NZ Truck & Driver August 2019

NZ TRUCK & DRIVER

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| August 2019

August 2019 $8.50 incl. GST

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Issue 226

y t c r h e g i M M

The Official Magazine of the

ISSN 1174-7935

N SERIES, WITH ADDED ELECTRICS. BUY ANY NEW ISUZU N SERIES TRUCK AND CHOOSE ONE OF FOUR $2000 HiKOKI POWER TOOL PACKS.

Buy any new Isuzu N Series truck before the end of August and choose one of four bonus HiKOKI tool packs valued at $2,000 + GST. To find out more about this great offer visit your nearest Isuzu Dealer or search Isuzu.co.nz.

T&C’s apply, visit Isuzu.co.nz for more information

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12/06/19 10:32 AM

CONTENTS Issue 226 – August 2019 2

News The latest in the world of transport, including….TR Group moves into Australia; Chinese manufacturer BYD says it’s bringing its electric trucks to NZ; TIL Logistics Group adopts fatigue and distraction detection system

20 Giti Tyres Big Test A 22-metre fabricated steel bridge beam, weighing 50.5 tonnes, you say? To be shifted from Napier to Wellington’s Transmission Gully Motorway project?

Over the steep, tight Saddle Road, across the Ruahine Ranges? Perfect… just the way to get a taste of Tomoana Warehousing’s purposebuilt Mercedes-Benz Arocs heavyhaul unit and its capabilities

37 Transport Forum Latest news from the Road Transport Forum NZ, including…..roadside drug testing critical to road safety; sideloader unit standards updated; road transport is going to come under increasing pressure to reduce its carbon footprint

Transport operator Blake Noble always had a passion for trucks – but until the age of 34, when he bought a trucking company, he had absolutely no trucking

Publisher

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

EDITORIAL Editor

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

Editorial office Phone

PO Box 48 074 AUCKLAND 09 826 0494

Associate Editor

Brian Cowan

New truck and trailer registrations for June

FEATURES

COLUMNS

65 Suppliers switch on

77 Sector Workforce Engagement Programme

Electric power, connectivity and other high-tech stuff isn’t just the domain of the truckmakers at the 2019 Brisbane Truck Show: Many OEM suppliers are switching on too

Now is the time for the industry to develop a national cadet programme that operators can deliver in their own workplaces

89 National Road Carriers Association

81 Ex-mechanic…new CEO The new head of the Volvo Group Down Under is a Scotsman…who started out in the trucking industry as a diesel mechanic.

We meet Volvo Group Australia CEO and president Martin Merrick

Truckies’ photos of poorly-maintained roads are helping build evidence to highlight the dangerous state of many NZ roads

91 RTANZ Do yourself and the industry a favour…. and keep passing your costs on

REGULARS 80/ PPG Transport Imaging 81 Awards

46 Fleet Focus

MANAGEMENT

93 TRT Recently Registered

experience to speak of. Then again, he HAD tapped the brains of some of NZ’s most successful transport operators

Recognising NZ’s best-looking truck fleets….including a giant pullout poster of the 2018/2019 annual award winner

Gerald Shacklock Dave McLeod Olivia Beauchamp Hayden Woolston

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,

by Allied Publications Ltd PO Box 112 062, Penrose, Auckland

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NZ Truck & Driver Magazine

Net circulation – ended 30/09/2018

11,889

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Truck & Driver | 1

NEWS

The T5 is one of two lightduty models that BYD says will soon be launched in New Zealand

Electric power surge A SURGE OF INTEREST IN BRINGING ELECTRIC trucks to market in New Zealand – and in big numbers – has seen the announcement of plans to launch etrucks from giant Chinese manufacturer BYD here.

BYD declares itself “the global leader in battery-electric trucks, with nearly 10,000 electric trucks in service across North America, South America, Asia and Europe.”

The announcement has come soon after confirmation from Fuso NZ that it has the okay from FUSO – Daimler Trucks’ etruck specialist – to market up to 100 eCanters here, with the first batch of the battery-electric light-duty FUSOs due here by year’s end.

A joint statement by BYD and Australian new-energy transport supplier Nexport says that they – in company with funding partner Macquarie Group’s Corporate and Asset Finance – have signed a deal to bring BYD light trucks to Australia and NZ. And Nexport managing director Luke Todd says that “we will start delivering the first batch of 200 trucks late this year.”

Initially it will offer BYD’s T5 and T6 models, with 4.5 tonne to seventonne GVMs. And it plans on “moving into medium and large-size trucks in early 2020, with rubbish collection and sea and airport-suitable trucks being the next stage.”

Nexport says it has responsibility for sales and distribution of the BYD etrucks in NZ and Australia, calling on its previous experience with electric buses and cars.

The announcement by BYD and Nexport says that the agreement amounts 2 | Truck & Driver

to the largest largest electric commercial vehicle order in Australia to date – and BYD’s largest Asia-Pacific order.

BYD says it has been selling its K9 electric buses in Australia since 2016, with an order for Sydney Airport….which resulted in an additional 40 buses.

Its ebuses also operate in Canberra and at Brisbane airport.

Nexport and BYD say they’re working with Macquarie Corporate and Asset Finance “to develop innovative rental and fleet-managed service solutions for customers seeking alternatives to outright purchase” of the etrucks.

Macquarie CAF associate director Scott Simpson says its support of the rollout of BYD’s etrucks “is an exciting opportunity to work with a uniquely experienced team to deliver cost-effective and proven low emission vehicle solutions to commercial vehicle operators in the region.

“We see increasing interest in fleet and rental solutions in a range of industries and markets where demand for LEVs is growing, and look forward to working with BYD to explore this – not only in electric trucks, but also other significant EV markets, such as airports and logistics.”

BYD and Nexport say that, compared to a typical seven-tonne dieselpowered truck, an equivalent BYD etruck will achieve “like for like fuel saving of 40% in fuel costs – potentially saving $6000-$10,000 in annual fuel costs for a typical small truck driving 50,000kms a year.”

