NZ Truck & Driver June 2019

NZ TRUCK & DRIVER

FREE GIANT TRUCK POSTER LIFTOUT

| June 2019

June 2019 $8.50 incl. GST

FLEET FOCUS BIG TEST Hooked on Hino | FLEET FOCUS No ordinary earthmover | FEATURE Little Ts join Kenworth big bro

No ordinary earthmover

FEATURE Little Ts join Kenworth big bro

Issue 224

Hooked on

Hino

The Official Magazine of the

ISSN 1174-7935

A new millennium begins Y2K passes without widespread computer failures Olympic Games in Sydney Isuzu Trucks No.1 in NZ

Queen Mother dies

2000 2001 2002

Bali bomb kills 203 people Brazil wins Soccer World Cup Isuzu Trucks No.1 in NZ

Boxing Day Tsunami causes widespread devastation First privately funded human spaceflight Janet Jackson suffers ‘wardrobe malfunction’ at Super Bowl

2003 2004

Isuzu Trucks No.1 in NZ

Wikipedia goes online

Population of New Zealand exceeds 4 million Saddam Hussein is captured Space Shuttle Columbia destroyed during re-entry killing 7 astronauts Isuzu Trucks No.1 in NZ

2005 2006

Italy wins Soccer World Cup Google purchase YouTube for $1.65m

Slobodan Milosevic arrested over war crimes Isuzu Trucks No.1 in NZ

Isuzu Trucks No.1 in NZ Five cent coins are dropped from circulation

9/11 Twin Towers are hit by passenger planes

Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans Prince Charles marries Camilla Parker Bowles Pope John Paul II dies Isuzu Trucks No.1 in NZ

2007

Apple introduces the iPhone Bomb kills former Pakistan PM Benazir Bhutto

Barack Obama elected first African American US President Global Financial Crisis Sir Edmund Hillary dies Isuzu Trucks No.1 in NZ

First Canterbury earthquake causes widespread damage Julian Assange, co-founder of WikiLeaks, is arrested Chilean mining accident, remarkably all 33 miners rescued Isuzu Trucks No.1 in NZ Summer Olympics open in London

2008 2009 2010 2011

Willie Apiata receives the Victoria Cross, the first New Zealander since World War II Isuzu Trucks No.1 in NZ

Michael Jackson dies First New Zealand rocket launched into space Swine Flu declared a global pandemic Isuzu Trucks No.1 in NZ

U.S. troops kill Osama bin Laden All Blacks win Rugby World Cup

2012

Kate Middleton marries Prince William Isuzu Trucks No.1 in NZ

Mars Rover successfully lands on Mars Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Isuzu Trucks No.1 in NZ

Malaysian airliner goes missing

2013 2014

Russia is reportedly in control of Crimea ISIS take control of Mosul Isuzu Trucks No.1 in NZ

2015

Pope Francis first Latin American elected Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, gives birth to a baby boy Nelson Mandela dies at age 95 Isuzu Trucks No.1 in NZ

All Blacks win back-to-back Rugby World Cups Paris terrorist attack

Donald Trump elected US president

2016

Flowing liquid water found on Mars Isuzu Trucks No.1 in NZ

NZ highest ever Olympic medal tally UK votes for Brexit Isuzu Trucks No.1 in NZ

2017

Team New Zealand win the America’s Cup Facebook hits 2 billion monthly users

12 Thai boys and their football coach are rescued from a cave

2018

Jacinda Ardern becomes Prime Minister

Isuzu Trucks No.1 in NZ

Meghan Markle joins the royal family New Zealand picks up 2 medals at the Winter Olympics Isuzu Trucks No.1 in NZ

ONE THING HASN’T CHANGED SINCE 2000.

Thank you for 19 consecutive years at No.1 in New Zealand.

ISZ14753_19-Years_NZDT_FP_R01.indd 1

8/04/19 16:58

CONTENTS Issue 224 – June 2019 2

News

FEATURES

The latest in the world of transport, including….FUSO eCanter coming soon – in numbers; “unfit” repeat offender truckies targeted; MirrorCam MercedesBenz Actros for NZ; Freightliner Cascadia pre-launch prep ramps up

18 Giti Tyres Big Test The current Hino flagship, the 700 Series IS getting a bit long in the tooth. A replacement is due here next year, in fact.

But the current model still commands a loyal following – from people like Mainfreight contractor Navi Sidhu

35 Transport Forum Latest news from the Road Transport Forum NZ, including…..changes are coming to how operators are assessed in the ORS; immigration reforms are wellmeaning, but need some tweaks to truly help the industry; the industry needs to embrace NZ;s increasing diversity

44 Fleet Focus Christchurch transport operator and earthmoving contractor Gerad Daldry reckons that education is okay….in its place! But thinking outside the box and giving things a go have a lot to recommend them. And so it is with his Protranz operation

MANAGEMENT

CONTRIBUTORS

Publisher

Trevor Woolston 027 492 5600 trevor@trucker.co.nz

Advertising

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

89 Truck Shop

63 Little Ts join Kenworth big bro When PACCAR spent an eyewatering $400million to design a new, wider-cab conventional cab for North America – then coughed-up another $20mill for an Aussie/NZ derivative, it was always going to make sure it got its money’s worth out of the investment. Now, after the flagship T610, come the Little Ts – using the same 2.1m wide cab

New products and services for the road transport industry

93 TRT Recently Registered New truck and trailer registrations for April

COLUMNS 79 National Road Carriers Association Auckland speed limits a poor substitute for road investment

73 Driven Foton has taken its affordable Aumark light-duty truck and given it an update…. but only on paper

81 Sector Workforce Engagement Programme Tairawhiti Road Transport runs a successful careers expo…and MITO’s new ShiftUp road transport programme is introduced

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

85 RTANZ RTANZ invests in the Inzone Career Coach

87 NZHHA Clear aims for NZ Heavy Haulage Association

Gerald Shacklock Dave McLeod Terry Marshall Dean Evans John Coker Olivia Beauchamp

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 Dion Rout 027 491 1110 dion@trucker.co.nz

ADMINISTRATION Sue Woolston MANAGER accounts@trucker.co.nz SUBSCRIPTIONS Sue Woolston accounts@trucker.co.nz NZ subscription $80 incl. GST for one year price (11 issues) Overseas rates on application ADDRESS Phone +64 9 571 3544 Fax +64 9 571 3549 Freephone 0508 TRUCKER (878 2537) Postal Address PO Box 112 062, Penrose, AUCKLAND Street Address 172B Marua Road, Ellerslie, AUCKLAND Web www.alliedpublications.co.nz PRINTING & DISTRIBUTION Printer Nicholson Print Solutions Distribution Gordon & Gotch Publication: New Zealand Truck & Driver is published monthly, except January,

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NZ Truck & Driver Magazine

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11,889

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Truck & Driver | 1

NEWS

“Unfit” repeat offender truckies targeted TRUCK DRIVERS WITH A HISTORY OF REPEAT offending – apparently of any kind – are now at risk of losing their licences under a new regulatory regime.

The New Zealand Transport Agency, widely criticised for its poor regulatory record, says it’s introducing “a new pro-active monitoring regime, aimed at identifying drivers who consistently compromise road safety and break the law.”

Targeted are Class 2-5 commercial vehicle drivers who are “not fit and proper to work in a transport service,” says NZTA general manager, regulatory, Kane Patena, in advice to the industry.

Factors under scrutiny include repeated disqualifications, suspensions, offences, fines history and criminal convictions.

“Unfit drivers will have their heavy vehicle licence disqualified, suspended or revoked… The maximum term is 10 years.

“Each case will be considered on an individual basis and drivers will have the right to make submissions as well as appeal their case in a court of law.”

Patena says that the Agency’s “approach will be firm but fair and I want to make it clear from the outset that good drivers with the odd infringement have absolutely nothing to be concerned about.

“We are talking here about drivers who have repeatedly demonstrated that they are unwilling to change their concerning behaviour, despite multiple run-ins with Police and the Courts.

“These are people who clearly have little regard for the safety of other road users and have continued to incur large numbers of traffic offences, criminal offences and multiple demerit points suspensions.”

It amounts, he adds, to “a very small group of repeat offenders amongst the 390,000 licence holders.” It has been reported that the figure is around 800.

The monitoring regime will “keep tabs on drivers who consistently offend at a level that would have previously flown under our radar.” Only checked “when they came to our attention, for example via an audit, applying for endorsement or if they were involved in a serious incident.”

The NZTA has previously acknowledged its “regulatory compliance 2 | Truck & Driver

The national Road Carriers Association is critical of the regime’s lack of warning for operators with drivers targeted

regime wasn’t robust enough,” he says, adding: “This work is about improving on that and making our roads safer for all NZers.

“My hope is that transport companies will vet drivers before letting them get behind the wheel of a vehicle. A number of companies carry out these checks and constantly monitor the activities of their drivers, whether this be through the TORO (Transport Organisation Register Online), GPS in their vehicles or actively completing due diligence through reference checking.”

Patena adds that he “would like to see these practical steps….become more widespread and industry standard.”

The Road Transport Forum’s manager technical and roading, Kerry Arnold, says it’s difficult to judge the impact of the NZTA’s new approach, as the number of commercial drivers targeted “is a small subset of all the Class 2-5 driver population.”

There is, he points out, “a specific responsibility” for employers “to rehabilitate drivers and mitigate poor driving techniques. This approach will bring benefits for all the parties involved and improve occupational safety overall.”

But Arnold says that to provide employers with the opportunity to “identify drivers at risk,” the RTF has called on the NZTA to “explore development of a sophisticated reporting and notification system that goes far beyond the limited capability of TORO.” National Road Carriers Association chief executive David Aitken says that, like the RTF, the association sees safety as the top priority – but is critical of the regime’s lack of a warning system for operators who have drivers targeted.

“What they’ve done is cut them (operators) off at the knees. People have businesses to run here – operators have got plans for tomorrow….and come tomorrow the driver has rung up to say ‘sorry, I’ve lost my licence.’ How can you work around that?

“If a driver is getting close to losing their licence, the operator needs to know. A warning system would allow them to make other plans. That’s our big issue and in that respect, we are investigating it legally.” T&D

NEWS

Electric Canter coming soon THE PRESENCE OF ELECTRIC TRUCKS IN NEW Zealand is about to get a major charge, with the imminent arrival of the world’s first series production etruck, FUSO’s eCanter…in big numbers.

The battery-electric version of the light-duty Canter will be launched here in August – with the first batch of the etrucks scheduled to arrive in December…and go on the road in January.

FUSO – Daimler Trucks’ Japanese make and its electric truck specialist – has approved 100 or more eCanters for NZ. It’s a remarkable development in the carefully-planned release of the eCanter, which to date has had high-profile launches in some of the world’s biggest cities – New York, Tokyo, London, Berlin, Amsterdam and a handful of others.

The eCanter had its first Australasian public showing at last month’s Brisbane Truck Show, where FUSO Australia said it was being launched there…but gave no timeline.

Fuso NZ managing director Kurtis Andrews says that the parent company carefully weighed the NZ launch: “They said, ‘well, NZ’s a long way away…but the government’s got subsidies, the country is green, it has 100% renewable energy. So there’s no reason why we wouldn’t.” The eCanter and NZ is, Andrews reckons, “a perfect fit.”

He says that launching the eCanter here is “a once in a lifetime opportunity, I’d say. The next once in a lifetime opportunity is an autonomous vehicle – and that’s probably not that far away…but electric is the first step.”

The early approval for the Kiwi market is also the result of “a lot of push” from Fuso NZ – and persistent pressure from companies wanting to buy eCanters.

Andrews fully expects the initial NZ allocation to quickly sell out: “There are ‘plenty’ coming, but I’d suggest – from the phone calls we get every week from someone inquiring about eCanter – they’ll go like hot-cakes.

“I guess in the truck world, for people to be excited about product – and to actually ring you and chase you and make you agree that they’ll have one of the first – is really unusual.

“We’ve got about five fleets talking (about buying) 10-plus trucks.

“Certainly some big corporates are keen to join this electric revolution and it’s good to have eCanter, which has essentially been around for 10 years.”

Andrews says that “certainly the big fleets that have been in touch – our really good customers who we know are into it – will be the first on the list (in terms of allocating the initial supply of eCanters).”

The electric FUSO will make its NZ public debut at August’s EVworld NZ expo in Auckland. The show truck, which will have a body on it, will then be available for interested customers to “test in a real-world environment…. to get a taste of it, reconfirm their commitment.”

The 7.5 tonne eCanter has almost car-like acceleration, courtesy of its six high-voltage lithium-ion batteries, each storing 13.8 kilowatt hours of power at 420 volts.

The truck has 175 horsepower and 390Nm of constant power output, giving it a top speed of 80km/h and a 3.5t payload capability. It has a 100km-plus range between charges.

FUSO says that the eCanter’s operating costs “can be as much as €1000 (approximately $NZ1711) lower for each 10,000kms driven,” compared to a comparable diesel-engined FUSO. T&D

Main picture: The eCanter has had high-profile launches in some of the world’s biggest cities. Soon it will debut in NZ Far right: Fuso NZ MD Kurtis Andrews expects the initial supply of eCanters to soon sell out

Truck & Driver | 3

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NEWS

Mirrorless Merc for NZ The winglike camera housing is much smaller than a standard mirror. Its pictures are shown on an A-pillar monitor A NEW MERCEDES-BENZ ACTROS – THE WORLD’S FIRST series production truck to replace rear vision mirrors with digital cameras and A-pillar screens – will be launched in New Zealand early next year.

The Mercedes-Benz plans to soon bring MirrorCam to NZ (and Australia) were revealed – along with a show truck equipped with the new technology – at last month’s Brisbane Truck Show.

It’s an early DownUnder adoption of the pioneering technology, which was only launched in Europe in March.

MirrorCam has slim, aerodynamic wings housing digital cameras looking rearwards rather than the usual, much bigger rear-vision mirrors. The vision they provide is shown on monitors on the A-pillars.

The aero and weight improvement is reckoned to deliver a “small” fuel economy benefit in the Euro 6 Actros – the system also delivering unhindered forward and side vision, the latter making MirrorCam a valuable safety feature.

MirrorCam, which will initially go on the market here as an option for the new Actros, sees the cameras automatically adjust themselves each time the truck pulls away.

In corners, the view supplied by MirrorCam pivots, so the driver can always see the rear of the unit. A wide-angle mode assists the driver in manoeuvring or reversing.

The system also helps the driver better judge the distances of vehicles alongside or behind, thanks to distance guidelines on the in-cab displays.

Daimler Trucks confirmed in Brisbane that it’s begun a comprehensive validation programme for the latest Actros, which also features GPSassisted Predictive Powertrain Control for increased fuel efficiency, enhanced connectivity and the latest generation of advanced safety technology.

Pieter Theron, senior manager for Daimler Trucks in NZ, says that the test

programme extends to NZ. It will start here before the end of September, with the pre-production units subsequently placed with “some key fleet customers.”

He believes that the new Actros’ primary benefits come from its Euro 6 engine and its fuel efficiency, the aerodynamic and safety advantages of MirrorCam and its Predictive Powertrain Control.

Says Theron: “Well, we all know that dollars and cents make the world turn for our customers – and we want to save them a lot of fuel. We’ve already proven with the current Actros and Arocs we are the benchmark in fuel consumption.

“And this truck, with Predictive Powertrain Control, which is available, in combination with MirrorCam, will save up to 5% additionally.”

The reduced size of the camera wing, compared to a mirror, is also likely to reduce the chance of damage. And even in the event of damage, MercedesBenz expects the cost of replacing the camera assembly will “be in line with, or less than, replacing a traditional mirror assembly.”

The new Actros revealed in Brisbane also has a new multimedia interface system with two Mercedes-Benz carlike high-resolution tablet-style screens that can be customised for driver preference.

And its SoloStar Concept interior option offers a big fold-down bed, a lounge-style seat with generous legroom and a fully-flat walk-through floor.

And it has further improvement to driver controls, with new fingertip buttons added to the steering wheel, to manage the information displayed on the two large screens.

Mercedes-Benz Truck and Bus Australia Pacific director Michael May says that the current Actros “continues to win over new customers with its remarkable efficiency, reliability and comfort – but we will always look for ways we can further improve the experience of our partners with tried and tested innovation.” T&D Truck & Driver | 5

10:38 AM

NEWS

One of the trio of Freightliner Cascadias at the Brisbane Truck Show

New Freightliner era not far away

THE LEADUP TO NEXT FEBRUARY’S launch of the new Freightliner Cascadia in New Zealand and Australia has been ramped-up, with the first public unveiling of the big-selling American conventional.

Three pre-production tractor units were temporarily taken out of an extensive Aussie test programme to be revealed (albeit in camouflage imaging), at the Brisbane Truck Show.

One of the test trio represents a milestone in the $AUS100million programme to develop a RHD version of the Cascadia, which is America’s biggest-selling heavy-duty truck…a conventional, which is replacing the popular Argosy cabover.

A sleeper cab 126 Cascadia with a 36-inch XT sleeper – a recent addition to the Australian test programme – is the first RHD truck on the international programme, which sees the validation work also going on in the United States.

It has a 600 horsepower Detroit DD16 engine and a Detroit DT12 automated manual transmission, giving the Cascadia an all-Daimler driveline.

It’s been working as a B-double tanker unit, delivering fuel to farms throughout southwestern Queensland and northwestern New South Wales, running at 68.5 tonnes…on a daily route that includes an 8% gradient.

The two other trucks on show – a day cab 116 6 | Truck & Driver

tractor unit with a Detroit DD13 engine and a day cab 126 with a DD16 – have been on test duty in Australia since mid-2018.

The test trucks are equipped with cameras and monitors that deliver pictures and data to Freightliner engineers in Portland, Oregon, in real time.

The test programme, which also involves 50 drivers in Oregon carrying out around-the-clock reliability and durability testing, follows several million kilometres of testing before the newgeneration Freightliner was launched in the US in 2017.

Freightliner Australia Pacific director Stephen Downes explains the exhaustive test schedule: “We are absolutely committed to ensuring the Cascadia arrives in showrooms next year, ready for Australia’s unforgiving conditions…”

The Cascadia will, he says, “set new standards across the board when it comes to bonneted trucks in Australia – whether it be for fuel efficiency, safety or the driving experience. Whatever the measure, Cascadia will set the benchmark when it goes on sale.”

In a market first for an American truck, he says, “Cascadia will offer a complete range of active and passive safety systems – from SRS and curtain airbags to autonomous emergency braking. From electronic stability control, to front and rear-facing driver cameras. From pedestrian

recognition to Sideguard Assist – Cascadia will bring it all.”

Daimler Truck & Bus NZ sales manager Pieter Theron says that the transition from the Argosy to the Cascadia will see the conventional “pretty much turn a new page – rewrite the future for us.

Wipe the slate clean.

“It’s a totally new approach for selling Freightliner. It’s not the old ‘we’ve got the lightest truck’ thing. Now we’ve got the full suite of safety systems…so we’ll also promote it to new customers who traditionally maybe had a European-type vehicle.

“And we can offer fuel savings that are equal to the Benz….potentially even better in some aerodynamic situations that favour the bonneted vehicle.

“So we can offer a totally different vehicle – it’s not the old Freightliner. It’s really advanced technologically.”

