Director's Brief
By Byron Wolff
A warm welcome to all,
It’s that time of year again, tax time! The end of the 2016 financial year is upon us, an opportunity to bid farewell to the past and to greet the future. There is no time better than the present to upgrade your cattle handling facilities with the prospects of a 100% claim on (up to) $20 000 investments. Although Thompson Longhorn endeavours to keep as much stock as possible on hand, keep in mind the delivery times of products may differ at this time of year.
This quarterly newsletter discusses, our recent adventures to Vietnam, the methods we recommend you adopt to maintain your core working centre and an opportunity to learn more about the processes we employ at Thompson Longhorn to progress your quote through to the construction of your equipment.
As we all know, time is one of the most valuable things one can possess, so I would like to thank all of you who have given your time to read Thompson Longhorn’s quarterly newsletter. Thank-you.
Thompson Longhorn Factory Tours
288 Inverramsay Road, 74 kilometres from Toowoomba
Have you ever visited the TL factory? We welcome you to visit us to see our automated trade display and our robotic welding facility. Our factory is only a 50 minute drive from Toowoomba. Simply turn east just south of Allora at the Goomburra turnoff and 12.5 km later you will be at Thompson Longhorn.
Automated trade display at our factory
Our opening hours are 8.00am until 5.00pm Monday to Friday.
An appointment is necessary for factory tours. To book an appointment please call us on (07) 4666 6174.
Thompson Longhorn, 288 Inverramsay Road, Goomburra Qld 4362
Thompson Longhorn in Vietnam
By Byron Wolff
This year, Thompson Longhorn was privileged to be invited by the Ministry of Agriculture and Regional Development, to a conference being held in Dak Lak province, Vietnam.
Attendees of the MARD Conference in Vietnam
Thompson Longhorn was chosen as an industry leader and innovator to present on the subjects of cattle handling and feedlot design, truly a progressive opportunity for the company. The day was deemed highly successful with over 90 delegates attending, granting Thompson Longhorn a unique opportunity to work with this newly emerging industry and to understand the local challenges faced. We visited a number feedlots and encountered plenty of good quality, healthy, Aussie cattle.
Australian cattle in a Vietnamese Feedlot
We were in for quite the adventure, beginning in south Vietnam at Ho Chi Minh City and departing from the north at Hanoi. For the rest, we were delighted to visit Pleiku, Buon Ma Thuot, DaNang and Hoi An.
Vietnamese Feedlot in Dak Lak province
Such a diverse society and friendly locals made the entire trip most enjoyable.
(To view Thompson Longhorn's exciting Vietnam presentation video, showcasing our latest Australian feedlot projects, click on the video below)
Featured Product - The Weather?
by Kelly Keong
It is always pleasing to see a well thought out work shop at any agricultural enterprise. It does not matter if it is only a small place with the basic tools, a good bench, a solid vice, good quality tools well laid out. In a lot of ways, it speaks of capability and care.
A work place like that will normally have a concrete floor and it will always be under roof. A place where you can do a job that must be done no matter what the weather.
Thompson Longhorn has been refining the “core” working centres we incorporate into most sets of cattle yards. We want this “work shop” area of your yards to be as functional as possible and safe for both animals and operators. The individual components can be basic manual equipment or complex and computer controlled. It is notable that just like all good quality tools these components are a significant investment that should be well maintained and well housed.
Thompson Longhorn yards under re-purposed roof
We have tried hard to make the “core centre” as compact as possible so that housing it under a shed roof is economical. In recent years we have gone as far as designing a purpose built shed to best suit the layout of the equipment. It is interesting to see the recognition of the value that putting a roof over this part of your cattle yards brings.
Thompson Longhorn working centre cover at Minderoo Station.
It is just like bringing a task to your workshop to work on for the first time rather than trying to repair it in the field with whatever tools are in the back of the ute tray. It brings a calmness to both people and animals and an assurance that the job will be done properly despite the weather.
From Estimation to Erection
by Simon Anderson
So you have signed the quote for your set of yards. What happens now?
Continuing from the last article in our previous newsletter, Estimating with Confidence, we take a look at what happens after all the hard design process has been completed and a purchase order has been signed.
The first thing of course is that you pay the initial deposit, then the whole process kicks into gear. The design team takes the yard that you helped design and transforms it from a two dimensional sketch into a three dimensional model. This model is then meticulously checked over to ensure that the smallest details are accounted for, from checking gate clearances down to accounting for every last nut and bolt.
Computer rendered image of a custom yard 3D model
The experienced design team then detail every component for manufacture, panels and gates included. Using the very exact bills of materials from these details, all of the steel can be purchased and cut in the most efficient manner possible, reducing material waste.
One of the major differences in Thompson Longhorn’s manufacture process is that all of the meticulous design allows us to pre-fab your yards at our factory. This is especially handy for retro-fit work where a site may need the minimum possible downtime such as a saleyard or abattoir. This also means a higher quality final product because everything has been welded in our factory and quality checked instead of being rushed on site to do a quick job and not necessarily a neat one.
Robotic welders - welding a panel
It is at this point that our workshop staff start creating the items that you had sketched out long ago and the whole project starts to take a physical form. For large projects with lots of repetitive panels or gates the robotic welders will be utilised. These precise machines require a large amount of set-up time but produce high quality and very consistent welds without getting tired or distracted, drastically reducing the time before you see your products on site. For smaller production runs, every panel is hand made by our highly qualified welding team. Every item is then painted to prevent any corrosion, packed and stockpiled in our yard, awaiting delivery.
Yards packed into a truck and ready to be sent to site
Not long after the last item is made and everything is packed, it is all sent to site. At this point you will be able to look out and see your yards, that you helped design, rolling through your gateway, ready for erection.
Quick Links
288 Inverramsay Road, Goomburra Qld 4362, Ph: (07) 4666 6174, Fax: (07) 4666 6242, www.thompsonlonghorn.com.au