The 2019 BYD T5X model has a range of 300 kilometres on a single charge, making it and the T6 “a perfect fit for the needs of small truck operators and logistics businesses in Australia.”

This with a loading capacity “close to comparable” to diesel trucks: “This means switching to zero emission trucks should have minimal, if any, effect on day to day operations or scheduling.” T&D

NEWS

TR Group buys into Aussie

The Melbourne-based company bought by TR Group and now renamed TR Semi Skel Hire, has over 1100 trailers in its hire fleet, plus another 70 on order

KIWI TRUCK AND TRAILER lease and rental giant TR Group has gone international – breaking into the Australian market with the purchase of a Melbourne-based trailer rental company.

TR says that its 100% buyout of Melbournebased Semi Skel Hire “comes after many years of investigating the Australian market.”

Semi Skel Hire has over 1100 trailers in its hire fleet, plus another 70 on order and says on its website that it is “the largest semi-trailer hire company in Australia.”

TR, which was founded in 1992, has a team of 180 staff and a fleet of 5500 rental and lease vehicles in New Zealand.

And it clearly has big plans for the business in Australia: In a statement about the acquisition, it says that Semi Skel founder Geoff Kelly and his family sold up “to allow the business to reach its full potential – to become an Australia-wide company, while continuing with the core values that have made the business so successful to date.”

The purchase, says TR, fits with its “ambitions to provide world-class service in renting and leasing trucks and trailers.”

And it adds: “Both businesses share similar philosophies with respect to being fully focused

on the transport industry and providing highquality vehicles and a great customer experience.”

The business will now operate as TR Semi Skel Hire, under the leadership of TR Group’s Chris Perry, who has relocated to Melbourne.

Geoff Kelly, who started the Yarraville, Melbourne company in 1994, is retiring from his role as managing director, but will still “be available as a consultant to the business,” TR says.

The Kelly family involvement will continue though with Kelly’s daughter Kim and son David staying on – as the Victorian state manager and the fleet and operations manager respectively.

TR says its customers “experience a complete fleet management service, focused on understanding the tasks that vehicles are required for and providing operational support to perform those tasks as efficiently, safely and compliantly as possible.

“This is underpinned by a team with experience, expertise and passion for trucks and trailers, and a culture and philosophy revolving around customer focus, continuous improvement and personal growth and development among its team.”

And the company adds: “Semi Skel’s clients value its high-quality equipment, the availability

of vehicles when needed and the quality service provided by its team.”

Perry says that the 18-strong team at Semi Skel is “a quality group of people and I’m really looking forward to working with them as we all grow and develop as a team. I know that they are as excited as the TR team about building further on the great business that Semi Skel already is.”

TR says that it will have “a focus on listening and understanding customer experiences and needs, so that the TR Semi Skel business can continue to develop and pursue an ambition to provide a world-class service.” T&D

Truck & Driver | 3

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NEWS

FAW Jiefang has sold a million J6 trucks

Chinese giant clocks million-truck milestone WHEN CHINESE TRUCKMAKER FAW Jiefang talks sales numbers, the numbers are very, very BIG. Last month, for instance, the company celebrated the production of its one-millionth truck. And that’s of just one model!

The milestone for the heavy-duty Jiefang J6 makes it “a leading truck model in China,”

according to the FAW Group. Realistically, that could be THE leading model.

It took just 12 years from the launch of the J6, which is a tipper-spec model, to clock up a million of them.

FAW Jiefang, which started building trucks in 1956, now exports to 80 countries. It launched its seventh generation J7 model last

year, aiming to compete with imported truck brands and enter the European market. The J7 has been judged the Chinese Truck of the Year 2019.

FAW Jiefang sold a record 205,000 trucks in the first six months of this year and is targeting 350,000 sales next year….and 500,000 by 2025.

T&D

Eyes on safety with TIL TECHNOLOGY THAT MONITORS DRIVERS’ EYE movements for signs of fatigue and distraction is part of a driver safety package adopted by the TIL Logistics Group, one of New Zealand’s biggest logistics and road freight operators.

Driver safety solutions provider Autosense says its deal with TIL aims to “ensure safety on the road for TIL’s drivers and other road users.”

The agreement will see Autosense provide driver induction, ongoing online training and in-cab simulator training to TIL drivers – and the installation of its Seeing Machines Guardian technology in more than 1000 TIL group vehicles.

TIL Group CEO Alan Pearson says of the deal: “With more than 860 drivers on the road around NZ, having the best possible training, health and safety culture and systems is an imperative for TIL. “We welcome new technologies, such as those provided by Autosense, which allow for better training, greater efficiencies, reporting and oversight. Our priority is to ensure our drivers get home safely and keep the communities in which they drive safe as well – and our investment is a small price to pay to ensure safer roads.”

Autosense says that distraction and fatigue are human factors – “everyone at some point suffers from this, but when you’re driving this could have tragic consequences.

“Guardian is a real-time driver fatigue and distraction solution that is

scientifically proven to reduce fatigue events by upwards of 90%.”

The so-called “buddy in the cab” system monitors driver behaviour and eye patterns and immediately triggers alerts to warn the driver if fatigue or distraction is detected.

The Autosense service will also provide TIL with ongoing driver development, including annual evaluation of drivers on the company’s mobile truck simulator. Followup targeted coaching and professional development will be given where required.

Former touring car racing superstar and Autosense “ambassador” Greg Murphy applauds TIL’s focus on road safety: “The transport industry is the lifeblood of the economy and the Guardian technology is designed and proven to support the industry and the drivers by lowering the chances of a crash.

“I really commend TIL for getting on board and making such a commitment to driver training and driver safety within their organisation.

This ultimately improves road safety for all road users.”

Autosense CEO Charles Dawson adds: “This agreement is a sign of the maturing of the transport industry in taking driver training and road safety seriously.