Daimler Truck & Bus NZ already has “some pretty positive indications from key fleets that they are very keen to have it.”

And it has had success in encouraging Argosy customers who still need a cabover to instead try the Mercedes-Benz Actros.

It will also “find new customers for the Cascadia – because it’s going to offer benchmark fuel consumption, benchmark safety…it may even offset the loss of maybe a pallet…” T&D

This is Japan’s most advanced truck.

It’s part of a new commitment from FUSO to use innovative technologies to save lives and save money by avoiding or reducing the cost of accidents.

These advanced safety features, based on world-class Daimler technology, really set Shogun apart.

— Active Attention Assist

— Lane Departure Warning

This monitors a number of different inputs, including an infrared camera which monitors the driver’s face and eye closure.

A camera detects lane markings and warns the driver when the vehicle moves out of its lane.

— Active Emergency Braking

— New 7” Touchscreen & Reversing Camera

Avoids or mitigates collisions with pedestrians and other vehicles by using a radar to monitor the road ahead.

With Apple CarPlay and Android Audio. Gives handsfree talking and text to speech.

— Adaptive Cruise Control Automatically adjusts the vehicle’s speed to maintain a safe distance to the vehicle in front.

The new FUSO Shogun is a game-changer designed to get you home safely, night after night. Check it out at fuso.co.nz/shogun

We look after our own

NEWS

When former owner Equipment Holdings moved its NZ Trucks and AB Equipment Christchurch operations into one giant facility in 2017, it described it as one of the largest single sites for commercial machinery and truck sales, service and support

Ex-workers new owners NEW ZEALAND TRUCKS’ CHRISTCHURCH operation, which includes one of the biggest and most modern heavy transport workshops in the country, has been sold – two of the three new co-owners former employees.

Former branch manager John Mason describes himself as a little shellshocked, bemused even: Having left NZ Trucks 11 months ago, after 14 years’ service, this month’s return as a part-owner is “f***ing bizarre,” he says.

“We never dreamed this would happen – to walk out as workers and come back as owners!”

He and business partner Sheldon Close, formerly the foreman at the NZ Trucks branch, left to form MC Transport Repairs with the third partner in the buyout, Taranaki’s Ross Graham – who also has a long background in the road transport industry.

MC Transport Repairs has been operating a successful five-bay workshop (three drive-throughs and two singles) in Christchurch, employing 10 mechanics, since June last year.

But several months ago they were offered the opportunity to buy the NZ Trucks Hornby operation – the flagship of the NZ Trucks network.

The owners, says Graham, “know us and thought we might be in the position to do what we’ve done.”

The opportunity appealed, says Mason, because of the first-hand involvement he and Close had with NZ Trucks: “Experience – we’ve been there. We ran that business, in that particular building, for a year.

“And, previous to that, we’d built the business from 18 staff – up to 95 when we left. So we’ve been through that journey the whole way through,” says Mason.

8 | Truck & Driver

The company will continue to operate under the NZ Trucks name, “since people know it,” says Ross Graham.

He and John Mason say that, as from the June 1 handover, “in many ways it’s business as usual…but we aim to be leading service providers to the NZ road transport industry.

Says Mason: “We’re really pleased to buy it. We want to put it on the map as a big workshop – probably the biggest workshop in NZ – and we’re looking to grow it.

“We’ve got auto sparkies, engineering, mechanical, parts, CoF – a onestop shop. Just come in there and the whole job’s done – all brands.”

MC Transport Repairs will be absorbed into the NZ Trucks business and workshop facility. The purchase effectively scales up the existing MCTR business four or five-fold, with 48 mechanics and 25 workshop bays – 16 of them drive-throughs.

Adds Graham: “Christchurch is the transport hub of the South Island and we’ll be looking to grow the facility. Staffing is a potential hurdle, but we’ll be starting an apprenticeship programme. It’s good for them and good for the future.”

When former owner Equipment Holdings moved its NZ Trucks and AB Equipment Christchurch operations into a new 30,000-square-metre, purposebuilt base in Hornby almost two years ago, it said that it was one of the largest single sites for commercial machinery and truck sales, service and support in NZ. NZ Trucks, which can trace its roots back to the establishment of International Harvester in Christchurch in 1912, said that the Christchurch branch was the biggest facility in its network – and a one-stop-shop model for the development of others. T&D

NEWS

Time for a driver licensing revolution GIVEN THE CURRENT DRIVE TO GET MORE people into the industry, Road Transport Forum New Zealand chief executive Nick Leggett believes it’s time to revolutionise driver licensing.

What’s needed now, says Leggett, is “a revolutionary approach that looks to the future and takes into consideration the world we currently live in.

“Our submission to the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) on the proposed driver licensing amendments, says we feel they are merely tinkering with the rules – rather than being strategic about what is actually required for a robust and growing road transport industry.”

The industry is facing a serious workforce shortage: “We estimate that on an annual basis, NZ is about 4000 drivers short.

While about 2000 of those are through natural attrition, 2000 more are required because of the increase in the amount of goods needing to be moved via road and delivered door-to-door.

“To get young people into rewarding careers in the road transport industry, there need to be clear pathways to add to their skills and qualifications and to recognise that progression.

“Road safety is, of course, imperative and is very much part of our suggested approach – that better aligns training and experience with vehicle classes in the licensing regime.

“RTF has been a leading advocate for a review of the graduated driver licensing framework. The road transport sector needs to access competent drivers and driver trainees, while avoiding unreasonable costs.

“In our view, training and driver knowledge applicable to the job should always be outside the scope of any licensing regime.

Occupational training is the responsibility of the employer.”

The proposed amendment offers “some benefits, but in our view, simply doesn’t go far enough towards simplifying the heavy vehicle licencing regime. If it goes forward as is, RTF can only see it as an opportunity lost.

“We can only hope,” he adds, that the industry’s knowledge of the current licensing regime and of road transport’s future projections and needs will be listened to. T&D

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NEWS

Lifesaving focus on drug driving Drugged drivers endanger law-abiding truckies and other innocent road users.

The RTF says roadside drug testing is critical to reducing the risk they pose

Y

NO MATTER HOW LONG, OR WHAT METHOD IT TAKES to roadside drug test, if it saves one life it’s worth it, says Road Transport Forum chief executive Nick Leggett.

“The RTF is pleased to see the Government announce it will be consulting on this critical issue, as it’s one that impacts high-frequency road users, such as professional drivers,” Leggett says.

“We don’t believe roadside testing should be a stumbling block, when 71 people were killed on New Zealand roads last year by drivers with drugs in their system.

“We would like to see this consultation reach a point where it was recommended that drug driving be treated like drunk driving, in that there is a robust system of testing.

“We certainly believe the current system needs to be enhanced, given

the statistics around drug use and driving and the consequent loss of, and damage to, lives.

“We want to protect both professional drivers from others who put them at risk by taking drugs and driving while impaired, and road users who might be at risk from professional drivers impaired by drug use, whether pharmaceutical or illegal.”

Adds Leggett: “We may be facing the complication of NZ legalising marijuana use, so we believe any testing system will need to be cognisant of that, and therefore focused more on impairment, rather than the mere presence of drugs.

“RTF will be making a submission and we look forward to being part of policy and lawmaking to get this right and save lives – sooner rather than later,” Leggett says. T&D

It’s official: We’re partners

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NEW ZEALAND TRUCK & DRIVER has become the official magazine of the NZ Heavy Haulage Association.

The association is the national trade association for companies involved in transporting overweight/overdimension loads – supporting an industry that prides itself as providing “the backbone for NZ infrastructure.”

Chief executive Jonathan Bhana-Thomson says that the NZ Heavy Haulage Association is “thrilled” with the partnership: “It gives us an

opportunity to bring what the members do in the oversize industry to a wider audience.”

Allied Publications managing director Trevor Woolston says the company is “extremely happy to have the NZ Heavy Haulage Association bring us on board as its official magazine.

“We understand the very important part that the association and its members play in the transport industry, particularly in areas such as infrastructure. They are a very professional group of people who work in a highly regulated sector.”

They are also, he adds, “a group of high-end consumers who utilise high-ticket items – from heavy haulage trucks to the specialised trailers and other equipment they use.” T&D

Truck & Driver | 11

NEWS

Reality-plus for hooklifts

The in-cab monitor adds operational guidance and equipment info to real-life pictures

GLOBAL LOAD-HANDLING SPECIALIST HIAB IS putting part of its HiVision system, which introduced virtual reality to loghandling operations, to use with its MULTILIFT hooklifts – albeit this time creating “an augmented reality experience.”

To make hooklift operation “easier, safer and quicker,” Hiab’s HiVision overlays operation guidance and equipment information on real-life footage captured by rear cameras.

The driver sees it on a touch-screen display inside the truck cab in the system, which was given its first public showing in Europe last month.

The MULTILIFT with HiVision has three rear-mounted cameras at different heights, to give the driver a comprehensive view of the rear of a hooklift truck. The system can detect containers and with the push of a button the driver can select the guidance system to help in reversing up to a container and then in lifting it.

It also warns the operator of any obstacles in the way of the operation

and shows whether the container is loaded and secured correctly.

“In challenging environments HiVision makes hooklift operation easier, as the system guides the driver to hook up the container at the first attempt,” says Hiab’s Jon Lopez.

“We are very pleased to bring this more intuitive operation to the market, as there has been a strong interest for this in focus groups.”

The company’s VP of new business solutions Jan-Erik Lindfors says that by combining Hiab’s HiVision camera technology “with the latest industry innovations,” HiVision for MULTILIFT delivers “the highest level of safety and control of all of our hooklifts.

“HiVision makes hooklift operation easier, safer and quicker, leading to less wear and tear of equipment, reducing the risk of accidents and increased productivity.”

The system is designed to work with the recently launched MULTILIFT Ultima, which Hiab says is “the world’s most advanced hooklift range.” T&D

S R

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T&G to build new Drury facility HAMILTON-BASED TR AILER MANUFACTURER Transport Trailers has begun the process of expanding its operations in South Auckland.

T&G, which has a repairs and maintenance operation at Drury – at the entrance to the Stevenson Quarry – has recently purchased a large block of land in the Stevenson Group’s new Drury South Crossing development.

The existing Transport Trailers Auckland/Northland Support Centre gives T&G customers convenient access to the R&M division, “which is proving to be very beneficial,” says managing director Mike Stevenson.

He says that construction of a new purposebuilt facility in the development is expected to begin in early 2021.

“Our R&M Transport Trailers rental partnership with TR Group will also operate out of these premises. Other T&G business entities may also be operating out of this site to maximise and benefit our customers in the greater Auckland area.”

The strategic move, he adds, “is part of our longterm view and commitment to the transport industry.” T&D 12 | Truck & Driver

T&G MD Mike Stevenson (right) shakes on the deal with Drury South Crossing CEO Stephen Hughes

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NEWS

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Above: The Blues’ jerseys now bear the Iveco name on their backs Right: Blues players (from left) Jimmy Tupou, Michael Collins, Josh Goodhue, pose with the team’s new Iveco Daily Blue Power van

Iveco joins the Blues IV ECO NEW ZEALAND IS GOING TO THE FOOT Y – AS a major sponsor of the Blues Super Rugby team.

The Iveco importer, distributor and retailer launched the deal with the Blues last month – the arrangement seeing Iveco branding on the lower back of the team’s playing jerseys for the rest of the season. It will continue through the next two seasons as well.

The official launch of the sponsorship included the handover of the keys to a Blues-branded Iveco Daily Blue Power van to the rugby

franchise.

Jason Keddie, Iveco NZ dealer principal, says the partnership is a natural fit: “The Blues and Iveco NZ share the same working principles – focus of strength, performance and power. We’re thrilled with the opportunities ahead and wholeheartedly back the team for success.”

The partnership will involve “new and exciting social media and atgame activations to engage with the fans, customers and the wider community from 2020.” T&D

Patchell Group gets Glenn

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Ltd by

A LONGTIME INDUSTRY involvement at many levels – and in many areas – has made Glenn Heybourn “the right choice” as the new sales and marketing manager for New Zealand’s No. 1 trailer manufacturer, Patchell Group.

With Heybourn’s appointment, the Patchell Group continues a relationship that began in 2005, when he was in the role of a customer – managing the supply of logging equipment for Nelson-based Stuart Drummond Transport.

Heybourn was with the logtruck operator for 14 years, starting as a driver, then progressing to become the transport manager, and then the GM. His association with Patchell Group continued during his five years as South Island sales manager for Heavy Trucks NZ, including its transition to Penske NZ ownership.

Heybourn has been a member of the LTSC (Log Transport Safety Council) since 2005 and is a member of its executive

team – and an LTSC representative on the MITO industry council. He’s also had a strong involvement with the Road Transport Association and, more recently, with the NZ Trucking Association – working on its Safety MAN programme.

Patchell general manager Brent Whibley says that “Glenn’s strong industry and logging sector experience, together with his passion for the industry, makes him the right choice for Patchell Group.”

Heybourn says working with the large Patchell customer base to grow the product is “an exciting and fantastic opportunity. I’m looking forward to continuing the success and excellent reputation of the Patchell brand in the industry.”

While his job focus is nationwide, Heybourn will continue to be based in the South Island. The Group says it “recognises the strategic importance of continuing to provide greater customer support” – to continue its status as “NZ’s preferred trailer manufacturer.” T&D

Glenn Heybourn Truck & Driver | 15

NEWS

Online Distribution’s new chief exec THIRD PARTY LOGISTICS (3PL) COMPANY ONLINE Distribution has appointed Greg Managh its new chief executive.

The move comes as company founder and director Ben Evans steps back from a direct management role, to remain active as a board member “with a focus on research and strategy.”

Evans says the appointment of Managh, who joined the company as its northern regional manager 16 months ago, reflects Online Distribution’s evolution since its beginnings in 1987.

“Back then we started out with just one warehouse, one client and a few staff. Today we have 13 warehouses across Christchurch and Auckland, serving over 200 clients, and we employ 111 permanent staff who are supported by our own pool of casual staff.”

Managh acknowledges Evans’ foresight in establishing a company based around a trend towards the outsourcing of logistics – having seen the approach in action overseas.

Evans and Managh believe the company is “well-placed to continue to

Greg Managh make the most of the opportunities presented by new technology, domestic and global trends towards outsourcing logistics services, and the rise of ecommerce and omni-channel business.”

Evans says that the company has “a distinct advantage” in the market due to “our independence from multi-national transport and freight-forwarding ownership, allowing the business to develop strategic partnerships and solutions that benefit our clients and their customers.” T&D

Much-experienced Kawasaki wheel loaders rebrand… addition to Volvo now Hitachis K AWASAKI WHEEL LOADERS ARE NO LONGER BEING sold in New Zealand under that name – its range rebranded as Hitachis and sold by CablePrice NZ, starting last month.

The changes result from the merger of the specialised wheel loader manufacturer, Kawasaki Construction Machinery (KCM), into its parent company, Hitachi Construction Machinery (HCM), in April.

CablePrice, wholly-owned by Hitachi, explains that “while KCM have been manufacturing wheel loaders for HCM for a number of years – and both brands have been available here in NZ – HCM ultimately planned to unify the brands to Hitachi.”

CablePrice managing director and chief operating officer Pat Ward says: “Kawasaki wheel loaders have had a successful history with MIMICO, spanning many years – and we look forward to continuing this success.

“CablePrice will focus on providing customers with a seamless transition, ensuring a quality after-sales service is provided through our 18-strong nationwide branch and service network, while continuing to grow new wheel loader sales.”

CablePrice has appointed MIMICO an authorised service agent so it “can continue to service their existing Kawasaki customer base, now and into the future,” Ward adds.

MIMICO general manager Chris Gray says that MIMICO and CablePrice have had “a strong relationship over many years” and now MIMICO is “working closely with CablePrice to ensure our customers experience minimal disruption to their businesses.

“I’d like to reassure owners of Kawasaki wheel loaders that they will continue to receive ongoing support for their machines now and for many years to come.” T&D 16 | Truck & Driver

Glen Walker VOLVO TRUCKS HAS APPOINTED THE MUCH-EXPERIENCED Glen Walker as its new Auckland account manager.

Walker has worked in the road transport industry for 25 years – starting out as a driver, going on to own trucks and then holding senior management roles in large logistics companies.

Volvo Trucks says Walker, based at Alliance Truck & Bus in Wiri, brings to the operation “a wealth of experience with fleet purchasing, along with specialised fleet specifications for all applications.

“This will be a key part of his new role – assisting transport operators setting up any future purchases.” T&D

Hooked on

Hino

Story Dave McLeod Photos Gerald Shacklock

The Hino 700 Series is certainly a “mature” model on the New Zealand market, but it’s still attracting buyers – 130 of them last year, for instance

18 | Truck & Driver

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The Bombay Hills are taken with ease by the 480hp 13-litre Hino engine and ZF/ProShift automated manual transmission

W

E HAVEN’T EVEN STARTED OUR TRIP BEFORE driver Aman Preet makes it clear that he’s got a bit of a soft spot for Hino’s 700 Series flagship

model.

To the point where he actually waxes lyrical about it: “I’ve seen fire in the mountains, snow on the ground, black ice and floods in a Hino.”

Sounds like Aman and Hinos have been through thick and thin then. To hell and back….well, almost.

What he’s talking about, mostly at least, is the yearplus when truckies on the run that Aman’s about to begin – a Mainfreight run down to Christchurch – were forced to take the much more dangerous “inland route” from Picton south, after the September 2016 Kaikoura earthquake wiped out State Highway 1.

With thousands of trucks a day running on roads unprepared and unsuited for such heavy traffic – the route taking in the Lewis Pass, numerous one-way bridges, tight corners, potholes and alpine weather – it was an arduous, even perilous trip.

Bad enough that it prompted many drivers to simply seek alternative work. So, as Aman reckons: “It was good to have a truck that I could depend on.

“The drive was tough and so many people didn’t want to do it back then.” I just nod. Even though SH1 through Kaikoura is open again (and considerably better than before), I immediately feel happy that I’m only doing a short part of this trip south.

Aman’s boss, Mainfreight contractor Navi Sidhu is also a Hino fan, evidenced by the fact that three of

his five trucks wear the big stylised H badge on the front – two of them the latest additions to his Navineel Transport fleet.

Our test truck today – a near-new FY3248 ProShift 16 Air – has an identical twin, plus the company has a 2015 470hp Mitsubishi/FUSO, a 2017 Scania 620 B-Train and a 2014 700 Series Hino with an 18-speed Roadranger manual gearbox.

The manual is the truck that started Navi’s admiration for the Japanese make: “It was – and still is – so reliable. Fuel economy is really good, it’s low maintenance and cost-effective.”

Even measuring the 700 Series against Navineel’s 2017 Scania 620 – with its extra horsepower and acknowledged European refinement – Navi is satisfied that the Hino stands up in comparison.

For him, it’s simple: He absolutely must have a truck that enables him to meet his Mainfreight owner/ operator contract.

“We carry general and Platinum (24-hour guaranteed) freight to Christchurch,” he explains.

“It’s got to be there on time – no excuses. So we need a reliable and comfortable truck.”

Of course, there’s got to be more to it than comfort and reliability, especially considering Navi has a ready yardstick in the company’s Scania.

That, he says, “is a totally different machine. It can’t be compared when it comes to this,” he says, turning the focus back on the Hino.

