How we manufacture tough 4×4 stuff for Thor Offroad

Video Description:

Video Transcript:

Luke:
Morning guys, Luke from O’Brien Engineering here. Today I’ve actually got a special guest – something new! We’ve got Brody from Thor Off-Road.

We’ve teamed up with the legends at Thorburns to create metal-fabricated products that suit the four-wheel drive industry. We’ve got him here today to have a bit of a chat about this fire pit.

Brody:
Refresh my memory – what size is this one?

Luke:
So this one will actually suit your 33 to 35-inch tyre. It’s designed to go on the rear of your car or rear of your caravan – whichever you prefer. But it’s easy to store and also acts as a rear wheel shelf when it’s flipped upside down.

Brody:
Beautiful. And you can use it as a step – because I’m pretty short and I need to pack up in the morning. So I actually use it as a step as well!

Luke:
Magical. I’m not that much taller than you, so this works well.

Thorburns and us – we’ve got a history that’s sort of intertwined. We’ve had the privilege of cutting this stainless product. Josh develops all this stuff from scratch, doesn’t he?

Brody:
Yeah, 100%. Josh is like the mad scientist, I call him. And there’s a bit of nostalgia here with you guys and Josh – he actually did his apprenticeship here.

One of us will come up with a crazy idea in our head, then we try to explain it to each other. From there, we sit down with the team, do the drawings, produce three of them, and test the products to make sure they work. If we need to make any changes, we do that.

It’s a lengthy process through our R&D company, but we want to get them right. With our rapid growth, we needed someone we could team up with who could still mass-produce the product.

The reason we chose you guys is because we’re looking to work with an Australian-run company. We pride ourselves on trying to manufacture as much as possible here in Australia and supporting other businesses – just like you guys support us.

And again, with the nostalgia of Josh doing his apprenticeship here, it just fit hand in hand.

Luke:
There’s a lot of thought that goes into these, and it’s impressive. When it translates into our machines, it helps us create a quality product. For us, we need a usable file – and having high-end equipment requires really accurate details.

Obviously, you and Josh both understand how this all works. With your sheet metal background, you know it’s not just about the fire pits. Whether it’s the bars for the 79 Series or something else – like this awesome rear bar for the 70 Series in front of us.

Brody:
Yeah, for the 70 Series. There’s been a lot of thought, a lot of redesigns – a lot has gone into these bars.

We’ve now got a 3D scanner, so we can scan any vehicle. This bar is in early-stage manufacturing. You guys cut and fold this – it’s out of 3mm zinc, right?

Luke:
Yes, spot on.

Brody:
We know a lot of other companies make their bars out of 5mm zinc. But what we’ve done is, at our critical points, they’re actually tripled – going to 9mm.

The idea is to keep the overall weight of the bar down, but not compromise on strength at the key points.

Luke:
Exactly. And because you mentioned the 3D scanner, it comes to us as a really solid STEP file – everything lines up, which is critical. Then we cut it using our Japanese Amada machinery – often a 4kW fibre laser.

That cuts through the 3mm like nothing. You’ve probably noticed – there aren’t many burrs, and the quality is spot on. That comes back to the quality of the machines.

And obviously, you’re ramping up production because of your growth. Thorburns have developed a brilliant product. Then the task is on us – to cut with quality and fold every single bar the same.

That quality has to match your workmanship, which in turn has to match the vehicle it’s going on.

Brody:
Yeah, 100%. The little details – every hole has to line up. Otherwise, they’re a nightmare to install. Everything being spot on – which it always is – makes life a lot easier for us.

It’s so crucial that everything is right. And that comes down to the machinery you use and the systems we have in place.

Because not only are we selling these – we also work with a lot of companies who on-sell and install our products. If we send something that’s hard to install, it makes their job difficult.

Luke:
It’s amazing how quickly things can go wrong when one bolt hole doesn’t line up.

Brody:
Exactly right. Getting it right – which you guys do – is massive for us. If you’re sending a lot of product out, it’s got to be right.

And to date, for anything you guys have cut, lasered or folded for us, we’ve never had to come back and say, “Hey mate, this is wrong.”

And in the future, if something ever is off – well, we’ve got a folder and we can adjust stuff. That’s the best part.

But we haven’t had to yet. And that’s saving us heaps of time when producing these products for the customer.

You’ve got to make a quality product, but it’s got to meet the market at the right price – otherwise, no one’s going to buy it.

Luke:
That’s it.

Mate, it’s been brilliant having you here today. For us – O’Brien started from the humble trophy plate. We did engraving materials, we cut signage…

But especially for myself, this is a brilliant product. You guys are fabulous to deal with. Josh has been instrumental in connecting us and helping us create great products.

It’s been a pleasure having you here. I hope you’ve enjoyed hearing me ramble!

Brody:
I have! I love seeing this stuff. I’ve got a massive interest in it – I love the products we’re doing. I’m passionate about four-wheel driving, and with my background in steel, it’s all super interesting.

I appreciate you having us down here. It feels like a recipe for success – and for great products.

Luke:
That’s it!