Machinery Auction Set as Toyota Australia Nears End of Car Production

There’s no wasting time in picking over the bones of the Australian auto manufacturing industry.

Dutch company Hilco Industrial Acquisitions says it will lead the disposition process for a massive sale of Toyota Australia’s machinery and equipment.

Toyota is due to end Australian production Oct. 3. It began local assembly in Australia in 1963 and established the plant at Altona in the Melbourne suburbs in 1978.

Its shutdown means that in less than 12 months all three of Australia’s car manufacturers, Ford, GM Holden and Toyota, have quit local production in favor of selling only imported vehicles.

Hilco CEO Robert Bouland says there has never been a sale with such an abundance of state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment.

The company, which provides industrial-asset acquisition and disposition services, says the sale will include all the key production shops and vendors that have been part of car manufacturing in Australia for more than 60 years.

“All the equipment will be offered for sale via private treaty from their production shops including aluminum casting, furnaces, engine-line machining, assembly, robotic automation, presses, extruders, plastic-injection-molding machines, welding lines and plant services,” Hilco says in a statement.

“Certain key machinery and equipment items will be offered for sale via an online auction, including maintenance workshops and general equipment.”

The auction will be conducted by Grays Online, a joint-venture partner with Hilco.

Offers can be made up until Oct. 3, Hilco says. Negotiations and sales begin immediately.

“While it is unfortunate to see the industry in Australia shut down operations, this sale presents a very significant opportunity for those seeking to acquire critical production equipment to augment their facilities,” Bouland says.

He indicates demand globally has been extremely high, especially from the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.

“We expect that as we begin to publicize the sale, the North American interest will grow rapidly,” Bouland says.

Key suppliers and vendors included in the sale include the Toyota Altona car manufacturing plant; Toyoda Gosei Australia; Continental; Britax Childcare; Metalsa Australia; ROH Automotive; Toyota Boshoku Australia; Chassis Brakes International and Denso Automotive Systems Australia.