NZ Truck & Driver April 2019

NZ TRUCK & DRIVER

FREE GIANT TRUCK POSTER LIFTOUT

| April 2019

April 2019 $8.50 incl. GST

BIG TEST Quality in the quarry | FLEET FOCUS So…what’s with the pink! | FEATURE The good old Kiwi way

FLEET FOCUS SO...WHAT’S WITH THE PINK!

FEATURE THE GOOD OLD KIWI WAY

The Official Magazine of the

ISSN 1174-7935 Issue 222

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CONTENTS Issue 222 – April 2019 2

News

44 Fleet Focus

The latest in the world of transport, including….European governments need to urgently provide the infrastructure to make the EU’s tough new CO2 emissions standards even possible, truckmakers say; New Zealand Truck & Driver’s 20year milestone; new Hino 500 “smarter, stronger, safer”

22 Giti Tyres Big Test Christchurch quarry operator Isaac Construction is running NZ’s first Iveco Astra HHD9 8x6 dumptruck as a testcase – to see if it’s a more profitable, more comfortable alternative to articulated dumptrucks. We find out how that’s going

37 Transport Forum Latest news from the Road Transport Forum NZ, including…..CEO Nick Leggett questions the rationale of the Government’s fix for vocational training in NZ; first-hand experience contributions needed for substance-impaired driving safety programme

For Barry and Debbie Hart, the owners of Auckland’s Hart Haulage, adopting pink as the standout colour on their trucks is no gimmick. Pink is the global colour for the anti-bullying movement and for the Harts this is very, very personal – son Josh having been bullied mercilessly for 10 years… but now in his “happy place,” behind the wheel of a bright pink Western Star

stretch of busy State Highway 1 was a toddler his first thought was “we’re in trouble here.” Then he snapped into panic mode – injuring himself as he did what he had to….to avoid an “horrendous” tragedy

80/ PPG Transport Imaging 81 Awards Recognising NZ’s best-looking truck fleets….including a giant pullout poster of this month’s finalist

FEATURES

COLUMNS

58 The good old Kiwi way When fires left Nelson farmers desperately short of feed for their stock, South Island truckies generously met the need – freely giving their trucks and their time to cart 267 tonnes of donated feed

69 Out of America The Freightliner Cascadia is to be launched in NZ next year – the replacement for the Argosy cabover. North American correspondent Steve Sturgess has just been driving the very latest US version of the Freightliner flagship

81 Sector Workforce Engagement Programme SWEP is working with the industry on Government migrant worker proposals

85 National Road Carriers Association Collaboration is the key to industry success in the year ahead, says CEO David Aitken

87 RTANZ An inquiry into the issuing of WoFs by a Dargaville garage provides some clear insights into possible changes in the way the NZ Transport Agency operates

77 Castrol Truck Driver Hero When career truckie Rex Temm realised that the “object” on the side of a rural

89 TRT Recently Registered New truck and trailer registrations for February

MANAGEMENT Publisher

Advertising

Trevor Woolston 027 492 5600 trevor@trucker.co.nz Trevor Woolston 027 492 5600 trevor@trucker.co.nz Hayden Woolston 027 448 8768 hayden@trucker.co.nz

EDITORIAL Editor

Wayne Munro 021 955 099 waynemunro@xtra.co.nz

Editorial office Phone

PO Box 48 074 AUCKLAND 09 826 0494

Associate Editor

Brian Cowan

CONTRIBUTORS

Brian Cowan Gerald Shacklock Dave McLeod Hayley Leibowitz Steve Sturgess Robin Yates

ART DEPARTMENT Design & Production Luca Bempensante Zarko Mihic

EQUIPMENT GUIDE AUCKLAND, NORTHLAND, BOP, WAIKATO, CENTRAL NORTH ISLAND Advertising Don Leith 027 233 0090 don@trucker.co.nz AUCKLAND, LOWER NORTH ISLAND, SOUTH ISLAND Advertising Hayden Woolston 027 448 8768 hayden@trucker.co.nz

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Opinions expressed in the magazine are not necessarily the opinions of, or endorsed by, the publisher.

NZ Truck & Driver Magazine

Net circulation – ended 30/09/2018

11,889

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Truck & Driver | 1

NEWS

Europe’s truckmakers say that the infrastructure to support large numbers of electric trucks – or those fuelled by hydrogen or natural gas – simply doesn’t exist

New Euro emissions regs “highly ambitious” EUROPE’S FIRST-EVER CO2 EMISSIONS LEVELS FOR trucks are “highly ambitious” and “highly demanding,” truckmakers say.

The recommended regulations will specify a 15% reduction in CO2 emissions from 2019 levels by 2025….and a 30% cut by 2030.

The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) says that achieving the targets “does not depend solely on the commercial vehicle industry…”

And ACEA secretary general Erik Jonnaert calls on EU member states “to urgently step up their efforts to roll out the infrastructure required for charging and refuelling the alternatively-powered trucks which will need to be sold en masse if these targets are to be met.”

ACEA says data shows that there is currently no public charging or refuelling infrastructure suitable for electric or hydrogen trucks – and truck-specific filling stations for natural gas (CNG or LNG), is also minimal and “patchy” across Europe.

Part of the EU proposal would see mandatory sales quotas for zeroemission trucks that the EU institutions have agreed to introduce from 2025 onwards (via the ‘benchmark’ system).

Erik Jonnaert: “The introduction of a benchmark system for truck manufacturers totally ignores the demand side. We cannot expect transport operators to suddenly start buying electric or other alternatively-powered trucks if there is no business case for them and it is not possible to easily charge the vehicles along all major EU motorways.

“Policymakers must act to ensure that the zero-emission trucks that manufacturers will be mandated to produce can actually be bought and 2 | Truck & Driver

operated by our customers.”

Also, given that this is the first time the EU sets CO2 standards for trucks, “it’s extremely worrying that many supportive measures that could contribute to reaching the targets” – including longer vehicle combinations and alternative fuels – have been deferred until at least 2025.

The EU says that truck manufacturers who don’t comply with the new standards will be hit with financial penalties, in the form of excess emissions premiums.

But it also says it will strengthen incentives for manufacturers to build low emissions and zero emission trucks.

The truck CO2 emissions standards follow similar regulations on cars and light commercials, introduced last December – the tough regulations part of the EU’s plan to combat global warming by slashing greenhouse gas emissions to a “net zero” level by 2050.

The EU says that the truck CO2 emissions standards are “a further stepping stone for modernising the European mobility sector and preparing it for climate neutrality in the second half of the century.”

Its aim is to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030, while bringing fuel savings for transport operators and cleaner air for the European population.

Volvo Trucks president Roger Alm says that “it’s natural for the EU to now introduce limits on CO2 emissions.”

But he adds: “In order to speed up the transition, we would however also like to see stronger financial incentives for the customers who take the lead and choose more climate-friendly vehicles.” T&D

NEWS

With you for 20 years NEW ZEALAND TRUCK & DRIVER HAS NOW notched up 20 years as the country’s leading road transport magazine.

The magazine first appeared on news-stands nationwide in March 1999 – its cover featuring a truck that would still command respect today: Bob Anderson’s Western Star 6900 off-highway logger – boasting a 600-horsepower CAT engine….and a 180-tonne rating.

Then, as now, the Road Transport Forum was using its section of the magazine to represent the industry on Government policies.

Then Forum CEO Tony Friedlander was arguing for the provision of better roads and fighting against the “idiot ideas” spawned by the National Land Transport Strategy. Sounds familiar, right!

And the first of what’s now become a list of 220 companies featured in our monthly Fleet Focus profiles, was a worthy one: NZ Express – one of the country’s oldest (if not THE oldest) transport operators.

That first issue 20 years back also saw NZ Truck & Driver achieve

higher circulation and stronger advertising support than the existing magazines of the time – something that it’s continued to do ever since – says founder and publisher Trevor Woolston.

He puts its instant success down to “a strong and loyal association with the Road Transport Forum” – as well as his history in the industry with previous publications.... “delivering high levels of service and results for advertisers.”

Recalls Woolston: “When we took the new NZ Truck & Driver magazine out into the marketplace we had immediate results. Many advertisers were completely disenchanted with the existing magazines and the large international publishing companies who published them – so they made the switch immediately.

“Also, our great relationship with Forum CEO Tony Friedlander allowed us to put together a relationship that has stood the test of time.

“With Tony’s departure we continued our strong support for the Forum – working closely with Ken Shirley, who also strongly valued the NZ Truck & Driver launched at Transport 99 – alongside the firstfeature relationship. Now, in our 21st year, we’re working with new CEO Nick Freightliner Argosy...and the just-launched Sterling brand Leggett – and once again we’re looking forward to seeing the RTF continue to represent this very important industry.” feature Over the two decades, NZ Truck & Driver has been involved in feature many initiatives to support the industry – not least of all the current schools programme, whereby Allied Publications fully funds the supply of the magazine to almost every school in the country.

Says Woolston: “This was introduced to give the industry a higher profile amongst young people, with a view to getting more of them involved in the industry. It appears to be working, with very good feedback from the schools and vocational guidance staff.”

Woolston says that one disappointment, looking back over the past 20 years, is that the Forum hasn’t become more unified.

“It’s still made up of factions who, from time to time, threaten to pull it apart. The industry needs to work on a more united NZ-wide RASH of new trucks will arrive on the New Zealand market this year front and come together to represent an industry that is extremely with an unprecedented 23 models from 12 makes launched at this month’s Transport 99 show. important to the future economic growth of this country.”

Woolston says that the magazine, with current growth in its print and digital presences, “is on track for another 20 years of strong business.” T&D

Transport 99

starts truck rush A

mistic about this year. It helps too that Mack also has arriving here its new electronic E-Tech engine, rated at 460hp.The show engine is installed in a conventional CH - a truck that continues to be strong seller for Mack here.

There has, Sowerby says, been “a high level of enquiry so far this year:

People are beginning to ignore what the Government has been doing and are getting on with business.

And with the currency also looking like stabilising, it should be a much better 1999. ” Scania did well last year slipping only 4% with the sale of 69 trucks (and that didn’t include 23 fire appliance 44

Above: Freightliner Argosy the first all-new North American cabover in years. Top inset: Once a Ford, now a Sterling. This is the LT 9500

sales) - CablePrice Truck & Bus GM Niell Hamilton explaining : “Scania traditionally does well in a declining market, and the tradition seems to be holding up here.”

For Transport 99 new Scania product is limited to the debut of the DSC12, fully-electronic 12-litre engine, featuring

TRUCK & DRIVER

Many manufacturers reckon the new-model releases are at extraordinary, record-setting levels.

Others insist there’s a normal level of genuine new models - with the situation being exaggerated by revamps, updates and re-badging.

And there’s a similarly-divided view

from manufacturers on where the market is headed for the rest of 1999 - some predicting another difficult year, made worse by the number of models on the market.....

While others report a buoyant to ‘99 and are citing an upturn start in logging trade and a generally-b the righter

economic outlook as factors in an expected recovery year.

Undeniably, Transport 99 is witnessing the introduction of an entirely new, 12-model lineup of Hino midrange trucks and the first public showing in Australasia of Freightliner ’s two Century Class models and its Argosy.

Korean truckmaker Daewoo is making its NZ debut and the Dutch DAF is returning with two models.

The show also features the public launch of Iveco’s new and dramatically-distinctive PowerStar 6500 and 7500 trucks...and the first Kiwi showing of three of Kenworth’s latest: The Australian-developed T604 conventional, the K104 and a T401 integrated sleeper.

Mercedes Benz shows an Atego for the first time, ditto for the 4x4 like-aDAF-only-different Foden Alpha (it actually has a variant of the DAF cab, on a Foden chassis) and Mack launches its Australian-developed Qantam cabover.

Isuzu has two new models in the F-Series lineup - the FVR9000 and the FVZ 6x4, with a factory six-speed Allison automatic transmission - and Volvo will launch its cabover FM12 and Western Star its new 5800 Constellatio n.

Finally, in the truly new product lineup at Transport 99, there’s the Sterling range: Even if the three models are largely re-badged Fords, this is the NZ launch of the new brand.

And then there are a few new/notso-new trucks going on show - and on the market: Like the Iveco MP4500 twin-steer and the EuroStar LD 5500/ S60 (not truly brand-new in NZ, but still making their first public appearances). Same thing for International 9800 8x4 twin-steer. the And Nissan Diesel’s 460hp Super Mikado - here in prototype form for years, but not till now in production form.

Likely show-stoppers, the Century Class and Argosy, are - not surprisingly - seen as Freightliner’s means to gaining good sales this year. Mercedes Benz and Freightliner spokesman David Ballantyne expects that the new technology in the trucks, along with their lighter tare weights, will be key attractions.

The bonneted Century Class comes to NZ in two models - the Caterpillar C12-powered C112 and the deep-

Truck & Driver | 3

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NEWS

Created to meet the needs of longdistance European trucking, the FH with I-Save employs a package of measures to optimise fuel economy

Fuel miser Volvo FH TD29297

VOLVO HAS UNVEILED A NEW FUEL-SAVING VERSION of the FH, which it says cuts fuel use by as much as 7%.

The Volvo FH with I-Save uses a new turbo compound development of the D13 Step D Euro 6 engine that optimises fuel economy – adding to that a package of other features including new fuel-efficient rear axles, an updated map-based I-See predictive cruise control system that analyses and adapts to gradients ahead, and gearshifting software designed for longhaul cruising.

The FH with I-Save is specifically targeted at European long-haul operations, in which trucks cover long distances across the Continent, mostly running on motorways. The aim is to optimise fuel economy... without compromising drivability.

The new model recognises the combined effects of rising diesel prices and a trend for trans-Continental operators to cover increasingly longer distances.

The new D13TC engine

Volvo Trucks president Roger Alm says that Volvo FH with I-Save “is our answer to this challenge. It is a complete solution that combines our latest technology to substantially bring down fuel consumption in longhaul operations.”

At the core of Volvo FH with I-Save is the new, state-of-the-art D13TC – the truckmaker’s most fuel-efficient long-haul engine yet, with pistons that have a patented wave-shaped interior to improve combustion and increase efficiency by guiding heat and energy to the centre of the cylinders.

Excess energy in the exhaust gases is then used to power the engine through the turbo compound unit – an additional turbine in the exhaust flow.

Volvo says that the D13TC engine – now available in Europe in either 343kilowatts/460 horsepower with 2600Nm/1917 lb ft or 372kW/500hp and 2800Nm/2065 lb ft – produces up to 300Nm more torque.

And that, it adds, means less acceleration and fuel is needed to maintain a steady speed in highway traffic – ideal for long-haul operation.

The D13TC Euro 6 step D with the I-Save long-haul fuel package is up to 7% better on fuel than the identically-powered D13 eSCR Euro 6 step D engine…without the long haul fuel package. Of course, fuel economy varies due to many factors including the use of cruise control, vehicle spec, load, topography, the driver’s experience and weather conditions, Volvo points out.

Volvo Trucks’ powertrain strategy director Mats Franzen says: “We have tailored every aspect of I-Save to suit long-haul operators, especially those that typically drive more than 120,000kms per year. The longer they drive, the more they can potentially save.”

The I-Save features include new, highly fuel-efficient rear axles, engine idle shutdown, I-Cruise with I-Roll (which adjusts speed to keep down fuel consumption), a power steering pump with variable displacement, updated I-See software, and long-haul-optimised I-Shift software. T&D Truck & Driver | 5

NEWS

Mainfreight uses IoT tracking MAINFREIGHT, NEW ZEALAND’S largest freight and logistics company, is one of the 14% of Kiwi businesses now using an Internet of Things solution.

According to IoT service provider Spark, the early adoption of an IoT solution by Mainfreight and others has helped rank NZ as the fourth most IoT-ready country – even compared to G20 countries and despite our relatively small GDP and population.

Spark now has its first end-to-end IoT asset tracking service available to NZ businesses – and it’s already being employed by Mainfreight to keep tabs on hundreds of segregation bins used to transport hazardous goods.

Spark says its IoT service can bring together extensive IoT networks and a selection of cost-effective IoT devices, paired with digital monitoring dashboards and a support service provided by Spark’s daytime help desk.

Spark’s digital services lead Michael Stribling, says asset tracking is consistently ranked as a top use case for IoT across consumer, business and industrial markets: “Industry forecasts indicate the number of devices using tracking location will grow by 40% in the next two years.

“However mainstream adoption has been slow due to high cost, the complexity of deployment, technology limitations and the small number of technology providers offering scaled IoT solutions.

“Our move into providing an end-to-end IoT asset tracking service means we’re providing

businesses with key digital services that will allow them the best chance to innovate and succeed in a digital world.

“Spark’s scale and expertise in the IoT industry and our newly-launched nationwide networks means we’ve been able to launch a product that is competitively priced, and we can provide proven guidance to businesses on how to deploy and adopt IoT that fits their needs.”

Mainfreight’s Chemcouriers subsidiary is using Spark’s service to digitally monitor workflow and asset utilisation and Mainfreight CIO Kevin Drinkwater says: “We have over 400 segregation bins, that each cost in excess of $4000, that would previously go missing or be misplaced.

“And, on top of that, we need to abide by the stringent policies we’ve put in place to ensure our people and the public are safe when we transport hazardous goods.

“Before IoT, locating these assets was very much a manual process – with the team undertaking stocktakes around our depots, counting bins and sending reports back to the office. By the time this happened, the data was already out of date.

“Now we see GPS locations of bins mapped to one dashboard and are alerted in real-time when something is where it shouldn’t be or has been stationary for too long.

“That’s important because we get imbalances on our network – a lot goes south from Auckland, so we need to know when to drag them back.

“Receiving automated alerts means we have

improved our logistics planning and our asset network can be rebalanced faster, resulting in more productive asset utilisation and reduced cost as fewer bins are required in circulation.”

Businesses wanting to keep track of their assets using the Spark IoT solution will pay a one-off device fee, ranging from $100 to $280 per device, plus a monthly subscription per connected device – costing between $7 and $17. T&D Mainfreight is an early adopter of IoT tracking – keeping tabs on 400 segregation bins used by Chemcouriers to transport hazardous goods. Tracking devices (below) allow the bins to be easily traced for better utilisation and reduced costs (bottom)

6 | Truck & Driver

Fuso Ca

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New Canter gets you home safely night after night.

The number one selling light-duty truck will now be in even greater demand. This year’s model boasts some significant safety improvements: Active Emergency Braking System Takes independent action to initiate full emergency braking to avoid accidents with vehicles or pedestrians.

Electronic Stability Program Improves vehicle stability and the risk of roll over by detecting skidding and applying brakes to individual wheels.

Lane Departure Warning System Warns the driver when vehicle moves out of it’s lane.

New 7” Multimedia and Reversing Camera Featuring Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for safe, hands-free communication and navigation via smartphone.

Passenger Airbag An additional airbag to enhance passenger safety.

These new active safety features will help you get home safely night after night.

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NEWS

Smarter, stronger, safer HINO NEW ZEALAND HAS LAUNCHED ITS NEW 500 Series Standard Cab model, which it reckons is “smarter, stronger and safer than its predecessors.”

The Japanese make’s medium-duty model not only gets a new cab, it’s also loaded with high-tech options, including adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and collision avoidance systems, plus vehicle stability control.

The new mid-ranger (the 500 Series covers a big lineup of models stretching from 10.4 tonne to 26 tonne gross ratings) also comes with a twin-turbo A05C engine that delivers up to 194kW/260 horsepower and, in some instances has an 11% increase in torque – up from 794 Newton metres/585 lb ft, to 882Nm/650 lb ft.

There’s also a new dashboard and a new driver’s seat, in a completely redesigned cab interior.

“We wanted to make a truck that can be used by everyone, for any job,” says Hino NZ’s general manager Darren Salt.

“We know our customers need the latest technologies in order to compete in their field. This Hino will be the herald of a new generation of trucks.”

Salt says the new 500 Series is “a modern player. We’ve redesigned every aspect of the truck to make it more versatile and an ideal fit for absolutely any of our drivers’ needs.”

Hino Motors chief engineer Shigeru Nakada says that the truck market now demands “not only loading capacity, roadability and durability, but also safety, driveability and comfortability.

“In developing the new Hino we sought to produce a sophisticated brand-new product that will outperform the current truck and its competitors.”

