Australian export case study For Australian-born Colin Fitzgerald, there is nothing better than heading for the bush in a 4x4, evenings by a camp fire, and only the stars above.
Driving in the bush or on untarred roads necessitates good suspension in your vehicle and here Colin Fitzgerald has pulled off that rarest of successes – turning the thing he likes best into a profitable business – and thereby gaining the best of both worlds.
His company, 4X4 Megaworld, is the distributor in South Africa for ARB, Australia’s largest manufacturer and distributor of 4X4 accessories.
When Colin was asked by ARB to set up its African distribution fourteen years ago he took up the challenge, knowing that he was all but destined to succeed.
“It was easy really,” he said. “I knew I could supply excellent 4X4 suspension in a place where it was definitely needed.”
In the intervening years his business has grown from delivering ‘shocks’ from the boot of his car to a thriving company of over a hundred people, with 4X4 Megaworld branches across South Africa.
Colin said he has always owned 4X4s: Land Cruisers, Land Rovers, Jeeps, Austin Champs, Suzukis, and many more – a practice which began when he was a small boy and given his first Series 1 by his father.
On the 1.5 million acre sheep and cattle station in Western Australia where he grew up, the terrain ranged from mud to rock and sand. “Learning to drive a 4x4 was not only required,” he said, “but taken for granted. “I guess it all started from there.” |