“I’ve looked around and the Hino is best in price, it Truck & Driver | 21

gives great fuel economy – around 1600 litres for the 2000-plus kilometre round trip (thus around 1.25kms per litre).

“But, more importantly, it’s about the maintenance time and cost. The Hino is well-serviced here, parts are cheaper and readily available – worst-case case they have to come from Palmerston North.”

Sidhu’s company has been hauling freight for Mainfreight since early 2013 – the last two and half years specialising in the Auckland to Christchurch run as its primary, “dream” route.

The Navineel Hino 700 we’re testing today is an 8x4 truck and trailer curtainsider unit – with a new four-axle Fruehauf trailer in tow.

The cabover has a Euro 5 Hino E13C VG 12.9-litre inline-six engine that produces 353 kilowatts/480 horsepower of peak power (at 1800rpm) and 2157 Newton metres/1590 lb ft of peak torque at 1100rpm. It actually has that maximum torque from around 1050rpm to 1300.

Owner Navi Sidhu explains that reliability has been a critical factor in him buying three Hinos for his Mainfreight contract

22 | Truck & Driver

The engine meets the Australian ADR80/03 equivalent of the Euro 5 exhaust emissions standard, using a combination of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR).

It’s married to a 16-speed ZF AS Tronic automated manual transmission, renamed a ProShift 16 for Hino’s purposes.

There are two Hino MF781 Reversed Elliot, section I-beam front axles (together rated to 15,000kg), on semi-elliptic tapered leaf springs with shock absorbers and a stabiliser. The rear Hino THD18 tandem drive axles (rated at 21,000kg), with an inter-axle diff lock, are on Hendrickson HAS air suspension, with double-acting shock absorbers. It’s a nice-looking truck, particularly in its Mainfreight blue and white livery.

Walking around this, his newest truck, Navi points out some of the Hino’s highlights….plus a few things that could be better – beginning with the lights: “The headlights are really bad. Not enough power for the route south,” he says.

“So we’ve added these,” he says pointing at the two large Thunder LED spotlights mounted to the Hino’s chrome bumpers: “Much better.” Funnily enough, they don’t look out of place below the large Hino logo.

On the other hand, according to Navi, “the best thing is the transmission. You can compare it to any European truck – it’s really smooth,” he says of the well-proven ZF-sourced AMT. The Fruehauf trailer behind it today has a curtainsider body fitted and BPW Eco Plus axles – the latter not to Navi’s liking.

“Never again. There’s too much hub play, which is a safety and running cost issue. More wear and tear for the bearings and brakes.” His other three trailers and the Scania B-Train have SAF axles “and we’ve never had a problem.” He shakes his head as we continue.

“We’ve got a full mezzanine floor in both truck and trailer.” This means that there’s no need to stack pallets on top of each other.

Getting up and into the cab is easy enough. Wide-

opening doors, grabhandles front and rear and the three well-spaced steps with enough room for my boots serve you well.

But to be honest, I’m a little underwhelmed by the interior. Right now, at a time when FUSO has just launched a new, heavily-European-influenced Shogun and UD is only about a year into its very Volvo-ish Quon, when it comes to the flagship heavy-duty models, Hino seems to be lagging behind. Isuzu too introed its current Giga model within the last four years.

The 700 Series is, in market-speak, a “mature” model – introduced here 15 years ago. And when you step inside, that shows: The cab interior is roomy (aided by the fact that it’s a sleeper cab, albeit with only a narrowish bunk) but it leans more towards the functional rather than the refined and all seems rather dated.

Maybe Hino’s recent relationship with the giant VW Group – now renamed Traton and with its mission to become the world’s biggest truckmaker (it already owns Scania, MAN and VW South America and has a

Truck & Driver | 23

Above, left: Navineel Transport owner Navi Sidhu has been running trucks in Mainfreight colours for six years

stake in Navistar) – will deliver to the Toyota-owned Japanese truck make the ability to share global engines, transmissions and other technologies…

Just like Japanese rivals UD (part of the Volvo Trucks empire) and FUSO (part of global giant Daimler Trucks).

A replacement for the 700 Series, the Profia, has now been launched in Japan – and it’s a fresh design. The new cab features the same safety and driver-friendly features as the mid-range 500 Series recently launched here.

Hino Distributors GM Darren Salt confirms that the new model will be launched here late next year – but meantime he’s happy with the sales that the 700 Series continues to generate. Last year, for instance, 130 of them were sold (of the 744 new trucks registered by Hino in NZ’s overall truck market).

How come it’s still doing pretty well, despite the arrival of more modern rivals? Salt is clear: “Its reliability. It’s a proven truck. Strong engine, durable design. The market is growing – it’s positive and buoyant and I can’t see it retracting.”

Navi does feel that the current 700 Series’ interior “lacks a bit of the tech. It’s an old-school cabin that needs an upgrade.”

It’s got cruise control (but not adaptive cruise).

The instrument cluster is basic – relaying just the necessities. And the hard plastic dashboard is…well, it’s functional.

More importantly though, for Navi: “I want my drivers to be comfortable,” he says as he sits on the ISRI 6860 air-suspension driver’s seat, with urethane foam pads, high back and lumbar support. It’s multi-adjustable, with an integrated seatbelt. I nod jealously from my passenger seat, which is hard and upright (it’s going to be a fun few hours). There is a folded-down seat between us, but I doubt that would offer any more comfort – though maybe not any less.

24 | Truck & Driver

There are driver-friendly features including a driver’s airbag, electric mirrors (with heaters), electric windows, aircon and a stereo system…and airbags under the cab.

With Navi’s guided tour concluded, Aman gets us under way on the trip south. He’s actually a stand-in driver for this run – these days he’s the Navineel fleet manager, handling everything from truck maintenance and repairs, to organising work schedules….even the ferry crossings.

It’s always nice to ride along and chat with the regular driver on a Big Test, but as it happens Aman has done this run countless times. In fact, he’s also the driver trainer…so we’re more than happy with this substitute.

After completing his studies Aman tried a variety of jobs before joining Navineel about four years ago. He’s worked his way up – starting as a driver on local runs for about a year, then down to Rotorua at nights for around six months, then going on to the Christchurch run when it began a couple of years ago, before moving into his management role.

We pull out of the Mainfreight Otahuhu depot at around 44 tonnes all-up, with about 25t of Mainfreight’s Platinum freight, including some dangerous goods, such as perfumes and toiletries. The FY3248 is rated with a 32t GVM and a 72t GCM. Aman prefers to stick to the AMT in automatic mode, especially in the city – letting the Hino do its own thing.

He only tends to go to the ProShift’s Manual mode out on the highways, on hilly sections.

As we head towards Auckland’s Southern Motorway I start to quiz Aman about his views on the Hino: “The truck is easy. The seat is comfortable – but I prefer not to use the air. The Hino’s suspension is soft enough for me.

“I like this truck… We liked the Roadranger one so much that we bought two more! I prefer the automatic

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Above, right: Christchurch-bound general freight goes on the Fruehauf trailer

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for most of the long trip – it’s easier.

“Visibility is good – front and rear. Big mirrors including a square lower convex.”

With only 11,000kms on the clock, the near-new truck has so far mostly been put to work on metro freight work around Auckland – not yet regularly doing this run, although it is ultimately what it will do.

As you’d expect, it’s still in pristine condition…except for a cracked stereo fascia: “Yeah, one of the drivers accidentally hit it with a strap iron. He felt really bad.

We’ll get that fixed at the next service,” says Aman.

We carefully navigate the local roads away from the depot, then the 23-metre truck and trailer unit speeds up as we get onto the motorway and the ProShift quickly works its way up into top gear, doing its job sweetly with quick, smooth shifts. Aman says it typically upshifts at around 1500rpm – dropping down to 11001300 revs on climbs before downshifting.

And on the descents? “There’s no need to go into manual downhill, the AMT will keep the momentum under control. It’s totally personal preference.” However, Aman points out that he does actually prefer to use the AMT’s manual mode on the hills further south on the trip “for more control.”

The conversation goes quiet for a moment and I notice….that it is pretty quiet inside the Hino. There’s not much road noise – certainly no need to shout at each other over any exterior interference, just the satisfying sound of the 12.9-litre engine and its two-

stage Jacobs brake-style engine brake.

I take another look around the cab: Maybe my initial negative thoughts were a little harsh. It does have electric windows and keyless entry, driver’s airbag, the large external mirrors are heated and electrically adjusted and there are plenty of stowage and storage areas. It’s just the way it’s all presented I guess.

We’re sitting on the motorway at 80km/h in top gear, the engine spinning at 1500rpm. It’s all very relaxed – and that translates too for Aman. There’s definitely no sawing at the wheel or hanging on nervously. It’s as he says: “Some trucks have very heavy steering, but this is very smooth. When you’re holding the wheel it’s like you’re driving a car – one-handed as well. Very good turning circle too.”

Approaching the foot of the Bombays at just under 90km/h the Hino seems to ready itself and as we climb, the AMT drops a gear, to 15th, where we hold 60km/h and 1500rpm until the Hino makes the crest.

Heading down the steep south side (which can knock the Hino back to 7th, even down to 5th, coming the other way), the engine brake’s engaged on its second stage and the AMT nudged back to 14th. With the revs between 1800 and 2000, it holds us steady. The numbers match those that Navi has already told me, when I asked how the Hino handles the tougher climbs.

“One of the hardest tests is the hill climb out of Te Kuiti…. It’s a right-hand turn out of a junction and so you’ve got no momentum. It’s a half-kilometre stretch,

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Above, right: The Euro 5 Hino E13C VG 12.9-litre inline-six engine puts out 353kW/480hp at 1800rpm and 2157Nm/1590 lb ft of peak torque (at 1100 revs). It uses both EGR and SCR to achieve its exhaust emissions compliance

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Top left & bottom left: Controls for the ZF AS Tronic/Hino ProShift AMT are on this olderstyle shifter, close by the driver’s left-hand Top right: The steering wheel goes without any fingertip controls – but many functions aren’t far away....on the two steering column stalks Right: The bunk looks narrow-ish, but the sleeper cab makes it a quite airy (even if fairly basic) working environment

in 5th or 6th gear, at 1800rpm and 30-40km/h. It’s tough – but the Hino can be relied on to do it every time.”

I ask Aman if he uses the cruise control? “Not much,” he says: Sometimes Sanson to Levin. It’s a straight, big road. No turns, so good there. I actually prefer to drive, rather than rely on any other controls.”

It’s obviously a long drive and I’m interested in where he takes his rests: “Normally I take a break at National Park or at Waiouru, then again at Picton. The ferry is pretty relaxing though.”

And the sleeper: Is it comfortable? “This one doesn’t have a mattress yet, but normally it would. With blankets and the blackout curtains, it’s not bad.”

He usually fills up the 400-litre alloy fuel tank at Te Kuiti, Blenheim, Christchurch – then Bulls on the way home. So, about 1600 litres per trip.

How does this compare with the other truck? “The Scania has two big tanks, one is 500 litres and the other is maybe 300 litres. That one, I’ll fill it in Auckland – that’ll go straight through to Christchurch. I fill there and that will come back to Auckland.” So, by my calculations, it’s about the same fuel economy.

Between them, Navineel’s trucks do five of these trips a week, which equates to a lot of goods and freight being moved – especially as they come back loaded as well.

“They can give us anything (to backload) – sometimes timber, sometimes general freight. It’s up to Mainfreight what they’ve got.”

Aman is a fan of the mezzanine floors in the truck and trailer: “It’s easy for loading and unloading, plus there’s lots of stuff (fragile freight) that we can’t stack, Truck & Driver | 29

Clockwise, from top left: Well-placed grabhandles and steps make for good cab access....the Navineel unit leaves Mainfreight’s busy Otahuhu depot...fleet manager Aman Preet is the fill-in driver today, on a run he used to do....LED spotlights were necessary to beef-up the Hino’s headlights

so this makes things better.”

As we head into Huntly we pull over, so Hayden Woolston can take over the steering wheel. He’s the stand-in test driver for his Dad (and NZ Truck & Driver publisher) Trevor Woolston, who’s recovering from a knee op.

As he gets settled in for the drive south along SH39, through Pirongia and Otorohanga, the feedback is all positive: He’s able to quickly get comfy behind the wheel, even though he’s much bigger than Aman. He likes the footroom and the vision out.

And, once we’re into it, he’s soon enthusing about the light but positive steering and – as we cruise along at 1500rpm and 90km/h in cruise control – he’s happy too with the ease of driving the Hino: “Road positioning is good. It sits on the road nicely.”

Leaving the motorway, Hayden puts the AMT into Manual. The bends and hills on “the back road” between Ngaruawahia and Otorohanga slow us down to 65km/h, even 55k at one point – although mostly all that’s required is a single gear downshift from top to steady us for a corner.

After Pirongia, one decent climb forces him to downshift to 14th, where we end up at 1400 revs and 55km/h. He holds that down the other side as well.

He switches to Auto for the final few hills and it allows the revs to drop as low as 1100 before downshifting – eventually getting down to 12th. That seems pretty low – and is, no doubt, why Aman prefers manual control on hills. So he has the say in when 30 | Truck & Driver

it shifts. Still, it has no stumbles – suggesting that you would probably manage just fine staying in Auto virtually all the time.

We pull over again just before Otorohanga for Aman to take the driver’s seat again….and to pass on maybe a few final words of wisdom. Instead he has a question: “What did Hayden think?”

We say our goodbyes to Aman while he’s refuelling at Te Kuiti. After checking the load, he’s polishing the chrome on the front of the Hino as we drive off.

Seeing this takes me right back to when we first laid eyes on the Navineel Hino: The first thing I noticed was how immaculately clean and shiny the truck was. I assumed that this was the result of some extra love and attention to make sure it looked good in our photos.

Turns out that it’s expected of the drivers that they’ll keep the trucks as clean as they possibly can – and the company employs two truck cleaners to come in every week to make sure of it.

Now, this may be a Mainfreight requirement. But, having met Aman and Navi, I reckon it’s simply the confirmation of their passion and pride in both the trucks and the business.

When it comes to the Hino 700 Series, words like steadfast, staunch, trusty and dependable spring to mind. Sure, it’s not the most modern or technologically advanced truck on the market – but it is a comfortable, reliable unit that’s certainly getting the job done…..

Day in, day out – and surely that’s admirable. The blokes who run Navineel Transport certainly think so. T&D

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Trevor Test

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ITH TREVOR LAID-UP AND recovering from knee surgery, I’m in the driver’s seat for our test of this Hino 700 Series FY 3248 8x4 – a model that’s been around a while….so we’re interested to see what’s keeping its sales ticking-over nicely.

We’re only on a shortish run – from Auckland down to Te Kuiti. It’s just the first leg of what is a regular run for Auckland Mainfreight contractor Navineel Transport – all the way down to Christchurch and back.

But there’s still plenty of territory to allow us a decent idea of how the flagship

32 | Truck & Driver

By Hayden Woolston

Hino measures up against the much more recently-launched UDs, FUSOs and Isuzus.

I take over from stand-in driver (and Navineel fleet manager) Aman Preet on the northern outskirts of Huntly.

The cab entry is good, with three well-placed steps and two big, long grabhandles on both sides of the doorway. The door opens wide enough to not get in your way – almost 90 degrees.

The 8x4 curtainsider and its four-axle Fruehauf trailer are loaded to 46 tonnes allup, but what’s very obvious straight away, as we pull away from our roadside handover point, is the smoothness of the Hino’s AMT.

Test driver Hayden Woolston

The ProShift gearbox, a ZF AS Tronic, changes up through the gears with ease as we head through Huntly and effortlessly accelerate up to 90km/h.

To handle the four roundabouts and one overbridge that we have to negotiate to get onto the Waikato Expressway, I leave the AMT in automated mode – the gearbox handling lots of shifting well, choosing the correct gears while upshifting and downshifting.

It’s also obvious that the electricallyadjusted and heated mirrors on the 700 – a flat traditional mirror on the top with a convex mirror below – give you great visibility as I check the trailer’s rear wheels tracking through the roundabouts.

On the Expressway I decide to select cruise control. The switch is tucked away under the right-hand side of the steering wheel on

The long, slow haul out of Te Kuiti – from a standing start at the foot of the hill – is one of the toughest pulls in the North Island leg, Navi reckons. The 480 handles it no problem, he adds

the dash – with the set and resume function controls on the right-hand steering column stalk.

I find this to be out of synch with cruise control switches on most trucks I’ve driven of late: They all have the controls for cruise and other functions on the steering wheel. The Hino shows its age with no fingertip controls on the steering wheel.

Once set though, the cruise control works well and we run down the Expressway with the comfort and ease you’d expect.

The cruise is taken out, but I leave the ProShift in automated mode as we start down SH39 through Ngahinapouri, Pirongia and Tihiroa. There are quite a few hills and plenty of corners going this way, so it’s interesting to see how the Hino’s 480-horsepower engine and the ProShift work together.

There’s no need for any manual intervention: The AMT downshifts quickly at 1100-1200rpm as you’d expect on hillclimbs.

With the engine’s torque shining through at 1100-1600rpm, the AMT holds onto 14th gear at worst.

On the descents I leave it in automated mode, but I find that the two-stage engine brake is found wanting and I’m forced to use the footbrake more than I want to.

Driving this truck is comfortable, with a very good ISRI 6860 air seat, with an integrated seatbelt. The ride is bumpy, but the ISRI takes care of most of that.

Visibility is good and the steering has a very good feeling, with little interference coming from the uneven road surfaces. The combination makes road positioning very easy.

I do find the cab to be basic in its fitout.

There’s a plastic dash and a simple but easy to use airconditioning unit…and not much else. I don’t use the stereo, but it looks okay – with a five-inch screen, an AM/FM radio, CD and DVD player with Bluetooth. I guess it just comes down to there being nothing flashy or unnecessary in this cab.

The driveline of the 700 Series is good, with the Hino E13C VG engine (which uses both EGR and SCR to achieve the current exhaust emissions standard) working well with the ProShift 12-speed AMT. In fact they’re the highlight of this test.

This truck’s drivetrain is years ahead of its cab, so it’s good that we can now look forward to some big upgrades coming our way within the next 18 months. T&D

• SPECIFICATIONS • HINO 700 SERIES FY3248 PROSHIFT AIR 8x4 Engine: Hino E13C VG, SCR plus EGR, Euro 5 Capacity: 12.9 litres Maximum power: 353kW/480hp @ 1800rpm Maximum torque: 2157Nm/1590 lb ft @ 1100rpm Fuel capacity: 400 litres Transmission: 16-speed ProShift 16/ZF AS Tronic AMT Ratios: 1st 14.12 2nd 11.67 3rd 9.53 4th 7.88 5th 6.52 6th 5.39 7th 4.56 8th 3.77 9th 3.09 10th 2.55 11th 2.08 12th 1.72 13th 1.42 14th 1.18 15th 1.00 16th 0.82 Front axles: Hino MF781, reversed Elliot, I-beam, combined rating of 15,000kg Rear axles: Hino THD18 tandem, with inter-axle diff lock, combined rating of 21,000kg Auxiliary brake: Jacobs type engine brake Front suspension: Semi-elliptic tapered leaf springs, with shock absorbers and stabiliser Rear suspension: Hendrickson HAS air suspension, with doubleacting shock absorbers GVW: 32,000kg GCM: 72,000kg

Truck & Driver | 33

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THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

ORS review flying under the radar

A

by Nick Leggett Chief Executive Road Transport Forum NZ

S THE NEW ZEALAND TRANSPORT Agency’s regulatory catchup work rolls on – after a decade of inattention and under-resourcing – transport operators are having to deal with the day-to-day impacts of the constantly-changing compliance landscape.