The Hino’s Pre-Collision Safety System automatically maintains a safe following distance to vehicles ahead – warning the driver and cutting the truck’s speed if necessary.

The launch of the 500 Series Standard Cab comes in the midst of Hino’s Japan 2019 competition, which sees every buyer of a new Hino before the end of June in a draw to win one of eight all-expenses-paid trips to Japan for the Rugby World Cup. The package includes flights, tickets to the opening ceremony, the Japan versus Russia and All Blacks v South Africa pool games…plus guided sightseeing, accommodation and a tour of the Hino factory. T&D

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NEWS

The new Hino 500 Series Standard Cab model boasts high-tech safety features...plus a completely redesigned cab interior

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You will be operating quad side tippers carting bulk materials from the mine sites to the port.

• Efficient operation of quad trailer road trains • Complete all necessary associated documentation (such as the preparation and signing of cartage dockets and service requests) • Be able to treat our equipment with care and respect • Candidates will be required to demonstrate a willingness to work within these environmental conditions As part of our employment process, all employees will be required to undertake a pre-employment medical and ongoing drug and alcohol screening To be considered for this role, successful applicants will possess the following: • Current MC licence or relevant experience • Current Commercial Driver Medical • Detailed (5 year) Driver History Report.

• Current National Police Clearance • Must have a minimum of 5 years’ heavy commercial vehicle experience • Current Drug and Alcohol Screen • Competent 18 Speed Road Ranger experience • Provide references Great ongoing prospects are available for candidates that have a fantastic attitude, demonstrate capability across all areas and have a proven commitment to both themselves and their employer Benefits • We are offering excellent wages (negotiable by experience) • Very friendly and flexible roster (Residential and FIFO) • Flight and meal allowance (weekly) • Accommodation and transportation provided

Please direct all enquiries about this position to: hr@jamiesontransport.com.au If you are shortlisted you will be sent an application form via email.

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NEWS

The level crossing safety study is the first in NZ to focus on the view of truck drivers

Focus on crossing dangers IMPROVING SAFETY AT RAILWAY LEVEL CROSSINGS will only happen if there is a cohesive and joint effort by central and local Government, rail, road and trucking organisations and Police, according to New Zealand’s heavy vehicle drivers.

This finding comes from research recently carried out for rail safety organisation TRACKSAFE NZ, in collaboration with KiwiRail, NZ Transport Agency and the Road Transport Forum.

TrackSAFE NZ manager Megan Drayton says that, while collisions between trains and heavy vehicles are relatively infrequent compared to vehicle to vehicle accidents on the road, they have the potential for considerable loss of life and serious trauma.

“These incidents are devastating for everyone affected. Each and every collision has a traumatic impact, not just on the victims and their friends and families, but also the wider community and the emergency services and rail staff involved.”

The research highlighted that drivers (especially those who are newly qualified), need to educate themselves and take time to plan and know their route and their vehicles.

“The simple steps of stopping, looking and listening, as well as focusing on the task at hand, were the key messages that the industry thinks are important,” Ms Drayton says.

However agencies also have a role to play in improving safety at level crossings, and drivers made a number of suggestions, says Drayton: “These included improving visibility, better signage, road infrastructure improvements and using technology such as apps to alert drivers to dangerous crossings.”

The study – the first in NZ to specifically focus on the views of truck drivers operating on and around railway level crossings – found that drivers are acutely aware of the dangers associated with some railway level crossings.

“The drivers told us that they developed strategies to try to make crossing the tracks safer, including using spotters, taking alternative routes and stopping, looking and listening for trains.

“However, this can all be in vain if visibility is poor, or if drivers are forced to stop with part of their vehicle on the railway tracks,” says Ms Drayton.

“More than 400 public level crossings in NZ – around 31% of all level crossings – have been identified as having a short stacking distance. This means a long vehicle will not be able to completely clear the level crossing when it’s stopped at an adjacent road intersection.

“Heavy vehicle drivers worry that this situation will only get worse as bigger trucks become more common on NZ roads and the number of trains increase.

“Unexpectedly, the research also found that heavy vehicle drivers generally believe that railway level crossings are safer than roads, although this depends on the type and location of the crossing, on driver experience and situational awareness,” Drayton says.

“Heavy vehicle drivers do not think that NZ roads are generally that safe. They put this down to poor driving standards – speeding, dangerous overtaking, indecisiveness, texting – as much as they do to the state of the road network itself.”

The research also found that heavy vehicle drivers believe most NZ motorists don’t understand the challenges of driving a heavy vehicle and why heavy vehicle drivers take the actions they do.

“If motorists understood the challenges of driving a big truck it would improve safety on the roads generally as well as at level crossings.”

TRACKSAFE hopes that the results of the research, which included a survey of around 400 drivers and are now being circulated widely throughout the industry, will help in the development of a new level crossing safety campaign in 2019 – and will “inform engineering improvements to better accommodate heavy vehicles at level crossings.” T&D Truck & Driver | 11

NEWS

Mondiale’s Tom Walker (left) gets the keys to his new MercedesBenz X-Class ute from Fuso NZ MD Kurtis Andrews

Tom takes truck prize MONDIALE FREIGHT SERVICES has added an unusual new (and small) truck to its operation – at no cost!

The new Mercedes-Benz X-Class Power utility truck comes courtesy of Fuso New Zealand – the prize in a lucky draw promotion open to everyone who bought an 8x4 FUSO HD in the last six months of 2018.

Mondiale transport operations/fleet manager Tom Walker was invited to Keith Andrews Trucks, Manukau – where he’d recently ordered an HD FS3147 Hi Top – to take delivery of the X-Class.

The “surprised and delighted” Walker, who’s been in road transport most of his working life and with Mondiale for 18 years, has been told by Mondiale’s directors that he can keep the ute as his new company vehicle.

It is, the company says, recognition of his service to the company and for his long relationship with FUSO and Keith Andrews Trucks. The HD purchase that won Mondiale the X-Class draw was the 21st FUSO in its 26-truck fleet.

Says the company: “We are NZ’s largest privately-owned international freight-forwarding

business and have a mix of FUSO trucks. Not just big container trucks – we have a good number of Fighters and Canters in the mix also.

“We’re progressively adding to our fleet and FUSO will continue to be a big part of that, because they’re comfortable, good-looking and give us a good return on investment.”

Fuso NZ managing director Kurtis Andrews says he’s “pleased to give back a bit extra to FUSO’s customers – especially the likes of Mondiale, who have shown loyalty to the brand over many years.” T&D

New oral fluids drug testing standard set A NEW TRANS-TASMAN STANDARD FOR THE TESTING of oral fluids for drugs provides a framework and guidelines “to ensure that oral fluid testing is carried out in a way that will deliver accurate, reliable results,” The Drug Detection Agency (TDDA) believes.

The standard for oral fluid testing processes and technologies now agreed by both Standards Australia and Standards NZ dictates consistency around testing methodology, the quality of devices required, and how labs manage test samples, TDDA says.

“The new standardisation delivers value to employees and employers alike,” says CEO Kirk Hardy.

TDDA says it is “on track” to be the first to achieve Australasian accreditation and provide an independent and reliable, externally-audited oral fluid drug testing collection service to International Standards Organisation (ISO) levels.

TDDA-Omega Laboratories is also seeking accreditation for the provision of 12 | Truck & Driver

laboratory confirmation services.

“If a drug tester follows the standard, they’ll use a process that ensures the testing carried out meets the requirements of the AS/NZS 4760:2019, giving it more scientific rigour to withstand legal challenges. We’re also in the process of verifying a device to meet the criteria of the new standard” says Hardy.

Even with standardisation improvements with collection, Hardy warns that oral fluid testing isn’t a catch-all testing product, and not all workplace testers are accredited or will follow the standard.

“Businesses who care about compliance and the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 need to make sure they’re using an independent, accredited, certified tester that follows the new standard. But companies also need to understand it’s not a one size fits all test,” says Hardy.

TDDA recommends utilising a range of different testing methods, such as a mixture of oral fluid, urine and hair testing. T&D

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NEWS

MITO critical of proposed reforms INDUSTRY TRAINING ORGANISATION MITO IS concerned that wide-ranging reforms proposed to vocational education in New Zealand are “a step too far.”

It believes that the proposed changes “will exacerbate skills shortages, seriously undermine the apprenticeship and training system.

“The current apprenticeship and training model managed by industry training organisations is effective and economically lean, but has been completely sidelined in the new proposals,” says MITO chief executive Janet Lane.

For every $1million invested in the tertiary sector, training arranged by industry training organisations (ITOs) qualifies 300 skilled workers, compared to 50 qualified by polytechnics, she says.

The proposal is for ITOs to be disbanded and the responsibility of developing qualifications transferred to Industry Skills Bodies – with the delivery of training managed by one national institution, combining the current 16 polytechnics.

Under this structure, the national institution would take over the current 145,000 apprentices and trainees (with 25,000 employers), plus the existing 110,000 polytechnic enrolments.

The Government proposal is to put all of NZ’s apprentices and trainees Caption and polytechnic enrolments under the care of one national institution

Says Lane: “ITOs already work with industry effectively to develop the workforce development outcomes required through qualifications and training programmes. We provide training resources and assessment, often online, and we visit the apprentice and their employer in the workplace, where the training happens. Our educational performance indicators highlight our value and effectiveness.

“The polytechnic sector is in a perilous state; $100m in extra funding has been invested in four polytechnics over the past year, with more under siege.

We agree that the polytechnic sector needs to be stabilised. It will take some time to consolidate the sector. This should be the paramount priority and the first step in future-proofing these valued community resources.

“The next step needs wider consultation, with options for industry to consider. Simply transferring 145,000 ITO apprentices and learners to a newly-formed national institution will create unnecessary disruption in this period of significant skills shortages across industries in NZ. “The proposals represent the largest shift in NZ’s tertiary education and training system in over 25 years.” MITO, she says, doesn’t believe that a sixweek period for consultation provides sufficient time for “robust debate and meaningful consideration of the far-reaching implications.” T&D

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Mums are being treated to driving experiences in trucks in the UK

Mums in

trucks TRUCKS ARE PLAYING AN INCREASING role in Mothers’ Day in Great Britain – with a spike in demand for track day driving experiences in trucks for mums.

Brits reportedly splash out the equivalent of $NZ1.16billion on Mothers’ Day spending – and TrackDays.co.uk points out that not all of that is going on traditional presents like flowers, jewellery and clothing.

The company offers “unique drive experiences” in Volvo FH16 600, DAF XF and Renault Magnum tractor units (each with semitrailers hooked up), plus a so-called “Optimus Prime” sleeper cab Peterbilt. They’re offered alongside driving experiences in a range of tanks and other military vehicles.

Operations manager Dan Jones says that there’s an increasing interest in the purchase of these heavy-duty driving experiences as Mothers’ Day presents – prompting a 15% spike in sales.

It indicates, he adds, that “Brits want their mums to test their driving skills in some of the most unusual and powerful machines possible.

“Nothing can beat sitting behind the wheel of a monster machine and enjoying the awesome power, performance and handling that’s generated by a truly unique vehicle, whether it’s a tank or a truck.

It’s definitely a different way to spend Mothering Sunday!”

Says Jones: “There’s nothing wrong with giving Mum some flowers or jewellery, but our increase in bookings suggest that Brits are getting bored with traditional gifts.” T&D

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NEWS

Volvo’s FL Electric goes into series production later this year

VOLVO’S FIRST ALL-ELECTRIC TRUCKS HAVE GONE to work in Sweden – the FL Electrics part of a pre-production run built in the leadup to the start of series production later this year.

A refuse truck is operating within the fleet of a waste and recycling company, and a distribution truck is working for giant logistics company DB Schenker and partner haulier TGM. The FL Electrics are the forerunners of limited production of the model, with a 16-tonne gross vehicle weight, and of the more powerful FE Electric, which will have a 27t GVW. They are targeted specifically at urban transport applications, including distribution and refuse handling – their quiet, low emissions operation suiting them well to heavily-populated areas.

“Our close collaboration with drivers and customers has enabled us to develop, in a short space of time, electrified transport solutions that meet high requirements in terms of performance, driving distances, cargo handling and vehicle use,” says Volvo Trucks president Roger Alm. The drivers who will operate the electric trucks had the opportunity to test-drive them prior to delivery, as part of the operator training: “The drivers were particularly impressed with the responsive driveline, delivering fast and

Over 100 FUSO eCanters are now working globally

More electric trucks go to work seamless acceleration, and the low noise level,” says Alm. “We will continue to develop our electrified offering. At the same time, we are steadily reducing the environmental and climate impact of our diesel and gas powered trucks, primarily through energy-efficient drivelines,” he adds.

Meantime, in the United States, the giant Penske Truck Leasing fleet has added the first FUSO eCanter light duty electric trucks to its lineup, putting four of them into its Californian operation.

Penske Truck Leasing, which has a fleet of 300,000 vehicles, had already put fully-electric Freightliner eM2 trucks into its lease fleet last year and CEO Brian Hard says the company continues “to invest in the latest viable innovative vehicle technologies to benefit our customers.

“With a guaranteed range of 100 kilometres and a fast-charging option, the eCanter is a viable option for fleets seeking to reduce tailpipe emissions and noise pollution in urban delivery settings.”

The eCanter, which has a 129kW electric motor and can handle a threetonne payload, is already in work in Japan, USA and widely in Europe – with over 100 trucks in work. Their batteries can be fully recharged overnight with alternating current chargers or direct current – or can be fast-charged in around 105 minutes. T&D

TMC adds Aaron TMC TR AILERS HAS ADDED THE MUCHexperience Aaron Forde to its sales staff.

Forde has taken up the role of TMC’s sales engineer – central, based in Cambridge.

He’s been in the transport industry for over 30 years, having started out as a diesel mechanic and then working on a wide variety of truck makes in New Zealand and Europe. He then switched to management roles, including running service workshops, before getting into truck sales – with makes including Fre i g h t l i n e r, Mercedes-Benz, MAN and FUSO. T&D Truck & Driver | 17

NEWS

Civil contractors believe that better planning of infrastructure work (like the huge Waterview Tunnel project pictured), will allow contractors to better utilise resources and encourage more investment

Contractors like Government’s infrastructure planning proposal THE GOVERNMENT’S PROPOSAL to create Te Waihanga – the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission – as a new autonomous Crown entity to deliver longterm strategy and coordination of infrastructure planning, has welcomed by Civil Contractors NZ. Chief executive Peter Silcock says that the proposal acknowledges “the need to lift the quality of the procurement process and set a unified longterm strategy for NZ’s infrastructure.”

The Commission’s key role of providing impartial, expert advice to inform infrastructure decisionmaking will be essential in tackling the country’s infrastructure deficit and providing better

information about planned work, Silcock says.

“Having an independent body is likely to result in a stronger, better planned and more consistent pipeline of infrastructure work. This will enable contractors to better utilise resources, encouraging greater investment in our people, new technology and productivity.”

Similar infrastructure commissions have been established in Australia and the United Kingdom with successful results, Silcock says.

Here he believes that better longterm planning will help overcome skills shortfalls by creating a more consistent workflow.

And the Commission’s roles in supporting

procurement and delivery, setting best practice in the procurement process and providing a shopfront for projects, will give better value for money for construction projects, businesses and workers, he adds.

“We are delighted that the Government has seen the need for an independent body to set the way forward. An independent infrastructure commission will go a long way to reducing the impact of political swings and divisive debates that have stood in the way of progress.”

He says it’s critical to ensure that competent people are appointed to the Commission to ensure it’s up to the job. T&D

Family expansion THE FAMILY BEHIND THE NEW Zealand distributor of Isringhausen seats, Geemac Trading, is expanding its influence in the transport industry – with the son of founders Gordon and Jan McKendry joining the business.

Callum McKendry this month becomes part of the Geemac and Isringhausen sales team, having earned a commerce degree, majoring in marketing, then building a sales and marketing background.

The McKendry family has owned and operated Geemac Trading for 30 years, the company specialising in Isringhausen truck driver and machinery operator seats.

The ISRI seats are, says Geemac, “often referred to as ‘The World’s Best Driver’s Seat’.....standard equipment in the majority of trucks sold in NZ and Australia.”

18 | Truck & Driver

They’re also the drivers’ seat of choice in NZ’s bus and coach industry and Geemac is the preferred supplier for KiwiRail. It’s also the owner of Seats (NZ) – making it “NZ’s largest drivers’ and operators’ seat supplier.”

Gordon McKendry says that Callum “will bring youth and plenty of computer savvy skills to modernise Geemac. It’s nice to bring the next generation into the company, whilst the old generation can learn new skills themselves and spend a bit more time with key customers.

“Callum is definitely a people’s person and will be hitting the road talking to operators about the safety and comfort of ISRI seats. Drivers are our most important asset in the industry and a good ISRI seat is the answer to keeping them healthy, safe and happy.” T&D

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NEWS

Lithuanian company Girteka Logistics has bought 2000 DAF XFs within a few months

DAF scores triple IN JUST THREE RECENT EUROPEAN ORDERS DAF Trucks has sold a remarkable 2440 trucks – one sale alone accounting for 1500 units.

The latest order sees 540 DAF XFs with Super Space cabs and 355 kilowatt/483 horsepower engines bought by Europe-wide German operator Hegelmann Transporte Group.

Giant Lithuanian operator Girteka Logistics recently bought 1500 XFs – after buying another 500 a few months earlier.

And international waste-to-product company Renewi recently placed a 400-truck order.

Siegfried Hegelmann, whose company runs 2000 trucks and 2000 trailers, says of its order: “To make our international growth strategy a success, we require maximum uptime and the highest possible return per kilometre.”

It also already owned 100 current model XF Super Space Cabs and says that their drivers praise them: “Because there is a large shortage of

professional drivers, this also plays an important role in our choice to once again opt for the DAF XF.” The trucks all have predictive cruise control, lane departure warning systems, advanced emergency braking and adaptive cruise control.

The XF has service intervals of up to 200,000 kilometres and DAF has 1100 dealers and service providers across Europe.

Girteka, which runs a fleet of 5600 trucks and 5800 trailers, says its earlier DAFs “have performed even better than expected.”

CEO Edvardas Liachovi’ius adds: “They are extremely reliable, deliver unmatched fuel efficiency and are highly comfortable for our drivers. With these 1500 new DAF trucks, we can continue to build on our plan to further expand our business throughout Europe.”

The Girteka trucks also have the 355kW/483hp PACCAR MX13 engines and predictive cruise, predictive gearshifting, lane departure warning, AEBS and forward collision warning. T&D

Brausch adds advisors AUCKLAND TRANSPORT OPERATOR GLEN BRAUSCH says his Brausch Trucking business is being restructured – as he steps back from 18 years of running the company alone.

The decision, he says, has been taken after considering whether to sell the business or “move forward.”

This month sees the establishment of an advisory board – Brausch explaining: “We have been fortunate enough to acquire the services of two men who are in astute GM roles in other companies.

“I will be the main shareholder and director of the business for two more years, as these guys slowly increase profit – in turn, rewarding them with shareholding.”

Brent Batters, who Brausch says has “vast industry experience” (including running his own company and filling the role of transport manager in two major

companies), also starts with the company this month as its general manager.

Brausch says that under the guidance of himself and the advisory board the company will maintain a modern fleet and “also keep up with the changing H&S required to keep our staff and public safe.”

To set the platform for the changes, the company has moved into purposebuilt premises in Auckland and Palmerston North.

Brausch says: “I’m excited to move forward after 18 years of running the company on my own and would like to assure our customers, staff and friends that our service and commitment to the industry is still – and will always be – at the forefront of our aspirations to succeed. Our motto is still in place…. ‘excellence and honesty.’

“Letting go of the reins….has been hard for me, but I am still in the background and am available to customers and staff at all times.” T&D Truck & Driver | 21

8:57 PM

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In a minor diversion from its general routine, the truck is loaded with larger-sized stones, destined to be turned into sealing chip. Outstanding chassis and cab stability means the arrival of a scoop of such material can barely be felt inside

T

OM MCGOVERIN LEANS BACK IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT AND sighs happily: “Now this is what I call a top-class workplace.”

