“Problem solving is what drives me,” says Ben Dupree, Senior Designer with Royal Wolf.
“Royal Wolf are so helpful with innovation,” he continues. “They let me create.”
Ben is not alone at Royal Wolf in enjoying his role’s creativity. He works with a team of engineers and designers in bringing to life bespoke solutions for clients.
For a company known for being Australasia’s largest provider of containers for hire, Royal Wolf is also an incredibly creative company, with a history of innovation, tailored modifications and safer, cost-effective shipping container solutions.
As Royal Wolf CEO Neil Littlewood explains: “It’s all about providing a product that makes our customers’ jobs easier, allowing them to make the most of their containers and use them more efficiently.”
For all of its impressive builds and larger creations though, one of Royal Wolf's greatest innovations looks disarmingly simple. And like many of its innovations, the Wolf Lock was born out of a search for greater security.
“Safety was the driving force,” confirms Ben.
Being locked inside a regular shipping container is a scary proposition and can happen with surprising ease if your container is in heavy use, for example, for storage. The Wolf Lock can be opened with ease from the inside of the container, and also makes it far easier to open from the outside.
“From a safety perspective, we believe the product is a game changer,” says Neil. “The best in the industry.”
Creating something as innovative as the Wolf Lock requires high levels of technology and communication. The Royal Wolf team used three dimensional software, rather than the trial and error of the workshop, which was more efficient.
“We visualise what is trying to be achieved with steel,” says Ben Dupree. “We then communicate with engineering and design what is trying to be achieved.”
“It’s important that structural integrity can’t be affected,” he adds.
When the prototype was created, Ben was onsite to test it on a 10-foot container; “It was a really satisfying event when the lock worked,” he recalls.
The video below highlights the process that was undertaken by Royal Wolf to address these challenges.
It’s been incredibly successful since those early days of testing. Last year it won awards for its innovation:
Winner of ABA100 Australian Business Award for New Product Innovation 2019 Winner of ABA100 Australian Business Award for Technology Innovation 2019
Royal Wolf is rightly proud of a product that has led the way in the industry, in terms of safety and innovation.
The Wolf Lock Safety containers – available to hire in 10ft, 20ft, 40ft size – are fitted internally with a glow-in-the dark emergency exit label, making them perfect for those needing regular access with added safety benefits, by reducing the possibility of injury and accidental door closure. It’s the perfect solution for your storage needs.
“Royal Wolf is the market leader in Australasia and to stay at the forefront of the industry we are constantly coming up with ways to innovate and improve the safety and efficiency of our products for our 20,000-plus customers,” says Mr Littlewood. “Patented designs and products like the Wolf Lock are based on us listening to our customers and designing innovative solutions to meet their needs – even we continue to be surprised by the versatility a simple container can provide,” he says.
The Wolf Lock: seemingly so simple, and yet an example of innovation at its best.
