Heavy truck body and trailer manufacturer Mills-Tui Rotorua Limited has changed hands.

The company, which specialises in designing and manufacturing a full range of heavy transport truck and trailer units, fire appliances, ambulances, defence vehicles and other high-tech specialty vehicles, has been bought by husband and wife Dean and Carey-lee Purves.

The buyout, effective at the end of January, will see the company operate as Mills-Tui Limited, while continuing to work from the Rotorua site it's occupied for over 30 years.

Dean Purves says that in three decades Mills-Tui has become recognised internationally as "being at the forefront of innovation, design and customer focus in the field of customised vehicles, emergency vehicle manufacture and project management."

Purves has over 20 years' experience in the automotive, finance and heavy transport industries – most recently as FleetPartners' heavy commercial GM.

Prior to that he held senior management roles with TCL Isuzu and Manheim, giving him "an in-depth knowledge of truck and trailer specifications, sales and finance," he says.

He is, he adds, "really excited to be taking over Mills-Tui. The brand has a rich history in NZ transport and turns out high quality and innovative truck bodies and trailers."

He says that former owner Jeff Miller will continue with the new company as its engineering manager and adds that all existing staff are being retained. In fact, says Purves, "with a strong outlook for forward orders, we're already looking at recruiting additional staff to meet the demand."