We’re midway through a circuit of the Isaac Construction quarry at McLeans Island, just northwest of Christchurch, and Tom is at the wheel of the first Iveco-Astra HHD9 dumptruck in New Zealand.

The first, but quite likely far from the last, because this tallstanding heavy-duty 8x6 is being promoted as a more comfortable and profitable alternative to articulated dumptrucks (ADTs) in the mining, quarrying and heavy construction sectors.

And, though it’s early days yet, Isaacs is finding that the newcomer is delivering on all of its promises as it shares bulk haul duties in the quarry with a pair of Moxy MDT30s and a Volvo A40F – primarily carting pit run to the crushing plant.

During its time in operation the Astra has been ticking all the boxes by way of operator and plant efficiency, reckons quarry manager Adam Waite: “The ADTs typically use around 16 to 18 litres of fuel per hour, while the Astra is down to below 14. It gains in payload as well – able to carry 40t, which is nearly 5t more than the big Volvo, and more than 10t up on the Moxys and the CAT 730 it replaced.

“Its ride is excellent and the cab has all the operator comfort you’d expect from a topline road truck. Because of its multi-speed gearbox and six-wheel-drive it handles the terrain really well – though, as you can see, the quarry is hardly a challenge by way of steep climbs and muddy sections!” It’s true – the biggest climb is probably no more than a 10-metre rise out of the main pit.

The provenance of the Astra is intriguing...as is the structure of its local representation. As a company, Astra goes back to 1946, when it was established in northern Italy to convert war surplus equipment and vehicles to civilian use.

In 1956 the company produced its first heavy duty dumptruck, a field in which it’s been prominent ever since. In 1986 it was acquired by Fiat-controlled Iveco, which in 2011 itself became part of Fiat Industrial. Two years later Fiat Industrial merged with CNH (Case New Holland) Global to form CNH Industrial – the common investment thread being the Agnelli family, founders of Fiat.

Enter AdvanceQuip, the NZ distributor for CNH products – primarily Case excavators and loaders. With Astra now part of the wider CNH portfolio, AdvanceQuip sought and gained distributor rights to the brand, and was able to present the HHD9 as a viable option for Isaac Construction when the quarrying operation began looking for a rigid truck to replace the CAT 730.

The distributorship deal was struck with full support from Iveco NZ, explains AdvanceQuip’s marketing manager Paul Forrest: “Iveco NZ hadn’t previously marketed the Astra brand, and we’ve worked closely with them on this initiative. We have also now been appointed a distributor for Iveco trucks and vans in the lower South Island.

“There is a lot of technical crossover with Iveco road truck models, and we will be working with Iveco NZ on service, parts and warranty support. CNH also has large support facilities for parts out of Sydney.”

The crossover Paul mentions goes way back – even before the Iveco purchase of Astra in 1986: The two companies had previously had several joint agreements.

Since then, the Iveco influence has grown – witness the test truck’s common Iveco drivetrain combination of a 540 horsepower/397 kilowatt Iveco Cursor engine, a 16-speed Eurotronic II (ZF AS-Tronic) automated manual transmission and a ZF hydraulic intarder.

The cab, too, is a lift from Iveco, being a modified Trakker unit.

This is a relatively new arrangement – going back only to the Truck & Driver | 25

Adam Waite sees the Astra as a logical fit for the Isaacs quarry operation

launch of the HHD9 in 2014. Previous HD Astra models used a fibreglass cab, produced inhouse.

From here on in though, this truck’s DNA has nothing to do with Iveco – with Astra ordering-up a ZF Steyr 2700 dual-range transfer case, heavy-duty Kessler hub reduction drive axles and a massivelyrigid main chassis. Then there’s the innovative Tekne Defender rollover protection system (ROPS), which has no cab connections, instead being mounted to the chassis and extending a protective canopy over the cab that shields it from falling objects as well as reducing rollover risk.

Adam Waite sees the Astra as a logical fit for the Isaacs quarry operation: “We’ve got well-formed haul roads, and because the country is alluvial, it’s also comparatively flat. That was why we decided to look at a rigid truck, and the Astra is what we’ve come up with. By contrast, a major undulating country project like Transmission Gully would be perfect for ADTs.” The quarry has been a feature of the Christchurch scene since 1957, when the fledgling Isaac Construction won a tender for the construction of Memorial Avenue and Neil Isaac bought land northwest of the city to quarry for roading material. The total area is around 1000 hectares, extending from the McLean’s Island Road frontage through to the edge of the Waimakariri River, over two 26 | Truck & Driver

kilometres away – though at any one time the quarry operations cover no more than 20 ha. At current extraction rates the alluvial reserves are estimated to last between 40 and 50 years.

For several years now the land has been owned by the Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust, set up by Sir Neil and his wife Lady Diana. The core of the Trust’s activities lies in Peacock Springs, where 200 ha of worked-out quarry pits have been repurposed as wetlands – housing a captive breeding centre for rare and endangered birds, fish and mammals. Several of the pits have been filled with groundwater, while others are supplied by springfed streams.

The project is renowned worldwide for its success in breeding a wide range of endangered native bird and lizard species for release into the wild. The area has also been extensively planted in native trees and shrubs. Because of the impact too much human contact could have on the breeding programme, Peacock Springs is not open to the public, though the plan is to eventually have walking tracks through the bush in the wider area.

The general quarrying activity has a strong conservation focus as well. Before extraction, the overburden (generally little more than two metres deep) is stripped and stockpiled. As soon as a section is worked out, it’s remediated back to productive farmland.

Opposite page: A Moxy MDT30 has just finished dumping a load of overburden as the Astra leaves the main pit. Articulated dump trucks like the Moxy have been the mainstay of the quarry’s loadhaul fleet until now

Below: The Astra on its way out of the main pit at the beginning of another circuit. Resource consents call for the extraction areas to be relatively shallow to avoid interference with groundwater

Although it is privately owned, the quarry operates under consents issued by the local authorities. Hours of operation are typically 6am to 6pm, five days a week – although, when demand is high, the processing plant is allowed to operate around the clock.

It produces a really diverse range of products – concrete aggregates, hotmix aggregates and sealing chip in a variety of formulations and sizes.

Adam Waite explains that crusher dust, traditionally an unavoidable but largely unwanted byproduct of quarrying, is now valued for use in hotmix aggregates and basecourse mixtures.

We meet up with Tom McGoverin as he completes another barely 2km circuit of the quarry, from the main borrow area to the dump site for the crushing plant. In a typical day he’ll do around 45 cycles. A recipe for boredom? Not at all, he reckons: “People say to me it must be boring as, but my answer is that if you’re interested you won’t be bored...and there’s always something interesting happening.”

Tom has been driving trucks since he was 20. Born and raised in North Canterbury, he worked as a farmhand and shearer before deciding that driving was for him and taking a job driving a truck for the local council.

Over the years he had a variety of driving positions – in bulk,

linehaul and construction – before ending up at Isaac Construction 16 years ago. It wasn’t long, he says, before he decided that this was the company for him: “I recall telling Lady Diana at the time that I would be here until I retired!”

He initially drove truck and trailer units for the construction division, before swapping to the quarry some years ago. Here he’s handled a variety of equipment, including loaders, trucks and ADTs...and now the Astra, which he rates highly for its comfort and ease of operation: “Don’t get me wrong, the ADTs are great at what they do. For example, for seven months a year or so back, we were working on the highway reconstruction following the Kaikoura earthquake.

“I was on a Moxy ADT, and the manoeuvrability of that model made it extremely useful when clearing debris from the bottom of the huge slips along the coast north of the township.

“That said, a couple of weeks ago I had a day in one of the Moxys while the Astra was being serviced, and by the end of it my back was really playing up!”

The borrow area is essentially a big trench, around 30 metres across and less than 10 metres deep. As we arrive at it, a Moxy is dumping topsoil from the land ahead of the working face’s steady sideways progress at the other side of the trench, ready for the eventual reclamation and return to farmland.

Truck & Driver | 27

The Iveco Cursor 13 engine sits neatly between the massive chassis rails (above). With the cab tilted, access for general maintenance is excellent. However, getting the cab up calls for first uncoupling and lifting the rollover protection system (top left), then moving to the other side to lift the cab (far left) – both operations calling for manual pumping. After running through the process, quarry manager Adam Waite is a fan of a powered system

A Kawasaki 95Z7 loader is waiting for us, bucket already full, as Tom eases the Astra up to it. Then, having received the first dump, progresses not only forward but turns quite sharply to end up at a 45-degree angle to the loader with the rear of the truck towards the face.

This V-loading technique, Adam Waite explains later, ensures that the loader only has to move the minimum possible distance back and forward to the face while filling a truck: “It’s surprising the amount of loader movement that is saved – and over time that shows up in reduced fuel use and maintenance costs.”

The loading process also demonstrates the quietness of the cab and the Astra’s remarkable rigidity and comfort. Normally the arrival of a scoop of gravel will have a bulk rigid truck rocking and rolling, but the big fella just sits there calmly.

Credit here must go to the cab suspension, derived from the Iveco Trakker offroad range. Based on four vertical coil-over-shock units and incorporating a jumbo anti-sway bar at the front, it looks totally don’t-argue but gives away nothing in ride comfort. Of course, the three-way adjustable air sprung driver’s seat that Tom McGoverin’s back so appreciates has a part to play as well.

In terms of layout, the cab is pretty much standard Trakker, with the pushbutton main controls for the Eurotronic transmission backed up by the right-side column stalk for manual override. Not that Tom uses that at all, finding the system works beautifully left in Auto. And when he encounters the intermittent patches of unconsolidated soft sand scattered around the complex, the sixwheel-drive system’s rotary switches quickly allow full axle lockup.

At first glance, getting into the cab of the Astra looks to be a truly daunting prospect. The top of the chassis is a massive 1.75m off the ground, with the reach to the bottom step fully half of that.

And the initial step itself looks quite unprepossessing, being a 28 | Truck & Driver

cranked metal tube with a small grip plate on top, pivoted at its front end off the bottom of the bumper and sprung to yield when encountering high obstacles on the ground.

But apart from that hip-tweaking initial reach, getting in (and out) is an absolute doddle. The first step belies its somewhat flimsy appearance, proving to be firm and solid, while the two main steps above it offer good depth for a boot and outstandingly grippy serrated surfaces. They’re backed up by long, solid grabhandles either side of the door opening and a third grabhandle mounted horizontally on the top of the mudguard for the front steering wheel. This has been custom-fitted by Isaacs, and gives an optional (and almost redundant) fourth point of contact.

Throw in doors that open to a full 90 degrees, and you have a truck that is easier and safer to get in and out of than pretty much anything else in the same field...and vastly better than a handful of cabover models that are so popular in road fleets.

At the delivery point for the plant, the Astra dumps its load directly through a grate above the tunnel for the main conveyor system, the big upside-down Penta front-of-body ram making quick and easy work of lifting the 40t load.

Tom points out that the gearbox has to be in neutral before engaging the PTO: “Of course this is quite different from spreading, where you need to be on the move. It ensures the truck stays still while we’re dumping.”

The quarry plant, built by Finland’s Metso Corporation, is a wonder of computerised technology. From the initial washing station, the material is carted through a branching network of sorting screens and their associated conveyors and stockpiles, before the remaining bigger particles are eventually crushed.

Barely four years old, it replaced two separate facilities, both dating back to the 1950s, and represented a capital outlay by

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Isaacs of more than $10million. The savings have been immediate, however, not least in the vastly reduced amount of running back and forth by wheel loaders, shifting product to the next stage of processing.

For all the plant’s size and complexity, from the public road, barely 300m away, you cannot tell it’s there. Because it’s set down in old workings and is further shielded by trees on its southern border, it can’t be seen…and next to no noise escapes.

As Adam comments: “Everyone in Christchurch knows Isaacs has a quarry at McLeans Island...but very few have ever seen it!”

During our loops through the complex it is plainly evident how seriously the company takes its commitment to safety. Every time photographer Gerald Shacklock shifts to another location to take shots of the Astra, Adam Waite is on the radio, advising all quarry staff precisely where he is, and the channel buzzes with machinery operators calling their locations and notifications of client trucks being loaded at stockpiles.

As Adam comments: “Quarries are dangerous places, and you can never relax your vigilance.”

He also comments on the question earlier raised with Tom – of potential boredom with

the short-cycle, repetitive nature of a lot of the work: “We work on ensuring the operators stay alert, and as much as possible answer their own questions. For example, if there’s a problem with a vehicle, we get them to investigate it themselves – either by looking at the manual or trying to figure out why it’s happening.

“The biggest problems we have here from a safety perspective relate to boredom and fatigue. A lot of the jobs are quite repetitive, and after a while it’s easy to switch off, which can lead to fatigue and mistakes. We encourage them to stay interested and alert.

“Isaacs is very big on training. For example, next month we’ll have a Gough-certified trainer here who will put all the operators – of excavators, loaders and trucks – through a theory session on best practice, and then follow up a day later with hands-on practical.

“We do this annually and it means that the operators can update their competency certificates. More importantly, by bringing in an outside party it opens them up to an outside viewpoint.

“The trainer can also update them on latest work techniques, of which the V-loading technique we recently adopted is a perfect example.”

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• Carry out truck and trailer scheduled servicing, maintenance and inspections • Maintain fleet paper trail on servicing, maintenance and repairs

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Opposite page, top: Getting into the cab looks at first to be a daunting process, but no-nonsense steps and well-positioned grabhandles make it a breeze

Opposite page, bottom: Rotary switches on centre console provide a range of drive options up to fullylocked six wheel drive This page, all pictures: Cab is substantially from Iveco Trakker, so offers the comfort and convenience you’d expect from a modern highway truck

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E Above: Driver Tom McGoverin is rapt in his new drive, reckons it’s doing wonders for his back. He doesn’t worry about the repetitive nature of the job, believing that if you stay interested you’ll never be bored, “...and there’s always something interesting happening.”

Above, right: Big Penta front of body ram makes quick work of getting the heavy steel body into the air and a full load of material through the grate above the main delivery conveyor Right: Quarry manager Adam Waite says the newcomer is so far ticking all the boxes, with its greater load capacity, faster cycle times, reduced capital and operating costs, and better operator comfort

Apart from the extra entry grabhandle each side, Isaacs has added a couple of other little modifications to the Astra, explains Adam: “There are 36 greasing points, so we’ve put in a Groeneveld automatic system.

“We have also changed the location of the tail lights. They were originally fitted above the rear nudge bar, but we found that when a load was being dumped into a stockpile, the stones rolling forward from the pile were knocking them around, so we relocated them further up the mudguards. We have passed our comments back to the factory on this.”

From the driver’s perspective, Tom would like to see reversing cameras fitted, because some of the major stockpiles are quite high, with a ramp up to the top – and being able to see precisely where the rear of the truck is when dumping would be a big help, he reckons.

There is general agreement that maintenance work that requires the cab to be tilted won’t be high on any technician’s list of favourite jobs. Before the cab can be moved, the ROPS has to be moved out of the way, using the manual hydraulic system mounted to the right side of the chassis behind the cab. The process involves initially withdrawing the big locking pins where the structure bends to reach over the cab, then rerouting the circuits to lift the canopy out of the way – both slow and tiring processes.

Another pumping circuit on the other side of the truck tilts the cab in a conventional manner. Tom has not seen the procedure before, so although the primary purpose is for Gerald Shacklock to get pictures 32 | Truck & Driver

of the engine, it also doubles as a tutorial from Adam.

The extensive options list for the Astra also offers power operation of both ROPS uncoupling and cab tilt, and this is almost certain to be chosen for any subsequent models coming into NZ. Adam is philosophical about the situation: “Since this is the first Astra into the country, it’s a learning process for everyone. What we’re looking for essentially is efficiency and reliability...and so far it has come up very well on both counts. As I said, the fuel burn is excellent compared with the ADTs, the cycle times are shorter, and with fewer moving parts the reliability and longevity should also be top class.

“It’s good in other important areas as well. For example, the body deck is made from 10mm thick alloy steel and is also ribbed for extra strength, while the sides are 8mm. The ADTs are more like 5mm. All of this affects weight, which reduces performance a little – tare runs at around 22t – but the Cursor engine handles it no trouble...and the gain in body life will be significant.

“We were a little bit nervous about how the Astra would go, but so far it has performed right up to and above expectations.

“The backup service from AdvanceQuip is phenomenal, to say the least. Any minor issues we’ve had, they’ve come out straight away.

We’ve had a couple of little sensor faults – the sort you find with any new truck – and they bent over backwards to make sure they were sorted as soon as possible.

“The truck has attracted a lot of interest. For a place tucked out of sight we’ve had quite a few visitors!” T&D

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12/12/2018 11:33

Trevor Test

W

E’RE BACK DOWN IN CHRISTCHURCH WITH ISAAC Construction in their McLean’s Island quarry, testing out another of their trucks.

We were here two years ago – testing their Iveco Trakker road truck and today’s test vehicle, an Iveco-Astra HHD9 8x6 dumptruck, has quite a bit of that truck’s DNA. We have a history of testing Iveco quarry trucks – having also done a Big Test of an Iveco Trakker 6x6 in the Nightcaps coalmine back in 2012.

This one though is completely different: That truck was effectively a road truck converted into an all-wheel drive quarry truck…whereas this Astra 8x6 is purposebuilt for this environment.

Today my son Hayden and I are tag-teaming on this Big Test due to my slow recovery from recent surgery.

Visiting Isaacs is always an eye-opener – the place resembling a nature park rather than a working quarry, with its salmon ponds and an immaculate quarry floor.

We start out the test carrying from the quarry face to the screening plant, where the onetime river rock is sorted into its various sizes and various grades of fines are removed. It’s a very flat run so we won’t be climbing any massive hills today.

The climb up into the cab starts with a very high bottom step, not unexpected in this type of truck. This however is offset by some very good grabhandles that give three good points of contact throughout the climb. One particularly good grabhandle that’s been retro-fitted by Isaacs is on the guard of the front steer axle. An extremely wide-opening door also aids access.

Inside, the interior is very much like a road truck, with a familiar Iveco-type dash and a comfortable suspension seat.

At first glance the pedals look tightly-packed, with the steering column pushing them over to the right, but in use there is no issue.

It’s easy to get comfortable, with a pedal-activated steering column adjustment allowing a very good range of movement.

However, we do find that the large steering wheel does impair the view of the dash. Otherwise from up here the view is great – although, like any cabover, there is a bit of a blind spot down the front, exaggerated by the extra height of this beast.

Mirrors are very much from the Iveco road truck with a large lower flat mirror and upper convex mirror, all housed in a tidy surround. All mirrors are manually adjusted, not electric.

We pull away empty after tipping off our load at the screening plant for the short run back to the quarry face – probably just over a kilometre away. Even empty the ride is extremely smooth, with an almost floating sensation.

The Cursor 13 litre engine, rated at 540hp and hooked up to the ZF 16-speed AMT, delivers smooth, quick acceleration with very smooth gearshifts.

At the quarry face we’re loaded using Isaacs’ very quick V-loading process. One thing driver Tom McGoverin points out here is that a rear-vision camera would be advantageous during this manoeuvre, to give a better idea of positioning in relation to the quarry face.

34 | Truck & Driver

With Trevor Woolston recovering from knee surgery, son Hayden is at the wheel for the Astra test

We’re now fully loaded with an all-up weight of around 50 tonnes, but it’s hardly even noticeable as we drive up, out of the quarry pit. Putting it into perspective….the quarry floor is probably less than 10 metres deep.

It’s got to be one of the easiest quarrying operations you’ll see anywhere, with only about two metres of overburden to be removed from a flat paddock to expose the deep layer of river shingle.

The drive back to the screening plant is along very well-formed roads, with a good, even, hard surface – so traction and ride is never an issue.

Fully loaded, the Astra’s ride gets even better, with a combination of the large construction tyres, the cab suspension and air suspension seat ensuring there is no road effect up through the cab.

Tipping off is extremely easy, with a dash-mounted button for the PTO and a lever down to the left of the driver. Once tipping starts the tailgate locks automatically disengage. The only downside is that the tipping lever is not lockable in the tip position so you need to hold it back throughout the tip, but we accept this is probably a safety feature.

Also, on dropping the bin the lever has to be held forward. It is very quick, with a fast ram speed both up and down.

