Two years ago we posted an new article about Charltons Gates in Australia. Covid gave us a major challenge and the future looked bleak!
In 2013 Australian businessman, Adrian Reis, set up Westbury Gates in Melbourne to import our gates. He first saw the gates in the Cotswolds during a visit with his family. He chose Charltons gates for the quality and the brand that they represented. Adrian chose to import Charltons 5 Bar gates as these could be treated to the level required by Australian quarantine rules.
9 years later Charltons Gates & Fencing are still exporting gates to Westbury Gates; This has not been without its challenges.
The first big challenge was mould! The gates travel in a container through the Suez Canal, in soaring temperatures, and then on wards through temperatures well below freezing in the Southern Oceans. In the high temperatures, and in a contained environment, the moisture from the gates evaporated then condensed and allowed mould to grow on the gates. The mould subsequently died and left unsightly stains across the gates.
After much investigation and experimentation Charltons managed to solve this issue. Westbury Gates now receive the gates in top condition ready to sell in Australia. Adrian Reis stated that “the quality of the gates is excellent” on receiving his latest delivery.
The second major challenge has been The Covid 19 Pandemic. Before the pandemic a container was approximately £750, rising 10 fold during the pandemic coupled with rising port taxes in Australia.
After 2 1/2 years, we have just successfully shipped some gates which are now halfway through their journey to Australia. The compromise is indirect shipping rather than direct which is still far more expensive.
Find out more about Charltons Gates and Fencing on their member profile page here
Member-created content 2 years ago | From members