“By signing an agreement that involves the total package of driver training, TIL is demonstrating a serious commitment to their people, and keeping them and all road users safe on our roads.” T&D Truck & Driver | 5

10:46 AM

NEWS

Fittingly, only 100 of the 100-Years limited edition Macks will be built – either 685hp Super-Liners like this, or 535hp daycab Tridents

100 for 100

th

MACK TRUCKS HAS LAUNCHED A LIMITED EDITION run of Super-Liners and Tridents to celebrate the make’s 100 years in Australia.

The suitably-plated Macks – identified with 100 Year interior and exterior branding – are available until the 100-truck allocation is sold-out.

Mack Trucks Australia vice president Dean Bestwick says that Mack is “the longest-serving truck brand in Australia – “and has long been synonymous with durability and reliability.”

The launch trucks are in true-blue Aussie green and gold….which is also a nod, says Mack, to its proud “Australian Made” declaration, the truckmaker having been producing trucks in Australia since 1963.

The American make arrived in Australia in 1919 with a Model AC – a chain-drive four-wheeler with hard rubber tyres and a 74-horsepower four-cylinder engine.

The 3.5-tonne 4x2 fuel tanker was imported by a Vacuum Oil transport manager – who’d seen firsthand US Army ACs working in extreme conditions on European battlefields during World War 1.

Shortly after its arrival, more Macks were imported – “put to work up and down the country to grow a young Australia into a thriving country,” says Bestwick.

“Mack Trucks were counted on when Australia needed tough trucks to get the tough jobs done, and in this way we remember those first-ever bulldogs.

Clockwise from above: The limited edition daycab Trident has a 535hp engine....luxury 100-year interior in the Super-Liner sleeper...a 1919 Mack Model AC, imported from the US and fully restored in the spec and colours of the first Aussie Mack...all of the 100 Years limited edition Macks carry distinct badging and branding 6 | Truck & Driver

“We’re proud of our history and want to showcase that for all to see – with an eye to the future….using innovative technology in each of these models.

“Mack is one of the most iconic transport brands in the world, so it’s only right that such a special milestone be celebrated with such special trucks. I think it is a great opportunity for our passionate customers to own a piece of Mack history.”

The limited edition Super-Liners have 685-horsepower Mack MP10 engines and the Tridents have 535hp MP8s. Both have mDrive AMTs and Mack axles, suspension and diffs.

The Tridents are day cab models, while the Super-Liners have 58-inch high-rise sleepers, packed with extras including an upright fridge/freezer, microwave and 24-inch tv. Both models have custom infotainment systems, GPS navigation and reversing cameras. Mack active safety systems are available as options.

Each truck will have unique 100-year identification insignia, inside and out, as well as luxury cab fittings, an owner’s kit, a larger, deeper grille and extra lights highlighting the 100-year branding. The trucks will each be uniquely numbered – one to 100.

The 100 Years Limited Edition trucks fit with Mack’s tradition of anniversary models, following on from the Southern Cross Limited Edition range in 2013, the Centennial Limited Edition in 2000, and the 1988 Bicentennial Limited Edition Super-Liner. T&D

SIX OF THE BEST The HAMMAR 110 UL-UltraLight™ – the world lightest Sideloader in its class – works so well that TIL Logistics Group placed the first order of six for its fleet based on the impressive light tare weight, providing more payload for less fuel usage, the patented SledgeLeg™ for easy handling in tight spaces for placing a container near a wall or fence, and the SAFETY+ ™ system that monitors safe handling.

Like every Hammar, our new 110 is stable, strong and built to last and key features include: • • • •

Light – from 8.3-tonne tare Safe – optimal crane geometry Reach – long outreach cranes Weighing – by each crane or total

• • • •

Strong – 36-tonne Safe Working Load (SWL) Fast – new SledgeLeg™ technology, 50% faster Stable – legs extend for firm base and transfer Ease – Crane/Stabiliser side-by-side design

With more than 45 years experience in sideloaders and a reputation for quality of manufacturing and service, HAMMAR sets the standard.

Now sold in 114 countries

HAMMAR Sideloaders are Made in New Zealand from local and Swedish components to suit YOUR transport needs.

MADE IN NEW ZEALAND

Hammar New Zealand Ltd, 16 Marphona Cres, Takanini, Auckland.

0800 2 HAMMAR info@hammar.co.nz www.hammar.co.nz

» the brand by which others are measured «

NEWS

The new, purposebuilt premises in Bell Block bring all of McCurdy Trucks’ North Taranaki operations together – adding efficiency and the ability to take on more work

McCurdy’s big move

Phil Butler 021 775 741 • 09 443 4661 11 Marken Place, Glenfield, Auckland, phil@northernforklifts.co.nz 8 | Truck & Driver

TD29736

Get behind the wheel of some Hangcha steel

NEWS NEW AND USED TRUCK DEALER, truck repair shop, parts and service agent and heavy transport engineer McCurdy Trucks is consolidating its New Plymouth and Bell Block premises into one new, purposebuilt facility in Bell Block.

The company is moving in the second half of this month to the new HQ in Connett Road, Bell Block – and manager Paul McCurdy reckons: “We can’t wait. We’re all climbing over each other at the moment.”

The new McCurdy North Taranaki base is a brand-new building “designed by us, for doing truck work. It’s all brand-new and built for the job.

“We’re currently saying ‘no,’ to a lot of jobs – which is not the way we should be operating…and not how we want to operate.

“We want to be able to say ‘yes’ to everything – and hopefully this will allow us to do that for some time. We’ve got a little bit of dirt around us, and extra yard room. So there’s room to grow if, or when, that comes along.”

The company has been in its main New Plymouth premises (at Waiwhakaiho) since 1990, prompting McCurdy to say: “Yeah, we’re about 10 years behind the eight-ball!”

The workshop area in the new building covers around 3300 square metres and the administration area is 1000 square metres in size.

The new engineering and fabrication division is about three times the size of its current working area (with eight bays).

And there are 10 bays in the truck workshop for service and repairs – just one more than the existing facilities….“but they’re more efficient,” says McCurdy: “They’re wider and longer, and they’re drive-through. There’ll also be more parts room, more admin room.