After tipping off we head down to the screening plant to pick up boulders and move them over to the crushing plant. During the loading of the boulders into the steel body, Tom issues a warning

• SPECIFICATIONS • IVECO-ASTRA HHD9 8x6 Engine: Iveco Cursor 13 Capacity: 12.9 litres Maximum power: 397kW (540hp) @ 1900rpm Maximum torque: 2350Nm (1730 lb ft) @ 1000-1690rpm Engine revs: 1100rpm @ 45km/h in 16th gear Fuel Capacity: 300 litres Transmission: 16-speed Eurotronic II AMT Ratios: 1st 13.80 2nd 11.54 3rd 9.49 4th 7.93 5th 6.53 6th 5.46 7th 4.57 8th 3.82 9th 3.02 10th 2.53 11th 2.08 12th 1.74 13th 1.43 14th 1.20 15th 1.00 16th 0.84 Front axles: Kessler hub reduction/Kessler steering, combined rating of 21,000kg Astra has a unique brand image in the field of heavy specialist trucks and military vehicles, so despite the high Iveco input to its layout, the HHD9 proudly carries the company name. And in a nod to Astra’s position as part of the CNH (Case New Holland) Industrial group, the test truck is painted in in the unique Case Power Tan colour

to block the ears – jokingly, as in the cab there’s hardly any noise from the operation.

This truck is an experiment by Isaacs to see how the rigid 8x6 shapes up against the traditional ADTs and at present it is looking very promising. Quarry manager Adam Waite reckons that with two of these Astras he’d be

able to significantly reduce the time needed to keep the screening plant fed.

Tom’s certainly enjoying the added comfort and smoother operation over the ADTs and from what we’ve seen it will be interesting to come back again to Isaacs in the future to see how the longterm evaluation of the Astra works out. T&D

Rear axles: Kessler hub reduction, combined rating of 42,000kg Auxiliary brake: Iveco engine brake, ZF Intarder Front suspension: Parabolic springs, shock absorbers, stabiliser bars Rear suspension: Parabolic springs, shock absorbers, stabiliser bars GVW: 63,000kg GCM: 120,000kg

Truck & Driver | 35

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THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

MITO chief executive Janet Lane speaks as a member of the training and qualifications panel at last year’s RTF Conference

ITO model ain’t broke – so why fix it?

N

by Nick Leggett Chief Executive Road Transport Forum NZ

EWS THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS looking at a total overhaul of vocational training in New Zealand could turn out to be a doubleedged sword for the road transport industry.

It’s no secret that polytechnics around NZ have been struggling. Enrolment across the sector has plummeted by around 20% over the last eight years. Consequently, many of our polytechnics are in some sort of financial difficulty, which is why Education Minister Chris Hipkins’ proposal to merge them into a single entity, the NZ Institute of Skills and Technology, has the potential to be positive for our industry.

As well as giving greater certainty and stability to the sector, the new institute will mean that no matter where students are located, they will have access to the full suite of courses offered nationally.

This contrasts with the piecemeal situation we have now, where some polytechnics in some regions, such as the

Southern Institute of Technology, offer fantastic courses in the areas of commercial transport and logistics….while others don’t offer anything at all. This has an obvious impact on the workforce.

By contrast, our 11 industry training organisations (ITOs) are beginning to find their feet following intensive consolidation of the sector by the previous government – and in most cases are now working very well.

The idea is that the ITOs’ current role of supporting workplace learning and assessment for work-based vocational education is transferred to the NZ Institute of Skills and Technology, with new Industry Skills Bodies providing advice filtered from industry.

Sure, workplace training would retain formal links to industry, but the fact remains that delivery responsibility would fall mostly on the shoulders of one organisation.

To pay for this centralised system, businesses will not only have to pay the costs associated with training their Truck & Driver | 37

THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

Workplace-based learning is beginning to flourish under the current ITO model, Nick Leggett believes

“The other concern I have is that Government’s consultation period is alarmingly short” staff, but they will also incur a levy to fund the institute.

The Government believes that the new system will remove what it sees as counter-productive tensions between industry bodies and vocational education providers, and reverse the current separation between provider-based and workplace-based learning. Still, I’m not quite sure how this will encourage more workplace training.

The strength of the current ITO model is that it’s industry-led, industry-governed and therefore responsive to the natural changes in the economy. Workplace-based learning is beginning to flourish, so the current model is obviously working for large sections of our economy.

According to Josh Williams, chief executive of the Industry Training Federation, ITOs currently have 145,000 people per year in workplace training and apprenticeships, in around 25,000 businesses.

This makes workplace training and apprenticeships the largest form of post-school education in NZ. I must admit to being sceptical that the Industry Skills Bodies will be as effective in reflecting the wishes of the industries they represent as ITOs have been. I’m also sceptical that putting all our eggs into the one basket with this new institute is in the best interests of industries such as ours.

David Crawford, chief executive officer of the Motor Industry Association, which like RTF is a member of MITO, sums up the problems with the reforms quite succinctly, saying: “While there is clearly a need to reform the way in which training is provided through polytechnics – as this part of the system has been broken for some time – our view is that the current ITO model works well and serves industry much better than the proposals released by the Minister will.”

When we look at our own industry’s circumstances, it’s true that road transport has not experienced the uptake in training that some other industries have. However, that has not been the fault of MITO or the ITO model.

Unfortunately, road transport does not have the history of apprenticeships, qualifications and formal workplace training that many other industries have. This is not an excuse and the reality is 38 | Truck & Driver

that no matter what structure we’re left with, we need to up our game and get more of our people into training.

The good news is that a lot of hard work is being put into improving this situation through initiatives such as SWEP – but we are well behind many other industries.

In many respects it’s about pushing a culture change within road transport – that qualifications and training need to be treated as a priority if we are to develop viable career pathways for ambitious young people.

The recent work that RTF and the industry have done with MITO to crunch down the number of commercial road transport qualifications and match them with the relevant workplace training should help to change this culture, as it makes the qualifications more relevant to those wishing to upskill themselves in the industry.

This kind of collaboration, flexibility and responsiveness is an example of the strength of the current ITO model and something that I’m not sure an institution like the proposed NZ Institute of Skills and Technology can replicate.

The other concern I have is that Government’s consultation period is alarmingly short. I strongly agree with MITO chief executive Janet Lane’s assessment that a six-week period for consultation will not provide sufficient time for robust debate and meaningful consideration of the far-reaching implications of the changes proposed.

The very least that the 11 existing ITOs deserve is to have the chance to defend their record – what they’ve done to promote the uptake of industry qualifications and the upskilling of NZ’s workforce.

More on the proposed vocational education reforms can be found at https://conversation.education.govt.nz/conversations/reform-ofvocational-education/have-your-say Needless to say, RTF will be submitting in opposition to the disestablishment of the ITOs. Any feedback operators have that they wish to pass on and have included in that submission will be gratefully received. Please feel free to contact me at nick@rtf.nz T&D

Talk to our experts first!

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THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

The NZ Road Transport Industry Awards are presented at a gala dinner, which last year attracted over 350 guests

Nominations needed for 2019 Road Transport Industry Awards

A

NYONE WHO ATTENDED THE GALA ROAD Transport Industry Awards Dinner at the 2018 Road Transport Forum Conference will recall just what an extraordinary night

it was…

And how special it was to celebrate the community spirit, innovation and can-do attitude of the outstanding achievers in our industry.

Whether it was the emotional reception that VTNZ Outstanding Contribution to Road Transport winner Greg Inch received for his work running Special Rigs for Special Kids….

Or the warm recognition of the years of effort put in by TIL Freight’s Derek Nees to improve training across the industry, there is no doubt that last year’s awards were a real showcase of what is great about road transport in New Zealand.

The Awards were initiated to recognise individuals and organisations who have gone above and beyond industr y requirements in raising skills, safety practices, knowledge, training, innovation and expertise. They are also aimed at honouring those whose actions have improved the daily lives of people both inside and outside the industry.

The nomination process for the four awards is very straightforward, 40 | Truck & Driver

so if you know someone or an organisation that you think deserves broad industry acknowledgement, there really is no excuse – get that nomination in: Entry guidelines and the nomination form are available for download from the RTF website.

Also, don’t forget that nominations are always open for the Castrol Truck Driver Hero Award. There are plenty of drivers out on our roads ever y day who, through their actions either help someone avoid danger or – as in the case of last year’s winner, Fonterra driver Phil Newton – actually save somebody ’s life.

Nominations can be made either by visiting the relevant pages on the RTF or NZ Truck & Driver magazine websites.

The 2019 Road Transport Industry Awards and Castrol Truck Driver Hero Awards will once again be presented at a gala dinner at the Forum annual conference.

This year’s conference, which is being run by NZRTA Region 2 and CARTA, has been pencilled in for Tuesday September 24 and Wednesday September 25, at the Wairakei Resort near Taupo.

More information on this event will be available on the RTF website and in industry publications in the near future. T&D

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Contributions sought for substance-impaired driving safety programme

By Craig Waterworth, Senior Education Adviser: Substance Impairment, NZTA

T

HE TERM “SUBSTANCE-IMPAIRED DRIVING” naturally makes most people think about illegal drugs, or legal drugs such as alcohol.

But when I talk about substance-impaired driving, what I’m most focused on is the effect of medication on your body. This is medication that may have been given by a doctor, nurse, or pharmacist. Or maybe you just bought some meds over the counter.

These substances can include medications for pain, heart conditions, allergies, diabetes and mental health conditions.

Impairment refers to situations where your physical functions or emotional ability are affected in a way that makes you unsafe to drive.

An example would be if you have a cold, along with aches and pains, and you decide to buy some medicine from a pharmacy. You might take the medicine and then feel drowsy and less alert. This is a classic example of substance impairment and will have a negative impact on your driving ability.

42 | Truck & Driver

Most people downplay the issue of substance impairment when it comes to the use of medications. However, it is a far more widespread problem than most of us realise. Research has found that a third of drivers killed on NZ’s roads have had medications or drugs in their system that may have impaired their driving.

The prevalence and lack of awareness around substance-impaired driving means NZTA has identified it as a major safety issue.

I’m sure most readers would be surprised to know that around a quarter of all prescriptions for medication are known to impair driving ability and that each year two-thirds of us use medicines that may cause impairment.

The Agency has done specific research into the heavy transport sector: The research shows that one-fifth of heavy vehicle drivers will drive regardless of how they feel – and that more than half of our heavy vehicle drivers don’t realise that it is against the law to drive when impaired by any substance, including medication.

THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

Road Transport Forum was established in 1997 to represent the combined interest of all members as a single organisation at a national level.

Members of Road Transport Forum’s regionally focussed member associations are automatically affiliated to the Forum.

Road Transport Forum NZ PO Box 1778, Wellington 04 472 3877 forum@rtf.nz www.rtfnz.co.nz Nick Leggett, Chief Executive 04 472 3877 021 248 2175 nick@rtf.nz

Substance-impaired driving isn’t only about the effects of illegal drugs, or alcohol.....prescriptions or over-the-counter medicines can also render drivers unsafe to be behind the wheel

A range of resources have been developed for use by operators and drivers that can be accessed at the NZTA website: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/safety/driving-safely/ medication/ For the next phase of this work we are planning to develop a further set of resources specifically to assist the heavy transport sector.

Ideally, we would like to include drivers’ stories within these resources. I am therefore extremely keen to hear from you if you have experienced a situation where medicines have affected your driving and you took action to respond to it and prevented a dangerous situation from occurring.

For example, it might be that you were diagnosed as a diabetic, started medications, felt impaired and were given sick leave or alternative duties. Or perhaps you started a once-a-day antidepressant and changed the time of day when you took it, so that it didn’t affect your driving. All stories will be made anonymous and your personal details will remain completely private.

If you would like to contribute please email me at craig.waterworth@nzta.govt.nz If we use your story, we will provide koha for your time.

As we develop the learning resources, we would like to get feedback on how useful companies think they might be. Please also email me if you are interested in being part of a group that contributes to the review and development of these resources.

Don’t forget, next time you receive a prescription, ask your prescriber about the effect of the medication on your driving and make sure you read the labels that come with your medications. T&D

National Road Carriers (NRC) PO Box 12-100, Penrose, Auckland 0800 686 777 09 622 2529 (Fax) enquiries@natroad.co.nz www.natroad.co.nz David Aitken, Chief Executive 09 636 2951 021 771 911 david.aitken@natroad.co.nz Paula Rogers, Executive Officer 09 636 2957 021 771 951 paula.rogers@natroad.co.nz Grant Turner, Executive Officer 09 636 2953 021 771 956 grant.turner@natroad.co.nz Jason Heather, Executive Officer 09 636 2950 021 771 946 Jason.heather@natroad.co.nz Tom Cloke, Executive Officer 0800 686 777 021 193 3555 tom.cloke@natroad.co.nz Road Transport Association of NZ (RTANZ) National Office, PO Box 7392, Christchurch 8240 0800 367 782 03 366 9853 (Fax) admin@rtanz.co.nz www.rtanz.co.nz Dennis Robertson, Chief Executive 03 366 9854 021 221 3955 drobertson@rtanz.co.nz

Hawke’s Bay/Wairarapa/Otaki to Wellington Sandy Walker 0800 367 782 (Option 5) 027 485 6038 swalker@rtanz.co.nz Northern West Coast/Nelson/ Marlborough/North Canterbury John Bond 0800 367 782 (Option 6) 027 444 8136 jbond@rtanz.co.nz Southern West Coast/Christchurch/MidCanterbury/South Canterbury Simon Carson 0800 367 782 (Option 7) 027 556 6099 scarson@rtanz.co.nz Otago/Southland Alan Cooper 0800 367 782 (Option 8) 027 315 5895 acooper@rtanz.co.nz NZ Trucking Association (NZTA) PO Box 16905, Hornby, Christchurch 8441 0800 338 338 03 349 0135 (Fax) info@nztruckingassn.co.nz www.nztruckingassn.co.nz David Boyce, Chief Executive 03 344 6257 021 754 137 dave.boyce@nztruckingassn.co.nz Carol McGeady, Executive Officer 03 349 8070 021 252 7252 carol.mcgeady@nztruckingassn.co.nz Women in Road Transport (WiRT) www.rtfnz.co.nz/womeninroadtransport wirtnz@gmail.com

Area Executives Auckland/North Waikato/Thames Valley Keith McGuire 0800 367 782 (Option 2) 027 445 5785 kmcguire@rtanz.co.nz Southern Waikato/Bay of Plenty/Taupo/ Poverty Bay Dave Cox 0800 367 782 (Option 2) 027 443 6022 dcox@rtanz.co.nz

Truck & Driver | 43

So…what’s Story Dave McLeod Photos Gerald Shacklock

The tight-knit Hart family is standing together against bullying – pushing the message on Hart Haulage’s growing fleet of trucks. Pictured (from left) are Josh, Debbie, Jessie and Barry

44 | Truck & Driver

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Truck & Driver | 45

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Josh Hart was rapt when his Mum and Dad surprised him by repainting his Western Star pink and signwriting it with unmissable anti-bullying messages.

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ORE OFTEN THAN NOT, THE FANTASTIC STORIES behind the companies and people involved in New Zealand’s trucking industry are only unearthed when you look way beyond the bright chrome grilles of the trucks…the faces of the owners.

Not so with Waikato-based Hart Haulage. In an arguably testosterone-dominant industry, its distinctively coloured trucks and trailers are quite the standout – and invariably trigger the question: “So….what’s with the pink?”

And that – the very fact that it invariably prompts that question – IS the whole point: “To me, pink is a conversation starter,” explains Barry Hart, a transport industry veteran and the co-owner (with his wife Debbie) of Hart Haulage “As a big guy (which he is), if you wear a bright pink shirt people say ‘aren’t you a bit manly for that colour? Isn’t it a bit of a gay colour?’

“And I say ‘no it’s not…and this is what it represents,’ so it starts the conversation. The fact that I’ve got pink on all my trucks starts to get the message out – and that message is antibullying.”

At this point you may be rolling your eyes and thinking that this is just another good-cause-related marketing spin. But, believe me, this goes far deeper and darker than you would probably imagine – and, for a tight-knit family such as the Harts, it is very, very personal.

Barry and Debbie’s son Josh began being bullied at just five years of age. Yes, you read that correctly – FIVE! What followed was a horrific decade of physical and mental abuse that spanned his entire school life and culminated in him attempting to take his own life…before he was a teenager.

Now 22 and working as a driver for Hart Haulage, Josh bravely shares his experience with us: “The bullying literally began the

moment I started school. It was pretty much immediate.”

So who were the bullies? “Largely it was students from that school, but as I got older it was students and their family members. I always felt a bit of discrimination from the teachers too, as I wasn’t exactly the smartest student.” It’s his way of shrugging off his dyspraxia – a neuro-developmental disorder that sits somewhere alongside the likes of dyslexia and attention deficit disorder (ADD).

Josh stands around two metres tall (6ft 2inches) and is pretty well-built, so it’s hard to imagine him ever being picked on. So what made him a target as a child?

“Probably the fact that I wasn’t overly confident and wouldn’t stand up for myself in the slightest. I basically let anyone do what they wanted and just got used to it.

“I used to get beat up – a lot of physical and a huge amount of mental. I got to some dark places because of it.

“I kept everything away from my family to begin with.”

Why was that? “For whatever reason, I decided to try and fight through it myself. And when I realised I was losing the battle I said to my parents ‘this is getting quite gnarly!’ ” He says that he initially “said something” when he was five.

Barry and Debbie got him into Taekwon-Do “to help stop it.

“But it wasn’t until I was about eight or nine that I turned around to my parents and said that something wasn’t quite right.

And that was when the whole family did what they could to help.”

Although he started the Taekwon-Do as a little kid, Josh says that “I kinda didn’t take on much of the mental side of martial arts being ‘stand up for yourself’ until I was older.”

Meantime, he did what he could to keep the truth away from his Mum and Dad – explaining away bruises: “I would say I walked into a wall, fell down stairs – I’d come up with any excuse to defend anyone else. The way bullying is, you get to the stage where you think YOU’VE caused it. You get to stage where you Truck & Driver | 47

Above, left: Debbie does all of Hart Haulage’s admin work, as well as running the Taekwon-Do studio

Above, right: Jessie is training to be a paediatric nurse, but has also been running the office at the Harts’ Glen Eden landscape supplies and metal yard blame yourself before you blame anyone else for what they’re doing to you.”

If it sounds psychologically complex, complicated….it is: “It’s not something that people will admit – that they’ll take the blame. That’s why even the physical stuff becomes mental.

“I thought ‘I’ve obviously done something wrong to this person to get them to do it.’ Initially, it starts with ‘what am I doing to cause it?’

“And then after, when it becomes continual, you’re like ‘well clearly, breathing, or living, or talking is causing the problem!’ It very quickly becomes mental. It’s a tough bug to deal with.”

Ask Josh to talk you through the lowest point and his personal story becomes even more harrowing: “When I got to intermediate the abuse was relentless. There was the bullying at school, then after – phone calls, texts, Facebook messages, Bebo…..even from people I’d never met, nor even in the same country!

“Keyboard warriors, friends of bullies that I just couldn’t get away from. Telling me I was useless, to kill myself – talking about my personal life, school life, all hours of the day.”

How about teachers, or student counsellors – didn’t they help? It’s a bitter irony that Josh says that when these presumed protectors got involved “many times I’d end up having to apologise to the bully…..for being bullied!

“It’s the way that society works and I don’t understand it. If

there’s an issue at school and things go wrong and people start yelling and screaming at each other, the teacher will always say: ‘You apologise to you and vice versa.’

“So that really didn’t help: I was literally apologising to my bully! There was a little bit done, but not by enough teachers.

Going to counsellors (if there were any) would be embarrassing and show even more weakness.”

So what was the trigger for him to accept that this couldn’t continue – that something had to change?

Says Josh: “Being completely honest….when I tried to commit suicide…” Horrifically, that was when he was just 12 years old!

Part of Barry and Debbie’s emergency response was to immediately move him to a private school. Did that make a difference? “It did for a bit – well, initially I thought it had. But, like I said, I’d been bullied for so long at that stage that it was ‘normal’ for me to be bullied.”

So the issue followed him – the brutal cycle of abuse began again? “It took a few months for it to restart – but yes. It wasn’t until I nearly left that school that I realised that being bullied wasn’t normal. The last six months of school was when I started fighting back and doing damage to people.”