However, that is not the end of it! Operators should also be anticipating and preparing for significant changes to how they’re assessed (in the Operator Rating System and when applying for heavy vehicle permits) in future.

In the case of the heavy vehicle specialist certifier compliance review, the Road Transport Forum is becoming more and more frustrated that road transport businesses are having to pay the price for the NZTA’s regulatory failures over the last decade or so.

April’s announcement that the situation with the Patrick Chu designed drawbars and drawbeams was worse than previously thought, was another blow to a number of operators.

The Agency’s decision to deal with the problem by granting exemptions for three, six, or 12 months, means that some operators are having to deal with running trailers with a 25% reduction in operating mass.

Under the circumstances, RTF accepts that the

Government must make sure that compliance remains reasonable and does not needlessly force small transport companies out of business exemption programme and the mass reductions are the only responsible way of protecting public safety. However, such actions as undertaken by the Agency do have significant financial ramifications for many operators – and potential wider economic impacts.

I really feel for those businesses who, through no fault of their own, are suffering. Transport operators, just like everyone else out there on the road, expect and rely on professional engineering services to make sure that the equipment they use is safe. Operators also expect NZTA to carry out its auditing functions to verify the competency of those engineers.

For the Agency to not have appropriate oversight is no different to the debacle over the substandard warrant of fitness assessments that have also been uncovered as part of the NZTA’s regulatory failings. It is unacceptable and RTF expects Government ministers to take the necessary steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Truck & Driver | 35

THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

While the issues with engineering certifiers and transport service licence revocations have made all the headlines and are certainly having an impact on some trucking businesses, all operators should keep an eye on what is in many ways flying under the radar at the moment – the revision of the Operator Rating System.

As road transport operators know, the ORS hasn’t been fit for purpose for some time and in many cases provides an extremely narrow assessment of an operator’s compliance record – based on CoF inspections, roadside inspections and relevant traffic offences and infringements.

As has also been reported, the current system is inequitable because operators whose trucks spend most of their time on back roads are far less likely to get pulled over for roadside inspections than their counterparts operating on the main highways.

While we don’t yet know the results of NZTA’s review, it’s likely that more compliance data will be included in the ORS calculations, as well as adjustments made to the weightings of some criteria to ensure a more reliable and indicative overall ORS rating.

While some operators may be disadvantaged in the short term by the Agency’s decision not to issue updated ORS scores in February, this short-term inconvenience will hopefully lead to a better, more accurate system that will benefit safety-conscious, compliant operators.

NZTA is also looking to strengthen the assessment when an operator applies for a heavy vehicle permit. These changes are designed to provide a more comprehensive understanding of compliance and will include investigating whether there have been any driver fatigue or distraction issues, RUC evasions or speeding offences.

NZTA has advised that the new regime may increase the assessment timeframes, depending on the review required – and it will take longer to consider cases where non-compliance is found. Permits will not be issued if noncompliance is considered a safety risk.

While updating the ORS has the potential to be positive for compliant businesses, we do caution the Agency against trying to apply an overly-legalistic and bureaucratic approach.

Any changes need to be workable from the perspective of safety and compliance, while allowing acquiescent businesses to keep their vehicles on the road without having to deal with burdensome compliance measures.

While safety should always be a priority, Government must make sure that the regulatory dial is not shifted too far.

Excessive compliance can have a major impact, particularly on small transport businesses. And unnecessarily forcing them out of the industry will most definitely have widespread economic and social impacts. T&D

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THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

Central Focus theme for Conference

T

HE 2019 RTF CONFERENCE, which is being held at the Wairakei Resort near Taupo on September 24 and 25, will have Central Focus as its theme.

“We believe that now is the correct time to focus on the issues and topics that are of central concern to our livelihoods and the wellbeing of those we employ and do business with,” says RTF chief executive Nick Leggett.

“There are many challenges we currently face that are central to the industr y ’s future success – from workforce shortages to increased health and safety compliance and, of course, safety out there on the road.”

L eggett says that the Forum, along with Region 2 and CARTA – who are running the conference – “look forward to welcoming you to Taupo to discuss these

issues and plot a constructive way through some of our collective challenges.”

The conference programme, registration details, accommodation, sponsorship packages and more are available at www. rtfconference.co.nz L eggett says that “S eptember may still seem a long way off, so for those of you wanting to get your teeth into some meaty discussions before then, the Freight Futures 2030 Conference, which RTF is an official supporter of, is being held on June 24 and 25 at the Grand Millennium Hotel in Auckland.

Key stakeholders from throughout New Zealand ’s freight, logistics and supply chain industries will discuss their future form. Delegates from road, rail, sea and air will gain insights into global and domestic factors impacting on and affecting NZ’s freight environment, while benefitting

from advice on how to create a resilient, efficient and future-ready business.

There will be insights on everything, from the impact of freight hubs to decarbonisation and a peek behind the grille at the technology that will power the industry into the future.

Freight Futures 2030 is co-located with the Fleet Safety Conference which will address safety management and the tools for efficient fleet management. By registering for one conference you will also be entitled to attend sessions at the other.

This will enable delegates to make the most of the two days and tailor their conference experience.

RTF members are entitled to a 15% discounted rate for these conferences.

To qualify, enter the promotional code M2D69U while booking online at www. conferenz.co.nz/freight2030. T&D

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Truck & Driver | 37

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THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

The Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment oversees NZ’s immigration system (MBIE building on Stout Street,

by Ballofstring, CC BY 3.0)

TD27876

Well-meaning immigration reforms require tweaks T

HE GOVERNMENT’S PROPOSED CHANGES TO employer-assisted work visas and regional workforce planning are well-meaning and on the right track…..but require “tweaking” to make them truly work for industry.

This is the opinion of RTF ’s policy manager Mark Ngatuere, who recently wrote RTF’s submission on the proposed changes.

“RTF recognises that immigration will never be a longterm substitute for developing homegrown talent,” he says – and adds: “However, Government must begin to recognise that road freight transport requires particular solutions to meet freight task demands that are currently outstripping supply.”

Included in the Government’s plan is the establishment of sector

agreements to provide employers with greater access to temporary migrant workers in certain industries struggling with workforce problems.

These agreements come with obligations for employers, including reducing their overall reliance on immigration, investing in training and improving industry productivity.

The sector agreements proposal also includes a provision that after three years, migrants who have come in under the scheme must stand down for one year before returning to work in New Zealand.

RTF strongly opposes this idea as we do not consider it to be reasonable to invite people here to work, get them settled and Truck & Driver | 39

THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

productive – then insist they leave after three years.

RTF believes this is a clumsy policy that is neither in an employer’s interest, a migrant’s interest or in our economic interest.

RTF also sees significant issues with the remuneration threshold being proposed.

Ngatuere says that 150% of the average NZ income, or $78,000, is the threshold being proposed – which, he believes, “is a ludicrous figure and way out of step with the reality of our industry.

“It is another well-meaning, blunt tool to increase overall remuneration levels and further protect against exploitation.

It really just means that the scheme is out of reach for many employers,” he adds.

Another concern that RTF has is with the continued reliance on the ANZSCO rating system that is used to classify all occupations and jobs in the Australian and NZ labour markets.

Generally, a higher ANZSCO rating translates to higher remuneration. However, RTF no longer considers the ANZSCO rating fit for purpose.

Says Ngatuere: “ W hile the system identifies skill level, it shouldn’t be used as an arbitrary gauge of remuneration level or vice versa. For a number of years we have been arguing for a system that recognises the different skill levels within the industry.

“Currently, the ANZSCO rating lumps all truck drivers together on the same level. This makes the system an unnecessarily blunt instrument as – like almost all occupations – there are a variety of skill levels amongst truck drivers….and, clearly, higher-skilled drivers belong in a higher qualification level than where they are currently rated.”

RTF is convinced that, with the right tweaking, the ANZSCO rating system has the potential to be a lot more responsive to the needs of the road transport industry and better reflect the range of driving skills and experience within the industry.

According to Ngatuere: “RTF has been banging this same drum for a number of years now and will continue to do so until ANZSCO undergoes the necessary reforms.”

Though, on the whole, the Government’s proposals are a valiant attempt at a more partnered approach to immigration, he says, there still remains a significant divide between training, education and immigration policy.

“RTF would like to see public policy in these areas complement each other better.

“Improved communication between Government officials and employers, for example, would mean policy settings could be more receptive to workforce issues as they arise,” argues Ngatuere.

“Immigration policy could also be more responsive to the needs of the industry and be tweaked to deal with economic and demographic trends as they happen, rather than what is the case now – which is trying to close the barn door after the horse has bolted.”

This policy disconnect is never more apparent, he says, than when one considers the driver licensing regime: “As RTF has argued vociferously for 20 years, the current licensing system hinders new entrant uptake in the road transport industry, as well as other sectors that rely on people with heavy vehicle licences.

“We have heavily lobbied successive governments to reform and streamline the licensing system and it ’s extremely disappointing that the proposal that’s now on the table does little to address the underlying issues with the current system – and will remain an impediment to young people getting into the industry.”

RTF also strongly made the point in its submission that

Mark Ngatuere authored the Forum’s submission on the Government’s proposed immigration reforms

the penchant for successive governments to push academic qualifications, while neglecting the vocational occupations, has led to the skills shortage we see now.

Ngatuere says: “The good news is that we aren’t the only ones raising this issue. The BCITO’s ad, A Tricky Chat, which many readers will have seen, is a humorous take on the prevailing attitude – that pursuing a career in the trades is something to be frowned upon.

“For a long time it’s been unfashionable for kids to aspire to a vocational career – and proposals to limit residency opportunities for less-skilled workers only serves to reinforce the message that those occupations are not worth as much as other, more professional careers.

“The reality is that building houses, driving trucks, operating machinery, painting, plastering and plumbing are tasks that are critical to our economy – and without people to do them the economic impact would be severe.”

Sums up Ngatuere: “Could we say the same about lawyers and accountants? I’m not so sure.” T&D

40 | Truck & Driver

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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.

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THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

Diversity is a str – let’s embrac

By Meryn Morrison

I

N THE WAKE OF THE TRAGEDY THAT UNFOLDED in Christchurch on March 15 there has never been a better time to address the issue of cultural diversity in our society and within our industry.

Every day New Zealand becomes a more culturally diverse nation.

The last census that we have results of – way back in 2013 – showed that NZ’s population is made up of significantly large ethnic groups from all around the world.

Seventy-four percent of people in 2013 identified as European, 14.9% as Māori, 11.8% as Asian, 7.4% as Pacific peoples and 1.2% as Middle-Eastern, Latin American and African.

In Auckland, our most multi-ethnic region, 59.3% identify as European, 23.1% as Asian, 10.7% as Māori, and 14.6% as Pacific Islanders.

In the six years since that census it must be assumed that our ethnic diversity has only increased.

From being a fairly bi-cultural nation at the end of World War 2, NZ has – within a couple of generations – become a place where people from all over the world are able to live, work and raise a family.

This new diversity has brought so many advantages to our country: New ideas, new experiences, different outlooks on the world. It has in many ways brought the world closer.

Those of us with a few grey hairs remember a time when going overseas on our big OE was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that was

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42 | Truck & Driver

THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

strength ace it Meryn Morrison has been chair of WiRT since 2016 and is the safety and compliance manager at Regal Group in Hamilton

intended to open our eyes to the world.

Well, for our kids it certainly doesn’t feel like that anymore.

They’re exposed to such a variety of cultures and people at home that when they do head overseas, they’re already far more worldly people – and can take advantage of that knowledge and thrive in the global community.

When it comes to the workforce within the road transport industry, hiring people from a variety of backgrounds and cultures that reflect the makeup of our society is simply the only way forward.

Having staff with different perspectives and ideas, and a company that embraces diversity, will, it has been proven, lead to better employee satisfaction, retention and productivity.

One of the most practical ways for road transport companies to address the ongoing driver shortage is to focus more recruiting efforts on groups of people outside of the traditional industry demographic.

Women, millennials and those from different ethnic groups may initially require more mentoring and assistance through obstacles like the driver licensing system – but making those investments now will pay off, by having staff who enjoy where they work and who will go the extra mile for the employer who gave them a chance.

I think one of the biggest things we can do is to put unconscious bias aside and open our minds to the possibility that someone who doesn’t look like us can do the job equally as well.

As we age, we can get into a rut of believing our way is the right way. However, we don’t drive TK Bedfords anymore. We need to open our toolbox of skills and share the knowledge – even if it’s with just a smile and a pat on the back. Encourage the newbies ‘cos they are our future too.

Meryn Morrison is chair of the Women in Road Transport Network (WiRT). WiRT can be contacted through the RTF website or via the Women in Road Transport NZ Facebook page. T&D

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 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

NO ORDI EARTH M

Story Brian Cowan Photos Terry Marshall & Protranz

Protranz gear working on one of the company’s more conventional projects, a new seawall along the road to the Christchurch seaside suburb of Sumner. The UD has just delivered a load a rocks to form the base for an access ramp to the project. It was the second truck bought new by the company, and is still going strong after 14 years

44 | Truck & Driver

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Truck & Driver | 45

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Above: A love of Macks is at the core of the Protranz culture...and Kenworths are sometimes saddled with derogatory names or number plates. Water tankers like this Super-Liner B-train are a growing component of the fleet Left: This name graces an ex-concrete mixer Sterling that arrived at Protranz looking pretty ratty, but is now resplendent in the company colours. The unit is a rarity – a five-axle tipper – but Gerard reckons it makes good business sense on several counts

E

ARTHMOVING COMPANIES. THEY HAVE TRUCKS, SURE, but normally just as a backup to the big yellow machines, right?

Normally, yeah. But down in Christchurch there’s a mob that has Earthmoving in its name, but which seems to be able to turn its hand to all sorts of odd and unusual facets of heavy transport.

These include the development and building of rural fire tenders and five-axle tippers, creating custom carting frames for large concrete blocks and making specialised bins for asbestos removal.

Remarkably, they even built their own remote-controlled excavators. And, at the other end of the technology scale, they restore modern classic trucks – some of which are then used in frontline duties.

Protranz Earthmoving was set up around 20 years ago by Gerard Daldry, and reflects its founder’s belief that education’s OK in its place….but thinking outside the box and being prepared to give things a go have a lot to recommend them as well. And

that doesn’t demand a huge level of formal education.

The man himself is a perfect expression of that principle in action. Born and raised in the mid-Canterbury township of Rakaia, Gerard, as he puts it “went to Ashburton College for a minimum period.”

Then he started with Burnetts Transport – working in its concrete yard until he was old enough to gain his heavy truck licence. He reckons his choice of the transport industry was partly influenced by the fact that his father worked for Mid-Canterbury Transport for a few years when Gerard was younger.

However, his Dad’s primary vocation was as a seaman with the Union Steam Ship Company. In fact, he was one of the crew that in 1976 sailed the inter-island ferry Rangatira to the United Kingdom after it had been sold to a Scandinavian company.

After four years at Burnetts, Gerard shifted to Christchurch and concrete firm Farrier Waimak, which had not long before been brought into the HW Richardson stable. A couple of years later he moved to Wellington, this time to work with Capital Concrete, Truck & Driver | 47

Main picture: Working on top of an unstable 60 metre cliff – but with no human being in sight – two remote-controlled excavators get towards the end of another precarious post-earthquake house demolition job. Protranz’s autonomous controls saw a project that experts had figured would involve fatalities completed with no injuries. They also won Protranz an international innovation award

Below: Ex-British Army Foden 8x6 puts its offroad abilities to good use in carting demolition waste down a temporary track from the Sumner clifftop Below, right: Another load is delivered to the seawall project

Opposite page, left: The remote excavators proved as useful clearing rubble at the bottom of the cliffs as they were at carrying out demolition above them Opposite page, right: No airs and graces here. Gerard Daldry is a lateral thinker who believes there’s a solution to every problem... generally via an unconventional route!

48 | Truck & Driver

a company that HWR had recently set up.

In that period, what was to become a lifelong love affair with the Mack brand took full root, he recalls: “There I was, at the age of 23, driving a Mack 500 Super-Liner and I thought, ‘This is the pinnacle of a driving career. It doesn’t get any better!’ ” All up, Gerard was to work for Bill Richardson for nearly 16 years...and his transition to a solo operator was typical of the way Richardson operated, he says: “Around 1997 I bought my own truck – generally carting gravel and sand, but still also working for Allied Concrete (Capital Concrete having by then been rebranded under the Allied name).

“Bill supported the move, saying he was happy for me to work with Allied when I didn’t have jobs for my own truck – and if the solo venture didn’t work out then I was welcome back fulltime.”

In 1998 Gerard returned to Christchurch, taking the truck with him. Over the next few years he divided his time between New Zealand and Chile, where he was involved in private projects that he prefers not to talk about…while a driver ran the truck back at home.

In 2003 he picked up another small company in Christchurch that had gone into liquidation, thereby doubling the size of the

Daldry fleet and adding some excavators to the lineup.

As well as earthmoving, the company also tendered for demolition jobs, but compared with what was to come, recalls Gerard, they were pretty small-scale: “Before the earthquakes the biggest demolition job we’d done was a two-storey house.

“We thought we were totally cool doing that – and most of the profits went in beer to celebrate the job! At the time there were only four of us.

“A few years later, in 2015, we were a winner – with our remote-controlled excavators – in the innovation category at the World Demolition Summit in the Netherlands. That’s not a bad progression!”

Gerard was far from overdressed at the glitzy Demolition Summit awards ceremony – true to his usual approach.

The day we visit Protranz, for instance, he’s in shorts, battered work boots and a gently-unravelling jersey: “I bought that in the UK 20 years ago. It’s holding up pretty well, don’t you reckon?”

By all accounts, this is his standard rig – but for the

Truck & Driver | 49

De Bu

Inte eng Ne all her adv cu an new

Clockwise, from top left: The Lipstick on a Pig Sterling shows off the latest fleet colour scheme. Bonnet mascot might look like a Mack bulldog from a distance, but it’s a pig.....fleet manager Craig Dunick is a paid-up member of the Mack fan club....NZ’s first Bedford-badged truck under restoration.....Mack UltraLiner was a typical fleet stalwart for many years.....DAF has become the new model of choice, but other brands are also in the mix. This unit is carrying concrete blocks for a new seawall along SH1 near Kaikoura, uses custom-designed steel frames (fabricated inhouse) to handle the tricky cargo safely and quickly

big occasion at the demo awards he “went all out” and shouted himself a new pair of jeans!

The award came as a consequence of the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, which catapulted Protranz from just another earthmoving and demolition company into the front ranks of the recovery operation.

The years since have also seen impressive growth – from a handful of trucks and excavators to more than 30 trucks and a similar number of equipment items, dozens of trailers and a staff of around 60.

Behind it all has been a can-do attitude and a series of imaginative answers to challenges that nobody in this country had faced before. Among the most dramatic of these was the task of demolishing about 16 houses left teetering at the top of a 60-metre cliff in the seaside suburb of Sumner.