“It’ll be so much easier: We’ve got truck sales, engineering, service, parts – all our staff all on one site.

“It’s designed so that all of our staff can easily talk to each other and see what’s going on. We’ll be doing a few less Ks a day between shops and so on!”

The facilities include three express service lanes, a bigger wheel alignment pit, with new equipment and two gantry cranes for quick and efficient operations.

There’s a mechanical rebuild room and an auto-electrical room, a showroom and a drivers’ lounge…plus better access to the building. T&D

Traton IPO unspectacular THE LONG AWAITED – AND MUCHtalked-about – stockmarket debut of Volkswagen’s Traton truck unit turned out to be what market commentators termed “a lacklustre start.”

Others said simply that the initial public offering (or IPO) “stalled,” having opened on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange at 27 euros a share on June 28… then dipping slightly to 26.64 euros.

Two weeks later the shares were still at 26.68 euros per share.

The float of 11.5% of the shares in the truck unit, which comprises Scania, MAN, VW Trucks in Brazil and a shareholding in Navistar in North America, is intended to give Volkswagen the funding to invest in electric cars, according to auto industry commentators.

It’s also seen as a means of funding a Traton purchase of a majority shareholding in Navistar (it currently holds just under 17%), en route to its declared aim of becoming the world’s biggest truckmaker. T&D

KMAX: UP TO 35% MORE MILEAGE *

In our industry, every kilometre comes at a cost. That’s why we created KMAX, a premium quality tyre underpinned by Goodyear’s tried and tested IntelliMax technology.

This proven technology provides up to 35% more mileage compared to previous designs, as well as tyres that perform reliably in wet or dry conditions, wear evenly over their lifetime and have the durability New Zealand operators demand.

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* Comparative tests made by Goodyear Innovative Center Luxembourg on size 315/80R22.5 between July 2011 and June 2013 show that new Goodyear KMAX S and KMAX D steer and drive tyres offer an improvement in mileage potential up to 30% and 35% respectively vs. Goodyear RHS II and RHD II + tyres.

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NEWS

Bombay show a sellout... already!

Super Freight MD Lance Peach’s 1966 White 2064 is one of the 205 trucks registered for the show – making it a sellout THE BOMBAY TRUCK SHOW IS ALREADY A SELLOUT success – six months ahead of the inaugural event!

With registrations already at the 205-truck maximum for the February 1 show – as dictated by the space available at the Bombay Rugby Club – the organisers are “seeing if we can create some more space.”

The possibility of extending the show area beyond the two footie fields to also include the club’s carpark, might make it possible to take a few more registrations, says organiser Marieka Morcombe.

The commercial exhibitor area is also a sellout – the level of support so far out from the show even surprising the organising committee, comprising Morcombe (from Bombay operator N&J Wood), Super Freight’s Mack Peach and TDM Construction’s Todd Black.

Black’s also involved with the rugby club – which was seen from the outset as the only really viable venue in the district. Happily, says Morcombe, the club has been “so welcoming of the idea, right from the start.

“I’m told they had thought of running their own, so when we voiced our intention they gave us a complete go-ahead. Nothing has been too hard.”

Sponsorship for most of the 65 awards is also already tied down. Says Morcombe: “Todd’s strengths are his industry contacts and being a voice of the Bombay Rugby Club. Mack has the uncanny ability to bring me piles of money!

“Just about every single cost we’ll have on the day has been covered by sponsorship from all our contacts within the wider industry. The most surprising part of it all is that 90% of those people have approached us!”

Transfleet Trailers was quickly signed as naming rights sponsor – and volunteered to share the role, “so we could make more money for charity.” Allied Petroleum offered to take on the co-sponsorship…the next day!

Morcombe reckons that “we probably should have called it ‘The People’s Truck Show.’ Numerous times we’ve asked for public input on what they want to see. So far, I think we’ve ticked every box.

“Ultimately, we want everyone to leave the show smiling – talking about it for months afterwards and hanging out for the next one!”

The show, which will also feature entertainment, including live music from midday to midnight, is already guaranteed to be a big money-spinner for the show’s designated worthwhile causes – St John Ambulance, Bombay School and community pool and the Bombay Rugby Club: “We can guarantee that 100% of the proceeds will go to community groups and charities. All our time is volunteered….we can’t wait to hand over a huge amount of money. That will be the best bit.”

For information on the show, Facebook search Bombay Truck Show or phone 021 166 1295. T&D

CablePrice adds attachments CABLEPRICE HAS ADDED another international brand to its New Zealand product lineup, with an agreement to represent Italian crushing, demolition and recycling equipment manufacturer MB Crusher.

The company is a global leader in attachments fitted to excavators, loaders, skid loaders and backhoe loaders, says CablePrice.

CablePrice, which is now the exclusive distributor of MB Crusher products for NZ and the Pacific Islands, has added MB products to its range including crusher buckets, screening buckets and shaft screeners.

CablePrice GM special products,

An MB Crusher attachment

Jason Cann, says that the MB Crusher attachments “have many areas of application – from building demolitions in general, to the processing of excavation materials from the construction sector, to road works; from quarries to mines; from environmental reclamation to applications on rocky soil.”

The MB Crusher representation is “a natural extension to the high-quality range of equipment that we have been known for delivering to our customers for over 65 years.”

The MB Crusher equipment has “a great reputation” and complements CablePrice’s existing lineup of Montabert attachments and McCloskey crushers. T&D Truck & Driver | 11

NEWS

Mental health on conference agenda AUSTR ALIAN TR ANSPORT operator and mental health awareness campaigner Craig Membrey will be the keynote speaker at next month’s 2019 Road Transport Forum annual conference.

Membrey started working in his father Jack’s trucking business over 30 years ago and now runs Membrey’s Transport & Crane Hire in Dandenong, just outside Melbourne.

Under his management the company has grown – the business specialising in heavyhaulage, oversize and machinery transport, and in operating a wide range of mobile cranes, from mini crawler units to an eight-wheeler Liebherr with a 90-tonne lifting capacity. It also has B-double, semi-trailer and flatdeck units devoted to more general freight.

