Advanced Engineering

17/08/2026

Countless hours have already gone into this project to get it to this stage just from the planning and design aspect not to mention the countless hours of fundraising to even make this project possible

Very proud to be a part of this project and with the team at Sheet Metalcraft delivering the first lot of profiles today we are straight into fabrication

Cant thank everyone enough for making this project what it is, Save The Colac Bay Surfer,the Colac Bay Progress League and southland district council for the trust and support to get this off the ground, Deow Owen for the epic concept and all the ongoing ground work, Evan Thomas from Made Evident for his unbelevable design work to bring the concept to life and trasition it from a drawing to a full 3d cut and fold file and Nathan, Hayden and the team at Sheetmetal Craft for all their hard work in the design stages and the many hours going into laser cutting and folding the 2.5 tonne of corten and 380+ pieces to bring this surfer to life

The first 2 pieces stitched together marks the start of a big moutain to climb for Advanced Engineering but we couldnt be happier to get stuck in!

24/06/2026

I wasnt planning on showing this until it was completed but i just couldnt help myself.

This whale tail is somthing iv wanted to do for a long time and with the Save The Colac Bay Surfer project full steam ahead i thought, what better time to keep with the ocean theme.

Iv been playing around with diffrent finishes, more so blueing steel with heat and i have had some good results so this could be somthing i look at for the finish on this piece

I also started putting together a nautical star, iv used both grade 250 steel and corten and i am going to test out a new to us product that allows the steel to be weathered to its desired look and then sealed, hoping to get some good contrast in colours between the diffrent steels

This whale tail is yet to find its forever home so if its somthing you could be interested in feel free to get in touch

08/06/2026

Due to a huge backlog of work, our office hours will be from 9-3 for the forseable future.

Anything outside these hours will be by appointment only

Cheers team

26/05/2026

26/05/2026

Advanced Engineering are proud to announce that we have come on board with local artist Deow Owen to breathe new life into not only the iconic colac bay surfer but also the community

We feel very honoured and humbled to have the trust and support of not only danny to bring his vision to life but also the colac bay community,council and Colac Bay and Districts Progress League

This type of work is somthing we are very passionate about and we are backed by a team of local southland businesses to conquer the task

Keep an wye out on our socials as this project progresses over the coming months

04/05/2026

🚨 NOW HIRING 🚨
ENGINEERS WANTED
Join the team at Advanced Engineering
We’re chasing a skilled Engineer or Journeyman to jump into our busy workshop.
🔧 WHAT WE DO
• Light, medium & heavy fabrication
• Alloy & stainless work
• Automotive fabrication
• Maintenance & breakdowns
• Hydraulic repairs
• Custom & bespoke builds
💥 WHY JOIN US?
• No two days are the same
• Varied, hands-on work
• Solid team environment
• Pay based on experience
👊 WHAT WE CARE ABOUT
Experience > Qualifications
If you can do the job, we want you.
📞 GET IN TOUCH
Zac Kean
📱 022 176 6053
📧 [email protected]

29/04/2026

We have had such good feedback from the sculputres we have already done that we are looking at our next project

We want to go even bigger, if this is something that you or someone you know would be interested in give us a call

08/04/2026

Keep an eye out for us in the local rural life paper

Also we are still on the hunt for another legend to join our team, if your interested give us a call

01/04/2026

Alot of factors come into play even when doing "simple" jobs like fixing this sump that had the corner broken off.

Being a casting creates its own challenges with the quality of the alloy and the casting process, alloy is a porous metal and poor casting can amplify this, which on parts like sumps meen that the oil soaks into the metal over time

Another challenge is if the casting has been broken under stress the part can hold that stress and when heat is applied in the way of pre heating and welding the part begins to crack even more.

Luckily for us everything went to plan on this sump, here is a few pictures of our process and the finished product, as pictured the weld cap has been left on where possible to add extra strength