers. The Weet-Bix roadshow highlights shipping containers at their most practical and effective – transporting more than 100 metres of marquees, thousands of boxes of Weet-Bix, and other equipment to 18 events from the Bay of Islands to Dunedin.
To read more about this project Click Here>
Invercargill Hoardings
Shipping containers have taken centre stage in Invercargill’s inner-city redevelopment. An impressive line of nine 20-foot container hoardings, which are modified into public walkways, surround the site of the $40 million Langlands’ Hotel development which is due to be complete in October 2021.
To read more about this project Click Here>
Container Bike Sheds
Papakura Central School and Oratia District School in Auckland received 50 new bikes each as part of the Bikes In Schools initiative – the problem was, they needed somewhere safe, secure and durable to store them. As part of a new product offering, Royal Wolf supplied custom-made shipping container bike sheds fitted with an easy access door and bike racks.
To read more about this project Click Here>