So the bullied became the bully? “No,’ Josh insists, “it was the bullied standing up for himself.”

So how did the light go on? How did he emerge from all the

Much of Hart Haulage’s work is around the Waikato – primarily on major infrastructure projects, but also carting bulk loads for commercial and residential developments. The Mack is one of three (plus an old R Model, now stored as a future restoration job)

48 | Truck & Driver

Above, left: Josh reckons that trucking has been his salvation

Above, right: Barry is adamant that any business the family gets involved with will continue the anti-bullying message years of torture? “It was when I started working (part-time). I realised that things were okay outside of school and that school was the problem.

“And when I started fulltime and getting into the trucking community, that was when it went from a little light, or a little torch….to literally the high beams of the truck.

“I realised how communal everyone is in this industry: They get behind you to make sure you’re alright, whereas at school that was not the case.”

So what does the colour pink mean to Josh? “It means everything. It’s the international colour for anti-bullying. It’s about solidarity.

“It’s about one kid that got bullied and everyone else around him said ‘you know what – that’s not ok.’ And that story mirrored my life and what I went through – and am going through.

“It was good to know that it was pretty normal for people to rally around you, especially if they know how bad you are. But you’ve got to share a bit to get the support.”

The solution came in the form of multiple touchpoints – talking to many different people: “It’s the whole. Find someone to talk to – family, counsellors, friends who helped build me up.

“And it takes time. A counsellor said: ‘You may not be ready now, but you will be at some stage – and when you are, you’ll find someone with an open door.

“Not everyone gets through. I literally ran towards a friend on a bridge trying to talk to him, but…’ We pause for a sombre, silent moment.

Josh stresses that there is no “one size fits all” solution. There have been and still are, he says, many people who have offered credible advice and help throughout his journey: “There’s been many ladders to help get me out of my black hole.”

But it needed a mix of people he trusted and some inner confidence for him to begin the climb out of the pit: “You need to start this for yourself,” he says.

He credits a couple of close friends (peers) who asked “what the hell are you doing?” and, of course, his family for the fact that “I no longer have the world on my shoulders.”

This brings us to the other side of this nightmare – Josh’s family. People whose families blessedly haven’t gone through this kind of hell are probably wondering how this sort of horror trip can even happen.

The Harts are one of the closest families I have ever met. Barry and Debbie met when they were only 13 and share the same ethics and moral direction – even complementing each other with their business skills. And their two children, Josh and Jessie, are both hardworking achievers.

The Harts initially went into business together in a bulk-bin food store in Upper Hutt – bowing-out of that at the age of 20

Truck & Driver | 49

When Barry suggested buying their first truck about five years ago, he told Debbie he only wanted one truck. Now they own nine of ‘em, including two DAFs to go to Auckland, where Barry bought a 1984 Ford Trader and started work as a contractor for Phoenix Couriers, operating out of Manukau. His Dad was a truckie so Barry reckons he always knew that was where he’d end up.

However, as his career deviated, he sold the Trader (seeing it as a conflict of interest) and became an operations manager for the company instead.

He filled the same role with Tom Ryan Cartage for about two years, before becoming the manager of New Zealand Couriers’ North Shore operation….and then the Auckland regional manager for Post Haste.

Debbie was intending to join the Police…which would have meant they’d be moving again. But they’d both also always wanted to own a video store (bizarre, right!). Debbie gave up on the cop idea, they bought a store and – although it was a family business (even the kids helped out there) – Debbie grew the video store business while Barry continued on in the courier companies. They soon bought a second video store.

Aside from their respective school and work obligations, the Hart family was (and still is) an open and communicative unit, with mealtimes and the family spa the focal points for each of them to share stories and opinions.

Even so….Josh largely kept the bullying hidden from the family.

They recount the awful story of how they came to know – and to fight – the horrendous bullying their son endured.

Barry begins: “Josh has always been such a caring kid – and thoughtful.” Adds Debbie: “Plus, with his dyspraxia, he’d have a tendency to be clumsy.”

These are not presented as excuses in any shape or form – just statements of fact.

In Josh’s first years at primary school they did sense that there was (potentially) bullying going on.

Barry responded in the way that many fathers will understand – flippantly, with statements including the suggestion Josh “take concrete pills” and “hit them back.” After all, we’re talking about 50 | Truck & Driver

mere five-year-old kids!

But when the bullying continued, the Harts found a great Taekwon-Do instructor in the form of Master Paul McPhail (now one of the highest-ranking instructors in the country).

They felt that this martial art would help build Josh’s confidence and Barry made a promise to his son that if he went to classes, Dad would be there for every training session.

Barry firmly believes that “schools are ill-equipped to deal with bullying. And, as a result, when you approach them, they’re very much: ‘Well, they’re just schoolkids.’ They don’t seem to stress about it much.”

“Because he was having so many problems, we got Josh a phone so he could tell us when he was leaving school or whathave-you, but his personality meant that he tried to befriend the people being mean and gave them his number.

“I remember when he was around nine or 10, at 1am, there’s like 30 texts and they’re all saying: ‘Nobody likes you…’ ‘The best thing you can do is kill yourself.’

“You’re sitting there as a parent going ‘how the hell do you stop this!’ We even went to the police.”

In their quest for help, they came to understand that there are particular phrases or words that should be used – and others to be avoided, as Barry details: “Yeah, you never say to a school that you’re being bullied. You say you’re being intimidated, harassed and abused. It sounds more serious…and that’s because it is.

“I’d go to the school on numerous occasions and say: ‘What are we doing about this? Our kid doesn’t want to go to school.’

“Their response was ‘well, we’ll get Josh to sit on the bench outside the teachers’ lunchroom so we can keep an eye on him.’ ” Barry was incredulous: “So I was like, why don’t you get the f***ing bully to sit there? Why give him full reign of the school and put my kid in solitude!’ But the school didn’t have the nous to say to the bully ‘look, you’re the problem.’

“Or you’d go up to the school and say ‘look you’ve got to

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The Harts’ commitment to working against bullying has even led to them establishing their own Taekwon-Do studio in west Auckland. Debbie and Jessie are both instructors

change this – it isn’t working.’ And their response was ‘oh, but you don’t realise, poor Johnny (name changed obviously) – he comes from a broken family, Dad’s in jail….this and that is happening at home. It’s not really his fault.’ Whose fault is it?”

Barry still sounds frustrated, angry.

Says Debbie: “A principal specifically said to us in a meeting ‘it’s because you drive a nice car and Josh has got a Mum and a Dad.’ That was when we pulled him out of that school.”

Barry: “We moved him to a private school. We spent a fortune for our son to become a truck driver – and I wouldn’t change a thing.

“Moving schools didn’t solve the issue, but it did change it.

Leaving school was part of the key – that and the confidence from martial arts.”

Ask Debbie what pink means to her: “It’s definitely anti-bullying – but it’s also a representation of being nice to other people. It’s a soft colour, a soothing colour.

“But it’s like, if you walk down the street and smile at somebody, they’ll smile back……and that’s pink. Pink is bright, friendly.”

The Hart’s anti-bullying campaign began way back in their United Video days – and it included renting out the documentary called ‘Bully’ for a gold coin donation to the cause.

However, the pink side of things (adapted from Pink Shirt Day) fired-up when they opened their own Taekwon-Do studio in west Auckland around six years ago.

Says Barry: “Way back, when we watched Josh train, the instructor said ‘if you’re going to attend…you might as well join in.’ So both of us joined (and soon Jessie did as well). Ten years later, we opened our own HartTKD.” Debbie has now attained a 5th degree blackbelt, which makes her the fifth-ranked female Taekwon-Do exponent in the country.

Barry is a 2nd degree blackbelt and Jessie is a 1 st degree blackbelt.

Told you they’re a family of achievers.

Says Debbie: “It helped get Josh the confidence that he needed and that’s what Taekwon-Do does – it builds confidence. It stops people being a victim, as it teaches them to hold their head up.”

Although Barry Hart’s work background has been varied (his experience including driving an ambulance, running the TaekwonDo school and the video stores), much of his working life has still been within the transport industry.

About five years ago, tired of working for big corporates, he decided to buy a tipper and go driving for a couple of years.

“Six months later, I found this Mack R Model. I was like, ‘I’ll buy this truck and a trailer that came with an old Sterling (or vice versa) – and that will be us.

“And then I said ‘I’ll buy this next truck and sell the old one.’

But I never sold the old truck!” The R Model is now parked-up and will remain in storage….until Barry has the time to fully restore it as his classic show truck.

The company’s working fleet now runs to 10 – a 2003 Western Star 4964FX, two DAF CF85s (one new last year, the other a 2014 model), three 2007 Mack Visions, two Isuzus (one a 2017 C series, the other a 15-year-old CXZ), an ’07 Iveco Stralis and a 2008 Scania Model R480 (which is an owner/driver vehicle). The Sterling got sold off in 2016.

Says Barry: “The first truck we bought had done a million Ks. Then we moved to half a million k trucks….and now we just buy brand new.”

Hart Haulage began work in hauling bulk for a number of earthworks companies in West Auckland – much of the work involving carting metal from the (now-closed) Te Henga Quarry on Bethells Road, to work sites around the region.

“Up until 2016, when they shut down the quarry, you used to be able to run a six-wheeler out of the quarry. When it was shut down it forced you to run a truck and trailer to and from South Auckland.

“We started with the Sterling for onroad (the old Mack R Model only for offroad use).” Then came a Mack Vision – then another.

Two Ivecos came next but one got written off (don’t ask). Then, as the work increased, the rest of the fleet was gradually added.

Longtime friend Ian Sewell – who’d sold them their first United Video business – is now operations manager for Hart Haulage…a bulk tipper operation that these days moves upwards of 3000 Truck & Driver | 53

The plan is for all of the company’s new bonneted trucks from now on to get the same pink colour treatment tonnes on a busy working day.

Says Barry: “Sixty percent of that would be dirt and metal for large civil construction companies – for major roading infrastructure projects like the Waikato Expressway. Thirty-odd percent being for smaller subdivisions and house lots.” Currently, carting supplies to a Glen Eden landscape supplies business the Harts bought last year, keeps one or two trucks busy.

Funnily enough, the original R Model was essentially only fit to be used offroad….but was the truck that the then 16-year-old Josh began his driving career in.

Says Barry: “Once we threw him in the truck, we watched him grow. He was like ‘phew, this is me!’ He can put it basically anywhere – so you can tell that this is him.

“Josh always had a passion for driving and when it came to trucks he picked this up incredibly quickly. It’s in the blood – from his Great Grandad, to Grandad, to Dad and Mum.” Josh says: “I got drawn into truck driving thanks to the family.

But it gives me next-level pride and I really couldn’t think of anything better to do.”

The anti-bullying movement’s pink colour has so far featured

on the trucking fleet in the form of a pink Hart in the company branding. Now it’s been stepped-up dramatically – with the Western Star 6x4 driven by Josh recently repainted completely in pink, rather than the white of the other Hart Haulage trucks.

Bold signwriting on the truck and trailer bins reinforces the anti-bullying message: “Bullying Stops Here!... Together we can make a difference….. Kindness is one size fits all…. Speak up.

Stand together. Stop bullying.” It doesn’t come much clearer than that.

Barry and Debbie had the truck repainted from its former dark green as a surprise for Josh – who is rapt with the colour scheme and the heartfelt messages: “I’m absolutely stoked! It conveys the best message and does it in a way that grabs attention.”

To such an extent, in fact, that within a fortnight of the Western Star going on the road with its new pink paint job and antbullying branding, the Harts had fielded (and accepted) requests for Josh to have it at two truck shows (one in Christchurch, another in Taranaki)….and at two hotrod shows.

The plan is for all of the company’s new bonneted trucks from now on to get the same pink colour treatment.

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Above, left: The Harts’ new business, The Landscape Yard, also now features the pink anti-bullying colour Above, right: Barry de-stresses at the wheel of his truck simulator

56 | Truck & Driver

Above, left: The Harts see Taekwon-Do as a means of teaching people not to be victims, giving them self-respect and confidence Above, right: Hart Haulage operations manager Ian Sewell chats with DAF driver Mark Kenny

The Glen Eden landscape and metal supply business that the Harts bought last year (now renamed The Landscape Yard) is now also branded with the pink and the anti-bullying messages that the Harts endorse.

Daughter Jessie – although currently studying to be a paediatric nurse, as well as fulfilling her duties as an instructor at the Hart Taekwon-Do studio (also in West Auckland) – has been working at the yard, helping put computerised admin and accounting systems in place to make the business run more smoothly.

Ask Jessie what pink means to her and she says: “Antibullying.” And quickly adds: “I dislike the colour pink….but I’ll wear it with the context that’s behind it – that it’s anti-bullying.”

Pink. Love it….or not so much, Barry says that “every business we have will follow that pink theme now. It

doesn’t matter what we do, we want to push that message.”

Although this story of bullying and abuse revolves around Josh’s experience at school, the Harts drive home the message that physical, verbal or mental abuse can be found in all areas of life – including home and work. Despite its prevalence, the message is clear: Bullying is not normal….and it should never, ever be tolerated.

The pink on the Hart Haulage trucks is a very effective weapon in that war on such torture, Barry confirms: “I get into the discussion about why the trucks are pink more often than I would have ever imagined. It really is a conversation starter.

“And I can’t think of any time that it’s had anything but a positive effect on the people I speak to or on the business itself.”

So, here’s a question: “What does pink mean to you?” T&D

One of the company trucks at work on the Waikato Expressway project. Supplying tippers on major infrastructure works comprises about 60% of the company’s business

Truck & Driver | 57

Story: Hayley Leibowitz Photos: Nelson Hay Convoy

I

T WAS A GENEROUS, HEARTFELT RESPONSE TO FARMERS suffering from the aftermath of the Nelson fires, that spread like….well, just like the wildfire that inspired it.

It all began simply and modestly enough, when Geraldine horsewoman Paule Crawford rang Nelson equestrian friend Fran Dick, who’d been evacuated from Pigeon Valley – asking if she needed help.

Though her animals had been safely evacuated to the Richmond Showgrounds, she couldn’t get feed to them….and there wasn’t enough feed after the fires in any event.

Having lived rurally and been through plenty of fire seasons herself, Paule called up her hay contractor, Nigel Young at Quality Feeds and Contracting in St Andrews, Timaru, and explained the situation – asking if helping them out was something he’d like to be involved in.

And that started the ball rolling – Young calling her back just five minutes later and donating 120 round bales of hay (which later grew to 122).

Only problem then was….how to get that 67 tonnes or so of feed from St Andrews, South Canterbury, to Nelson.

Clockwise, from opposite page, top: Wilson Bulk Transport put four trucks to work on picking up hay....one driver who delivered direct to a fire-damaged farm saw first-hand the graphic evidence of how much the feed was needed....part of the crew that put in a huge physical effort manually loading and unloading conventional bales....Christchurch company Protranz was the first to respond to the call for trucks

58 | Truck & Driver

FEATURE

She rang up good friend Barry (Baz) Hill – a contract driver for Mid Canterbury Baling – seeking advice: “I’ve just been offered 120 round bales of hay for Nelson. How many truckloads is that?”

She was rocked a little when he told her: “Um…’bout four….unit loads.” Now Baz was part of the plan – he and Paule suddenly cast in the role of co-organisers of the Nelson Fires Hay Convoy – with a Facebook page set up to coordinate it all…and with the trucking and rural industries immediately jumping in to help.

“Both industries just got behind us,” says Paule: “It snowballed from there. I was looking for a small quantity for my friend – maybe one truck load – but realised I could help a lot more people after Nigel’s donation.

“After that first donation, I called Federated Farmers to see if it would be of use to them. It was gratefully accepted.

“I was then offered more feed – so I rang Federated Farmers’ Feedline again and spoke to Frazer Clark the Feedline coordinator on duty, who said: ‘Send everything you can get!’

“So we did – with every load documented and the details communicated on to them before going forward to Nelson. My phone was permanently stuck to my ear!

“One person spoke to the next….and it was just the good old Kiwi way.”

Well, it was that…. AND a new way: “The power of Facebook was absolutely amazing,” says Baz. “It didn’t cost anything in advertising but it did take a lot of organisation. Paule and I had the phones going from 6am to midnight or after some nights – while still working at our day jobs in between.

“We had offers rolling in left, right and centre for trucks, baleage and hay. A lot of people were willing to donate.

“Paule didn’t know anything about trucks so I became the trucking consultant, with a phone call about every five minutes!

It quickly evolved into both of us looking for trucks and getting really good at asking the question – and wracking our brains for who else might help.

“Our company had lost a tractor and baler to a fire about two weeks beforehand – lost both machines outright – so I had some idea what it felt like to lose something to fire.”

The first transport operator to get behind the convoy was Christchurch trucking, earthmoving and demolition company

Truck & Driver | 59

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A driver rest break during the final run to Nelson sees the Scania of Darryl and Anita Campbell, the Mid Canterbury Baling Foden and Volvo (driven by Baz Hill and Johnnie McCormick respectively) and Guy Hahn’s escort vehicle, parked up at Springs Junction

Protranz – owner Gerard Daldry offering trucks and the use of the company’s yard as a centralised depot.

Responding to the Facebook page within hours of it being started up – and just a day after Paule and Baz first talked – Daldry himself drove a truck to St Andrews to pick up a load for Nelson on his Sunday off.

He is, she says, “a truly amazing guy, with a genuine passion for helping others.”

Suddenly, says Paule, “Baz and I were under a huge amount of pressure. There were so many phone calls flying between us!

Sometimes we had to really scratch our heads.

As Baz reckons: “It just took off! It got to a point I would ask for one truck and be offered two! In one case, Justin Hardacre (operations manager at Hilton Haulage) presented me with two problems,” he laughs: “He wanted to take the load all the way to Nelson for us – and for us to find a second load too, so he could help out more.” He was just one of the many legends in this story.

Continues Paule: “Then Hayden Reed, the freight operations manager at Talley’s, made contact and took a unit load of round bales direct from Nigel and Oli’s (Quality Feeds and Contracting) from Timaru to Nelson.

“Then a local mid-Canterbury farmer donated a unit load of baleage – as did another. “After that Johnny McCormick (another contract driver with Mid Canterbury Baling) volunteered his time.

We were swamped in donations.

“By Tuesday I told Baz we had to close off the feed donations so we could deal with what he had and do it well.

“He wasn’t so keen….but when we discussed the fact that we had one day to put the loads together with the truck offers we had, find more trucks if need be and then one day (the Thursday) to get them all loaded – and be Nelson-bound, with the lot cleared from Protranz yard by Friday night (!!), he could see my point!

“We had a big donation of straw from farmers Todd and Julie Smyth from Lowcliffe, south of Timaru (four truck and trailer loads, in fact).

“We could get one load out, but couldn’t get the other three out to the Protranz yard, to reload for the trip to Nelson.

“That was a low point – until Wilson Bulk Transport (from Ashburton) came to the party. Initially Heath Lyttle, container and general cartage dispatcher for Wilsons, said he could do one load. He then came back and said ‘right, we’ll do all four.’

“That caused some sniffling on my part. My colleagues at work thought I was a bit more demented than usual as they had no idea what was going on.

“Baz was a vital part of piecing all of this together logistically,” says Paule: “It was all about teamwork. If anyone had pulled out at any time it wouldn’t have worked. This whole process has been absolutely incredible and very humbling.”

For two days phone calls were made, the conventional bale run was organised, every donor was phoned, the feed was picked up and consolidated over the Canterbury region….and then, over those same five days, Monday to Friday, over 267t of feed was delivered to Nelson.

Deliveries were staggered because it would have been “too much pressure for the people at the Federated Farmers’ base at Richmond Showgrounds to unload all at once,” Paule explains.

“We weren’t the only ones contributing feed, but all-up Nelson Fires Hay Convoy has delivered over 300 tonnes of feed to the Nelson area to date.”

Paule and Baz were struggling to find the last two trucks needed to deliver the assembled feed to Nelson to clear the Protranz yard by Friday night….until heavy haulage pilot Guy Hahn (whom Paule had just met the previous day) made a call to Golden Bay operator Merv Solly. Problem solved: He immediately volunteered to put two trucks (driven by Barry and Willy) on the run from Christchurch to Nelson and were loaded up Friday morning with the remaining straw and baleage.

