Crown in for the long haul with Disc Brakes Australia

Australia’s most awarded disc brake rotor manufacturer is relying on Crown material handling equipment to help it keep up with the strong global demand for its products.

Disc Brakes Australia (DBA), which distributes its high quality, patented design disc rotors to Australia and the world from its busy Sydney factory and warehouse, is using a range of Crown lift trucks including RR Series reach trucks, a CG Series LPG counterbalance forklift, Wave® Work Assist Vehicles® and WP Series power pallet trucks.

The company has been using Crown products for over 16 years in Sydney and other locations around Australia because of their functionality, durability and reliability in difficult conditions, and a strong relationship with Crown’s sales and service staff.

In addition to warehousing and despatch, DBA’s Crown fleet help transport large quantities of product around its busy workshop through different stages of manufacturing.

DBA managing director Phillip Joseph said Crown has remained a strong business partner thanks to its combination of products and service.

“Disc Brakes Australia started in the early ’70s when we used to make just one disc for the HD/HR Holden. From that time on we’ve been manufacturing in excess of 30,000 disc rotors a month,” Mr Joseph said.

“During that time we’ve been very happy to have Crown supply us with material handling equipment.

“Our operations start at six in the morning and run until 10 at night. Every day we have raw castings coming in and finished product going out.

“We’re located in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Townsville and at all locations we are using Crown forklifts.

“Price is not what determines the purchase of a product at Disc Brakes Australia. We want service, and we get service with Crown equipment.”

DBA warehouse manager Mark Sutch said Crown equipment measures up to the demands of warehousing and manufacturing at DBA and has added capacity to the operation.

“Each day we have roughly 10 to 15 pallets coming in and anything from 10 to 30 pallets going out, which is around 2000 rotors,” Mr Sutch said.



“The biggest challenges we have are the available space and the weight of our product; everything here is quite heavy.

“We have everything from your basic pallet jack to electric pallet jacks, Wave pickers and high-reach lift trucks, and we’ve also got a counterbalance forklift.

“Our high-reach is used to make the most out of the space above us so we go five bays high and in some places in the warehouse it’s double deep.

“The Wave has enabled us to grow the warehouse capacity. We’re able to use some high-pick locations whereas in the past we haven’t been able to do that.

“We can now pick around twice as high as what we used to be able to, which has allowed us to put some shelves up high and put full pallet picks up there.

“Crown equipment is reliable and we don’t have much downtime with Crown. They also get here pretty quickly if we need a technician.

“It’s all positive feedback from the operators regarding Crown equipment. It’s easy to use, very comfortable.

“Crown equipment helps us maximise our space in here and the number of picks we can do per day.

“We’re all very happy with Crown equipment – have been for many years now – and we’ll continue to be partners for many years to come.”

DBA was founded over 40 years ago with two product lines. It now produces over 30,000 disc rotors per month for a wide range of vehicle brands and supplies brake pads and fluid.

The company has gained global recognition for its quality products for both street and motor racing applications as well as for its patented technology for disc brake ventilation and proprietary cast iron formulation.

DBA has won numerous industry awards including multiple product awards from the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association and Gold Manufacturer of the Year Award for Excellence in Manufacturing.