Membrey developed the company motto and philosophy: “Anything, anywhere…anytime.”

Tragically, he experienced the tragedy of

suicide first-hand in 2011, when his 17-year-old son Rowan, who was suffering from depression, took his own life.

Craig’s reaction was to plunge himself into working tirelessly for Beyond Blue – a nonprofit organisation devoted to helping anyone with anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts and mental illness.

That included having a mural featuring images of Rowan airbrushed onto the back of the sleeper cab of a company Kenworth T904 – to promote the work of Beyond Blue. The organisation, he pointed out at the time, had no financial backing…

“So everything that we can do will help this worthy organisation. We need to get the message out and the Kenworth is our tool to do so.” His work for Beyond Blue has seen him recognised as an ambassador for the organisation.

RTF CEO Nick Leggett says that NZ

Craig Membrey operators attending the September 24/25 conference at the Wairakei Resort, near Taupo, “will really benefit from Craig’s experience, energy and attitude.

“The road transport industry is no different to any other sector in New Zealand and anxiety and depression are issues we all need to understand and know how to manage.”

Other speakers at the conference, organised

by Road Transport Association NZ Region 2 and CARTA, include Transport Minister Phil Twyford, Economic Development and Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones, economist Cameron Bagrie and health and wellbeing expert Dr Tom Mulholland.

Busy Brain analyst Dr Lucia Kelleher will bring a safety focus, while Paul McKay will speak on employment law, Melanie Boyle on the future workforce and Margaret Kouvelis on changing your business to suit young workers. T&D

New Razor rep AUSTR ALIAN-BASED RAZOR INTERNATIONAL HAS announced a change in the New Zealand distributor of its automated control systems for trucks and trailers – with JOST NZ taking over the role at the start of this month.

JOST is the national distributor for Razor products in Australia – so, says Razor International’s Adrian Siah: “It’s only a natural step for JOST NZ to be a national distributor for Razor products in NZ.” JOST NZ GM Kate Bucknell says that the Razor product “is a great addition to our portfolio – and the years of experience with the brand from within our team ensures a seamless transition for its distribution.”

That relationship goes back five years – when Bucknell arranged for her previous employer, BPW Transport Efficiency, to distribute Razor’s products here.

Says Bucknell: “The Razor product technology has developed significantly over the last few years and it’s exciting to be involved with this new generation of equipment.

“JOST and Rockinger products cover most truck and trailer running gear and ancillary equipment and the Razor range gives us an opportunity to add to the scope of what we can offer our customers.”

Razor International has, since 1998, been developing state-of-the-art 12 | Truck & Driver

electronic and automated control systems for semi-trailers and rigid trucks – to improve efficiency and safety.

Its products include front to back and rollover power tarp systems, electric landing legs and power doors. T&D

Razor’s power tarps are now represented here by JOST NZ

NEWS

Mick Jukes started the family business in 1919, initially carrying freight in Gisborne by horse and cart

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Centenary celebration GISBORNE TRUCKING COMPANY M.E. JUKES & Son is having a birthday party in October and is inviting all of its past and present employees and customers – from the last 100 years!

The third and fourth generations of the Jukes family are now running the 20-truck, 25-employee family business….which was started by Mick Jukes in 1919 as a horse and cart carrying operation.

Mick’s son Arthur joined him in the business in 1936 – and, in 1962 Arthur’s sons, Trevor and Colin started with the company.

Now it’s run by the 77-year-old Trevor, his nephew Michael and son Tony. They’re “strongly supported by a very loyal staff and management team,” says Trevor. The next generation of the Jukes also help out during school holidays.

Trevor’s daughter, Cheryl Taylor – who’s managing the birthday party – says he “still plays a huge role in the running of the business. I don’t believe he’ll ever retire – he gets so much enjoyment in doing what he does.”

He agrees: “It’s my sandpit, that I play in for enjoyment.”

Unsurprisingly, the nature of the business has changed dramatically over the past century. As Trevor explains, that’s partly been driven by the need to be “constantly on the lookout for new work to keep the company going – particularly over hard times.”

The trucking business has been supplemented by the Jukes’ private landfill operation in the company’s own forest and by waste recycling work – turning demolition concrete into roading basecourse, shredding demolition timber and recovering steel and other metal from buildings…even baling scrap metal and recycling car bodies.

The transport operation carts the demolition and recycling materials as well as carting bulk metal, including the garden and landscape materials that the company also deals in.

It also does a daily freight run up the coast to Tolaga Bay, primarily carting farming supplies and equipment.

The 100th birthday party will be held on October 27 – the Sunday of Labour Weekend – with a morning get-together at the company yard, a birthday lunch, a steam train ride…then a by-invitation dinner.

Says Trevor: “We’re really looking forward to hosting our big party. All we ask is that people who would like to come to the celebrations register online – and as soon as possible – so we can cater for it.” Former staff and customers can register at: mejukes100@gmail.com T&D

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NEWS

Daimler Trucks engineers are on the road with a mobile simulator, equipped with prototypes of future dashboard controls and apps – recording drivers’ comments and monitoring their responses. A truck steering wheel combines with state-of-the-art 3D simulations for a realistic driving experience

Truckies test-drive new digital dashboards TRUCKIES IN GERMANY ARE BEING INVITED TO “test-drive” new Daimler Trucks digital operating menus and apps – on a mobile truck simulator.

Truck drivers at motorway rest areas around Stuttgart are donning virtual reality 3D glasses in the simulator – installed in a Mercedes-Benz V-Class van.

A multifunction truck steering wheel is linked to a state-of-the-art 3D simulation as Daimler engineers monitor the user-friendliness of the menu navigation in future cockpit screens…and acceptance of the apps by truck drivers.

It’s the first time Daimler Trucks has taken its digital systems research and development on the road seeking feedback on the systems, which are based on the controls and displays in the new Mercedes-Benz Actros.

