Hobson Engineering

Dandenong South, VIC

Very few companies would have a history as interesting as Hobson Engineering. Established in 1935 by roller-skating champion, Ron Hobson, the company built its reputation for quality and precision by manufacturing the highly-regarded ‘ROLLERPLANE’ roller skates and bicycle axles.

Over the years, Hobson Engineering has changed focus a number of times, manufacturing aircraft components during WWII and, more recently, supplying everything from nuts and bolts to shackles and high tensile stainless steel.

Today, Hobson Engineering is Australia’s largest fastener company in its chosen range, cementing its reputation by establishing strong partnerships with world leading suppliers, investing in quality facilities across its national network and, with moves like the achievement of ISO9001 quality certification, following the same principles of quality and precision which underpinned its early success.

Recently, the company engaged Qanstruct to extend its warehouse in Dandenong South by nearly 13,500m2. As well as new, single-storey office facilities and a gymnasium for the company’s Melbourne staff, the $9 million extension also significantly expands the company’s warehouse footprint and features ‘Very Narrow Aisle’ or VNA racking to cater for high accuracy, wire-guided man up pickers.

This VNA setup, together with a post-load capacity in excess of 14 ton, made the concrete floor design a critical component of the overall build. The highly specified, super-flat floor was built to meet tolerances to FMIN 75. The project also kept future sustainability in mind, featuring water harvesting for toilets and landscaping., a 99kw roof-mounted solar generation system and LED lighting throughout.

The result is a smart and efficient new warehouse extension which provides the facilities Hobson Engineering requires to continue its market-leading innovation, expand its capacity in the southern capital and increase its foothold in the Australian market.