Engineering Company Continues Export Success

One of Australia's longest established engineering companies is in the midst of an export boom as it continues to prosper more than 140 years after it was first established.

J. Furphy & Sons of Shepparton, Victoria, has become an Australian engineering legend and although still family owned and operated, it has changed radically from the business established in 1864 by John Furphy.

The company has evolved to become one of Australia's predominant fabricators of stainless steel and carbon steel vessels and tanks, servicing a range of industry sectors. In addition to the core business, over the last 25 years it has built up an international business as a supplier of galvanising kettles.

Uniquely, as well as being a specialist manufacturer of this critical piece of processing equipment, it also owns and operates two galvanising businesses and is a partner in a third.

"Because we are a galvaniser in our own right, we understand the requirements of other galvanisers," said executive director, Keiran Cross.

"Galvanising is becoming more and more accepted as a protective coating system which has long term cost benefits as well as short term advantages. Occupational health and safety issues associated with painting, for instance, have encouraged some fabricators to switch to galvanising."

"Our growth has been significant because the demand for galvanising services is increasing, despite the high cost of zinc."

Furphy Engineering is Australia's only exporter of galvanising kettles and the predominant supplier within Australia. Recent projects have included the delivery of kettles to Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, New Zealand and Indonesia.

South East Asia and the Middle East continue to be the company's strongest export regions and it is making efforts to broaden its export market even further.

"We have a reputation for quality which lets us compete successfully against much larger overseas companies," Keiran Cross said. "Our workforce has developed some unique skills and we have learned from our own galvanising experience".

"XLERPLATE® steel in 50mm thickness is the norm for the kettles's fabrication and up to 65mm is not unusual. Galvanising kettles have a working life that is determined by the tonnage processed. Our group might get as much as eight years out of a kettle, but some of our Asian customers have mass throughputs which can reduce the kettles' useful working life to just three or four years."

All Furphy galvanising kettles are custom built in weights which range from four or five tonne up to sixty five tonnes. The company also has an association with a Melbourne company which specialises in turn-key galvanising plants.

"Even though we specialise in vessels and tanks as an engineering business, the fabrication of galvanising kettles is a niche market and not a business that any fabricator could enter," Keiran Cross said. "It's taken 20 years to develop the high levels of skills and experience required."

"We present our kettles with a comprehensive manufacturer's data report that includes material and welding certificates, test results and technical data. The welding techniques, the quality control and the independent testing required are very demanding.

"Furphy Engineering's Shepparton workshops also have a purpose built 1,200 tonne hydraulic press which we use to radius bend the plates for the corners of the kettles, so that we can keep the welds of the walls away from the corners."

"The steel we use for our kettles is a special XLERPLATE® steel from BlueScope Steel. A1006 grade is selected for its low silicon content, due to compatibility issues with the zinc the kettles hold. I believe that we are among the largest consumers of that particular product in Australia."

"We've used steel from BlueScope Steel ever since the galvanising kettle business was established. The quality of XLERPLATE® steel has never been a problem and, despite the requirement for very particular procedures, weldability isn't an issue."

"We use large amounts of steel to fabricate the galvanising kettles and there are cash flow implications if you have to stockpile it. One of the advantages for us specifying XLERPLATE® steel is that we can order exactly what we need."

"The BlueScope Steel mill can roll the plates to the width, length and thickness which we require. Sometimes there is a little bit of trimming involved, but in general waste is kept to a minimum."

"The other big advantages in using local XLERPLATE® steel, especially in a special grade such as we require, are that you can rely on the quality and you can get it without a long wait."

The Furphy name may now be strongly associated with engineering and galvanising, but almost a century ago it was the company's water carts which led to the name of Furphy becoming an indelible part of our language.

Furphy water carts were used during the First World War in Europe and the Middle East to carry water to the troops.

In the words of the company history: "The drivers of the carts as they moved from camp to camp were notorious sources of information and gossip for the men. As could be expected, not all their news was reliable and so it was that the word Furphy rapidly became a synonym for suspect information or rumour."