Durable, innovative and sleek, ACM Bullbars relies on years of knowledge and engineering expertise to produce its quality range of products.
These bullbars can be seen adorning the front of trucks all around Australia, but the craftsmanship that goes into their design and manufacture is no mean feat.
ACM Bullbars Design Engineer Matt Bloomfield is leading the company’s engineering and design campaign.
At the core of ACM Bullbars, Matt makes use of his strong understanding of trucks, and engineering and manufacturing principles; along with some help and direction from a very experienced team of fabricators, fitters and salespeople.
His knowledge, the result of over 18 years in engineering, fabricating and installing, includes 12 years exclusively spent designing truck bullbars. Matt brings to ACM Bullbars a great power to design and supply some of the best bar products for the truck and bus industry.
“Having worked with Peter and Garry years earlier with Advanced Herd Bullbars & Southport Engineering, I was wrapped when Peter got me on board at ACM,” Matt said.
“It’s a bit of a ‘putting the band back together’ situation for a lot my work mates, in fact. And if it wasn’t for those skilled and experienced guys we have on the floor, our designs and drawings wouldn’t become the bullbars and bumpers our customers rely on, so it’s definitely not just my experience that leads to our great products.
“While I’ve always loved old cars; working with the ‘big boy’s toys’ and the people and characters associated with them makes me very proud of my job, especially when my work is right at the front of trucks.
“A lot of tradies drive past homes and buildings and say to their kids, ‘I worked on that house/building’, which I also do, having worked some years in windows and doors companies. But when my bullbar designs drive by out on the road, I have to be much quicker in pointing out to the wife and kids ‘that’s one of our bars’.”
The truck and bus industry is dynamic. Manufacturers are constantly updating their offerings to the consumer, creating new innovative designs, features and versions to keep ahead of their competition. Shaped and directed by the needs and priorities of this industry, ACM Bullbars relies on Matt and his focus on addressing specific challenges and opportunities within this developing landscape.
This type of research aims to generate practical and innovative solutions and leading-edge technologies that can be directly applied to the ACM Bullbar business.
While Matt’s key role in the business is design and engineering, his many years of engineering experience makes him critical in all facets of ACM’s operations.
“I enjoy the vast variety of tasks I put my hands to here, including design, 3D drafting, CNC programming, prototype fitting, purchasing, sales assistance and fitting bullbars when things are busy,” he said.
“It sounds like a lot, but I enjoy my time on the tools as much as the time behind my desk.”
ACM Bullbars’ process of developing a new bullbar begins with research – understanding, measuring and gathering information about each truck and its varying models. What are customers going to want? What should we offer? Does this truck have features that need special consideration like FUPS (Front Under-run Protection System), sensors or special lighting, cab/bonnet tilting or service hatches and so many other features that all need consideration?
This research leads to design. ACM starts with the bar’s mounting bracket/s, ensuring it has plenty of attachment to the chassis. Adequate eyebolt brackets and hinges. A tow box or tow points suitable for the application. Engineer strength into the mountings for a long life of protection and where FUPS is required.
The main beam (bumper section) is then designed around the mounting. Extruded channel, road train or Texas style pressings are utilised as the base of the aluminium bar as they add more strength to their bars with strategic placement of internal gussets, reinforcing plates and pressings. “It’s all about metal in the right places,” Matt said.
The top of the bullbar is then designed. The placement and use of different box posts, pipes, channels and flat bars is formulated to provide, most importantly, protection, looking not to impede on truck lighting, airflow or serviceability, while complementing the lines of the truck’s grille and bonnet/cab.
When the initial design is complete, the team prepares drawings, laser cutting files and CNC routing programs for their workshop to manufacture a prototype for test fitting where they check for proper and easy fitment, functionality, have any required FUPS assessments done and make sure it looks as good on the truck as it did on the computer.
It’s at this point that ACM puts its new bar design into production, with any alterations required, necessary fitting instructions, marketing material and issue drawings and instructions to the shop floor included.
But that doesn’t always mean they build them the same way from this point on.
“We constantly look to improve and evolve all our products based on feedback or slight updates to truck models through the life of every product,” Matt said.
“The core group of my colleagues have some serious years of experience in truck bullbars, more than 150 years combined, so we like to think that means we build some seriously durable and sleek looking bars here at ACM.”
For more information, visit acmbullbars.com.au or contact the ACM sales team on 1800 226 000.