For Queensland Thermo King (QTK), 2024 was a year of change and growth. The market leader in Australia’s bus and coach HVAC space decided to not rest on its laurels throughout the year, expanding and extending its Brisbane premises while also looking at an internal refresh.
It all paid off for the HVAC supplier as it reached a milestone delivery of more than 120 electric air-conditioning units in 2024.
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“It was a good feat to reach, while the National Bus and Coach Show was a great event to network and connect with the industry at large,” QTK customer solutions manager Allan Lowes told ABC.
“The restructure of our internal customer solutions team allowed us to focus more on our clients end-to-end.”
The internal shift has been years in the making, with the supplier reviewing its internal processes and staff in a bid to find a point of difference for its trusted network of customers. Instead of focusing on its latest products, it settled on prioritising its customers.
The idea of a customer solutions team meant a single team was established to communicate about all parts of the QTK brand, connecting all facets of the business together to devise whole-life solutions while advocating on the customer or operator’s behalf.
“We have our operations team, from the frontline technicians to our customer service operators, then we have parts coordinators, technical support and more that make Queensland Thermo King so great,” Lowes says.
The new team included the appointment of Michael Delker, who has more than 20 years of global bus and truck industry experience, as well as international support through its Malaysian consultant Alan Chan.
Outside of QTK’s range, the brand also reached the milestone of surpassing 1,300 buses that it has under contract for service and maintenance. Having only started this aftersales focus a couple of years ago, the integration of fleets has lifted QTK’s network to a substantial number. Lowes says QTK customers are realising there is great benefit in the fixed price cost model.
In August, QTK also brought up 100 electric HVAC units sold in Australia when it delivered the historic E1200 model onboard a Volgren body in Melbourne for Kinetic.
“Reaching over 100 electric units already is a proud moment for us – it’s come a bit quicker than we thought it would, but in saying that, it could still be moving faster to meet what’s coming on the horizon,” Lowes says.
At the forefront of QTK’s product range is its CF-1200A that it launched at the National Bus and Coach Show in September, balancing modern technology with proven diesel systems for regional customers. While the zero-emissions transition is underway, Lowes knows that updated diesel technology is also key for many in rural areas of the nation.
“While our lightweight compact electrical unit is a good point of difference for us, our CF-1200A will keep developing our diesel capabilities in one compact design unit,” Lowes says.
What to look forward to in 2025
With its new CF-1200A unit ready to make a splash in the diesel and charter market, QTK is also ensuring its electric lightweight unit is raring to go as the zero-emissions transition heats up in 2025.
“We’re waiting to see what happens with the rollout of zero-emissions units in various states – we’re seeing movement in places such as Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales,” Lowes says.
“We’ve got our range poised and ready for this. In the meantime, our team will get out there with operators to support the transition and take pain away for customers.”