It’s typical of the commitment put in by many involved that Baz, his sister Elly, Johnnie McCormick, his niece Hayley and Paule were still loading baleage until 2.30am on the Friday morning (an hour before the last convoy departed) – using only a Ford 4000 tractor with a mower on the back and with their work Truck & Driver | 61

Above, left: Sollys put two trucks on the convoy from Christchurch to Nelson

Above, right: Horsewoman Paule Crawford got the Nelson Fires Hay Convoy started after calling a friend who’d been evacuated from the fire zone, to see if she and her horses were okay

lit by the headlights of two cars!

In all, the convoys involved 26 trucks from 12 companies (so far) – some transport operators, some rural contractors. All-up, they travelled around 18,000 kilometres – a mix of the Timaru, Ashburton and Christchurch to Nelson deliveries, pickups from donors and consolidation runs to the Protranz yard in Christchurch.

Baz reckons: “We were absolutely overwhelmed with the response and generosity of the people in the trucking industry.

To start with we thought we were doing well getting one unitload up there.

“By Sunday night we had six trucks organised. It’s quite funny because every time we had too much hay or baleage, someone else would jump on and offer another truck!

“And when there were too many trucks, someone else would jump on and offer more feed.”

He adds that the unsung heroes of the whole thing were “the guys and girls who handled the conventional, small bales from the pickup run around greater Christchurch.

“All those bales had to be loaded by hand into the ERF provided by Protranz – driven by Ginge (aka Ethan) – on farms or lifestyle blocks, then driven back to base and unloaded across to the Protranz B-train that was leaving for Nelson early Friday morning.

“Then off the ERF would go again to pick up more conventionals and bring them back…and the process would start again.”

Paule explains that while they arranged the pickup, loading and delivery to Nelson, when the feed arrived at the Richmond Showgrounds it became the responsibility of local Federated Farmers reps, who co-ordinated the unloading and distribution.

There were exceptions: Three loads were sent “direct to the worst-affected farms, at Federated Farmers’ request,” she says, but adds: “We identified that sending trucks to farmers on the whole wasn’t an option because of the size of the trucks.”

The companies and individuals who provided the transport all volunteered it – with absolutely no expectation of any compensation, says Paule: “They’ve been incredible – never asking for anything in return. Everyone has said the same thing: 62 | Truck & Driver

‘If we were in this situation, it’d be nice to know we could get the same help.’ ” Gerard Daldry says Protranz was “just one spoke in the wheel.

A lot of the guys are Canterbury-based and put their resources together to help people in Nelson. Cantabrians stick together and in times of need we all jump in there.”

He adds that most Protranz staff are “country people – always the first to put their hands up and open their doors when something goes wrong.

“And we feel for the animals too. We don’t like to see them suffer.” As for offering the convoy effort the use of the Protranz yard as a central point, he shrugs that off as logical: “You’ve always got to have a centralised place of organisation. You can look at the Beehive and see what a mess that is – so we built a haystack instead.”

Rangitata MP and National’s South Island Regional Development spokesperson, Andrew Falloon, believes those out of pocket by running the trucks in the convoy deserve compensation. He’s asked the Minister of Transport to refund RUCs incurred by trucking companies and smaller operators involved in the operation.

Says Falloon: “The costs are substantial. The hay has been donated, and the trucking companies and smaller operators have generously come to the party in volunteering themselves to transport the feed.

“But there’s still the cost of fuel and of Road User Charges. At around $1500 for a return trip from Ashburton to Nelson, at least $18,000 in additional costs have been incurred so far – with many more journeys ahead.”

Paule says that the actual costs of the run were something like “$3.50 per kilometre, x 497.4kms – from Ashburton to Nelson.

That equals $1741 one-way; Timaru to Nelson (572.9kms) = $2005.

“A lot of our trucks were loaded to Nelson, turned around and made the run straight back. An empty truck is an expensive truck.”

Ask Gerard Daldry for his opinion on Falloon’s compo calls and he says: “Though it would be nice, we didn’t ask for anything….”

Continues on page 66

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Above right: Convoys co-organiser Baz Hill

Left, top: At Nelson are (from left) Martin (Federated Farmers), fire-affected farmer Christian Lang, convoy participants Jake Hahn and Paule Crawford, two more local farmers along to help unload the hay and convoy co-organiser Baz Hill Left, lower: The Oversize Pilot’s Al Giddens climbs into his truck for the trip to Nelson

td

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HE LEGENDS LIST: THESE ARE THE people who selflessly put up their hands to help fellow Kiwis in need.

Everyone who donated their stocks of feed Baz Hill (co-organiser), Mid Canterbury Baling Nigel Young, Oli Austin – Quality Feeds and Contracting Fergus Wakelin, Neville Nelson, Johnnie McCormick – Mid Canterbury Baling Gerard and Mike Daldry – Protranz Todd and Julie Smyth – donor farmers Jo Mackie – donor farmer Josh Rushton – donor farmer June Blackwood – donor farmer Slim Slee – donor farmer Guy and Jake Hahn – convoy escort duties Ryan Pharazyn (team leader), Tony Robb, Marga, Garth, Ethan/ Ginge (Protranz) and Holly – hay hand loaders

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– ed g

Hayden Reed and driver Al Lowe – Talley’s Justin Hardacre, Chris Gard, Ian Cartney and Ben Duncombe – Hilton Haulage Heath Lyttle and drivers David Todd, Keith Perry, Jury Blanche and Justin Aliphon – Wilson Bulk Transport Johnny Miller and Dara Mulligan – owner/ driver, truckie Al Giddens – The Oversize Pilot Darryl and Anita Campbell – owner/operators Merv, Ed, Mike, Barry and Willy – Solly’s Transport Rural Transport, Kurow Katie, NZ Trucking Photos Facebook page – co-ordinator Robynne Naylor – North Canterbury conventionals co-ordinator Barbara Kennedy – sponsor Diezal and Mark – DMH Contracting – (Toll owner/drivers)

Mike Ameer – owner/driver Geoff McCabe, Power Farming – supplied telehandler for loading Jess Snelson, Leeding Signs – signage for the convoys Ross Wheelans, Placemakers Christchurch – equipment supplier Rex Smart and the Placemakers Wanaka Team – sponsor of accommodation Friday night for truckies Glenn Templeton, Lakeland Hiab Services sponsor of accommodation Friday night for truckies Mark Balsillie, Otago Fixers – sponsor (accommodation Friday night for truckies) Allied Petroleum – sponsor ($500 fuel credit to Mid Canterbury Baling) BP – sponsor ($500 fuel vouchers) Ashburton District Council – sponsor ($500 Caltex fuel voucher) T&D Truck & Driver | 65

Continues from page 62 It is, he adds, probably “more of a political stunt.

“No-one who actually put their hands in their pockets asked for it. It didn’t change one thing – which gives a good indicator of the type of people who were helping.”

Nigel Young says simply: “I know what it’s like to have animals you can’t feed. If I wasn’t happy I wouldn’t have said yes.”

He does point out though that the drought’s “not getting any better yet up there,” and adds: “I don’t know if people will keep donating off their own backs or if Government will help.”

Currently though, Baz adds, the feed donation effort “is still going on. We’re still getting donations and trucking firms are still helping us out when they can.

“It’s really good to see, especially considering the amount of time it’s taken us to organise: I’d hate to say how many hours.

“When we spoke to the farmers affected it was certainly well

worth it. I encourage people to get involved when something like this happens.”

He points out that feed is available in Canterbury and there is an ongoing need for feed in the aftermath of the Nelson fires and as a result of the worsening drought in the Nelson/Golden Bay region.

He stresses that none of the trucking companies involved in the convoy asked for anything – but believes some financial compensation from here on in might make it easier to get trucks to do the run to Nelson: “We’re looking at up to 1146km per round trip. Extra dollars would encourage more trucks to help out,” he says.

Paule says that the Facebook page is still active – and her and Baz are still doing what they can to co-ordinate loads of feed to the upper South: “We’re still doing loads – as and when

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“We’ve still got a couple of farmers who are in dire straits (after the fires) and some in Golden Bay who are crying out for feed – but it’s a whole other ballgame getting feed over the Takaka Hill. It adds considerably more expense.”

Road Transport Forum (RTF) chief executive Nick Leggett pays tribute to the trucking companies and their drivers who – at their own cost – stepped up to help with the convoys.

“The Canterbury and West Coast farmers who donated feed and the transport operators and contractors who distributed it, contributed their time and their vehicles purely out of concern for the situation Nelson farmers had found themselves in.

“Without a doubt, the efforts of everyone involved in this project have made a major difference to many people in a very difficult time. Hundreds of head of stock have been saved because of those hay runs and it goes without saying that the anxiety of a lot of Nelson farmers has been eased.

“We are an industry that very rarely sticks its head above the parapet in search of praise and I know that self-congratulation was definitely not the motivation behind the hay convoy.

“However, those who took part in it once again proved that when the going gets tough the many selfless members of our industry are quick to step up and get the job done.”

To all those involved, he says, “the RTF, our associations and the whole industry salutes you.”

Paule Crawford, currently organising “a wee thankyou celebration” for all those involved, says it’s a tribute to the Kiwi way that over 100 people from the trucking and farming industries were involved.

It was, she sums up: “Not bad – for a week….from start to finish! Nigel put his hand up. Baz answered the question….we asked the question of the rural community, they answered and the trucking community answered the rest of the question. Without the generosity of the trucking industry it would never have happened.” T&D

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IGH-TECH FEATURE….PILED ON HIGH-TECH feature….on more high-tech features.

That pretty much sums up what you get with the very latest version of Freightliner’s flagship Cascadia for the North American market.

The 2019 model updates focus heavily on aerodynamic and fuel economy improvements…

And on new and improved safety and driversoothing features.

The bonneted Cascadia, of course, is slated to be introduced to the New Zealand market next year – in a version and specification yet to be announced – as the new premier model in Freightliner’s range… replacing the retiring Argosy cabover.

Trucks are in trial in Australasia and the expectation

is that the Cascadia will be the star of Freightliner’s presence at next month’s Brisbane Truck Show.

In the US, the next-generation Cascadia is being heavily promoted on the basis of just how far it pushes the technology envelope – courtesy of its Detroit Assurance 5.0 safety systems and updated aero features.

They contribute to the Cascadia having achieved a whopping 35% improvement in fuel economy since the model was launched in North America in 2007.

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TD27876

POWER IS NOTHING WITHOUT CONTROL

Above, left: Freightliner on-highway marketing manager Clint LaPreze points to the A-pillar deflector that tightens airflow down the side of the cab. It also keeps dirt from soiling side glass and mirrors and improves fuel economy

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Above, right: The tandem fairing is a Flow Below unit, modified by Freightliner to include wheel-closing extenders for optimum performance. Quick-release brackets allow for wintertime chaining up

aero efficiency, with the top level – the AeroX – even featuring an at-speed suspension lowering for the very best air management under the truck.

The AeroX pushes the fuel savings with six new features, including an optimised low-ground-clearance bumper that in static mode clears the road by just four inches (10.16 centimetres). This is reduced a further inch (2.54cm) as the truck settles lower with an optional chassis squat at speeds over 55mph (88.5km/h). The truck resumes normal ride height as the speed drops through 45mph (72.4km/h).

Up top, AeroX has an optimised rear roof extender between the side extenders – curved for trailer swing clearance, but providing additional fairing length to ease airflow over the trailer.

The wheels also get minor enhancements with front wheelwell closers ahead and behind the steer axle tyres and optimised drive axle fairings with gap closures. Freightliner also has an exclusive 18-month deal with Michelin to fit the latest X Line Energy D+ low rolling resistance drive tyres.

This is the ultimate aero version. At the basic level, the latest Cascadia has only a couple of aero modifications – covers over the tow hook openings on the front and a corner deflector on the A-pillar to keep air tighter to the side of the cab and sleeper (while also reducing the amount of dirt deposits on the side windows and on the mirrors for improved safety too).

The Aero package improves on that base with enhanced, two-piece side fairing skirts that reduce side clearance to the road and work to keep air from under the truck and trailer. And the cab side extenders feature a gap-closing strip between the fairing and the back-of-cab, preventing air from entering the lowpressure region between the cab and the trailer.

Then come the new technology features of Detroit Assurance 5.0 – most impressively including lanekeeping and lane centring through automated steering

control. It’s a first for a North American production truck and follows the launch of the same technology on the latest Mercedes-Benz Actros at last September’s IAA Show in Hanover, Germany.

It means that the truck effectively guides itself, with the driver merely keeping his or her hands resting on the steering wheel – ready to take over when necessary.

The system uses an electric-over-hydraulic steering gear by Bosch that responds to inputs from the windscreen-mounted camera – sensing lane markings.

It operates automatically over 37mph (59.5km/h). It’s now standard on every Detroit-powered New Cascadia.

The basic safety package includes a collision mitigation system, with full braking on obstacle detection – including a moving pedestrian.

A major upgrade comes in the adaptive cruise control, which now stays engaged down to a stop. If the vehicle ahead moves off within two seconds, the cruise automatically re-engages and the truck moves off again at the preset following distance. This should prove invaluable in stop and go heavy traffic.

If the vehicle in front doesn’t move within 2s, the brakes on the truck stay engaged until the driver touches the resume button on the adaptive cruise or touches the accelerator pedal. With this new feature, drivers can stay in cruise for much longer and it should have a positive impact of fuel consumption.

The adaptive cruise following distance is driveradjustable – from 2.4 seconds, to 3.6s.

Another standard feature is lane departure warning, with left and right-side speaker alarms that simulate the noise of rumble strips.

New features include traffic sign recognition, which displays speed limits in the driver info dash panel, intelligent high-beam switching triggered by oncoming headlights or the rear lights of vehicles ahead and automatic two-speed windscreen wiper and headlight Truck & Driver | 71

Above, left: La Preze points to the slim gap filler that improves side extender performance. Just a small detail, but all the aero improvements contribute to 5% fuel savings for latest model Above, right: Another aero aid on AeroX package is the rooftop extender between the side panels to smooth airflow over the tractor-trailer air gap

activation, triggered by rain on the windscreen.

A tailgate warning is also included – triggered if the driver travels too close to the vehicle ahead. If the driver doesn’t correct the situation within 10 seconds a critical event is logged via the databus and a report is posted for fleet-manager action.

As standard, all critical events are recorded by the front facing camera (and, when optioned, the driverfacing camera), to the Bendix SafetyDirect web portal, for fleet managers and safety staff to download and analyse.

Among the add-on options that fleets can separately spec is the highly-valuable Side Guard Assist blind spot system, that sees ahead of the truck and to the rear of a semi-trailer and detects vehicles and objects…including cyclists and pedestrians. The driver is warned by audio and visual alerts on the dash and the passenger-side A-pillar. The system also helps with passenger-side turns in cities and works to prevent a trailer off-tracking into obstacles and lane-change accidents.

Active lane assist includes lane keeping and 72 | Truck & Driver

centring, but with the driver’s ability to bias it toward the left or right as required. It includes active steering for lane departure protection – so, if the turn indicator isn’t engaged, any move out of the truck’s lane triggers a warning….then the system actively countersteers to return the truck to its lane. Lane keeping also helps in windy conditions.

Lane keep assist and protection are enabled at speeds over 37mph (59.5km/h) when in cruise control mode.

All previous Detroit Connect features such as the reporting of fault codes and the virtual technician, as well as reporting and data analysing, are retained. To come shortly are over-the-air updates for engine and transmission reprogramming.

All of the features are, as Daimler says, driver assistance aids, designed to make the driving day less stressful and safer – to reduce fatigue and get the driver home safely….yet not take away from the driver’s control of the vehicle. As it adds: “The driver is the number one safety system in the truck.”

I get the chance to try out the New Cascadia’s safety

This is the truck I drive, with a 400hp DD15 engine and DT12 transmission. Tall 2.16 final drive means 60mph (100km/h) at 1100rpm for super-quiet cruising

and driver assistance features on a 120-mile (200km) media ride and drive in Florida – partly on the Palm Beach International Raceway, but primarily on the busy I-95 Freeway.

Selecting D on the rotating switch on the right multifunction stalk selects forward motion and, with the brakes released and a touch on the accelerator, the test drive begins.

Depending on circumstances you can just tickle the truck up to speed, or as I do leaving the service area where I take over the wheel – exiting straight onto the fast lane – you can mash on the throttle.

The I-95 is a heavily-trafficked route that goes all the way from Miami to Canada and is jammed with older motorists who don’t understand about trucks.

But never mind: The Cascadia has excellent mirrors and the Side Guard Assist does a masterful job of reporting vehicles that insist on passing, despite the turn signal flashing my desire to change lanes.

Once that’s been achieved and adaptive cruise is selected, I’m immediately conscious of the Lane Keeping Assist working against me to centre the truck

in the lane.

Of course, the thing I really want to try is the selfsteering that this feature enables and I can confidently say it works….but will disengage if the wheel is not taken back by the driver after 60 seconds, with warnings up until that point.

But I keep fighting it, with my hands back on the wheel. The problem is that the system is set to centre the truck in its lane…whereas my preferred position is running maybe six inches (15cms) off the right-side lane marking.

Once I’m shown how to bias the truck to that position, I’m much more comfortable – even though there remains a little hunting in the system, because a regular driver will only apply a little steering input and a mite earlier than the automated system.

However, I have to admit that the lane keeping system never runs us out of the lane… whereas I trigger the simulated rumble strip alarm probably a half dozen times in my 120 miles at the wheel!

I have experienced automated emergency braking systems before – where the truck autonomously Truck & Driver | 73

Above, left: La Preze points to the tow-hook filler panels that keep air flowing over surfaces instead of under the tractor unit

Right, top: Multifunction switches in the steering wheel keep a driver’s hands on the wheel. Steering assist will detect whether the driver is interacting with steering to ensure it remains a hands-on operation.

Dash has central driver panel in the instrument cluster that carries a wealth of new information Right, lower: Side sensor for the blind spot assist can see ahead of the tractor and all the way to the rear of a 53-foot trailer. Triggers audible and visual alerts during lane changes

brakes to avoid hitting a stationary object. And I’ve seen demos of the truck’s reaction to a pedestrian moving in front of the vehicle. As a passenger during such a demo, it is quite frightening how close the truck gets to the obstacle before the brakes come hard on.

Fortunately, that’s unnecessary during my drive.

However, I do get the opportunity to let the truck run down to zero speed, behind a vehicle stationary at a traffic light.

Again, it demands faith in the system as it doesn’t let the speed drop off as slowly as a driver will.

But the resume-before-two-seconds feature works as promised in a demo at the Raceway – with a car ahead slowing to a stop and then taking off again.

The truck restarts automatically, maintaining the set following distance.

A couple of incidents I encounter on my drive do underscore the necessity to keep your hands resting on the wheel and the right foot ready to hit the brakes.

Once, when passing an offramp, the lane keeping gets confused and tries to take the ramp. I feel it on the steering wheel and simply steer against this tendency till the right lane marking reappears.

The second event is when using the-cruise-tozero at a J-turn junction, as the slowing car in front turns to the junction, the system can no longer see a vehicle in front….and disengages the auto braking. It does, I admit, cause me a little concern.

Otherwise, this 2020 model year Cascadia is little different in its road behaviour than the New Cascadia introduced in 2016. And it’s quiet – allowing for living-room-like conversation. This is a tribute to cab insulation and door sealing, but is also due to the fact that the engine is only turning 1100rpm at 60mph (100km/h).

The functionality built into Assurance 5.0 has to be experienced firsthand to realise how the standard features ease the driving task. Fleet owners also need to experience the optional features to understand how many safety features are available to avoid accidents and get their drivers home safely.

The Cascadia is the biggest-selling model for North America’s biggest-selling make – and is the replacement here for the Argosy….

And that, in turn, has been NZ’s biggest selling Freightliner by far, with well over 1000 of the cabovers sold here since it was launched in 1999.

Freightliner Australia boss Stephen Downes said, when announcing the Cascadia Australasian plans, that its introduction “represents an unparalleled opportunity….to reinvent ourselves and deliver all of the things we know operators are looking for.