Faced with the challenge of how to get the job done safely, CERA (the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority) had consulted international experts in demolition and health and safety and received the advice that there would be a high probability of fatalities during the operation.

50 | Truck & Driver

However, Protranz approached the problem from a novel direction, with a proposal to build remote-controlled excavators to carry out the work that would be deemed too dangerous for human operators.

The genesis for the idea was Gerard’s memory of a remotecontrolled concrete pump from his time, years earlier, at Farrier Waimak. He says it seemed logical that the same technology could be adapted for a digger: “It was just electric-over-hydraulic and we figured it couldn’t be too difficult.

“So we went to all the manufacturers – Komatsu, CAT, JCB and the like. But they all said they’d never done anything like that and really weren’t interested...

“So we went it alone, butchered a concrete pump and fitted the gear to a little Hitachi 135. Having proved the concept could work, we then bought a brand-new Komatsu PC270 for the actual jobs.

That model has a 30t track frame, so it has awesome stability.”

Then came a major hurdle. As Gerard explains, by the time the unit had been built up it owed the company around $800,000 and needed to be financed.

“The commercial finance companies were: ‘Yeah, all good – just

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bring us your insurance documents and we’ll sort things out.’ But when I went to the insurance companies and told them what the machine would be used for they wouldn’t have a bar of it.

“For a month or so it looked as if we’d built ourselves a very expensive lemon!”

In the end, Gerard decided that couldn’t happen: “So there was nothing else to do but to take a deep breath and go for it!” A second unit was built and the two went to work on the clifftops.

“Actually, our main concern was not losing a digger over the cliff, but of striking a mechanical problem. Because the machines were working way past the fracture zone, a mechanic couldn’t go out to them – it was a real no-man’s-land.

“As it was, they carried out all the projects brilliantly...and as far as operator safety went, we didn’t even open a first-aid kit!”

Although the dramatic clifftop demolition jobs – and the noless hazardous clearing of rubble from the cliff base and the building of retaining bunds to catch stray rockfalls in the future – are all finished, the company has now built two more remotecontrolled excavators.

They’re used regularly for added safety in general demolition work, as well as handling some out-of-the-ordinary projects – including work on ammunition dumps and the excavation of a site where old gas bottles had been buried.

Following the Kaikoura earthquake in November 2016 one of the units was also used for what Gerard terms “the real evil stuff” at the bottom of the big slip near Ohau Point.

Once again the Protranz trademark of lateral thinking was to the fore: An MC Mack fire tender owned by the company used its high-pressure snorkel to sluice down the unstable face, achieving the same result as three monsoon bucket-equipped choppers….at

a fraction of their cost.

Protranz operates out of several sites in the industrial area off Johns Road near Christchurch Airport. Home base is a sprawling complex of offices and workshops, while not far away another yard that houses the company’s four hooklift truck and trailer units is shared with Paul Smith Earthmoving. Although the two companies do similar work and are in essence competitors, Gerard says they often cooperate on bigger projects and work together well.

The primary task for the hook trucks is to carry asbestos waste from demolition sites to Canterbury’s major landfill at Kate Valley, north of Amberley. For this most hazardous of substances Gerard has developed an ingenious reinforced cover system for the skips that’s strong enough to contain the load completely, even when a full unit is tipped upside down.

As he explains: “When we tendered for the contract, I knew that, given the number of loads that would be involved and the distance to travel, there was a possibility that – for whatever reason – a truck could be involved in an accident and tip over.

“If the rubbish wasn’t contained you could possibly have first responders – Fire and Emergency and Police – wading through asbestos without knowing it. At the beginning, people were doubtful that we could do it, but we were able to put a full skip on a cradle and tip it upside down to prove the concept worked.

“The hook unit trucks are also fitted with an asbestos containment kit, and the drivers are fully trained in its use.

At the same time, the operators need to be conscious that an accident victim might be suffering cardiac distress as the result of injury, in which case fitting them with a mask to reduce asbestos exposure could further worsen the heart condition. For that

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52 | Truck & Driver

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Above, left: Christchurch’s Port Hills fire in February 2017 saw Protranz water tankers replenishing ponds being used by monsoon bucketequipped helicopters Above, right: More ingenuity at work. A remote-controlled excavator at work doing preliminary clearance on a major slip after the Kaikoura earthquake, with a fire tender being used to sluice loose material

Left: Historic lineup of R-Models in the early 1980s, featuring three different companies in the HW Richardson group – Treganza Transport, Farrier Waimak and Southern Transport. A young Gerard Daldry is with the Southern truck, which soon after was to shift to the newly-formed Capital Concrete. Barry McAra, with the Farriers unit, today works with Protranz

reason we have an annual visit from a cardiologist who explains the signs to look for before applying the mask.

“This sort of thing costs, and that’s not always reflected in contract payments. This industry is still largely driven by cost.

However, we can point out that the steps we take serve to mitigate the potential liability that will come back to the client if something does go wrong, and that can become a positive factor when tendering for jobs.

“You’ve got to have a social conscience, and we get a thrill out of creating things, and doing it smarter and better.”

The secondary yard also houses several water tankers. Protranz owns a relatively new spinoff company, Crystal Clear, that can provide bulk potable water across the South Island.

It’s contracted to the Christchurch City Council to supply water to areas hit by summertime shortages. Akaroa is the major township in this category – serviced by a shuttle run from Duvauchelle, further around the harbour, several times a day.

Rural properties in the region are also regularly topped up.

After the Kaikoura quake, a Protranz tanker with water for the local hospital was the first vehicle into Kaikoura. The exBritish Army 8x6 Foden got through a couple of days before the Army and the main Civil Defence teams, who used tracks cut by Protranz through the slips blocking the inland road to the town.

The tankers are an integral component of Protranz’s long association with Canterbury’s rural fire services – its trucks backing-up the volunteer brigades as they handle scrub fires.

The relationship has grown to the point where the company has established a steady sideline in building fire tenders for the services. It provides the trucks, then fits them out with pumps, tanks and specialist gear to the brigades’ specifications.

No matter what community emergency or disaster strikes, Protranz seems to be able to snap instantly into a highly effective

ready-response mode, without stopping to worry where payment might be coming from.

During the Port Hills fires of February 2017, for instance, the tankers were hard at work replenishing the ridge-top ponds being used by monsoon bucket-equipped helicopters fighting the fires.

Protranz also got behind the Nelson Fires Hay Convoy that came to the rescue of farmers whose hay supplies and paddocks were burnt in the fire that swept through Pigeon Valley, south of Nelson, in March.

When farmers, agricultural feed suppliers and others in mid-Canterbury organised donated feed, Gerard was the first transport operator to get involved – jumping in a truck on his day off to make one pickup of donated hay and cart it back to Christchurch…where he made the main Protranz yard available as a collection base for the feed. He also had a company B-train help deliver the feed to Nelson.

He is, Convoy organiser Paule Crawford said at the time, “a truly amazing guy, with a genuine passion for helping others.”

Not far away from the two yards is the Daldry home property, a combined house and workshop on a hectare of land. Before 2011, it was the company’s only base, says Gerard: “Everything fitted in here – trucks, trailers, diggers, the lot. You’d barely fit the utes in here now.

“In the months following the earthquakes, the front paddock was a temporary dump site for demolition waste and we had extra gear parked in the back paddock.”

During that period the workshop area under the house was a hive of activity as hook bins and tipper bodies were constructed for the massive cleanup job that lay ahead. Today, it’s home for an original Mount Cook Line Denning coach, one of the huge number of modern-classic transport units that Gerard has collected and refurbished over the past few years.

Truck & Driver | 55

N P S

Clockwise from top left: There’s never any lack of projects in the classic collection, which now numbers more than 40 trucks.... the oldsters are kept in full running order and do regular stints on the front line.

Renault Magnum was imported loaded with Mack V8 engines.....Protranz has played a major role in Christchurch post-quake demolition projects....many of the trucks feature intricate murals, like this Murray Ball tribute

The bus – named Mount Egmont and sporting its original fleet number – is fully operational and is regularly loaned out to community organisations or used for staff trips, Gerard explains – adding almost as an afterthought: “We took the guys for a run to Tekapo in it over the weekend. Every time we stopped, people were all over it, because we were following one of the original Mount Cook routes and so it brought back a lot of memories.”

After the Kaikoura earthquake the house workshop became a storage hub for emergency relief – groceries and the like – destined for the cutoff township and being carted in by Protranz trucks.

The process was not always carried out strictly according to regulations, Gerard admits: “To give you an example, we have a logging truck, and the local sawmill in Kaikoura got in touch with us when we were carting water in during the first few days and asked could we get them some logs.

“With their normal supply cut off, they were on the point of closing, which would mean putting 60 people out of work. I offered them our truck, which one of their guys could drive, and that would allow them to source enough logs in to keep going.

“You had to apply for consents to move vehicles through the red zone, so I said we were planning to bring a logging truck up and explained why, but the application was rejected on the grounds that it wasn’t an essential service. So I put in an application for the same truck again, only this time calling it a water tanker, and it was approved.

56 | Truck & Driver

“The next day I drove it up myself, loaded with logs, along with our other water and emergency supply trucks, and when I got to the checkpoint the guys on duty said: ‘That’s not a water tanker!’

And I said, ‘no, it isn’t’….and drove on through. They didn’t chase me! For the next month or so the local driver was able to source enough logs from inside the zone to keep the sawmill operating.”

Though there’s plenty of interest in the company’s two main yards, it’s obvious that Gerard’s heart really lies in the warehouse at Christchurch Airport that houses a 41-strong collection of mainly near-modern classic trucks.

As you’d expect, Mack is the dominant brand. Among the rarities sporting the Bulldog upfront are the following trucks, listed by Gerard: The 1000th Super-Liner built, the world’s last Cruise-Liner and the only CL model ever fitted with a Detroit Series 60 engine. When the V8 was being phased out, he explains, local assembler MTD had three trucks each fitted with a different engine – CAT, Cummins and Detroit – and imported them for evaluation. The Cummins eventually got the nod for production – but Gerard eventually tracked down the Series 60-powered example.

However, it isn’t all Mack. Gerard has several ERFs, Scammells and Bedfords – British makes that are no longer built, and he says it’s important that as many as possible of them are kept: “They were an important part of our trucking history and shouldn’t be forgotten.”

International too is well represented – among their number

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an S-Line concrete unit. Gerard explains its significance: “It was the only truck ever bought brand-new under the Farriers Concrete banner, and a real oddity in a group that at the time was otherwise entirely Macks. For a time after the formation of Allied Concrete, Farriers trucks ran in the Allied colours, but with the Farriers Concrete name on the doors. We’ll be bringing it back to that particular colour scheme.”

Also sporting the Inter badge are three ACCOs – a 3070A, 3072B and 3074B – making a virtual full hand of the 3070 model line.

Then there are the odds and ends, including what Gerard identifies as the country’s first Bedford-badged truck (they’d previously run with a Chevrolet nameplate), a Mack offroad dumper, and an ex-British Army Abbot self-propelled gun. In service from the 1960s until the early 1990s, the Abbot wasn’t as heavy or quick as a main battle tank, but had fearsome firepower in the form of a 105mm Howitzer. Power comes from a Rolls-Royce flat-12 multifuel engine making 240hp.

The Foden that made the first run to Kaikoura lives with the collectables, even though it is very much a regular working unit. Designed originally as a cross-country transporter, it was put to good purpose carting demolition rubble from the top of the Sumner cliffs for transfer to conventional tipper units at the bottom, and has subsequently been involved in similar work along the Kaikoura coast.

A couple of semi-retired mechanics in the well-equipped main workshop split their time between refurbishing the classics and the more general fleet repair work. They’re uniquely-qualified for the task: Gerard van Leeuwen spent 20 years with MTD and 58 | Truck & Driver

assembled, brand-new, many of the Macks he now rebuilds. Marty Paardekooper worked for years as a mechanic with McCormicks in Ashburton and has an equally encyclopaedic knowledge of and enthusiasm for International.

The rebuild team was recently involved in a project with poignant overtones, says Gerard: “A guy called Ross Campbell up north was working on restoring a 237 Mack FR that had been run

by Cambridge Transport.

“He’d been taken for rides in the truck as a kid, then drove it himself when he later worked for the company. After he retired he tracked it down and was restoring it – but then he got cancer and couldn’t go on with the project.

“So we picked the truck up with our Titan transporter, brought it down here, finished the job, painted it up in the old Cambridge Transport colours, and got it back to him.”

For the next four months Ross was able to drive his old truck on private roads – even when, as he became weaker, he had to be lifted into the cab. And after he died it carried his coffin – also painted in fleet colours – to his cremation.

Most of the classics aren’t just static displays. Once restored, many are kept registered and certified, and for a couple of weeks every few months they’re put to work to keep them from deteriorating.

As well, friends from the trucking industry will regularly take one for a trip. As Gerard puts it, when guys are visiting Christchurch, it beats having to pay for a rental car!

With four mechanics plus an apprentice, two engineers and a painter on staff, Protranz can handle pretty much any job inhouse. As well has working on the fleet, the big engineering

Above: Excavators at work on the Sumner seawall. The Komatsu PC300 in the foreground is the same model as the first of the remote-controlled units

Opposite page, both pictures: Last year, when a yacht ran aground in Christchurch and had to be scrapped, Protranz’ big Foden was ideal to cart the debris off the beach

bay is often busy with custom projects – one example being the frames constructed to transport five-tonne concrete blocks for the new seawall along the realigned SH1 north of Kaikoura.

Other companies had been carting the blocks on flatdeck semis – sitting them on rubber pads to stop any cracking through road vibration. It was a cumbersome approach and carried hazards for the drivers, says Gerard: “Because the blocks weren’t up against the headboard, they needed to be chained down hard, four chains per block and the drivers had to get up on the deck to hold the edge protector caps in place while they were putting the chains over.

“With our scheme, we took the decks off the truck and trailer – replacing them with twist-locked, angle-steel frames that held the blocks tight. That needed only one chain per block and, because everything was much lower, the driver could reach the edge caps and carry the job out while standing on the ground, so it was much safer.”

As a bonus, for the return trip to Christchurch the trailer was piggybacked on the truck, logger-style, halving the unit length on the tight Inland Road that was the only access to Kaikoura at the time….and improving traction on the often-icy route.

The project was achieved, adds Gerard, with no damage to the blocks and no lost-time injuries.

He believes that Protranz’ excellent health and safety record depends as much on a relaxed attitude to life as much as a slavish adherence to regulations: “The environment is one of fun and friendliness. We joke around a lot, but that doesn’t stop us having a professional approach to the job. Rather, it means you don’t find people getting uptight and stressed-out. With the right

culture, safety follows.”

The relaxed approach extends to disciplinary matters as well, he adds: “We don’t have written warnings and the like. If somebody does something silly it’s more like, ‘Sit down – we need to have a talk.’ As a result we’ve never had to go to the employment disputes tribunal, or had a matter come to court.

“Staff recruitment and retention is seldom a problem. A lot of our people have been around for years, and if we need somebody new we have a list of people who’ve said they’d like to work with us. They’re often referred through mates who are already on staff.

“Shaun and Mel (operations manager Shaun Coakley and office administrator Mel Milne) look after a lot of that – I try not to mix with the adults too much!”

Not that he doesn’t get on with the ‘adults’ (among whom are also fleet managers Craig Dunick and Gerard’s brother Mike Daldry, receptionist Sonia Phillipson and contracts manager Brendan Webber) – but he is happy to let them get on with the job.

As a consequence he’ll often spend all day driving, rather than manning a desk: “When you come out and work with the guys, you get to know them,” he reckons.

“Time was when there were only a few of us and you had to do the lot, but now we have people in the office who’ve been to university and learnt how to run a business – handle the contracts and the like.

“I wouldn’t have a clue about a lot of that. I’m probably the face of the company, but the staff actually run it now.”

Gerard’s equally hands-off in the field. A current Protranz project is the building of a rock seawall along the Sumner Truck & Driver | 59

Left: When sightlines were poor and the danger from falling rocks extreme, the operator for the remote-controlled diggers had to resort to unusual vantage points.

Here it’s a cherry-picker, on other occasions it was a hovering helicopter

Below, left: The transporter is often in use. The TR8OR number plate on the T610 SAR reflects the general Mack culture at Protranz Below: The big workshop handles all repairs and maintenance, is backed up by an equally impressive engineering bay and a paint shop

foreshore. Showing us the site, he says he wouldn’t think of interfering: “One of the senior excavator operators, Ivan Manuel, is in charge of this project and it’s running smooth-as, while at the same time he’s showing the ropes to a couple of our younger operators.

“If I was looking over his shoulder I’d be learning from him, because there’s nothing I could teach him. Granted, I set the company up, and I work at keeping the culture, but that’s all I do.”

At Sumner, a Foden 3600 8x4 has just delivered a load of the wall’s big facing rocks that are being manoeuvred into place by an excavator. Like a lot of the Protranz trucks, this is a nearmodern classic with an unusual history, having been the only four-axle concrete mixer truck bought by Capital Concrete.

On the job today it’s followed closely by a UD, which is delivering smaller rocks to act as base for a ramp down to the beach level – with another excavator dragging sand and finer material over them for the ramp surface. The UD has been around since 2005 and was just the second brand-new truck bought by Gerard.

A five-axle Sterling tipper would normally also be delivering rock for the seawall job, but its driver is away today. The Sterling, which has been in operation only three months, is another example of Protranz innovation that runs counter to conventional thinking, as Gerard explains: “So many said a five-axle tipper would never work, but it does. On the road with a payload of 18t it has 6.5t on each of the back axles.

“But offroad we’ve modified the lazy axle to reduce the airbag 60 | Truck & Driver

pressure, which gives us better traction for the driving axles.

Compared with an artic carrying the same payload it’s much more stable when tipping, plus you’ve got only one hubodometer, one CoF, one registration...and it needs only a Class 4 licence. So why would you have an artic?

“You couldn’t buy a brand-new truck, build it up and find the idea was a cockup, so we got an ex-Allied five-axle mixer unit and put a tipper body on it. Naturally, when a truck’s had some years on concrete it won’t be looking all that flash, so we came up with the name Lipstick on a Pig after it was tarted up. Craig found the Miss Piggy statue that, at a glance, could pass for a Mack dog.

“We’re planning to build another three to sell, and see how the idea takes off.”

For all the emphasis on semi-classic Macks, the DAF CF is the dominant model among the new trucks bought in recent years.

Gerard rates the DAFs highly, but is relaxed about other brands as well: “If we were getting a new model and the driver really wanted something else, like a Volvo or a UD, that would be no problem. What sets the DAFs apart is the support we get from Southpac Trucks. They are truly a bunch of good bastards.”

“Good bastard” pops up frequently in Gerard’s conversation – in reference to people he rates highly. He doesn’t have a similar tag for those at the other end of the spectrum – he simply prefers not to deal with them.

He comes over as pretty much a good bastard himself – and one who seems to be having a great deal of fun spearheading an operation that’s a long way from your standard earthmoving company. T&D

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The new members of Kenworth’s T series family – two T360s on the left and a pair of T410s on the right

Little Ts join Kenworth big bro Story Wayne Munro

T

HE FAMILY PLANNING FOR KENWORTH AUSTRALIA’S new “babies” started all of 11 years ago – when PACCAR in the United States launched its $400million (!) newgeneration product (NGP) project.

