Business profile: Digmax Equipment Limited
The success of Digmax, launched in 2017, resulted in Digmax Equipment Limited being established with James Maunsell, formerly of AB Equipment, becoming sole owner and director of the newly formed company
The Digmax attachments have proved extremely popular in the New Zealand market with a very rapid uptake from contractors who recognise its strong connection to local conditions, along with their exceptional value," says managing director James Maunsell.
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20T 2.1m wide cleaning bucket
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"In addition to the attachments we are also marketing ABEX Rock Breakers from Korea and a full range of Paguld Autogreasers aimed at the earthmoving, quarrying, mining and scrap/waste industries.
"We do not provide cheaply built, low quality products. We achieve our exceptional value by aligning direct with quality manufacturers, keeping our overheads low, and streamlining our logistics and supply chain," says James.
Digmax buckets and attachments
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14T 2m wide twin ram tilt bucket
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These units are built to match the applicable market. For example, New Zealand has different soils to Australia, so the buckets need to be designed accordingly. "All our bucket designs have resulted from consultation and input from New Zealand contractors. An example is our low profile internal ribs on tilting and wide buckets," says James.
"Contractors wanted ribs for increasing the bucket life, keeping the cutting edge straight and assisting to break up clay as its pulled into the bucket, but also having these ribs of a lower height to reduce the issue of material sticking."
According to James, Digmax Equipment is also experiencing strong uptake on their heavy duty rock/quarry buckets, which are also custom built to match the carrier machine, application, and the material.
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Quarry bucket
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"We have supplied 20-, 30-, 35- and 40-tonne class buckets, and have a 70-tonne class bucket soon to arrive. These are generally at the same or lower price than doing a bucket rebuild." There can be a perception that everything that comes from China is cheap and low quality.
However, after spending two to three years travelling into China researching manufacturers, James found many high quality products that are exported globally, and have been so for decades. They key has been to find the right factories that understand the importance of ensuring consistent quality of materials and manufacturing process that export markets demand.
Now in its third year, the Digmax factory have proved this consistency. The engineers have decades of experience building all kinds of attachments, for all over the world. Buckets, demolition attachments, rock grapples, orange peel grapples, clamshell buckets, telescoping excavator arms, and long-reach front ends as large as 350-tonne excavators.
"If there is anything specific our clients require, we can arrange to have them custom built, and at an affordable price," says James. Some examples to date have included mulcher heels, skeleton/sieve buckets and long reach assemblies.
Paguld autogreasers
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Paguld autogreaser
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The units are the most recent addition to the Digmax product offering. Paguld have been manufacturing lubrication system components since 2007, exporting to USA and Germany. Paguld have autogreasing systems to suit earthmoving machinery, stationary plants, factory equipment, port handling equipment, trucks, buses and forklifts.
In 2019, the factory exported some 22,000 units of the 4kg system that are being fitted to machines here in New Zealand. With Digmax’s low overhead structure, they can offer Paguld Autogreasers at a price point that makes protecting heavy machinery and plant assets much more affordable.
As an example, a 4kg greasing system can be installed on a 20-tonne excavator for as little as $6500 - $7900+GST. Contractors are recognising this as a rather straightforward purchasing decision for asset protection.
"Just about anything that requires greasing, we can do," says James. "Recently we were asked to source rechargeable battery powered grease guns, and we now sell many of these top spec kits at a very competitive price."
Abex Rock Breakers
There are now over 100 ABEX Rock Breakers units operating in New Zealand, on excavators from 1.5 to 50-tonne and can be built larger to order if required. ABEX Breakers have a high impact force, with less impact coming back through the machine. This is due to ABEX’s patented buffer system, which is designed to reduce recoil forces to the carrier machine, and at the same time channelling the recoil energy back down the chisel.
ABEX Breakers have other unique features including a longer thrust bush that holds the chisel in true alignment, external replaceable thrust bushes, a patented buffer system to protect the carrier machine from impact forces and a 12 month warranty.
Company background
Managing director of Digmax Equipment, James Maunsell is no stranger to hard work, brought up on Takaka farms, followed by eight years gaining valuable ‘hands on’ expertise in the logging industry in New Zealand and Australia.
Prior to his role at AB Equipment as Auckland sales manager, he gained extensive sales experience throughout New Zealand and Asia. In New Zealand, he worked in machine sales with Gough Cat for eight years, followed by a three-year stint based in Thailand where he established heavy machinery dealerships throughout South East Asia.
This entailed completing extensive research on Chinese products, with substantial time spent in China visiting various manufacturers. He did the same in Papua New Guinea before returning home, and he has recently completed an MBA at Massey University.
For further information contact James Maunsell on 027 345 3318 or visit digmax.com. Alternatively, check out Digmax Equipment’s new premises at 13E Vogler Drive, Wiri, Auckland.
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