SCARAB’s longest serving dealer, Rosmech, has elevated the Australian road sweeping market with their passion, commitment and drive for innovation for five decades. By combining SCARAB’s cutting-edge product design with Rosmech’s local market knowledge and exemplary after sales support, the team has successfully developed a complete road sweeping solution for the Australian market.
The partnership between SCARAB and Rosmech began in 1979. Then owner, Graham Treloar, was the very first overseas visitor to SCARAB’s manufacturing facility in Kent – and, from this very visit, a successful commercial operation was born. An initial order of six machines was placed by Graham to sell from his office in Adelaide and this was the spark for a relationship that has since spanned over four decades, with over 800 machines sold to the Australian market to date.
Growing with the Australian Market
The first machines ordered in 1979 and the Rosmech product offered to the market today are understandably very different - and the journey to achieve today’s high-performance Mistral 62 has been one built on product innovation and partnership. Like many markets across the world, regulations differ at a regional level which has led to Rosmech and SCARAB working together over the past 45 years to evolve with the demands of the industry.
The first SCARAB machines supplied to Rosmech (then, Rossair) were Multicar Minors – a mini-truck mounted sweeper mounted to a Multicar 25 chassis - which developed into a successful product for the market. From this launchpad, the product offering grew as SCARAB began supplying fully built truck-mounted sweepers to Australia. At this time, DAF chassis were shipped from Australia to the UK to be fitted with a Merlin 62 sweeper body. They were built, inspected, tested, and then shipped back to the Rosmech team.
The SCARAB product was developing a strong reputation in the market but the long build times and environmental impact of shipping a chassis across the world was not the most economical solution.
As the current directors - Colin Miller and Brett Laing - entered the business in 2000, a close technical relationship was born to find the best possible solution for every customers’ needs. The teams partnered to find logical, practical and superior solutions to sweeper development for the Australian market; while also navigating chassis changes, the introduction of CANbus and the growing requirements of a dual steer system.
The introduction of the skid unit – which is now the sole method of export by SCARAB to Rosmech – widened the possibilities and practicalities for this market. This created the opportunity to introduce the Mistral 62 twin engine sweeper to the product lineup, which became a successful commercial solution to grow the Australian market.
SCARAB’s Engineering Manager, Rick Capeling comments: “there has always been a strong technical partnership between SCARAB and Rosmech - from the early days of shipping fully built Merlin 62 single engine hydrostatic sweepers across the world, through to the evolution of the Mistral 62 kits, a product which continues to be sold in large numbers in Australia”.
The Machine for Australia: Mistral 62
Launched in 2004, the Mistral product has continuously improved over the past two decades and has grown to be a key component of Rosmech’s success. This sweeper is manufactured at SCARAB’s facility in Kent before being carefully packaged and shipped across the world as a skid unit. These kits are received by Rosmech and mounted to a chassis of the customer’s choice. The machine is then customised to the requirements of the order and delivered to customers across the country.
The Mistral 62 is a modern version of the traditional twin-engine sweeper and combines SCARAB’s renowned sweeping technology with a powerful, Cummins auxiliary engine.
The Cummins turbocharged diesel engine is more durable and quieter than many conventional engines as it runs at a lower rpm, making it more fuel-efficient. The engine works to complement SCARAB’s compact design and hydraulic drive system that powers all the suction and sweeping applications quietly and economically. The unique drive system also eliminates the need for complex drive belt arrangements or gearboxes - meaning there is less wearing parts for maintenance.
“Rosmech have always been forthcoming with valuable feedback and suggestions for improvement that have been fed into the continuous development of the Mistral and this has been the key to its success – especially combined with the passion and commitment to their market that Rosmech has in abundance”, Rick adds.
To this day, the Mistral is at the core of Rosmech’s mission of building the most operator and workshop-friendly truck-mounted road sweeper in the world.
A Comprehensive Customer Experience
Every mainland state in Australia has a dedicated Rosmech Sales & Service Centre located within it: South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, New South Wales and Queensland. Each setup offers commercial, parts and servicing support to customers in the region.
As well as having a tailored machine, another key to the success of Rosmech’s continued development in the Australian market is the readily available supply of parts. By having a dynamic collection of parts available for quick distribution, the team can build trust with customers as they keep machines on the road working in peak condition.
Rob Sands, Business Development Manager, confirms this importance: “Rosmech are one of our leading parts customers and their commitment to holding such a large volume of parts stock is an iron-clad commitment to their customers”.
“We have a fantastic relationship with Rosmech and their parts team – which makes working together easy. We are very happy in the knowledge that all Australian customers are experiencing the benefits of using Genuine SCARAB Parts”.
Growing Partnerships
For the past 24 years, the SCARAB team has fostered a close working relationship with Rosmech’s Directors, Colin and Brett. Together, the teams have worked together to develop the most suitable machine for the Australian market – with performance, quality, reliability and robustness at its core.
“The Rosmech team have a constant desire to develop new ideas to improve and enhance the SCARAB product. This drive has seen demand increase by nearly 50% in their market”, summarizes SCARAB’s Product & Market Specialist, Doug Flynn.
“Colin and Brett are a great example of what trust, understanding and a willingness to work together can achieve”.
The SCARAB team would like to congratulate the Rosmech as they celebrate their golden anniversary and would like to thank them for pushing the boundaries of innovation for the past five decades.
For more information on Rosmech Sales & Service, please visit:
🌐 https://rosmech.com.au/
📧 reception@rosmech.com.au
📞 +61 (8) 8182 7777
📍 Rosmech Sales & Service, 30 Stanbel Road, Salisbury Plain, SA 5109.
For Marketing enquiries, please contact Callum Huthwaite by emailing c.huthwaite@scarab.fayat.com or by calling +44 (0) 7593 561 300