New St John ambulances roll out

It takes 400 hours and $200,000 to build an ambulance and around 35 of New Zealand’s St John ambulances are assembled right here in the mighty Waikato every year.

Some of the amazing automobiles are even shipped off to Fiji, Rarotonga, Niue, and Australia as either complete vehicles or in kit set form. 

Brad Rolston, industrial designer at Hamilton’s Action Manufacturing, said the company was always trying to improve and continually develop the product as well as the business.

And with all the new toys at hand in the workshop, they seem to be doing just that.

“As of this year, we’ve just bought and commissioned a laser and press. That makes 90 per cent of the parts that go into the ambulances. We cut them out here, fold them, then they are taken to the welding bay – also here – before being sent off for a powder coat, coming back and getting installed in the vans that are prepared.”

Prior to having the laser and press they had to order their parts from another supplier. Brad said that was a restriction on time, but now they’re a lot more flexible and get things done faster.

“We can time it exactly when we need it, we are almost ahead of production.”

And at the moment they’re preparing something brand new.

“We’re currently working on a special first response Ute for the roads on Waiheke Island. We have spent a lot of design time on it and it’s going to be able to get around the roads really easily.”

They’re hoping to roll the wider range of Ute products out in the next few months.

Brad said even though the cost of an ambulance was pretty steep, they were mainly paid for by donations, an awesome help for St John.

The young industrial designer said the company had been building ambulances in its current building for the past 10 years and, since then, the designs had evolved and were forever changing.

“Originally they were a box body and they had two stretchers. Then they went through a re-design when we did some research into what [paramedics] actually want and need. Then the next ambulance moved into a van and a single stretcher, as 99 per cent of the time they’d just be picking up one patient.”

There are still a few of the big boxes on the road, but the majority of the fleet was now made up of vans.

“This year we have tweaked a few things again, but it’s just a few minor interior changes, like the seat. Every year or so we reassess and upgrade.”

Brad said it’s always a busy environment to work in, with five or six ambulances on the go at any one time as well as the mobile homes they produce across the road, but he loves it.

“It’s always a challenge, but it’s awesome to be part of a team that produces such a needed product.”