It has a multimedia cockpit, with two interactive screens serving as a

central information source. It also enables the integration of smartphones and apps that support drivers in their daily business.

Feedback from the testers goes directly into further development work at Daimler Trucks.

The simulator means the engineers can engage with large numbers of truckies where they’re most comfortable – in their usual working environment.

That way, says Dr Christian Ballarin – Daimler Trucks’ head of advanced engineering for active safety, autonomous driving and connectivity – the drivers’ feedback is “even more authentic. This represents a huge benefit for our development work.”

Driver feedback has been very positive: “The drivers are pleased that we actively involve them in the further development of the operating systems that they use every day in their daily work…” T&D

Truck driving champs revised A RESTRUCTURED TR GROUP NEW Zealand Truck Driving Championship, formerly tied to the Road Transport Forum’s annual conference, will next year run as part of “an ultimate trucking weekend” in Christchurch.

The TR Group-sponsored contest will run on March 20 and 21, alongside the 2020 TMC Trailers Trucking Industry Show, at the Canterbury Agricultural Park.

Organisers, the NZ Trucking Association and the RTF, say that the championship has “had a complete overhaul” and now “mirrors overseas competitions, which means a new format and different challenges.”

Companies are invited to sponsor their top

drivers and fund them to Christchurch or stage their own in-house heats to select their representatives – or individuals can enter directly.

The competition area will be set up with grandstands and commentary, designed to showcase the professional driving skills on show.

The Teletrac Navman Industry Show Dinner on the Saturday night will host the championship prizegiving.

The TR Group Truck Driving Championship will have the following categories: Class 5 Truck and Trailer Driver of the Year, Class 5 Semi Driver of the Year and Class 2 - Driver of the Year. One of them will become the Supreme Champion Truck Driver of the Year 2020. There’ll

also be awards for Up and Coming Young Driver and Woman Driver of the Year.

TR Group MD Andrew Carpoenter says the company’s “delighted to continue its fouryear sponsorship of the NZ Truck Driving Championship, as it evolves into a truly modern test for our skilled industry professionals.

“Inspiring the next generation of drivers and celebrating all that is great about our industry is exactly what we had in mind when the competition was relaunched in 2015, and we look forward to seeing an exciting competition that draws the crowds in Christchurch next March at the TMC Trailers Trucking Industry Show.” T&D Truck & Driver | 17

NEWS

The Truckstops network is now up to 18 branches nationwide, making it the “largest wholly-owned truck servicing network in the country,” the company says

Truckstops adds Albany branch TRUCKSTOPS HAS ADDED AN 18 TH branch to its nationwide network, with the acquisition of Diesel Services Albany in Auckland.

Truckstops general manager Kevin Smith says that the purchase, which took effect last month, will allow it to provide “new and existing customers with high quality service around Auckland’s North Shore.

“Diesel Services Albany enjoys great relationships with its customers and a strong reputation within the industry – and its employees are a key reason for that.

“We are very focused on a smooth transition to allow Truckstops Albany to continue the great work that the team has always delivered.”

Smith adds that Truckstops is “the largest whollyowned truck servicing network in the country, and no matter where our customers are throughout New Zealand we are focused on providing outstanding, on-time parts and service support to keep their trucks moving. That’s what our team strives for each and every day”.

Truckstops is the authorised parts, service and repair network for Hino, Volvo, Renault and Mack in NZ and the Albany branch will primarily provide support for these brands.

Smith adds: “The Albany location allows us to introduce our nationwide initiatives in fixed price servicing and brake relines to the region.” T&D

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Get drugged drivers off the roads THE NUMBER OF DEATHS CAUSED by drugged drivers – 71 last year and 88 in 2017 – demands better testing “to get these people off our roads,” says Road Transport Forum chief executive Nick Leggett.

Following-up the RTF’s submission on the Ministry of Transport Discussion Document – Enhanced Drug Impaired Driver Testing, Leggett is calling for the Government to change “its single-minded road safety focus.”

That, he says, is “tunnel vision on speed and getting vehicles off the road.” Instead it needs to “take a holistic look at all the other contributing factors.

“The number of people being killed by drugimpaired drivers is higher than by drivers above the alcohol limit. The statistics in this discussion document are just the tip of the iceberg, as drug testing is limited and there is no mention of

serious injury and harm, only the death toll.

“Something has got to change. We believe that the way alcohol use and driving is dealt with could be replicated for drug use, to ensure safer roads for all road users.

“The RTF fully supports roadside drug testing as a first-line tool for early detection of impaired drivers. This should, without question, be part of an overall aspiration to mitigate risk on New Zealand roads of injury and death caused by drugged drivers.

“Disappointingly, the discussion document veers towards the rights of drug-using drivers rather than on the safety of those who share the road with them, or the rights of those they kill or injure.”

The discussion document also cites the time needed for testing and prosecuting and the cost or pressure on the system as significant barriers

to any change.

Says Leggett: “If the Government were as committed to road safety as they say they are, surely a small amount of time spent on a roadside (two to five minutes), or at a police station for testing is justified in the face of the high road toll.

“While the road transport industry follows workplace health and safety laws to ensure drivers are not drug impaired – with extensive testing regimes including pre-employment, random and post incident/accident drug testing – there’s no guarantee that those they’re sharing the road with won’t be impaired by drugs…as there is no adequate testing regime for them.”

The RTF, he says, supports roadside drug testing, including the Compulsory Impairment Test, screening with some of the new oral technology and saliva wipes and, where necessary, an evidentiary blood test. T&D

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With night closing in and lights ablaze, the big fella begins the long, slow slog up the Saddle Road. Main headlights on high beam give brilliant illumination, while the quartet of long range driving lights on the roof will banish the darkness for hundreds of metres

L

OCATION: THE SADDLE ROAD, ACROSS THE RUAHINE RANGES. Time: Nightfall, early winter.

Conditions: Heavy drizzle, turning into steady light rain as the climb progresses.

Payload: Fabricated metal bridge beam – 22 metres long, by 2.2m high….and weighing 50.5 tonnes.