That eyewatering investment was mainly about designing and developing a better-quality, wider cab as the cornerstone of a new Kenworth T680 and Peterbilt 579 for North America….but soon also became the basis for a new and improved, wide-cab Kenworth for Australia.

Another $20million worth of Aussie development work later, the T610 was born – a conventional that, as Kenworth said at the time, was “all about the cab.” Modern…high-tech even.

And roomier, taller, stronger, better quality, better-fitting than anything of the same name that had gone before it.

And, best of all, an extra 300 millimetres wider than its predecessors. Yep, a spacious 2.1 metres across.

It was, the Kenworth team said at its launch, simply the “bestever Kenworth built in Australia.”

And in the two years since, it’s certainly won an impressive slice of the market – popular enough to now account for “just under a third of what we do in the factory….so it’s certainly been very, very successful,” Kenworth Australia marketing manager Brad May reports.

Apparently, in Aussie, sales of the T610 and its more traditional T610SAR brother have now almost caught up to Kenworth’s No. 1, the K200 cabover. In NZ, not so much: Although popular (and increasingly so), it’s easily beaten by the K200 (with around 55%) and the T659 (approximately 25%), but still already commands

around 15% of all KW sales.

From the outset, Kenworth Australia has always planned a whole family of new T models based on the 2.1m cab – “taking that cab platform if you like, and rolling it into the rest of our product lineup,” says May. And now it’s happening – the birth of a couple of little Ts. Smaller brothers to the T610s – replacements, in fact, for the readymix concrete agitator specialist T359 and the local tipper/ metro or regional freight-suited T409.

So here we are at the Anglesea truck proving ground in Victoria for the unveiling of the new Kenworth T360 and T410.

They’re presented as not only wider in the cabs, but also better, safer, nicer (and easier) to drive versions of the models they’re replacing.

Hang on a minute! Are they really all of that? Didn’t Kenworth say at the launch of the T610 that “it’s all about the cab?” Yeah, it did. But now, with the new Ts, the message is that it’s that bestever cab… AND much more besides.

Clearly, you can’t just plonk the T610 cab, as-is, directly onto T359 and T409 frames. And, in engineering the 2.1m cab for the little Ts, the designers came up with a bunch of other improvements.

Such as placing the cab further forward on the frame – delivering shorter bumper to back of cab (BBC) dimensions than the old models and allowing the bonnet to be sloped more steeply – thus giving better visibility of the road immediately in front.

A lower floor height (75mm lower than the T610) makes for Truck & Driver | 63

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Above: Kiwi Kenworth dealer Southpac Trucks reckons it has a winner for the readymix truck market in the new T360, primarily because of its suite of safety features Left: This is what the 2.1m wide cab delivers to the Little Ts – a wide, spacious working environment, with excellent vision. This is the premium trim version, in a T410, with the PACCAR AMT (which has its shift controller on a steering column stalk)

easier cab access – and safer cab access as well. Plus there are new lights, better manoeuvrability, a lighter tare weight…

And they have the option of the full safety suite that comes with the Bendix Wingman Fusion safety system – active collision avoidance, adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning, as well as electronic stability control.

Mechanically things have changed a bit – a nine-litre Cummins ISLe5, rated from 280 to 400 horsepower, is the only engine option for the T360….so no 11-litre Cummins ISM. The ISL can be mated with an Eaton 16-speed manual (as standard spec), or with either an Allison automatic (a 3000 or 4000 Series), or an Eaton UltraShift Plus AMT. The T410, which comes with a choice of daycab or three sleeper options (600mm, 760 or 860), runs the same engine as the T409 – the PACCAR MX-13, with either 460 or 510 horsepower…

But it does have a new 12-speed PACCAR automated manual transmission (some say it’s an Eaton Endurant, but Kenworth Australia prefers only to talk about it as a PACCAR trans, from “a supplier”).

It has “class-leading weight, durability and serviceability.” It’s rated for GCMs up to 50 tonnes and 1850 lb ft of peak torque.

The AMT is the standard spec alternative to an 18-speed Eaton Roadranger manual. For applications above 50t – the options are the Roadranger or an UltraShift.

May reckons the PACCAR 12-speed is the clearcut winner

among the transmission options – its attractions, he sums up as: “Performance, price, tare weight. Not much more to discuss really! It drives well, it’s more competitively priced and it offers a tare weight advantage.”

The 50t maximum rating for the trans is simply a matter of it being a brand-new product to the market, “therefore we and our suppliers tend to take a conservative approach. We’re not ones to throw out there something we’re not certain is going to stand the test of time….”

It’s a matter, he adds, of initially “ensuring that if we offer it, we can stand behind it and sleep at night – and know that we’re not guessing, we’re not hoping….It’s validated and we’re one thousand percent confident that it’s right to go. I’d rather lose out on a bit of opportunity for a while – and make sure it’s right – than grab opportunity and work out how we fix a stuffup!”

Kenworth will be working with the supplier, he adds, to “grow the rating over time.”

Yep, he agrees, a buyer offered the choice of a 50t or 70t rated gearbox – “without any opportunity to try the truck, understand the full economics of it, you would think that most people would go for the 70.”

But this particular 50t transmission, he says with some passion, “is pretty bloody good.”

What’s behind the creation of these new trucks, May reckons, is the Kenworth Australia philosophy – of designing trucks in Truck & Driver | 65

Above: In Australia, the T410 will be rated up to a 70-tonne GCM

Opposite page, top: The 12-speed PACCAR AMT is offered in the T410, initially rated up to 50t

Opposite page, bottom: Kenworth Trucks marketing boss Brad May explains that a whole family of Ts was always the plan....even before the T610 was launched

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Australia, for Australia. (Well, hopefully, for Australia… AND for NZ too).

In keeping with the philosophy, Kenworth Australia decided to do “a bit of a reset, if you like, on our product.”

To get right down to actually “designing and tailoring products specifically to what the segments in the market were, and what the specific criteria was for each of those applications.

“We took the opportunity to look at how the market divided itself by engine capacity. Engine capacity obviously goes directly to engine performance and engine performance leads straight to what the truck does.

“When you look at the Australian market you can say that roughly a third of the market is buying 15-litre-plus engines, a third of the market’s buying 12 and 13-litre engines and a third of the market’s buying engines under 12 litres.

“So what we wanted to do is, rather than produce trucks that we could try and cover all these segments with, we wanted to hit the reset button and design trucks specifically aimed at each of these segments.”

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Thus…we have the T360 and T3410, aimed at the two lower-powered market segments.

With the T360, May explains, the aim was to “take our T359 and improve manoeuvrability. Tare weight’s always important – so do what we could to take some tare weight out of the trucks. Flexibility….is all about what we can do with the BBC, which gives plenty of options with what we can do with bodies and wheelbases.

“Visibility’s always important in running around urban environments. And typically in these applications you’ve got drivers getting in and out of trucks a lot. So the easier and safer we can do that…”

A focus on the steering geometry “and what works around that – clearances and what-not” – has resulted in an improvement of almost two metres in the turning circle: “Really, really important in those tight city applications.”

While the T360 goes without an 11-litre Cummins ISM option, the smaller engine, combined with a new “highly efficient” radiator and cooling package and a front frame redesign together adds up to a lighter tare weight: “We’ve taken the best part of 100 kilos out of the front axle weight.”

The revised placement of the cab on the chassis, which delivered the 100mm improvement in the BBC (for both the T360 and T410), “gives us more

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Above: Kenworth Australia sees a ready market for the T360 as a single-truck tipper

Left: Maximising the benefits of the 2.1m cab, Kenworth has been gradually adding new T610 variants – culminating in this 1400mm sleeper cab version (displayed here in a T610SAR), also now being launched

opportunity to push the weight around – where we place bodies, potentially shorten-up wheelbases that do favour manoeuvrability…or just give us longer bodies and more productivity.”

There’s also “the amount of flexibility that provides in trailer placement, swing clearance, weight distribution…all those things that become critical, particularly in bulk-haul applications, where weight means everything. Light tare weight trucks don’t mean a thing if you can’t use it all – so to have some flexibility to push trailers around is really critical.”

The 2.1m cab, naturally, replicates the big bro’s great vision, courtesy of its “large, raked-back windscreen, big door glass, placement of low mirrors, line of sight across the cab, unobstructed by A-pillars and mirrors”….which are mounted on the A-pillars rather than the doors.

And then there’s the cab access. Says May: “A massive part of our design brief these days is satisfying occupational health and safety – making sure we get drivers in and out of the cab safely.

“How do we do that? Wide-opening doors….(they come with the 2.1m cab design) ….well-placed grabhandles. But, most importantly, a lot of work has gone into getting our step heights 68 | Truck & Driver

right – getting them equal.”

Equal and inclined – so they progressively extend out, away from the cab, towards the bottom: “So you’re now not climbing vertical faces.”

With the T410, the extra enhancements also include a two-stage engine brake (engine and exhaust brake) for the MX-13 engine and a switch to a 12-volt (from 24-volt) electrical system – important because it simplifies things and it reduces costs, but even more so because it allows the integration of the full Bendix Wingman Fusion safety suite.

There’s another transmission enhancement with the AMT options for the T410 – controls shifted from the dashboard to a steering column stalk (which also controls the engine braking).

The new Ts come with the option of high-end interior trim, fixtures and fittings, plus a “price-conscious” alternative – “recognising that not everyone wants a bells-and-whistles, owner/ driver-type truck…”

When it comes to a fleet-spec trim… this is “a pretty classy fleet trim. It certainly doesn’t look cheap and nasty.”

The new models supersede the T359 and T409 – in fact, even before the Brisbane Truck Show gave their replacements their first

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Above: Launch T410 tractor unit with the PACCAR 12-speed AMT and running at 40 tonnes all-up, is a lovely thing to drive

Right: Kenworth realises that some buyers don’t need or want “all the bells and whistles” in their 2.1m cabs, so offer this fleet spec trim...which Brad May reckons is still “pretty classy”

public showing, the old models had already been deposed from the Kenworth Australia and Southpac Trucks websites.

In the NZ market, Richard Smart, Southpac Trucks’ general sales manager, believes that the T360 “will be a real weapon” against Mack, with whom it shares the majority of NZ’s small market for American readymix agitator trucks (around 50 trucks per year).”

It will have an edge, he reckons, “especially with the safety features.”

The T410 will, he suggests, fit well in fuel tanker and single tipper applications: “Fuel for chasing safety and weight…and the tipper just for the flexibility and not needing that big 15-litre engine.”

Probably, no more than 20 to 50 360 and 410s will be sold in a year: “It’s not a huge sector of our market but it’s an important one. All these little bits together, make the market.”

May says something similar, when he sums up the benefits of the T360 and T410 – on top of their T610-derived cabs: “So lots of soft and subtle improvements – but if you’re using this product every day, they’re things that will make a difference to the driver experience.”

For sure, even in the limited time spent driving the new trucks at Anglesea, they reveal themselves as a pleasure to drive. The

cabs, of course, are as impressive as you’d expect (considering how good the T610’s is), the new PACCAR transmission’s shifts are a treat, the Allison-equipped agi truck is lively and a pleasure to drive.

And the 510hp MX-13 feels well-suited to the T410, running up and down Anglesea’s decent hills at 40t all-up.

The reset that May says is behind the new-generation T series hasn’t yet been applied to all Kenworths: “K200, 909s, 659s, 509s….all those things remain untouched. Will they change at some point in the future? Maybe.”

Kenworth Australia will, he says, “roll this (2.1m) cab out further in the future.

Already here is latest development of the T610 – a top-of-therange 1400mm sleeper cab, complementing the day cab and an 860mm sleeper initially launched and 760mm and 600mm variants introed last year.

Will there be a T410 SAR? Maybe, says May – although he stresses, there are no current plans.

So, someone asks, “how far away is the T910?” On this he’s unequivocal: “There is no date – and that’s not even a poker face. There is no date. It’s nothing more than an idea.”

For the moment, he’s just happy introducing the Little Ts to the world. T&D Truck & Driver | 71

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Foton NZ has revised the GVM ratings of its Aumark models, to make sense of Kiwi RUC weight brackets and NZ driver licence requirements

AUMARK GETS A (PAPER) UPGRADE Story & photos Dean Evans

F

OTON MAY NOT BE AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE mind when you think about light trucks, but the New Zealand distributor of the Chinese make is looking to change that.

Foton NZ has taken the affordable Aumark and given it an update…..but simply of its Kiwi specifications, making it better-suited to local conditions and needs.

Foton NZ’s truck product and sales manager Bevan Dale reckons that Foton is a value brand, rather than a cheap brand. It has a range of truck models established worldwide, using major driveline components from wellproven and respected suppliers including Cummins and ZF. But, Dale reckons, until recently some of the Foton Aumark light trucks sold here were specced primarily for the Australian market – and weren’t particularly well-suited to NZ driver’s licence and Road User Charges thresholds.

“What we’ve tried to do is build a product that’s right for NZ,” says Dale – rather than trucks designed for Australia “and….dumped into NZ. “With the ADR (Australian Design Rule) way, their car licence is 4495kg, whereas ours is 5995kg. So they were previously bringing in the smaller truck rated at 4495kg – which just wouldn’t work, when our car licence goes up to

six-tonnes.

“Before we brought in the trucks,” Dale adds, “we sat down with Foton and looked at NZ driver’s licence requirements and RUC brackets… because people don’t want to pay for RUC and not use the whole weight bracket.

“So we worked with them to come up with the GVMs and we’ve now got three models of Aumark to suit those ranges.

“We’ve got the Aumark BJ1051 entry product, with a GVM of 5650kg, then we jump to the Aumark BJ1079 with a 3.8 Cummins engine and six-speed ZF gearbox, which can have a 5995kg or 6500kg GVM. “Then the big one is the BJ1099, with an 8995kg GVM, which is right at the top of the 6-9t RUC weight bracket.”

So the trucks themselves haven’t actually changed – they’ve simply been given updated and refined NZTA classifications: “The trucks have always been capable of that,” says Dale.

“The axles could always stand it, but no-one locally had bothered to sit down and basically get the certification right for NZ. Once we went back to Foton with the axle weight ratings, and told them what we wanted to achieve and why, they went straight back to the R&D engineers, Truck & Driver | 73

Above: The Aumark’s steering is tilt adjustable and though the wheel is devoid of fingertip controls, the blanks indicate they are probably in the pipeline Left: Exterior vision is good, thanks to effective dual mirrors each side and a low dash, which aids the view of what’s immediately in front

and they said ‘fine!’

“We wouldn’t order until all the issues were sorted, but the Foton factory really want to see NZ succeed, because they want to be seen more than just a Chinese truckmaker….but a truckmaker that can go anywhere in the world and succeed.”

Foton NZ now has a national network comprising six dealers – in Auckland, Whangarei, Hamilton, Hawke’s Bay, Palmerston North and Christchurch.

“We understand a lot of clients want a network,” says Dale. A customer may buy a truck in Hamilton, but it could be working in Christchurch – “so having that network allows us to compete with the likes of Hino or FUSO. “Trucks do break down, but having that network support to get it back on the road is important.”

According to Auckland dealer Prestige International’s Alfred James, the high-profile brands that supply major components to Foton help to sell the Aumark. But also, he adds, there’s the benefit of “the simplicity of the product”….and the ease of working with Foton NZ. A lot of customers are repeat Foton buyers who say that the buying experience “is much easier than two years ago – it’s a breath of fresh air,” James says.

Prestige International sold seven Aumarks in the first six months after becoming a dealer last September. But in April alone it sold another handful – and James reckons “it’s Foton NZ’s support that’s got us here.”

The trucks have been priced so that potential customers shopping for a new or secondhand light truck are “seeing that brand-new Foton trucks are only 20% more expensive than a used truck.

“We’ve done this on purpose – to steer people from used trucks into new trucks…because of the network support, value price and the top-notch brands like Cummins.”

“As part of the dealer training,” adds Dale, “we draw a

snowman. So, at the bottom is the used truck market, and the head is the smaller new truck market; “The body crossover point is where we see Foton fitting in: We’re a lot cheaper than a FUSO or Isuzu, but we sit at the top end of that used truck market. You’re getting Euro 5 Cummins engines, ZF gearboxes and Wabco brakes – all well-recognised brands.”

James says too that a free tray offer “has recently helped generate a lot of positive feedback and sales…. drawing people through the door.

“About a third of our sales are tippers, a quarter are curtainsiders, 20% are box bodies and 20% flatdecks.”

Customers can custom order from the factory to suit their needs, with a lead time of around 90 days.

So why buy a Chinese Foton over the established brands? Says Dale: “My view is that when you’re in the trucking world, you get paid a certain amount for a load – so if the capital expenditure is $20,000 less than for one of the other brands, suddenly there’s $20k that goes back into the business.

“You’re still getting all the known componentry, reliable brands, Cummins/ZF support…but the amount of capital invested is less.”

James suggests that “it’s probably personal taste, as well. I’ve always been a big fan of Cummins, and no other light commercial has a Cummins in it. And the Cummins plant in Beijing is one of the most technologically advanced in the world.”

A NZ Truck & Driver Driven outing starts at Prestige International, with the biggest of the three Aumarks – the BJ1099, with an 8995kg GVM – awaiting us. It’s fitted with a Chinese-built box body and tail-lift and sits at a sharp $59,995 (plus GST).

James reckons that a local body builder, asked to assess the body, rated it “as good as anything built here” – with “excellent” fit and finish, including two interior LEDs and

74 | Truck & Driver

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double-height fixing rails.

Three optional extras have been added locally to this Aumark – an $1100 double-DIN Bluetooth audio system with reversing camera, a wind deflector and $199 floor mats.

Even Foton admits that the interior is “nothing flash,” but it does have all the basics: Grabhandles on both sides make getting in and out easy, the seats are comfortable and the steering column is adjustable. There are door pockets and a centre seat folds down to reveal a table and two cup-holders…but storage is somewhat limited. There’s no overhead storage for example.

The plastic trim is on the hard side and an oddity is the hot/cold fan dial that’s the reverse of the usual.

There’s standard cruise control, which is a nice addition, and the forward vision and dual-angle mirrors are all very good, thanks in part to the low dash. Central locking and electric windows are also standard.

NZ Truck & Driver’s Hayden Woolston reckons that, from behind the wheel, first impressions are good – except that he’s quite busy on the steering wheel, which has a vague and woolly feel to it, requiring a lot of minor inputs.

On the plus side, there’s a decent amount of room inside the Aumark cab and both driver and passenger comfort is good. The ride quality is impressive enough, especially considering the price point.

We’re running empty so it’s hard to judge the performance of the 3.8-litre engine, but the ZF six-speed gearbox (five-speed in the entry model) slots through its

ratios nicely, and it’s a wholly comfortable and competent drive.

The interior noise level is on the high side – especially when some heavy traffic and a few red lights reveal the even louder sound of the engine fan. But on the whole, the Aumark drives well enough.

With the now-established national dealer support and a three year/160,000-kilometre warranty, there’s also solid backing for the Foton.

So, the Aumark may have a noisy fan, vague steering, hard plastics and some storage issues….

