It’s been another stellar year for the Hamilton-based quality vehicle specialists, Action Manufacturing.
The company won the Sustainability and Community Contribution categories at the 2025 Waikato Chamber of Commerce Business Awards. It was also a finalist in the People and Culture, and Innovation categories.
Action Manufacturing marketing and communications specialist, Brooke Sullivan, says the awards success was fantastic for the company and for everyone involved.
“We know we’re doing great things, and to have this acknowledged by the Waikato business community is like the icing on the cake.”
Brooke says with a company culture that focuses on consistent innovation, commitment to excellence, collaboration and a second-to-none passion for what it does, their success is driven by the attitude of CEO Chris Devoy, to “never turn away from a challenge”.
“He saw a huge opportunity, for instance, for us to pioneer electric power technology in the commercial trailer space, resulting in Action Manufacturing producing the first electric refrigerated trailer, the Fairfax ZE, a joint effort with subsidiary companies Fairfax and Transcold,” Brooke says.
Within the Action Manufacturing Group, and through a history spanning 80 years, the business has expanded in scale, now operating from branches in Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch, as well as over the Tasman in Brisbane.
Underpinning its success is a design-led approach and can-do attitude to creating and delivering an array of specialised vehicles, servicing the medical, emergency, transport and leisure campervan sectors, to name a few.
Action Manufacturing produced Australasia’s first electric ambulance, and Brooke says this move to equip vehicles with electric energy is part of the company’s goal to be at the forefront of increasingly harnessing sustainable technologies.
“We love nothing more than a challenge to design, build, and fit out a vehicle absolutely fit-for-purpose.,” says Brooke.
“Our people culture recognises the contribution of everyone around the table, and their unique place in Action Manufacturing’s journey of growth and success.”
“We excel in problem-solving to arrive at exactly what our customers need to operate successfully.”
On the sustainability front, Brooke says much time has been spent breaking down all the processes and activities Action Manufacturing does, beginning with the development of a five-year sustainability plan, documenting goals like converting the company’s sales cars to electric power, shifting to electric forklifts and re-purposing off-cuts to reduce waste.
“Our community contribution, the Fairfield Project, is an ongoing commitment to planting trees at Fairfield College,” says Brooke.
“This initiative has been underway for two years now, and staff enjoy time away from work getting their hands in the soil helping grow a plantation of trees that will be a lasting legacy in the area.”
Building motorhomes for parent company THL, which owns iconic brands such as Maui, Britz and Apollo, is a core activity at Action Manufacturing, with upward of 1000 vehicles assembled and fitted out annually.
Brooke says with another positive year coming to a close, everyone working at Action Manufacturing is focused on continuing this good work in 2026.
“Our people culture recognises the contribution of everyone around the table, and their unique place in Action Manufacturing’s journey of growth and success.”
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