Holy rows of eight Batman, this sounds like a job for a REALLY serious heavy-haul combination!

And that’s what we’ve got Robin – in the form of Tomoana Warehousing’s Mercedes-Benz Arocs SLT 8x6 and its associated TRT trailers.

The truck – currently the only one of its type in the country – has been purpose-designed for this sort of work. Even so, it is really being put to the test tonight.

While the beam isn’t the heaviest (nor the longest) of the more than 20 that Tomoana has already carted from Eastbridge in Napier to Wellington’s Transmission Gully motorway project, Merc driver Dave Harris admits that these conditions are as challenging as any he’s encountered on this run. And he’s concentrating...every metre of the way.

Through the tightest bends on the uphill slog from Woodville, he’s keeping the big tractor unit as high on the road as he can, searching for the less-wet patches of seal to ensure the bestpossible traction for the three driving axles. Even so, we have a couple of heart-stopping moments when the tyres slip, very briefly, before regaining grip.

The potential pucker-factor is even higher after the summit, as we begin the steeper descent towards Ashhurst. In this case it’s the possibility of too much braking force that keeps Dave’s focus keen.

The Arocs is fitted with Merc’s new turbo retarder clutch – an option that integrates the torque converter starting clutch for the truck’s 16-speed PowerShift 3 AMT with a hydraulic retarder.

Developed by Voith, the unit combines compact dimensions and a weight around 80 kilograms less than conventional systems to deliver stupendous stopping grunt – up to 750 kilowatts/1005

horsepower in the higher of its two settings...and that’s on top of a three-stage engine brake.

In simple terms, the retarder should theoretically be able to steady an Arocs SLT loaded to its rated maximum GCM of 250t on a one-in-three slope. On this trip the Tomoana combination tips the scales at a bit under 108t, so we’re probably good for one-inseven!

That’s on a dry road however, which is why Dave is taking it very cautiously as the rain settles in....much to my relief, as his passenger. He expresses a bit of disappointment at the conditions: “In the dry, I’ve been able to come down here with 20t more weight, a couple of Ks quicker and a ratio higher, and not touch the service brakes once, and I’d have loved you to see that.

“This retarder is magic. However, under these conditions it could easily lock the wheels. There’s no thrill in doing it wrong, and with the loads we’re carting, if it does go wrong it can be truly spectacular.” Thankyou, Dave….I’m happy with unspectacular!

The NZ Truck & Driver team will be leaving the Arocs at Ashhurst, while the truck and its three attendant pilot vehicles carry on southwards. It’s now fully dark, so no point in trying for more photos, and the rest of the run to the works site is relatively easy.

But the hours we’ve spent with Dave and his new Merc have certainly been instructive, beginning around 1pm when we meet the truck and the Tomoana team at the yard of NSB Infrastructure in Napier, where the beam has been sandblasted and freshly painted and is now being readied for the trip. The structure hasn’t moved far from its origin – it was built at Eastbridge, a block away.

The gold and Sumatra Green metallic Tomoana paint scheme is eyecatching in its own right, but what’s even more attentiongrabbing with the Arocs are the side shrouds behind the cab, which conceal a whole slew of ancillaries normally mounted to the chassis.

This is an outstanding feature of the SLT models (both Actros and Arocs). The transplants include, most dramatically, a 900-litre Truck & Driver | 23

This page, bottom: Steerable trailer axles ensure that even medium-sized roundabouts can be negotiated without drama

This page, right: Driver Dave Harris getting the bridge beam secured

Opposite page, bottom: Straddle cranes lower the bridge beam carefully into place. Weight distribution is critical, so positional tolerances are less than 5mm

fuel tank, as well as air bottles and the heavy-duty combined cooling system for the turbo retarder clutch and the engine. The cooling tower also houses the hydraulic system. With so much weight involved, the support frame bolted to the chassis is understandably jumbo-sized.

Setting the ancillaries up behind the cab means that the strength and integrity of the truck’s chassis isn’t compromised by any extra mounting brackets or holes. And the chassis is a truly serious bit of work, fashioned from 9.5mm-thick cold-formed steel, with no joints or welds – ensuring that maximum strength is maintained. The only items hung off it are the Euro 6 muffler/ SCR canister on the right and a big toolcase on the left, with the AdBlue tank ahead of this, tucked under the rear of the cab.

This SLT Arocs is the product of a hybrid build process – the same as all SLT models: It was initially assembled as a 6x6 in the main Mercedes-Benz truck plant at Wörth in southwest Germany, before being shipped 100kms over the border to Molsheim in France, home to the company’s CTT (custom tailored trucks) plant.

There it was fitted with options specific to customer requirements. In the case of Tomoana’s heavy-haulage application, the list is headed by a steerable tag axle ahead of the rear driving pair, but also includes the uprated cooling and hydraulic systems and jumbo fuel tank, heavy-duty couplings front and rear, work and driving lights, roof-mounted beacons, the toolcase and a cross-frame walkway that features pullout/dropdown access ladders

24 | Truck & Driver

either side. The result is a stunningly complete, ready-for-work truck….straight off the factory floor.

Under the cab sits the highest-power (460kW/625hp) variant of Merc’s 15.6l OM473 straight six, which shares its core castings and primary design elements with the Detroit DD16.

The commonalities include high-pressure (up to 2100 bar) common-rail fuel injection and turbo-compounding, the secondary exhaust turbine feeding up to 55hp back to the engine crankshaft.

The 16-speed PowerShift 3 transmission offers a wide spread of ratios and a shift action that’s claimed to be 20% faster than its predecessor.

The tag axle is air-sprung and linked via hydraulics to the main steering axle. It automatically load-shares up to its rated 8t limit, and under 30km/h can be lifted via an in-cab control to enhance traction on the driving axles.

Unlike its Actros SLT sibling, which uses air suspension for its main driving pair, the Arocs is steel sprung on its front drive and steer axle and the rear drivers. Both front axles have the same tyres, Bridgestone M748 Evo 385/65 R22.5s, while the rear driving wheels are fitted with L355 Evo 315/80 R22.5s.

