Time to Roam Magazine Issue 4 - August/September 2013 | Page 28

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tried + tested caravan review

Heritage brand, quality marque
Tested Longreach Seabreeze Report by Seb Stephens

Millard is one of the great names in the Australian caravan
business, with the current owners focussed on putting quality
back into the brand.
Garry Willer and Hugh Bialas
rescued the Millard business from
receivership almost a decade ago,
then four years ago moved to a
new manufacturing facility in the
Sydney suburb of Ingleburn.

Hugh Bialas

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www.timetoroam.com.au

It’s not far from where Millard’s have been
built for almost 70 years, possibly holding
the record for longevity of all of Australia’s
caravan brands.
The plant at Ingleburn is a niche operation
compared to 1970s and early 1980s when
hundreds of Millards rolled of the massive
assembly line at the former Viscount factory,
just up the road in Liverpool.
Garry and Hugh are working to reapply some of the tried and proven quality
measures back into the production line,
while at the same time ensuring the
complete Millard model range has the latest
designs and finishes.

The team around 30 employees is
made up of specialist tradespeople, with
three full-time plumbers and electricians
along with specialist cabinet makers and
upholsterers. Working together they turn
out between 15 and 20 mostly customfinished vans per month in three broad
model ranges starting with the Sunseeka
at the budget end, then the mid-level
Longreach and the luxury Pinnacle.
The company also owns the York
heritage caravan trademark and
builds slide-on camper units suitable
for one tonne flat bed trucks under
both the York and Millard brands.
As was the case in years gone by, buyers
are welcome to come and take a tour of
the complex to see what goes into the
manufacturing.
It really is a sight to see as everything
is done on site; the chassis, the frames,
the furniture and cabinet making even the