“The opportunity is in the technology the model delivers, whether that’s from the safety point of view, connectivity, fuel efficiency, telematics or just the quality and reliability of the vehicle.

“Cascadia is a real game-changer for the Australian market, for conventional trucks.” T&D

74 | Truck & Driver

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Tiny tot... huge drama Story Hayley Leibowitz & Wayne Munro Photos Hayley Leibowitz

A

T FIRST, CAREER TRUCKIE REX TEMM THOUGHT IT WAS A cardboard box on the roadside ahead, blowing in the wind.

Then, as he got closer – heading north, a few kilometres before Tokoroa on State Highway 1 – the shocking reality became all too clear: It was a tiny child – a toddler, barefoot and wearing just a nappy.

A little curly-haired boy, maybe 18 months or two years old. On his own….and about to step off the road verge on Rex’s side of the road, onto SH1 – with Monday afternoon traffic closing from both directions.

The 64-year-old Te Awamutu truckie snapped into panic mode, braking to a stop in his Riordan & West Freightliner Argosy truck and trailer unit.

Even in the midst of this emergency action, Rex found himself weighing up the options: “If I’d have just stopped in front of the boy, he could have easily just run straight across in front of me – and into the vehicles coming the other way.”

Like the fully-loaded logtruck heading south…and right there. And cars behind Rex’s unit – and following the logger.

In 40 years of driving, Rex Temm has never seen anything like it... hopes he never will again In a flash he figured out the safest course of action: “Everything happened so quick – but you’ve got to make a decision, because it’s life or death.”

He pulled the Argosy right out to the white line in the centre of the highway right opposite the toddler….then kinked the truck to the left – to kind of corral the little boy. Box him in between the truck and the roadside and stop him running out into the traffic.

It meant though that, by the time Rex had stopped, “because my truck was on an angle and the mirrors weren’t seeing that part of the road…at that stage I’d lost sight of him.”

So he baled out of the truck, raced down the foldout stairs and “just sprinted as hard and as fast as I could for the 21-metre length of the vehicle – not knowing where this child was. I didn’t know what I would find.”

Rex says he couldn’t let himself think about the alternative to successfully rescuing the baby: “I’m a father and a grandfather and, you know – you just can’t think of it. It would have been horrendous.

I probably would have never driven again.

Truck & Driver | 77

All pictures, from left: Rex used the Riordan & West truck and trailer unit to corral the toddler on the roadside...his frantic exit from the Argosy’s cab and sprint to the back of the trailer left him with a serious Achilles tendon injury....Rex is off work for up to two months in the aftermath of the incident – but has absolutely no regrets

“When I pulled up and jumped out, people didn’t realise what was going on. They just saw me sprinting past them, as they tried to get past my truck. They must have thought ‘what’s this **** doing!’ ” He got to the back of the trailer, just as the toddler came around it – heading out onto the road!

“I put my hands up, hoping that he would too – and he did. He was crying and I just ran, picked him up under the arms – scooped him up and whipped him off to the side of the road.

“He was wet – soaking wet. He hadn’t been changed in a long time.”

He remembers the people in the cars who’d stopped behind his truck – “when I picked this guy up off the road, they all looked at me and realised what had happened.

“People were pulling up beside me: ‘Are you alright, are you alright.’ I was sort of a bit stunned.” He hadn’t figured out what to do next when a woman driver pulled up – saying she’d seen what happened as she drove past, heading south.

She’d turned back because, she said, “she knew where the little boy lived – pointing to a track going up into the bush. She said he lived at a house about 100 metres up the track.

“Are you sure?” Rex asked and, he says, “she said: ‘Yeah, I’ll take him back up to the house.’ ” He wonders now if there was more he could or should have done.

He says of the boy he rescued: “There was no reason for him to be there – no house or car on the other side of the road that he was running to. It was State Highway 1 – at two o’clock in the afternoon!

“It’s just negligence isn’t it? But nothing….nothing will be done I don’t think. This lady would’ve just taken him back up to the house.

Nobody would know.

78 | Truck & Driver

“She said to me, when I handed him to her through the window: ‘Oh, I’ll give the mother a slap when I get up there.’ And I just thought ‘what chance has a little fella like this got in life?’ ” When Rex turned to walk back to his truck, he realised his right leg was aching: “The adrenalin was flowing. I was pumped. I hadn’t realised I’d hurt it.

“But when I walked back to the truck I was struggling, you know. It was really sore.”

He was also rattled emotionally by what had just happened: “I got the truck off the road and then I sort of had to take some deep breaths and just thought for a minute.

“I was really shaken up. I had to just go for a bit of a walk to settle myself…had a bit of a break for a few minutes and gathered my thoughts. And then I was able to carry on.” (He had a load of scoria on, that he was taking from Taupo to Auckland).

Back at home, he iced his sore leg/ankle – but on a visit to the doctor the next day he was told off: “They said ‘don’t move, don’t move – you could have done some real damage here.’

“So they put a half-cast on me and….sent me to hospital to get an ultrasound. Turns out it’s my Achilles tendon – not torn but very stretched.”

Fitted with a “moon boot,” Rex has been off work, off driving and doing daily physio and exercises.

It’s given him a lot of time to reflect on what happened on SH1 near the Tokoroa Golf Course on the afternoon of Monday, February 11.

In more than 40 years of driving – since starting with Osbornes in hometown Te Awamutu – he’s seen the aftermath of crashes plenty of times….and, of course, sees near-misses through bad

driving “every day.

“I’ve seen a lot of things. I did 14 years as a volunteer fireman in Te Awamutu – saw a lot of bad things at accidents.”

But never, ever anything quite like this. When he first identified that the object he could see at the end of the straight was actually a child, he recalls: “I didn’t panic at that stage: I thought ‘oh okay, there’s the child – where’s the parent? You’d better be close to this child – to stop him going out onto the road.’

“The closer I got I realised there was no-one else there. He was on his own. Then I thought ‘we’re in trouble here! This is serious.’ If he’d have gone out….straight across that road….” It’s not a sentence he cares to finish.

Fate played a part too, Rex believes: “If I’d been there just 10 seconds earlier, he would have been across the road – in front of a 50-tonne logger.”

Former workmate and truckie Dean Chandler (well, he’s actually now an auto refinisher with Fleet Image in Hamilton) nominated Rex as a Castrol Truck Driver Hero – because, as he says, “in my eyes Rex needs some recognition for this.” Particularly since he injured himself in rescuing the toddler.

Rex is, he reckons, “a bit of a legend….one of the industry’s good buggers.”

As a Castrol Truck Driver Hero, Rex will receive a $500 prezzy card and merchandise from Castrol – and is now a finalist for the annual Castrol Truck Driver Hero Award, which carries with it a $3500 travel voucher.

Rex shrugs off the hero tag: “You just do it. You learn to just do the job and carry on. I’ve seen a lot of pretty horrible things travelling on

the road too – mainly in the way of bad driving and the standard of driving that we see from our big cabs.

“But you’ve just gotta drive for yourself and try and drive for everybody else and hope this sort of thing doesn’t happen.”

Riordan & West’s Dave West – Rex’s boss for the past nine years – says he wasn’t surprised to hear that Rex “did what you need to do” to make sure the child was safe.

“Rex is just a good all round employee. He gets in and gets the job done – nothing’s really a problem. He just makes stuff happen. This is typical of what Rex would do – make sure everyone was safe.”

Rex hasn’t told many people about what happened that day: “The company knows about it and a few of my close mates. Work was brilliant. No problem at all.”

Ironically, Rex’s actions were queried by a motorist who called Riordan & West the day after the incident, wanting to know “why one of our trucks was parked on a strange angle south of Kinleith – with the door open and the steps sticking out.”

When the caller was told what had happened, “the phone went dead silent.”

Given his injury and the time he’s had off work, would be do the same thing again? “Yeah, yeah – there’s no hesitation because, you know, you can’t think of the alternative of what could happen. Trucks use that road fully loaded, 50-odd tonne, all the time and there’s logging trucks whipping up and down that road.”

And he reckons that with a bit more physio he’ll be back at work in no time. How will it feel driving that route again? “I’ve driven it a thousand times before, but yeah, it will bring it back. It will bring it back…” T&D

Truck & Driver | 79

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Sector Workforce Engagement Programme

A SWEP panel has met with MBIE to discuss the migrant worker proposals. Among those taking part were, from left: An obscured John McDonald (HWR Group), the MBIE’s Sian Rojuski and Andrew McNaught, Dave Cox (RTANZ), Steve Lawrence and Jodene Chappel from Pyramid Trucking, Avi Shrivastava and Jason Chand (MBIE), Mark Pelan (Gleeson & Cox) and Ryal Bush Transport’s Shannon McEwan.

IMMIGRATION – INDUSTRY WORKING WITH GOVERNMENT

By Steve Divers Director – career pathways – road freight transport Sector Workforce Engagement Programme (SWEP)

S

WEP ROAD FREIGHT TRANSPORT HAS BEEN under way, with boots on the ground, for the last two years – and we’ve seen increases in new Class 5 drivers last year and the previous year.

It’s pleasing to see that we are tracking the right way as we begin to fill some of the gaps.

Whilst we await the launch of the Gateway and 3+2 programmes from MITO – with the promotional material due any day for anticipated uptake in the second school term – and also taking the accelerated licensing process into consideration, we now see a clearer pathway forming.

Everything we’re doing is very much targeted at the longterm payback for our efforts, and a recurrent theme since we started has been immigration: What

part does it play and is it accessible for operators?

Firstly, the disclaimer: I am not an authorised immigration consultant, nor do I seek to be one – so nothing in this article forms any advice or seeks to make recommendations. Even Immigration NZ officers are unable to give advice – just state the facts. If in doubt please consult a licensed immigration consultation.

Some years ago, truck driving was on the essential skills shortage list, but was subsequently removed. Then, in the wake of the Christchurch earthquakes, it was put on a skills shortage list for the Christchurch region, to aid the recovery effort.

I have met and talked to operators who utilise immigration via essential skills visas and talent Truck & Driver | 81

Sector Workforce Engagement Programme visas – the difference between the two being that essential skills visas are 12-month working visas, with no pathway to residency for lower-skilled workers….

Whereas talent visas have a pathway to residency, but require the visa holder to work only for an accredited employer for two years.

Accredited employers are those that have applied to Immigration NZ and have undergone a rigorous assessment to ensure that they meet a higher standard – in terms of the financial stability of their companies and a commitment to pay a minimum requirement and meet employment standards.

There is a list of these accredited employers on the Immigration NZ website and I note that two years ago there were approximately 25 that identified as transport related. This has now grown to over 80 employers.

Our industry does have seasonal variations that are known and somewhat quantifiable – that do create short-term blips in recruitment and an immediate need. Is this where immigrations fits for our industry?

If so the need for an employer to be organised is paramount, as some industries – such as horticulture and viticulture – have input with Government on how immigration needs are addressed each year.

There are changes ahead for immigration and the Government is trying to balance the need for migrant workers and our domestic employment landscape.

The purpose of writing this article is about the current immigration consultation and what SWEP is doing as a group – with the member organisations and the Road Transport Forum having valuable input.

The Government proposal is: • Consolidating the current six employer-supported visas (essential skills and shortage list, approved in principle, talent, work to residence longterm skills shortage list and two specific Silver Fern migrant visas), to one employer-led visa.

• Moving from essential skills in demand lists, to a regional skills shortage list.

• Introducing sector agreements for defined industries.

This would appear to be a simplification exercise, consolidating to one framework as in the accompanying illustration.

It should be noted that it is envisaged at this stage that, should this framework be adopted, the premium accreditation in order to employ more than five migrant workers per 12-month period would be similar to the current accredited employer scheme.

In order to understand the proposal, the SWEP steering committee, together with Forum CEO Nick Leggett, met with the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) immigration policy team for an overview.

This has since led to a group panel discussion, where feedback was given on the proposals from operators who are accredited and use migrant personnel. My thanks are extended to those who made the time to attend the meeting or provide valuable feedback.

The meeting allowed us to provide direct feedback on what challenges are apparent, for consideration on this immigration proposal.

Some of the key points made were that if the accredited employer status remains, then the renewal process is somewhat onerous and mirrors the initial application. There appears to be duplication in providing information, which operators believe is process-driven rather than value-driven – and just creates churn and adds compliance costs.

82 | Truck & Driver

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Operators also saw any increase to the current remuneration thresholds as being inequitable. Regulation has led the industry into an expected-hours-worked situation, which is not comparable to immigration policy, as the remuneration thresholds are based on a 40-hour week.

It was noted that the industry was not overly reliant on migrant workers in comparison to other industries, but there was also recognition that they do have a part to play in overall recruitment.

The ability to access migrant workers is undermined by the reliance upon the the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations – which, based on the International Labour Organisation’s classification of occupations, has truck driving only considered level 4.

There ought to be a fairer system of evaluation for the role performed by professional drivers.

If the current proposal is adopted by Government, then we are likely to see an industry discussion with Government about what a Road Freight Transport Industry Sector Agreement could look like; what considerations would be given; and what commitments from industry Government would expect to see.

This could be a real opportunity to address the unique needs of our industry, but it will take some degree of soul-searching to ensure that we are good employers – committed to ensuring a supportive workplace for both domestic and migrant staff.

I have heard from a number of members that their expectation of SWEP has been to just provide more drivers. What this engagement with Government has shown us however, is that putting the work in to create the tools and the pipeline to allow operators to recruit and train has afforded us opportunities….such as the immigration consultation meetings.

More than likely, if the proposal is adopted, a Road Freight Industry Sector Agreement could be negotiated that provides a better-fitting immigration policy for our industry. The closing date for submissions has passed and we now look forward to the decision on the proposal. T&D

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National Road Carriers

Collaboration is a must for the industry to achieve its goals

Collaboration key to road transport success

By David Aitken, CEO of National Road Carriers

I

F THERE’S ONE THING THAT COULD BE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN success and failure for the road transport industry in 2019, it is the ability to collaborate to achieve our goals.

There is much to achieve in the year ahead – roading improvements in Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Manawatu and Northland, more sustainable practices, greater efficiency in the overall supply chain, an improved regulatory environment and more drivers recruited into our industry.

These are all hugely important goals, but they’re not something that individual operators, nor even the National Road Carriers Association, can solve alone. The key will be collaboration and finding common ground with other operators, members of the supply chain, infrastructure decisionmakers and regulatory bodies.

Consider the example of congestion and delays at Ports of Auckland late last year: Many transport operators were frustrated that the port was not operating as smoothly as we all would have liked.

Imported freight was taking longer to deliver and exporters were also hit by delays getting their goods away.

This was actually caused by issues at various stages in the supply chain, some of them thousands of kilometres away from the Waitemata Harbour. For example, typhoons in Asia delayed the arrival of some ships. Others were diverted to Tauranga because all the berths at Auckland were full at the time of a fatal straddle accident at Ports of Auckland. It became apparent that delays can flow all the way through the supply chain.

We in the road transport industry were caught in the middle. We were

storing containers at freight hubs longer – which cost more for double handling – or were delivering goods later than originally expected. Some of our clients had to hold export goods because we didn’t know when to collect them to take them to the port.

The answer was collaboration: The cost of getting all imported and export freight across our wharves was increasing and we had to work with other parts of the supply chain to make our clients aware of the reasons and help reduce the delays.

We worked together with Ports of Auckland to develop key messages to educate all members of the supply chain. We provided these to our members and jointly promoted them through the likes of the Shipping Gazette and other media and online channels.

Working together, rather than blaming each other, resulted in a better understanding of supply chain issues and a greater willingness from all to do their part to make things run more smoothly.

It was an excellent reminder of the value of collaboration, when previously we may have tended to point the finger and expect others to solve our problems.

And it’s an approach we can apply equally to other road transport issues. We’re already collaborating with the likes of the Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Government to address driver shortages through the Sector Workforce Engagement Programme (SWEP) initiative.

Likewise, we regularly collaborate with central and local government on issues of infrastructure and regulation.

It is the way forward for 2019 and beyond and we need to do more of it. T&D Truck & Driver | 85

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20/12/18 10:46 AM

Road Transport Association NZ

What the NZTA regulatory future might be

Dennis Robertson

By Road Transport Association NZ chief executive Dennis Robertson

A

REPORT, ENTITLED INQUIRY INTO THE PERFORMANCE of the New Zealand Transport Agency in Relation to Dargaville Diesel Specialists, by Governmentappointed author Kristy McDonald, QC, has now been published.

And it gives some very clear insights into possible changes in the NZTA’s performance that will be coming.

While this report was to look at a specific issue around the issuing of Warrants of Fitness (WoFs) by Dargaville Diesel Specialists, it also questions the fundamental regulatory regime within NZTA. If you read between the lines, the report clearly questions whether the compliance system operating since 2014 is likely to continue, or whether we’re going to see a return to greater enforcement.

McDonald makes some telling points, and given she is a QC, she clearly understands the process required to manage a regulatory framework and what is required to enforce this – right up to the highest court in NZ. I believe that the following quotes from the report tell the story as she sees it: “I have reached the conclusion that the failures I identified are not unique to the DDS case. Rather, they are examples of wider systemic failures within NZTA’s regulatory function that have existed for some time and that must be addressed as a priority.

“From my review of (DDS) file I have concluded that NZTA failed to prioritise public safety, with the result that appropriate regulatory action was not taken in a timely or responsive manner. The effect was that DDS and its vehicle inspectors (VIs) were permitted to continue issuing to NZ drivers for considerably longer than was reasonable or safe.”

So, what could we expect to see as a wider change in the way NZTA operates? I believe this can be best summed up by another of her comments: “I consider that NZTA needs to return to first principles; that is, focus on its core regulatory purpose, namely to undertake its functions in a way that contributes to an effective, efficient, and safe land transport system in the public interest and work to develop

a culture that facilitates and encourages rigorous regulatory oversight.

“While a ‘customer focus’ is a commendable objective generally, the Agency should be clear about how its regulatory function is applied in the interest of public safety.

“Compliance staff must be given training on regulatory principles and decisionmaking and I have made recommendations above accordingly.”

McDonald’s report discusses how this system was developed, what caused problems, and whether this system and NZTA’s internal structure achieved the outcomes expected of such an agency.

McDonald says she does not believe that 2014 vehicle licensing reforms were to blame for NZTA’s regulatory shortcomings. Instead, NZTA’s switch to a customer focus exacerbated fundamental problems that already existed.

She highlights the role of a group of staff called the adjudicators, who prepared the files for court action and enforcement. She says that this structure was fundamentally flawed and it seemed that adjudicators were permitted to establish their own processes. The unintended result was an overly conservative approach to decisionmaking.

So, what can we see the NZTA’s regulatory future being – and how might this impact on the industry?

McDonald says NZTA needs to have the right number of qualified staff, who are given appropriate support to make decisions: “Leaving all regulatory decisions to one small group of individuals led to resourcing issues for NZTA which also inhibited prompt and responsive decision making.”

So, the task for NZTA is to look at how it achieves this.

With comment from the current chair, Michael Stiassny, that the Agency will be adopting these recommendations, we are going to see a greater focus on enforcement and more court time for everyone.

Only two things happen in these cases: Lawyers get richer and the industry gets bruised. So, do adapt to this T&D change….otherwise the outcome may not be pretty.

Truck & Driver | 87

10:46 AM

TD29256

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Cambridge operator Redman Hiabs has put its third new DAF CF85 on the road, operating North Island-wide. The 8x4, driven by Ben Little, has a factoryfitted blind-spot camera system, air horns, marker lights and polished rims and is fitted with a Koromiko deck and a Palfinger PK42002 crane

Two months …. two records N

EW ZEALAND’S NEW HEAVY TRUCK market continued at recordbreaking levels in February – albeit only narrowly.

New truck registrations for the month in the overall market (all trucks above a 4.5-tonne GVM) totalled 389….just six more than the same month last year, which was the previous February alltime best.

On top of a recordbreaking January, the February regos guaranteed another record – the 805 2019 sales to the end of February easily beating the 721 for the first two months of 2018.

NZ Transport Agency registration statistics, analysed by industry consultant Robin Yates’ Marketing Hand, show that the heavy trailer market couldn’t follow up its record

January with an alltime best February: With 107 registrations it fell short of February 2018’s record by 14.

The 218 trailers registered in the first two months of this year amounted to five less than last year’s record for the first two months of the year.

