ROH Wheels has capitalised on a pandemic boom to keep sales solid with a focus on innovation

ROH Wheels is still going strong after almost 80 years, with the Adelaide-based firm doubling down on a renewed interest in home grown innovation.

Adam Gwinnett says ROH is booking solid results. Picture: Keryn Stevens

ROH Wheels — one of the last vestiges of South Australia’s once mighty automotive manufacturing sector — is booking surging profits and targeting new markets, as its third generation leader from a lauded Adelaide industrial family looks to continue the legacy.

Adam Gwinnett, 28, joined the business in 2019, at a time when import competition was eroding margins and the company, founded in 1946, was operating at a loss.

Mr Gwinnett is the son of Andrew Gwinnett, whose Arrowcrest Group was for many years the largest privately owned manufacturer in South Australia, with engineering and manufacturing interests both in Australia and overseas.

The Gwinnett family progressively exited its manufacturing business as the sector in Australia became more challenging, however the family’s investment business GCF Investments retains ownership of both ROH and farm machinery manufacturer John Shearer.

The family office also has investments in companies such as cancer diagnostics firm Ferronova and biotechnology company Biomebank.

Adam Gwinnett said the family’s history with ROH dates back to when his grandfather was sent to Australia from England by large engineering firm Rubery Owen, setting up the business as a subsidiary of the British firm.

Then-Industrial Affairs Minister Dean Brown and Andrew Gwinnett at ROH Auto Products in 1981.

In 1981 Andrew Gwinnett and a group of Adelaide businessmen formed Arrowcrest to buy out the business, and by 1990, ROH had delivered one million wheels to Nissan alone, and was making 600,000 alloy wheels per year.

While Australia no longer has a home-grown vehicle manufacturing sector, the Gwinnett family has retained ROH, although in recent times it too has struggled.

Adam Gwinnett said despite the business having good structures in place, when he joined the company it was operating at a loss.

“The original managing director and operations manager put great processes in place .... then when Covid hit there was a huge boom which came with that and our sales went through the roof,’’ he said.

“Luckily, thanks to the structures the previous management had put in place, we were able to withstand that growth and capitalise on that boom.’’

ROH Wheels is investing in new designs and responding to market needs. Picture: Supplied

Mr Gwinnett said the company was realistic about the potential for sales to drop off once the pandemic’s hold on the economy loosened, however with an increased investment in marketing and ongoing product development, that has not eventuated.

ROH has been growing at a compound annual rate of 25 per cent since 2019, with profits surging even more, at better than 50 per cent year on year.

Some of the innovations which have helped bolster the growth include an increased social media marketing presence, as well as an online visualiser which can be used to create an image of how a customer’s car would look with a new set of ROH wheels attached.

Mr Gwinnett said the company was also able to respond quickly to consumer trends, with its staff on the ground at events and getting feedback via social media, meaning they were able to refer customer suggestions to the design team.

“We reinvested heavily into our overall strategy and never experienced that post-pandemic decline,’’ Mr Gwinnett said.

Adam Gwinnett with marketing coordinator Will Cross and marketing manager Alex Hristopoulos. Picture: Keryn Stevens

“The biggest factor in our turnaround has been the people, the ones who have come on and those who stayed on.

“Every day we want to get better as a team. We love embracing data to make informed decisions, especially around marketing.’’

The company designs the wheels in Adelaide, while manufacturing is done offshore. The company sells its wheels across Australia and increasingly is looking to export markets.

“Six years ago (the export market) was basically non-existent, now it’s worth several million dollars and it’s definitely a key focus for future growth,’’Mr Gwinnett said.

The company is also now distributing Predator Tyres, picking up the US brand after a period of market research to figure out gaps in the Australian market.

“We’ll continue to grow that brand. We have very high hopes for it. Our sales have so far exceeded expectations,’’ Mr Gwinnett said.

Mr Gwinnett said the 4WD market for wheels in Australia had been dominated by US brands for years, but being Australian-owned and designed gave ROH a strong marketing edge.

Originally published as ROH Wheels has capitalised on a pandemic boom to keep sales solid with a focus on innovation