And, as Foton NZ suggests, if you want “all the extras,” it probably isn’t for you. It’s not perfect – but nor does it claim to be. T&D

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Top left: Chinese-built box body is reportedly “as good as anything here”

Above: Pioneer double-DIN Bluetooth audio system is an $1100 option that also includes a reversing camera. Temperature controls are, oddly, back to front compared to “the usual” Left: Centre seat flips down to reveal a work station and cupholders big enough for a medium-sized water bottle

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National Road Carriers

Speed limits a poor substitute for road investment

R

By David Aitken, CEO of National Road Carriers Association

David Aitken

A

TD28903

E

UCKLAND TRANSPORT’S PLAN TO REDUCE SPEED LIMITS ON more than 700 kilometres of Auckland roads is a blanket approach that seems likely to have little effect on road safety….at the cost of greater congestion.

We are concerned that the plans for speed limits in Auckland may be the thin end of the wedge, with far-reaching national consequences. Road controlling authorities (RCAs) and central Government seem determined to reduce speeds as a substitute for road infrastructure investment.

National Road Carriers (NRC) and the Road Transport Forum (RTF) strongly support road safety and interventions – where all options are well considered and make a difference. But we believe this approach has not been taken by Auckland Transport (AT) in the introduction of its Speed Limits Bylaw 2019.

The bylaw calls for a blanket 30km/h speed zone across more than 40 roads in the Auckland CBD. This is at odds with the Speed Management Guide (SMG) – the framework for a consistent, evidence-based approach to speed management nationally, that recommends a 30km/h speed limit for only a handful of roads, a 40km/h limit on most and the retention of 50km/h on others.

We see no justification for the blanket 30km/h limit in the CBD, as presently traffic volumes during the day dictate an average speed around 30km/h….so why change? It will waste enforcement resources and frustrate road users.

And if the volume isn’t there at other times of the day, we should allow the higher speed – to ensure that traffic keeps moving – rather than introducing opportunities to revenue gather.

AT says its goal is to make Auckland roads safer, stating: “In 2017, 64 people were killed on Auckland’s roads (44% of which were speed-related deaths) and 749 people were seriously injured.

This represents a 78% increase in road deaths since 2014.” But no information has been provided on the cause of the accidents…nor the speed of the vehicles involved.

Is any of this evidence-based? Are there really safety issues on each one of these roads? Or is this blanket approach a superficial move to appear to be making roads safer when the real problem is the wider, more complex issue – underfunding of roading

infrastructure that will actually make road users safer and road transport more efficient.

It seems that little consideration has been given to commercial road users or to freight….and the economic impact these reduced speeds may have, especially on major arterials into and out of the CBD and connections to major freight generators. Reduced speeds on some roads will likely shift traffic onto alternate routes, creating further congestion in these areas.

Instead of reducing speed limits we should be thinking through and planning what changes will occur to Auckland roads if/when the region’s rail system is further developed.

We should be planning and building a resilient and safe, integrated network that will keep cycleways and vulnerable road users separate from road freight routes as much as possible.

And we should be considering the economic impact of reduced speed limits on key freight and arterial routes connecting industry with markets – for example, Glenbrook steel mill, quarries and outlying commercial centres.

NRC and RTF are working hard on behalf of the industry to make these concerns heard by AT. We have made written and verbal submissions on the Speed Limits Bylaw 2019.

Our submission picked out route examples where speed reduction is opposed, including Highbrook Drive – the industry’s preferred (and safe and efficient) route between the Southern Motorway and East Tamaki’s industrial and warehousing zone. A lowering of the speed limit may well see some revert to alternative routes – and it’s our contention that consideration could be given to increasing the limit on this road to 80km/h.

On arterials linking key freight generators, such as Brookby Rd and Glenbrook Rd, the industry supports the current reduced speed limits around schools on these roads…during school hours.

However, we oppose the move to reduce speed limits on the entire route without seeing safety and economic reports. These are the types of routes that need to be consulted on individually.

We question the need to reduce speed limits on arterials linking the CBD and town centres, as it’s our contention that congestion will dictate travel speeds in these areas. T&D Truck & Driver | 79

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Sector Workforce Engagement Programme

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GISBORNE CAREERS EXPO LAUNCHES SHIFTUP

The Expo included a lineup of trucks to provide students with an introduction to heavy vehicles

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

T

AIRAWHITI ROAD TRANSPORT IS PROBABLY NOT a name you’ve heard too much about, but it’s a group of interested parties that have taken the lead on building pathways into the transport industry in the Gisborne area.

The team is led by Kim Holland (CEO, Eastland Wood Council) and Dave Pardoe – the local industry co-ordinator from Williams & Wilshier.

The group has a number of industry and Government stakeholders, including transport operators and trainers, the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Ministry of Social Development (MSD – all of whom have been working on this project for a couple of years.

But what is most relevant is the work put in at the Gisborne Herald Careers Expo, held on April 8 and 9 at the Gisborne Showgrounds.

It was a drawcard for at least 12 schools, with close to 2000 students attending – some from as far away as Te Araroa in the north and Wairoa to the south.

The Tairawhiti Road Transport display comprised careers information inside the venue and a fantastic outdoor display involving an introduction to vehicles, a competition to guess the payload of a loaded log truck, an induction into the passenger seat for a ride

in a classy Watchorn’s Kenworth T659, and a driving experience in the Autosense driving simulator.

This was an all-encompassing experience for students, where they could engage with drivers and operators, experience a drive in-cab with a great operator, a tacit hands-on touch and feel – being in and around heavy vehicles – and a chance to try their hand at driving in the simulator.

Critical to the success of this day was the effort and support put in by our industry, which made the day possible. Campbell Gilmour and his team from Pacific Haulage/Williams & Wilshier, Kevin McKay (McKay Cartage), Wayne Sykes and Stephen Tohore from Watchorn Transport, provided vehicles on both days for the in-cab experience.

The drive experience became so popular that Watchorns supplied a second logging unit. That demonstrated the level of interest from eager students.

While the outside setup was operating, a motivated team inside the venue was engaging with students and encouraging them to visit the outside group.

My thanks goes to John McInness (McInnes Driver Training) and his team for providing expert knowledge to the students in regards to driving licences of all classes. I will feature John and his team in a Truck & Driver | 81

Sector Workforce Engagement Programme

SWE P

Above: Maree Thomas (left) talks with a student on the MITO stand

Top, right: The rides in a log truck were so popular with students – eager to get the perspective of riding alongside an experienced driver – Watchorns put on a second truck Right: Tairawhtiti Road Transport organised the Expo

forthcoming article as they’re involved in some excellent initiatives.

There will be further action and followup with students who indicated an interest in driving careers (including strong interest from young women keen to enter the industry).

Part of the team inside were MITO’s Maree Thomas (vocational careers advisor) and Joe Hodkinson (industry training advisor) – on hand to advise on MITO’s new ShiftUp road transport programme, available for Year 11, 12 and 13 secondary school students.

You may be familiar with the Gateway funding mechanism for vocational industry-aligned programmes in schools….well, ShiftUp is the road freight transport equivalent.

This is an 18-credit programme, which consists of five unit standards designed to be an introduction to the road transport industry. ShiftUp consists of eLearning theory (online) with practical assessment completed at a workplace.

The areas covered by the programme include health and safety – with an automotive level perspective – knowledge of the transport industry and, in particular, vehicle documentation, general systems and components.

There is also a unit standard on driving hazards and risk-reduction responses, as this is important knowledge to develop for any wouldbe professional driver.

This programme is the first of two schools programmes, with a 3+2 programme to be considered for development in the future. The idea of these is that they are complementary – ie Year 12 students undertaking ShiftUp and progressing onto 3+2 in Year 13. They spend three days a week in school and two days in paid employment (or vice-versa).

There would be an expectation that full employment would follow for those keen students – offering a logical progression into a road transport career.

Key to the success of ShiftUp is the support of industry in providing the workplace practical assessment and work experience.

We already have interest from some operators, but encourage 82 | Truck & Driver

others to contact Maree at MITO to register an interest in supporting students, and discuss what part they can play.

Maree can make connections to secondary schools in any part of New Zealand. You can host students in your business to showcase your own company and provide that line of sight between school and a career in road freight transport. This is your opportunity to become involved.

The lack of school and student engagement was a big factor in the stocktake undertaken to identify perception issues of our industry.

By launching the ShiftUp schools programme, operators can now become directly involved with their local high schools. You may want to develop this into your own cadet programme and encourage uptake of the various stages of car licensing, so that when a student leaves school they’re at the Class 2 level, or eligible to undertake the Class 2 licence.

The feedback from a SWEP student focus group on employment expectations included the following: 1. The students wanted a stable job on leaving school.

2. They were unlikely to pay for training themselves but would accept training from an employer.

3. If there were two students within a company and only one received free training, the other would not likely engage with an employer to find out why, and was likely to leave. This highlighted the need to talk to employees and not just rely on an open-door policy: These students made it clear they were unlikely to engage in anything they deemed confrontational.

Drawing upon students from school and giving them an opportunity to learn about our industry – accruing learning credits while encouraging car licence progression – is likely to be the best solution for attracting under-25s into our industry.

If you’re interested in hearing more about ShiftUp, please contact me – steve.divers@truckingcareers.nz – or Maree Thomas, vocational careers advisor at MITO: maree.thomas@mito.org.nz or visit www. mito.nz/shiftup T&D

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Road Transport Association NZ

Careers coach launched in Christchurch

Dennis Robertson

By Road Transport Association NZ chief executive Dennis Robertson

I

’M REALLY PLEASED TO SHARE TWO VERY EXCITING BITS OF news that will have a major impact on the transport sector.

I’ve heard a lot of you asking what is happening to get new people into the industry. Well, the first bit of good news is that RTA Region 4 has invested membership funds to bring the Inzone Career Coach to schools up and down the country.

The move targets students in Year 12 and 13 to look at job opportunities and start to position themselves to take up jobs in industry. We haven’t had this opportunity before and it’s really exciting to have this available for the transport sector.

RTANZ members would have seen in this month’s newsletter an article on this – if not please read this so you know how this works and how you and your company can become involved.

The key to the success is having companies linked to the Career Coach by way of sponsorship (you will have your company details and contacts as part of the presentation and website) – but you will need to have really good systems in place to respond to any person who wants to find out more about you and the wider industry. This is critical to its success and I encourage everyone to get involved, as this is the only way we can deal with the chronic shortage of drivers.

Sixty-thousand students leave school every year…and we get very few of them entering our industry. While it takes time to get a Class 5 licence, we now realise that this group is a key target – to encourage them to think about a transport career.

That’s what the Coach is going to do – and it will provide an employment pipeline to the industry that sadly does not exist at present.

The second initiative is called ShiftUp. It offers secondary school students learning opportunities in the road transport industry, with credits towards NCEA and a great introduction to the workplace.

Supported by MITO, in partnership with secondary schools and local businesses, ShiftUp has both theory eLearning and practical workplace learning. Unit standards completed for ShiftUp count towards the NZ Certificate in Commercial Road Transport.

The programme is designed to help transition young people into careers in the road transport and logistics industries. The programme is available for Year 11 to 13 students.

By becoming a ShiftUp employer through MITO, operators will be offering interested and engaged students the opportunity to spend one or two days a week in their businesses – where they’ll gain practical, hands-on experience.

They may also choose to offer students work in the school holidays and, among those leaving school, they may even find their next employees!

These are two practical attempts to better position the future workforce to join our industry. They provide an opportunity for the industry to take control of its employment issues and manage them.

Other people will not do this for us – so sitting on your hands is not an option. Please get involved. Talk to the people who are managing these initiatives and lead the change we need to make.

Otherwise we’ll still be talking about the driver shortage in 20 years’ time.

To get involved and ensure that your business is promoted onboard the Careers Coach, call Sean Rooney, 027 244 4027, (03) 341 2790, or email: sean.rooney@alliedpetroleum.co.nz T&D Truck & Driver | 85

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New Zealand Heavy Haulage Association

A Fulton Hogan Heavy Haulage unit going about its work, transporting a 65-tonne chimney in Dunedin

Clear aims for Heavy Haulage Association

T

HE NEW ZEALAND HEAVY HAULAGE ASSOCIATION HAS HAD a clear mandate since it was first formed some 55 years ago – make the rules for transporting large loads clear and simple.

We welcome this new partnership with NZ Truck & Driver magazine to get the issues confronting our sector to a wider transport audience.

This association also has another clear battlefront – keeping the nation’s roads open to oversize loads. This has taken on a major importance in recent times, and is an area where we put a lot of time and effort.

We all know that there are plenty of rules and regulations in the road transport industry, and that each sector has its own set of compliance requirements put on it by the roading authorities.

It’s the same in the overdimension and overweight transport sector, where multiple permits are often required to transport a large load from point A to B. It’s the aim of this asssociation to ensure that the conditions of travel placed on oversize loads are easy to understand and comply with – but this can certainly be a challenge at times.

We’ve been advocating recently for changes to the rules for travel by oversize loads on toll roads. The recent changes finally announced by the NZ Transport Agency following the Omnibus Consultation from last year, do offer some tinkering – but still don’t go anywhere near far enough to produce an efficient use of what are the nation’s best roads for transporting oversize loads.

The other main area challenging the oversize sector is the change in focus by this Government towards making roads safer for road users.

Let me say upfront that we are in favour of making the nation’s roads safer for all those using them – but for us the key aspect is getting the design of these safety improvements suitable for all road users.

It’s our focus to ensure that we Jonathan Bhana-Thomson keep the roads open for freight – and particularly for oversize loads. We have been working with the agency on this, but there’s a constant tension between placing more infrastructure on and around roads, and maintaining enough of a corridor to ensure that large loads can continue to be transported.

A specific challenge for us are the calls, following each tragic headon collision, for wire rope median barriers to be installed. Unfortunately, short of installing a continuous barrier on all the nation’s roads, there will always be risks at gaps in the barrier – and where there aren’t suitable passing opportunities adjacent to, or at each end of the barrier, then this will only move the risk to these locations.

The key aspect to both of these areas, is that the NZTA in particular needs to listen to the road freight industry. The agency has been criticised on many fronts recently, and clearly part of this is due to the lack of dialogue and communication that’s been apparent from our experience over many years.

We hope that the new regime in the agency will learn much from the current troubles and have a two-way conversation with stakeholders. Rather than having the NZTA just seeking submissions and information from the sector, we want a dialogue with the agency to ensure the best outcomes for all road users – but particularly the oversize freight industry. T&D Truck & Driver | 87

TRUCK SHOP

The new JOST HQ in Highbrook demonstrates the truck and trailer equipment supplier's commitment to the NZ market, it says

JOST opens new Kiwi base G

LOBAL TRUCK AND TRAILER EQUIPMENT supplier JOST, which early last year formed a New Zealand subsidiary company, has opened a brand-new warehouse and office facility in Auckland.

The JOST NZ headquarters in Highbrook signals what the company says is its commitment to the Kiwi market – starting a new era for the brand here.

The new HQ allows the company to expand its product lines, improve onhand stock and provide better customer support.

General manager Kate Bucknell has employed three key staff to handle warehousing, product and sales – the trio with more than 100 years’ of industry experience between them.

The new 1500-square-metre facility has 1200sqm of warehousing space, along with admin offices, a product showroom and a training room.

“Our stock holding is growing very quickly to meet the NZ demand, and with the global array of JOST manufacturing subsidiaries the product catalogue for JOST is impressive,” says Bucknell.

JOST, for instance, bought the Mercedes-Benz axle plant and recently rebranded its products to its own name – and JOST NZ has found "significant interest from the market and we have already sold a couple of trailer sets locally.”

The 2019 JOST NZ team (from left to right): Storeman Ray Tewi, product specialist Rhys Harnett, GM Kate Bucknell and operations manager/sales Jaco de Kock

The JOST range covers everything from alloy and chrome wheels to double ball-race turntables, landing legs, kingpins and fifth wheels, plus the likes of ROCKINGER 40mm and 50mm fully-automatic couplings.

Bucknell says that JOST NZ is now well positioned to ramp up the brand here – and a key part of that is having strong stock holdings: “If you haven’t got it, there will always be somebody else ready to put up their hand and supply it.

“We’re showing we’re willing to support the product and brand – and willing to keep it in stock.”

Bucknell says that there is a strong current focus on sensor technology, “as a lot of fleets are very focused on safety processes – so we’ll see our stock-holding increase in the near future to cover the sensor range.”

The company’s trailer business is, she says, “booming” – with the support of a network of JOST dealers around the country: Tidd Ross Todd (TRT) in Auckland and Hamilton, Commercial Transport Spares (CTS) in Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin, W.R. Twigg in Wellington and Hastings and Central Diesel Services (CDS) in Mt Maunganui.

For Kate Bucknell, heading-up JOST in NZ is a continuation of a lifelong calling: “I love the industry and I’ve been working in it since I was 18.” She is the national secretary of the NZ Truck-Trailer Manufacturers Federation. T&D

More than 1200sqm of warehouse space offers room for expansion in terms of product lines and a future workshop area Truck & Driver | 89

N

TRUCK SHOP The HAMMAR 110 sideloader has racked up more sales in NZ than any other market worldwide. Displayed here is its SledgeLeg and Stepover systems

N

EW ZEALAND SALES OF Swedish manufacturer HAMMAR’S 110 sideloader lead the world.

In what HAMMAR NZ boss Fred Sandberg describes as “extraordinary,” Kiwi transport operators have bought almost 60% of all 110 model sideloaders made since it was launched in 2017.

It is, the company says, its biggest-selling sideloader here – with operators maximising the benefits of its “unique two-in-one lifting capability” and its dramatically-reduced tare weight.

The 110 model has a double-action system that allows the deployment of the StepOver leg technology developed for the popular HAMMAR 155 for stacking or transferring containers…

Or instead using a new, patent-applied-for, fast ground-handling ability dubbed the SledgeLeg. HAMMAR NZ says that since the 110 model had its worldwide launch at the THE Expo at Mystery Creek two years ago, the new sideloader has attracted global market interest.

But NZ has led the way in sales, taking 55% of all worldwide 110 model sales in the first year – and now accounting for almost 60% of global sales.

Says Sandberg: “We were very confident that the new HAMMAR 110 would find 90 | Truck & Driver

favour among NZ transport operators when we introduced it, but the response has been far greater than we expected.

“For NZ to account for such a large proportion of 110 models sold around the world since it was launched is extraordinary.

“I think it demonstrates just how well our customers in this market understand the benefits of using the 110.”

The sideloader model is, he says, both an “evolutionary and revolutionary” development – designed for markets like NZ’s.

He explains: “Space is at a premium at many businesses in large cities and towns these days, which makes it difficult for truck drivers to operate a traditional sideloader, with stepover technology, when delivering or picking up a container.

“When we started looking at how we could assist drivers in this respect we also wanted to use the opportunity to save tare weight, yet without compromising the 36-tonnes lifting capacity, or the strength, quality and durability that the HAMMAR is so well known for.”

HAMMAR used its successful StepOver 155 model as the starting point, then developed the double-action SledgeLeg system to increase its versatility. Then it took the cranes from the 160 model and revised the trailer chassis to use fewer components and incorporate lighter, highstrength steel to save weight.

“Even though we have shaved some two tonnes of weight by comparison to the 155, the 110 model is still constructed to extreme strength standards,” says Sandberg.

The swift deployment of the stabiliser legs in the SledgeLeg mode means trucks can achieve a “super-fast” turnaround at customer sites, compared to traditional stepover sideloaders.

