Terrain Tamer 4WD Parts has recently expanded into South Africa, with their 16th warehouse opening in Bellville, an inner eastern suburb of Cape Town, to facilitate the service of the African mining and wider 4WD communities.
Owned and operated by Frank Hutchinson, who started the company in Melbourne in 1969, Terrain Tamer’s origin was found in supplying 4WD parts to the likes of Bill King, who took tourists through rough, uncharted terrain in the Australian outback.
Many of the roads travelled were either unsealed, or existed only as tracks in the 1960s and 70s, and these environments meant any number of parts could fail and break on trips that Bill and his drivers took. He required strong, reliable parts to ensure he could get his customers home, through the harsh, unforgiving environment.
Terrain Tamer’s company ethos of service, innovation and quality were born from designing the parts that would provide solutions to these problems.
The brand now boasts a product range of over 40,000 unique part numbers, essentially formed by parts that will keep a 4WD running – right through the gearbox, transfer case, CV joints, filters, suspension, bearing kits, brake, clutch and thousands of other parts.
Each one goes through rigorous research, development and testing to ensure it is at least equal in quality and strength to its original equipment equivalent before it can bear the brand’s stamp.
Often parts exceed the required standard, addressing many of the problems faced by customers in industries such as agriculture, emergency services, military and mining, where strong, reliable parts are essential to avoid potentially dangerous breakages and expensive downtime.
Having now spent over 50 years building their parts, interpreting expertise and knowledge base, the company has expanded to include branches in every state of Australia, as well as in New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and France, and servicing over 80 countries worldwide.
The new South African warehouse becomes the seventh international branch for the company, and will be managed by Marinus Potgieter, an experienced and well connected 4×4 business owner who has a vast working knowledge of the local industry, and has previously acted as a dedicated stockist of Terrain Tamer parts into the area.
The new branch in South Africa will service the south eastern African countries, while the north western African region will continue to be serviced by the company’s French warehouse.
For more information about Terrain Tamer’s brand and product range, visit terraintamer.com.
Alternatively, you can contact general manager Brent Hutchinson at bhutchinson@donkyatt.com.au or via +613 9325 9700.