Royal Wolf to construct defence personnel transport modules

Shipping container company Royal Wolf has won a $51 million contract to build 300 Personnel Restraint Modules for the Department of Defence over the next three years.

Managing Director Neil Littlewood said: “This is the culmination of three years’ work in business development and a significant achievement for the company.

“It is the largest single one-off project we have done and is a new milestone for Royal Wolf.”

While Royal Wolf is the market leader in shipping containers, the new personnel restraint modules, fitted to the back of artillery trucks, are designed to safely transport artillery crews from location to location in operations.

Royal Wolf built several prototypes in Brisbane as part of the lengthy competitive tender process.

The custom-built PRMs are fitted with radio communications, suspension seats, seat belts and visibility for the crew. Each PRM will carry up to eight crew members.

Littlewood said: “The PRMs are built for arduous conditions and possibly active environments.

“The prototypes, built in Brisbane, underwent a rigorous testing regime.

“The Royal Wolf team came up with unique solutions to build these customised vehicles, and we engaged a specialist team to augment our existing team.”

Littlewood said Royal Wolf was committed to using Australian products and components in the project, ensuring at least 74 per cent of the contract was fulfilled by Australian industry. He said the project would also create new jobs, predominantly in Queensland.

“We expect to take on eight full-time staff as well as another 25 at any one time, in addition to contracting other third party companies for different trades and teams.”

Royal Wolf Group commercial manager Peta Heffernan, who project managed the tender process, said the PRMs would be delivered in two batches, with final delivery by November 2025.

Ms Heffernan said: “They will be purpose-built to Australian standards, designed with the structural integrity of a container.”

The contract includes maintenance support and spare parts for 10 years.

Picture: Neil Littlewood

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