The 110 also has the ability to transfer a container with the fully-extended StepOver legs…and its tare weight is just 8.3 tonnes.

All 110 models sold here also have the HAMMAR Safety+ system – a programmable logic controller (PLC) that monitors the entire operating procedure to avoid operator mistakes and increase safety around the sideloader – as a standard feature. Safety+ includes load weighing – by each crane, or the combined total.

HAMMAR NZ says that the growing demand for the 110 and other models prompted last year’s expansion of the Swedish-owned company’s manufacturing facility in South Auckland – and it’s now investigating another hike in production capacity to meet demand.

HAMMAR specialises exclusively in sideloaders and says it is the world leader in that market – with its sideloaders sold in more than 115 countries. NZ is one of just six countries (outside Sweden) where it manufactures sideloaders locally, by wholly-owned subsidiaries. T&D

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Waverley’s Total Log Haulage has put this new Mack Trident 8x4 logger to work around the lower North Island. It has a 535hp Mack MP8 engine, an mDrive AMT and Meritor RT46-160 diffs with full lockup, on Hendrickson Primaax air suspension. It has Evans Engineering logging gear and pulls a matching five-axle Evans trailer. Pic Chris King

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HE NEW ZEALAND NEW TRUCK MARKET continued its record-breaking form in April.

Four hundred trucks were registered for the month in the overall market (trucks with a GVM of 4.5 tonnes or more), taking the total sales for the first four months of the year to 1700, according to official NZ Transport Agency data.

That was a 7% improvement on the previous best-ever April registration tally – the 372 recorded last year.

The YTD total at the end of April was also an alltime best – an 8.4% increase on last year’s 1557 registrations.

The trailer market, while still buoyant – with 126 registrations – was still 33 shy of last year’s record April performance. The YTD total at the end of April stood at 497.

In the overall 4.5t to maximum GVM new truck market, Isuzu was again the No. 1 for the month, with 97 registrations – taking its 2019 total to 388.

(continued on page 95) Truck & Driver | 93

Recently

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www.trt.co.nz 23,001kg-max GVM 2019

4501kg-max GVM 2019 Brand ISUZU FUSO HINO VOLVO KENWORTH MERCEDES-BENZ UD DAF IVECO MAN SCANIA SINOTRUK FOTON MACK FREIGHTLINER HYUNDAI VOLKSWAGEN INTERNATIONAL FIAT WESTERN STAR RAM OTHER Total

Vol 388 273 233 140 102 88 87 81 80 48 45 26 22 19 18 14 13 11 5 5 1 1 1700

% 22.8 16.1 13.7 8.2 6.0 5.2 5.1 4.8 4.7 2.8 2.6 1.5 1.3 1.1 1.1 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.1 100.0

April Vol % 97 24.3 58 14.5 62 15.5 21 5.3 23 5.8 23 5.8 27 6.8 17 4.3 23 5.8 8 2.0 9 2.3 4 1.0 7 1.8 5 1.3 3 0.8 4 1.0 1 0.3 4 1.0 1 0.3 3 0.8 0 0.0 0 0.0 400 100.0

3501-4500kg GVM 2019 Brand FIAT MERCEDES-BENZ FORD CHEVROLET PEUGEOT RENAULT LDV FUSO TOYOTA IVECO NISSAN Total

Vol 88 22 16 14 10 9 7 2 2 2 1 173

% 50.9 12.7 9.2 8.1 5.8 5.2 4.0 1.2 1.2 1.2 0.6 100.0

April Vol % 21 56.8 3 8.1 6 16.2 1 2.7 2 5.4 3 8.1 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 2.7 0 0.0 37 100.0

4501-7500kg GVM 2019 Brand FUSO ISUZU IVECO HINO MERCEDES-BENZ FOTON VOLKSWAGEN HYUNDAI FIAT RAM Total 94 | Truck & Driver

Vol 109 93 55 41 40 17 13 9 5 1 383

% 28.5 24.3 14.4 10.7 10.4 4.4 3.4 2.3 1.3 0.3 100.0

April Vol % 24 21.1 27 23.7 17 14.9 21 18.4 16 14.0 5 4.4 1 0.9 2 1.8 1 0.9 0 0.0 114 100.0

Waikato’s K&S Freighters has added five identical DAF CF85 8x4s to its operation, based around the country. The units, primarily carting steel, have Fruehauf Libner curtain bodies and tow matching five-axle trailers. They have 510hp PACCAR MX engines, ZF AS Tronic AMTs, with Intarders, and Meritor 46-160 diffs. Extras include B-pillar blind-spot cameras.

7501-15,000kg GVM 2019 Brand ISUZU HINO FUSO UD IVECO MERCEDES-BENZ FOTON DAF HYUNDAI VOLVO WESTERN STAR Total

Vol 174 79 66 15 11 6 5 4 3 1 1 365

% 47.7 21.6 18.1 4.1 3.0 1.6 1.4 1.1 0.8 0.3 0.3 100.0

April Vol % 47 48.5 15 15.5 16 16.5 7 7.2 3 3.1 3 3.1 2 2.1 0 0.0 2 2.1 1 1.0 1 1.0 97 100.0

15,001-20,500kg GVM 2019 Brand HINO UD FUSO ISUZU SCANIA IVECO MERCEDES-BENZ SINOTRUK MAN DAF Total

Vol 25 21 14 11 9 5 4 3 3 2 97

% 25.8 21.6 14.4 11.3 9.3 5.2 4.1 3.1 3.1 2.1 100.0

April Vol % 3 18.8 6 37.5 0 0.0 1 6.3 2 12.5 1 6.3 0 0.0 1 6.3 1 6.3 1 6.3 16 100.0

20,501-23,000kg GVM 2019 Brand FUSO HINO UD MAN SINOTRUK SCANIA ISUZU Total

Vol 7 7 3 1 1 1 1 21

% 33.3 33.3 14.3 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.8 100.0

April Vol % 2 25.0 3 37.5 1 12.5 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 12.5 1 12.5 8 100.0

Brand VOLVO ISUZU KENWORTH HINO FUSO DAF UD MAN MERCEDES-BENZ SCANIA SINOTRUK MACK FREIGHTLINER INTERNATIONAL IVECO WESTERN STAR HYUNDAI Total

Vol 139 109 102 81 77 75 48 44 39 35 22 19 18 11 9 4 2 834

% 16.7 13.1 12.2 9.7 9.2 9.0 5.8 5.3 4.7 4.2 2.6 2.3 2.2 1.3 1.1 0.5 0.2 100.0

April Vol % 20 12.1 21 12.7 23 13.9 20 12.1 16 9.7 16 9.7 13 7.9 7 4.2 4 2.4 6 3.6 3 1.8 5 3.0 3 1.8 4 2.4 2 1.2 2 1.2 0 0.0 165 100.0

Trailers 2019 Brand Vol PATCHELL 60 ROADMASTER 43 MTE 39 TMC 38 FRUEHAUF 35 TRANSPORT TRAILERS 34 DOMETT 31 JACKSON 16 FREIGHTER 14 TRANSFLEET 14 TES 13 EVANS 10 KRAFT 10 MAKARANUI 10 FAIRFAX 9 MILLS-TUI 9 HAMMAR 8 CHIEFTAIN 7 TIDD 6 MORGAN 5 CWS 4 KOROMIKO 4 LUSK 4 MAXICUBE 4 WARREN 4 HTS 3 IDEAL 3 LOWES 3 TEO 3 DOUGLAS 2 WAIMEA 2 WARNER 2 ALPINE 1 BARFORD 1 COX 1 FELDBINDER 1 GUY NORRIS 1 MD 1 MORBANK 1 MTT 1 PTE 1 TOPSTART 1 TROUTRIVER 1 1 WHITE OTHERS 36 Total 497

% 12.1 8.7 7.8 7.6 7.0 6.8 6.2 3.2 2.8 2.8 2.6 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.8 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.2 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 7.2 100.0

April Vol % 12 9.5 12 9.5 13 10.3 8 6.3 9 7.1 7 5.6 6 4.8 4 3.2 6 4.8 4 3.2 2 1.6 2 1.6 2 1.6 4 3.2 3 2.4 2 1.6 2 1.6 1 0.8 0 0.0 3 2.4 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 0.8 0 0.0 1 0.8 1 0.8 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 0.8 1 0.8 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 19 15.1 126 100.0

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Four-decade HG Leach driver Kevin (Turk) Mold has stepped out of the company Kenworth T404 he drove for 11 years and is now behind the wheel of its new T610 SAR 6x4 tipper. He and the newcomer, which has a Transport & General alloy body and pulls a matching four-axle trailer – both of them adorned with graphics showing imaging from the Paeroa company’s history. It delivers bulk aggregates from Leach quarries.

(continued from page 93) Similarly, second-placed FUSO also picked up year-onyear: Its 273 registrations so far in 2019 saw it with a 16.1% share…compared to its 248 sales and a 15.9% share at the same point last year.

Another major player also picked up market share this year: Volvo (140/21), which was fourth YTD at the end of April – behind Hino (233/62) – held an 8.2% market share….up from fifth YTD last year, with 101 registrations and a 6.5% share.

UD had a strong month, its 27 April regos seeing it fourth for the month and improving one place YTD, to seventh, with 87 sales.

Iveco (80/23) also had a strong month, holding ninth YTD. There were no surprises in the crossover 3.5-4.5t GVM segment, with Fiat (88/21) continuing to open up an alreadydominant lead on Mercedes-Benz (22/3) and Ford (16/6).

In the 4.5-7.5t GVM class, FUSO (109/24) continued to lead, although second-placed Isuzu (93/27), outperformed it in April registrations. Iveco (55/17) was third, while Hino (41/21) improved to fourth, pushing Mercedes-Benz (40/16) back to fifth.

In the 7.5-15t GVM category, Isuzu (174/47) opened up its lead on Hino (79/15) and FUSO (66/16). UD (15/7) moved ahead of Iveco (11/3) for fourth.

In the 15-20.5t GVM division, Hino (25/3) retained the

lead – albeit by a narrower margin, as second-placed UD (21/6) closed in. FUSO (14/0) held third, ahead of Isuzu (11/1) in fourth and Scania (9/2), fifth.

In the tiny 20.5-23t segment, FUSO (7/2) was joined in first-equal spot YTD by Hino (7/3), as Scania and Isuzu joined the segment with one registration apiece.

In the premium 23t to maximum GVM division, Volvo (139/20) continued to hold the No. 1 spot YTD, for the fourth consecutive month. Isuzu (109/21) remained in second place, although Kenworth (102/23) edged closer, with its best-for-the-month 23 registrations. Hino (81/20) moved ahead of FUSO (77/16) for a clear fourth place.

DAF (75/16) retained sixth YTD, while UD (48/13) moved up from 8th-equal to a solo seventh – ahead of MAN (44/7) and Mercedes-Benz (39/4). Scania (35/6) completed the top 10.

In the trailer market, Patchell (60/12) held its lead on second-placed Roadmaster (43/12)…while MTE (39/13) edged them in April to jump from sixth to third YTD. TMC (38/8) dropped one spot to fourth, while Fruehauf (35/9) remained fifth and Transport Trailers (34/7) fell two places to sixth, followed by Domett (31/6). Jackson (16/4) held eighth, ahead of Freighter (14/6) and Transfleet (14/4).

TES (13/2) was next, ahead of Evans (10/2), tied for 12th with Kraft (10/2) and Makaranui (10/4). T&D Truck & Driver | 95

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Te Puke operator Saunders Transport has added this new Kenworth T610 integrated mid-roof sleeper truck and trailer tipper unit to its fleet. Shannon drives the 8x4, which has a Cummins X15 engine, an Eaton UltraShift Plus AMT and Meritor 46-160 diffs on Airglide 460 suspension – and with full locks. Extras include a Kentwell alloy bumper, Alcoa Dura Bright alloys and a Transport & General alloy body and matching five-axle trailer.

Two new sleeper cab DAF CF85 6x4 tractor units have gone to work for Gore Freight and Storage. They have 510hp PACCAR MX engines, 18-speed Roadranger manual gearboxes and Meritor diffs.

96 | Truck & Driver

Dowling Contractors in Pokeno now has this new Kenworth T659 tipper servicing its bulk cartage needs, supporting its roading work. Mark Dodds drives the 6x4, which has a Cummins X15 engine, an 18-speed Roadranger manual transmission and Meritor 46-160 diffs, with full locks, on Airglide 460 suspension. The truck body and a matching four-axle trailer were built by Steel-Force in Pukekohe.

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Ashburton-headquartered Quigley Contracting has added this new International ProStar T6-LX 6x4 tractor unit to its operation, based in Tauranga and carting compressed bale feed around the Bay of Plenty and Waikato. It has a 550hp Cummins X15 engine, an 18-speed Roadranger manual transmission and Meritor 40-145 diffs and tows a specialised six-axle TMC B-train.

Semco owner/operator WDS Transport has put this new International R8-9870 8x4 curtainsider on the road, carting general freight nationwide. David Whittaker drives the unit, which has a 615hp Cummins X15, an 18-speed Roadranger manual gearbox, Meritor 46-160 diffs and a Domett body and five-axle trailer.

Ericksen Trucking, from Pirongia, has this new Kenworth K200 Aerodyne livestock unit working under contract to the OTL Group. The 8x4 has a 600-615hp Cummins X15, an 18-speed Roadranger and Meritor 46-160 rear axles on Hendrickson Primaax suspension. It has a Nationwide crate on a Jackson Enterprises deck.

Truck & Driver | 97

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HENDRICKSON AXLE & SUSPENSION Hendrickson offers the broadest line of heavy-duty truck suspensions in the industry.

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EASTERN BAY STOCK Every rural community in New Zealand used to have their local and sometimes more than one local rural carrier. These fleets provided a full range of rural services from picking up hay delivering sand and metal and carrying live stock.

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102 | Truck & Driver

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.

Numbers will be limited so get your name on the list for this once in a life-time book.

This book will not be reprinted after the initial production run.

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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.

Be in with a chance to win in the annual PPG Transport Imaging Awards.

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Fleet or company name:___________________________________________________________________________________

Please send a selection of photos of one particular truck in your fleet colours. It’s desirable (but not compulsory) to also send shots of other trucks that show off the colours. Make sure your images are supplied as large format files taken on a fine setting on a digital camera. The files must be at least 3MB. All entries become the property of Allied Publications Ltd. All entries property of AlliedIMAGING Publications Send yourbecome entry tothe PPG TRANSPORT A Ltd. S AWARD Send your entry to: PPG TRANSPORT IMAGING AWARDS 1642 or email to waynemunro@xtra.co.nz Allied Publications Ltd PO Box 112062 Penrose Auckland Allied Publications Box to 112062, Auckland 1642, or email to waynemunro@xtra.co.nz (Remember do not reduceLtd, size PO of images transmit Penrose, by email, send two at a time on separate emails if large files.)

(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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Trial and error

creates winner S

OME FLEET COLOUR SCHEMES COME FULLYformed and ready to go, from a professional design consultancy – while others are the result of several years of experimentation.

This month’s finalist in the PPG Transport Imaging Awards, Christchurch’s SML Logging, fits quite firmly into the latter category.

Its first decade featured a range of variants that were not always universally admired, but which eventually evolved into the smart livery that today makes the fleet one of the most recognisable in the region.

The positive public identity is boosted by a tradition begun by founder Steve Murphy and enthusiastically carried on by son and company co-owner Chris. Every Saturday the Murphys join the drivers in washing the whole 40-plus fleet, which is then lined up with military precision in the company’s spacious yard near Kaiapoi.

With the Northern Motorway running along one boundary and set higher than the depot, passing travellers are regularly treated to an impressive display.

Steve sees this as a core of the company’s image: “The fleet presentation not only gives us a sense of pride, but the drivers love it too. And it’s good advertising for the

industry in general.

“Sometimes it can get a little disheartening to have around 14 people on the weekend cleaning the fleet from bumper to bumper, then by eight on Monday morning in winter you’d hardly know they’ve been washed! But if you don’t keep it up you end up with a massive job.”

The fleet’s beginnings, in terms of both numbers and livery, were much more modest, recalls Steve: “My first truck, in the early ‘80s, was a 237 horsepower F-Series Mack, a 1973 model. When I bought it, it was painted in a mustard-yellow colour.

“I was contracting to the local Odlins Timber sawmill at the time, and that company’s colour scheme was based on an unexciting green. They wanted me to paint the truck the same way, but I negotiated a compromise – painting the cab white and putting on a couple of stripes in Odlins Green.”

The base respray job was carried out in the shed behind the Murphy home that acted as a depot for the fledgling operation.

The DIY approach to fleet livery was to continue for some time, says Steve: “I painted the chassis of the second truck we ran – a W924 Kenworth – in an Empire Blue. It This photo & poster – Gerald Shacklock

2 | Truck & Driver

TRANSPORT IMAGING AWARDS

Pic – Mark Amer

was a nice fresh colour that always looked good, even when it was a bit dirty, so I carried it through to the front guards as well. That’s the same colour we still have on the chassis and guards.”

The Odlins contract lasted a couple of years, after which he was free to flex his design muscle. Out went the green, replaced with a broad stripe either side. Originally Steve went for a shade called Arabian Gold, with the same colour for the signwriting on the doors. It was, he recalls, a far from stellar decision: “The gold and the blue really clashed! They didn’t look good at all.”

The next evolution of the scheme came with an R-Model Mack. Originally it was given the gold stripes as well, but the result reinforced the decision that a change was needed, so he swapped to a dark, almost royal, blue. That didn’t meet with universal approval, either, he says: “I was putting the truck over the weighbridge and the operator said it looked like a pack of Cambridge cigarettes.

“So I went back home and added a red keyline around the blue. When I returned to the weighbridge for approval, the opinion was that it now looked like shit!

“So it was back to the drawing board. In the shed I had a range of blue and white enamel paints, including a metallic

blue Duco, so I mixed them together, put it in the gun, and sprayed it over the existing dark blue stripes. The result was not too bad, so I sprayed some on a sheet and took it into Colour Services and asked if they could match it.

“They came up with Sapphire Blue, which was the same as a Quartz Metallic Blue that at the time was being offered on Honda cars.”

At the same time a shade called Banderillero Red was settled on for the border to the blue, and both colours have been carried through to today.

As Steve points out, it was an evolutionary process – taking a decade or more: “For our first half-dozen trucks I was still doing the painting, so it was a simple matter to tweak things here and there.”

The only major change in the past 25 years was a swap in the early 2000s from the ‘Steve Murphy Limited’ branding to ‘SML’ and a logo incorporating stylised trees.

Steve has long ago hung up his spray gun, handing the job over to professionals. Bairds Collision Centre in Hornby does the fleet’s painting, both applying the fleet blue to the white cabs of new vehicles and looking after maintenance and repair work, while Horton Signs in Rangiora handles the signwriting and detail finishing. T&D

Clockwise, from top left: The livery was still in its formative stage when this hybrid – a Dodge KT22 with a Bedford TM cab – was painted.....SML owner/driver Mark Amer’s new Mack Trident nicely shows off how the livery looks on a conventional....MAN TGS 8x8 posing beside a sister truck three years ago, looks good even on a grey day in the high country....the livery is altered slightly to suit different makes, like this 8x8 Iveco Trakker, with its reversed Z stripes on the side of the cab and stripes on the aerofoil Pic – Terry Marshall

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