From Weipa to Waterlooville
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THE new bodybuilding works of Wadhams (Coachbuilders) Ltd., opened last year at Waterlooville, Hants, is now in full production and one of its recent products is the double-drop-side body on a Morris F.1 KI00 5-ton chassis seen in the accompanying illustration.
The operator, Alreco Ltd., of Waterlooville. is a member of the RTZ Group (Rio Tinto) and all the material for the aluminium alloy body was also supplied by the RTZ Group. Bauxite mined in Weipa, Australia, was smelted in Tasmania and the billets shipped to Widnes, Lancs. where the extrusions were made from which the bodywork is constructed. To complete the story, the vehicle now includes aluminium alloy extrusions among its regular loads.
Main product of the Waterlooville works at present is the Wadham Series III ambulance, of which five or six are built every week; Wadhams claim to build over 40 per cent of Britain's ambulances. The majority are built on the Austin/Morris LD-series ambulance chassis, and have glass-reinforced plastics bodywork assembled from colourimpregnated mouldings. Flanking the
ambulance production lines are areas devoted to van conversions and special bodywork. The 50.000 sq. ft. factory is virtually self-sufficient on the coachbuilding side, making its own seats. stretchers. stretcher gear and so on for the ambulances as well as virtually all the components of other bodies.
Fork-truck Emergency Service: A fork-truck emergency service, thought to be unique in this country, has been launched by lvlatbro Ltd. The emergency service undertakes to get anyone out of trouble immediately by providing a hire truck, free of charge, from the time an order for a new truck is placed until the new truck is delivered. The service applies to diesel-cngined models of -4.000, 5.000, 6.000, 8,00 and 20.000 lb. capacities.