In the overall heavy truck market (4.5t to maximum GVM), Isuzu – with 187 YTD and 93 for February – made its best start to a sales year since 2015, claiming a 23.2% market share.

FUSO (140/71) was firmly in the No. 2 spot, followed by Hino (103/50) and Volvo (69/19) – the latter making its best start to a year in over a decade.

Kenworth (50/28) overtook stablemate DAF (41/13), while Mercedes-Benz (37/23) also improved one spot, to seventh,

(continued on page 93) Truck & Driver | 89

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Fred Misa is now driving this new Volvo FM13 500 Value spec tipper in his Waiuku-based F&M Misa operation. It has a Transfleet bin and matching trailer.

23,001kg-max GVM 2019

4501kg-max GVM 2019 Brand ISUZU FUSO HINO VOLVO KENWORTH DAF MERCEDES-BENZ UD MAN IVECO SCANIA SINOTRUK MACK FREIGHTLINER VOLKSWAGEN FOTON HYUNDAI INTERNATIONAL FIAT RAM Total

Vol 187 140 103 69 50 41 37 35 31 30 20 12 11 9 8 6 6 6 3 1 805

% 23.2 17.4 12.8 8.6 6.2 5.1 4.6 4.3 3.9 3.7 2.5 1.5 1.4 1.1 1.0 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.4 0.1 100

February Vol % 93 23.9 71 18.3 50 12.9 19 4.9 28 7.2 13 3.3 23 5.9 18 4.6 17 4.4 16 4.1 10 2.6 6 1.5 5 1.3 3 0.8 7 1.8 2 0.5 4 1.0 2 0.5 2 0.5 0 0.0 389 100

3501-4500kg GVM 2019 Brand FIAT MERCEDES-BENZ CHEVROLET FORD PEUGEOT LDV RENAULT TOYOTA Total

Vol 37 10 9 6 6 4 2 1 75

% 49.3 13.3 12.0 8.0 8.0 5.3 2.7 1.3 100

February Vol % 16 44.4 8 22.2 5 13.9 3 8.3 0 0.0 2 5.6 1 2.8 1 2.8 36 100

4501-7500kg GVM 2019 Brand FUSO ISUZU IVECO MERCEDES-BENZ HINO VOLKSWAGEN HYUNDAI FOTON FIAT RAM Total 90 | Truck & Driver

Vol 55 39 19 15 13 8 6 5 3 1 164

% 33.5 23.8 11.6 9.1 7.9 4.9 3.7 3.0 1.8 0.6 100.0

February Vol % 24 26.7 24 26.7 12 13.3 8 8.9 7 7.8 7 7.8 4 4.4 2 2.2 2 2.2 0 0.0 90 100

In the heavy trailer market, No. 1 Patchell (28/12) was pipped by Roadmaster (22/13), but retained a clear YTD lead.

7501-15,000kg GVM 2019 Brand ISUZU FUSO HINO UD IVECO MERCEDES-BENZ DAF FOTON Total

Vol 93 34 33 6 4 3 2 1 176

% 52.8 19.3 18.8 3.4 2.3 1.7 1.1 0.6 100

February Vol % 44 50.0 18 20.5 19 21.6 4 4.5 1 1.1 2 2.3 0 0.0 0 0.0 88 100

15,001-20,500kg GVM 2019 Brand HINO UD FUSO ISUZU SCANIA SINOTRUK DAF IVECO MERCEDES-BENZ Total

Vol 16 10 8 7 2 2 1 1 1 48

% 33.3 20.8 16.7 14.6 4.2 4.2 2.1 2.1 2.1 100

February Vol % 6 23.1 6 23.1 3 11.5 6 23.1 1 3.8 1 3.8 1 3.8 1 3.8 1 3.8 26 100

20,501-23,000kg GVM 2019 Brand FUSO HINO Total

Vol 4 2 6

% 66.7 33.3 100

February Vol % 3 75.0 1 25.0 4 100

Brand VOLVO KENWORTH ISUZU FUSO HINO DAF MAN UD MERCEDES-BENZ SCANIA MACK SINOTRUK FREIGHTLINER INTERNATIONAL IVECO Total

Vol 69 50 48 39 39 38 31 19 18 18 11 10 9 6 6 411

% 16.8 12.2 11.7 9.5 9.5 9.2 7.5 4.6 4.4 4.4 2.7 2.4 2.2 1.5 1.5 100

February Vol % 19 10.5 28 15.5 19 10.5 23 12.7 17 9.4 12 6.6 17 9.4 8 4.4 12 6.6 9 5.0 5 2.8 5 2.8 3 1.7 2 1.1 2 1.1 181 100

Trailers 2019 Brand Vol PATCHELL 28 ROADMASTER 22 TMC 20 MTE 18 DOMETT 17 TRANSPORT TRAILERS 15 FRUEHAUF 11 JACKSON 7 TES 7 TRANSFLEET 7 EVANS 5 FAIRFAX 5 FREIGHTER 5 TIDD 5 CHIEFTAIN 3 KOROMIKO 3 KRAFT 3 LUSK 3 MAKARANUI 3 MILLS-TUI 3 HAMMAR 2 HTS 2 IDEAL 2 LOWES 2 MORGAN 2 TEO 2 COX 1 CWS 1 FELDBINDER 1 MORBANK 1 MTT 1 PTE 1 TOPSTART 1 TROUTRIVER 1 OTHERS 8 Total 218

% 12.8 10.1 9.2 8.3 7.8 6.9 5.0 3.2 3.2 3.2 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 3.7 100

February Vol % 12 11.2 13 12.1 8 7.5 11 10.3 8 7.5 7 6.5 2 1.9 3 2.8 3 2.8 5 4.7 2 1.9 3 2.8 3 2.8 2 1.9 2 1.9 2 1.9 1 0.9 2 1.9 1 0.9 2 1.9 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 0.9 1 0.9 1 0.9 1 0.9 0 0.0 1 0.9 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 0.9 1 0.9 8 7.5 107 100

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Anybody can jump in and drive them comfortably and easily. When I find something I’m happy with – like the IVECO Stralis – I like to stick with it and the IVECO Stralis is a great, reliable fleet truck.”

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Quiet, comfortable, efficient and tough, these are all qualities of the IVECO Stralis - General Manager of Aratuna Freighters, Andrew Havill, wouldn’t have 30 of them if they didn’t deliver for his business. Available in a range of configurations including 6x4 and 8x4 prime movers and rigids and with GCMs of between 36 to 90 tonnes, the Stralis is well suited to many heavy duty applications. Add to this powerful yet fuel efficient Cursor engines with up to 560 horsepower, easy-to-drive 12 and 16-speed Automated Manual Transmissions and one of the most comfortable cabins available, and you can see why the Stralis is according to Andrew, “a great, reliable fleet truck.”

For more information visit your local IVECO dealer or phone 0800 FOR IVECO (0800 367 48326).

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This new International ProStar is now in work for Te Kauwhata’s MMM Cartage owner/driver Brian Aitchison. The 6x4 tipper has a 615hp Cummins X15 engine, an Eaton Ultrashift AMT and Meritor 46-160 diffs, plus twin exhausts, a stainless visor and a premium interior package

(continued from page 89) at the cost of UD (35/18). MAN (31/17) lost a place and Iveco (30/16) dropped two. Scania (20/10) held 11th, while Sinotruk (12/6) edged ahead of Mack (11/5).

In the 3.5-4.5t GVM crossover segment, Fiat (37/16) consolidated its lead. Way behind, Mercedes-Benz (10/8) advanced three places, while Chevrolet (9/5) held third.

In the 4.5-7.5t segment, FUSO (55/24) took the lead from Isuzu (39/24), with Iveco (19/12) retaining third.

Mercedes-Benz (15/8) lost one place, Hino (13/7) retained fifth and Volkswagen (8/7) climbed two places. Hyundai (6/4) retained seventh, while both Foton (5/2) and Fiat (3/2) lost ground.

In the 7.5-15t class, Isuzu (93/44) continued to open up a huge lead – to the extent that its registrations for the first two months total more than those of its seven competitors in the segment…combined!

The also-rans were FUSO (34/18), Hino (33/19), UD (6/4), Iveco (4/1), Mercedes-Benz (3/2), DAF (2/0) and Foton (1/0).

Hino extended its lead in the 15-20.5t category, with six sales taking its total to 16. Next were UD (10/6), FUSO (8/3) and Isuzu (7/6). Scania and Sinotruk (both on 2/1) followed, trailed by DAF, Iveco and Mercedes-Benz (all joining the class, with one registration apiece).

In the tiny 20.5-23t division, for the first time in 16 years Hino is not leading: It had posted two sales YTD to FUSO’s four.

While Volvo’s great start to the year in the 23t to max GVM premier division slowed in February, its 19 registrations for the month were still enough to see it retain the lead, with 69 sales YTD. Kenworth did best of all in February with 28 registrations, taking its YTD total to 50 – leapfrogging it past Isuzu (48/19) and stablemate DAF (38/12). FUSO (39/23) improved from sixth to fourth-equal with Hino (39/17).

Behind sixth-placed DAF were MAN (31/17), UD (19/8), Mercedes-Benz (18/12) and Scania (18/9). Mack (11/5) and Sinotruk (10/5) lost a place apiece.

In the heavy trailer market, No. 1 Patchell (28/12) was pipped by Roadmaster (22/13), but retained a clear YTD lead. TMC (20/8) dropped one spot to third, ahead of an improving MTE (18/11), which gained three places.

Domett (17/8) dropped from third-equal to fifth, ahead of Transport Trailers (15/7), Fruehauf (11/2) – down four spots – and Jackson and TES (7/3 apiece)…these two joined in 8th-equal by Transfleet (7/5), which was up four places.

Yates notes that “one brand noticeable by its absence so far is T&D MaxiCUBE,” which ranked 8th in trailer sales in 2018.

Truck & Driver | 93

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Ruatoria operators Steve Smith and Mateawa Keelan have put this new Freightliner Coronado tipper to work around the East Coast region. The 6x4 has a 540hp Detroit DD15 engine, an Eaton Ultrashift AMT and Meritor 46-160 rear axles on air suspension. It has an Ali Arc bumper and bullbar, a Bigfoot central tyre inflation system and a steel bin set up by Mills Tui.

Waiotahi Contractors has this new MAN TGX26.640 XLX sleeper cab tractor unit now in work on heavy haulage duties. Rated to 120 tonnes, the 6x4 has a 640hp MAN D38 engine, a TipMatic AMT and MAN hypoid rear axles.

94 | Truck & Driver

This new UD Trucks PK16-280 4x2 tipper works around the greater Christchurch area for Professional Plumbing Services’ Canterbury Trenching and Excavation operation. It has a 280hp engine, a six-speed gearbox, spring rear suspension and a Winter Engineering body. Pic Alix Houmard.

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SPARK.CO.NZ/ASSETTRACKING

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Taupo operators Tom and Janine Charlton have put this new Kenworth T659 logger to work around the central North Island. It has a Cummins X15 engine, an 18-speed Roadranger manual gearbox and Meritor 46-160 diffs on Airglide 460 suspension. It has new Patchell logging gear and pulls a matching new five-axle trailer. It has a Bigfoot CTI system and Alcoa Dura Bright alloys.

This is the third MAN TGX to be put to work by Mainfreight contractor R&H Transport, operating nationwide. The 8x4 has a 640hp engine, a TipMatic AMT and MAN hypoid diffs on air suspension. It boasts high-tech features including adaptive cruise control and emergency brake assist.

96 | Truck & Driver

Miranda’s Cleggs Transport has put this new Volvo FM13 500 tipper to work around its home area, with Nathan Taipari at the wheel. The 6x4 has an I-Shift AMT and a Transfleet alloy bin.

K&L Distributors BOP LTD K & L Distributors BOP Ltd

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K & L Distributors Ltd is a locally owned and operated company run by Ken and Linda Rowe, who for the last 27 years have been providing lubricant solutions to the Waikato, King country. They have now been covering the Western Bay Of Plenty, Matamata and the Coromandel Peninsula for five years.

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So call in and see the team, who look forward to offering you a tailored and profitable Lubricant and Fuel solution for your business.

TD29239

K&L Distributors BOP Ltd 138 Totara Street Mount Maunganui.

Ph: 07 574 3001 Email: tauranga@kandldistributors.co.nz

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This new Volvo FH16 700 is on the road for Warwick Smith’s Lameca, running between Auckland and Wellington for Daily Freight. The 6x4 Globetrotter cab tractor unit has extras including a parking cab heater/cooler.

This UD Trucks PK17 280 is one of two new UDs recently put to work by Nelmik Enterprises, delivering CocaCola around Christchurch and North Canterbury It has a 280hp engine, an Allison six-speed automatic transmission, air suspension and an 8.5m Custom Motor Bodies curtainsider body, with a Palfinger taillift. Extra cab lights, tinted glass, a roof aero kit and polished alloys complete the package.

98 | Truck & Driver

Alfriston’s Paton Civil has this new DAF FAT CF85 on the road supporting the company’s work around Auckland. Rob Carter drives the 6x4 sleeper, which has a 510hp PACCAR MX engine, an 18-speed Roadranger manual trans and Meritor 46-160 diffs on Airglide suspension. It has a Transfleet Roc-Tuff bin.

HYDRAULICS Talk to us about PTO, pump, hoist, tank and controls for transport hydraulic applications.

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To order your copy please email: mansell@orcon.net.nz or grant.gadsby3@xtra.co.nz

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TD28429

From the stock carriers of the South Island to the off-highway loggers of Kaingaroa, Mack trucks were seen hauling the biggest loads in every corner of our country.

Soon these mighty machines will be celebrating 50 years of service to Kiwis and to commemorate the occasion, Ed Mansell, Paul Livsey and Grant Gadsby have collected the best photographs of these trucks, supplied by many of New Zealand’s top truck photographers, to combine into a book of the finest photography.

The book follows the “lives” of the first thousand Mack trucks assembled at Motor Truck Distributors in Palmerston North, from brand spanking new, through their subsequent owners until their inherent demise, or in some cases complete preservation or restoration.

Due for release in 2022 to coincide with fifty years of service, we are asking for expressions of interest in purchasing this complete anthology of New Zealand’s first thousand Mack trucks.

The book will be a hard covered, coffee table styled book in full colour, of approximately 500 pages. We intend to limit the number to one thousand copies, allowing any Mack owners the possibility of purchasing their trucks equivalent book number.

Once your order is placed you will be guaranteed to receive a copy should you wish to proceed at the time of publication. No payment is expected at this time, but we may require a deposit be paid early in 2022.

A price indication is approximately $135 plus, but this may change due to the quantity finally printed, and inflation, over which we have no control.

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S 100 | Truck & Driver

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102 | Truck & Driver

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Truck & Driver | 103

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Enter your fleet colour scheme in the PPG Transport Imaging Awards: Just fill out this entry form (or a photocopy of it) and send it into New Zealand Truck & Driver.

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(Do not reduce the size of images to send them by email – send large files one or two at a time in separate emails if necessary).

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Super-low…

super yellow A

CHANGE OF COLOUR SCHEME BASED ON “GUT feeling” has stood the test of time for Auckland company Carr & Haslam – this month’s finalist in the PPG Transport Imaging Awards.

The striking yellow paint, broken by a brown stripe with an orange highlight, is shown off to good effect on the newest addition to the fleet – a low-riding Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3246 vehicle transporter.

“It’s a really smart-looking truck,” says Chris Carr, a director of the historic family business, which now specialises in transporting light vehicles, carting LPG and general freight.

One of the oldest road transport operators in the country, Carr & Haslam was established in 1862 – operating as a horse and cart carrier until adding its first truck over 60 years later.

The company trucks were blue for around 50 years after that – until the 1970s, when then general manager Frank Redfern “decided we needed a change, as there were too many other blue trucks on the road,” says Carr.

“He decided we needed to stand out and chose yellow. No research went into it, but it’s proved to be the right call: It’s a safe colour and people recognise us.”

The first truck to get the distinctive new livery was a secondhand Leyland eight-wheeler. Now virtually all of the 70-truck fleet are Mercedes-Benz or FUSOs….and all are painted in the distinctive yellow.

The decision to stay with the colour scheme hasn’t been without its problems: There was no standard yellow available in the 1970s and ‘80s, which meant that whenever Auckland Truck Spray was painting company trucks, a fresh batch of paint had to be mixed.

Says Carr: “Whether it was done in cans or 44-gallon drums, there was always a subtle difference.

“We thought the colours were the same, but when we put trucks side by side they always varied.”

But the company persevered and, eventually, there was a Clockwise, from opposite page, bottom: The livery as it is today, shown off on the Mercedes-Benz Arocs that is the latest addition to the fleet....Century Class Freightliner container unit from 2001, shows how the livery was used on bonneted trucks....the company started 157 years ago and was a horse and cart operation for its first 60-odd years....DAF LF pictured in 2005 shows that the livery has changed little over the years Previous page: Old Actros has worn the company colours for 22 years 2 | Truck & Driver

solution – when Mercedes-Benz came out with a Sulphur Yellow as part of its factory paint options.

“All our Mercedes have come from the factory for over a decade now already painted in Sulphur Yellow,” says Carr, adding that these days the “paint-matching technology is much more sophisticated – and we can get exactly the same Sulphur Yellow to paint the FUSOs.” The brown stripe and the boxed C&H logo (which was also Frank Redfern’s idea) were introduced with the colour change to yellow in 1974.

The orange highlight came in the mid-‘80s – “purely by chance,” says Carr: “We were discussing the need to lift the look of the brown stripe. Somebody happened to be drinking a can of Fanta at the time. Tony Jones from West Auckland Signs suggested the Fanta orange and we’ve stuck with it ever since.”

The C&H logo was initially brown, then was changed to a

TRANSPORT IMAGING AWARDS

reflective gold vinyl in the 1980s...and then, three or four years ago, to its current yellow (a darker shade than the Sulphur Yellow).

Carr is proud of the look of his fleet and endeavours to keep it looking as good as possible….for as long as possible, by getting a protective clear film applied to all the working areas on the front and sides of the truck and trailer units to protect them from stone chips.

“We have to get repainting done – particularly underneath, where everything gets stone-blasted down to the bare metal.”

Unsurprisingly, he’s not a fan of the large amount of chipsealing used on New Zealand roads: “We’ve got some of the roughest road surfaces in the world.”

The new 460-horsepower (343 kW) Arocs 8x4 (the first of two new identical 10-car truck and trailer transporter units) is the end-product of about three years of discussion between Mercedes-Benz in Germany, North Island dealer Trucks & Trailers, trailer and body builder Jackson Enterprises and Carr – about arriving at a super-low cab and super-low chassis to best suit current car transporter needs.

Together they achieved a chassis height of 935mm, rather than the Arocs’ standard 1050mm height. The 8x4 and its two-axle trailer stretch out to 23 metres long.

The car transporter trailers and bodies are typically replaced more often than the trucks, says Carr: “Cars are getting lower and closer to the ground because of the aerodynamic benefits.

So the arrival and departure angles of the ramps have to be adjusted.” Otherwise, he explains, it would be all too easy to rip the whole front skirt off a vehicle when it’s being loaded or unloaded.

Transported vehicles are also getting longer and wider.

And, just to further complicate things, more SUVs and utes are now being carried – and they need extra height clearance.

Says Carr: “If we can juggle the loads we can get four vehicles on the truck and six on a trailer unit. But sometimes that’s not possible and we have to compromise. The greater mix of vehicles is getting harder to deal with.”

And all the time, of course, there’s the limitation of the 4.3 metre maximum height restriction to pass under most bridges.

The two-axle Jackson trailer is known as a stinger-steer trailer, which hooks up to a turntable mounted low, behind the Arocs’ rear drive axle.

Like the unintentional evolution of the yellow paint work, Carr & Haslam has also evolved: “We’ve always been a port carrier – but now it’s vehicles rather than containers,” says Carr. In fact, the company exited container transport about two years ago.

So, whereas 20 years ago the company fleet (then only half its current size) was split evenly between container and vehicle transport, the latter now comprises close to 80% of its work and LPG transport accounts for most of the rest….with just a few curtainsider freight units. T&D

This photo & poster - Dean Evans

Truck & Driver | 3

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