The protective canopies, designed for extreme weather conditions, including catastrophic hailstorms, have been completed in Brisbane and Melbourne, with work starting on one for the Sydney site.

Work started in January 2020 following the devastating December 2018 hailstorms in Sydney that created significant damage to property, including vehicles, with insurance claims valued at $675 million.

Manheim said its state-of-the-art canopy in Brisbane was completed in March with the Melbourne construction slowed by the effects of COVID.

The structures in Melbourne are five metres high, cover an area of six hectares and can shelter 2000 vehicles. The expansion means that all passenger and commercial vehicles on site can be stored under cover.

Manheim CEO Charles Cumming said: “This project represents a significant investment in our facilities and combined with our existing under cover storage areas, ensures Manheim can provide extensive protection for our customer’s assets. 

“These structures provide sellers with confidence their vehicles will be protected whilst on- site – whether they’re on display or in storage awaiting allocation to an auction.”

Manheim said that major automobile companies had already seen the value in the investment and reported that one OEM had recently placed an order for an identical size structure to be constructed at its site. 

The contract for Manheim was awarded to MakMax Australia and involved designing and building the large-scale protective canopies at Manheim’s auction sites in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. 

Manheim said MakMax was selected as the supplier of choice because of experience and credentials in this work. MakMax has built numerous structures around Australia for automotive OEMs and third-party logistics companies.

Manheim spokesman Mathew McAuley said the total infrastructure investment in order to protect their customers’ vehicles will cost approximately $5 million when completed.

By Neil Dowling