At NSB, the team – under Tomoana heavy-haulage superviser Terry Northcott – is busy setting up the bolsters on the two TRT box-beam trailers. The front (gooseneck) unit is laid out in three rows of eight, while the rear one sits on four rows of eight. The trailers use a modular design, allowing them to be modified

according to the load carried – either split into two for loads like today’s or as a single platform of varying length for larger earthmoving equipment.

In reality, says Terry, the amount of bridge beam work the company has been handling – both to Transmission Gully and motorway projects north of Auckland – has meant they’ve been almost permanently in the three/four configuration...but the flexibility is there.

The widening decks can fully open out to 4.9m, but today – because the load is tall and skinny rather than wide – they’re at their narrowest setting, of 3.4m.

The trailers were the first modular platform design to be fitted with TRT’s electronic steering system (ESS), which has the steering controlled automatically through the tractor unit’s fifth wheel and a special wedge lock. Each axle is controlled by a hydraulic ram, with the individual steering angles pre-programmed according to the overall configuration. The particular programme is selected via a control module in the truck’s cab.

Even when the trailers are in a split configuration for long loads like today’s, all the axles steer. For really tight bends and low speeds a remote-control is used to override the rear trailer. It’s in one of the pilot vehicles in case it’s needed, but as Dave Harris points out, there are no truly gnarly bends on the southern route and the system has not yet been called on.

Compared with some of the loads the truck has handled, today’s

beam is comparatively short, and there’s a gap of not much more than five metres between the trailers. At times this has been over 15m. To ensure optimal response times from the steering, each trailer has a separate power pack to generate hydraulic pressure.

The trailers use BPW 17.5 swivel axles and run on TRT suspension, which offers 650mm of travel via double-acting hydraulic rams, each axle able to be lifted independently.

Further adjustability is offered by TRT’s unique compensating gooseneck which moves up and down over a similar range, in response to road surface variations to ensure that optimal traction can be maintained.

Once the painstaking process of setting up the bolsters is completed, the beam is lifted into place by a pair of straddle cranes. It’s positioned with a 5mm tolerance from dead centre and just as precisely fore and aft before the chaining down process begins.

Finally, Terry Northcott carefully checks the trailer deck heights all around. As he points out, even running plumb centre on the highway we’ll have barely 10cm clearance under the Thor Street overbridge at Norsewood, so it’s important to have things correct before we set off. There are also a few instances where the trailers have to ride over kerbs, so the under-clearances are important, if not as critical as those overhead.

We’re on the way a bit off schedule, around 2.30pm. Our route away from NSB takes us through a couple of left turns that call up

Truck & Driver | 25

Clockwise from top left: It’s a long way up into the Arocs SLT cab, but generous steps and well-placed grabhandles make it easy….clear, simple instruments and multifunction steering wheel enhance the ease of driving….Dave Harris has a swag of driving experience, and has turned his hand to other pursuits as well…. command screen to the left of the driver carries information on permit conditions, trailer status and a stack of other details

all the available road. But, with two pilot vehicles ahead and one behind, keeping the intersections clear for the manoeuvres isn’t a problem. Dave says that local drivers are getting used to the intermittent but brief holdups: “With the number of these beams we’ve taken out of here, they’re becoming quite familiar with it.”

Our route will take us out of the Napier industrial area to the Hawke’s Bay Expressway, joining SH2 at Pakipaki and staying with it until Woodville.

After that comes the biggie – the Saddle Road, which has been the main route linking the Manawatu and Wairarapa/Hawke’s Bay regions since a huge slip forced the closure of the Manawatu Gorge road over two years ago.

It’s been extensively upgraded sure, but it’s still one heck of a grunt for a near-110t combination, with an average slope up from the Wairarapa side at Woodville of around one in 10...and a couple of even steeper pitches near the beginning of the climb.

Then there’s the drop from the summit to the bridge over the Pohangina River at Ashhurst – steeper again, and as a result even more scary when you consider the possibility of all that mass 26 | Truck & Driver

overcoming the brakes.

From Palmerston North the route is primarily down SH1 and then the access road to the works site near Paekakariki.

One of the tighter manoeuvres in the whole journey is encountered soon after setting out, as we make a right-hand turn at the roundabout on the intersection of Severn Street and Prebensen Drive.

Dave swings the combination as wide as he can at the entry, explaining that it’s important to keep the trailer wheels from riding up on the roundabout’s high centre kerb: “The weight on this load is carried quite high and if it gets to the point of tipping there’d be nothing we could do. Once it starts to go, the whole combination would be flipped on its side in a flash. The other aspect is, if you wreck a trailer tyre and it needs replacing, it can be quite a mission, so the trick is to stay away from kerbs where possible.”

As it transpires, we exit the roundabout with a comfortable half metre in hand, between the kerb and the inner trailer wheels. The combination handles several other roundabouts on the journey with similar ease.

“Some contract work, relief driving, technical writing, some time spent with Fitchett Linehaul. It has never been less than interesting.”

At one of these, where the Expressway joins SH2 at Pakipaki, Dave guides the truck up onto the kerb at the entry, just to make doubly sure the trailers aren’t compromised, and we exit with even more in hand than at Prebensen Drive.

A really useful function of the SLT that he demonstrates on several of the roundabouts is an override that swivels the mirrors really wide, invaluable for keeping an eye on the rear of a long load. “It’s also most helpful in the tight manoeuvring called for at Transmission Gully when I’m getting into place for the crane to lift the beams off,” he adds.

As we head south on SH2 Dave comments that in his opinion the Arocs doesn’t seem to demonstrate its rated 625hp output...

Either that, or the overall gearing and/or the shifting protocol for the 16-speed AMT is somewhat less than ideal: “It just seems to hang on in lower gears too much, so that it’s revving higher than its ideal torque range – and you find it doesn’t have a real feeling

of grunt.

“Maybe the engine has some more loosening-up to do – it has less than 8000km up – but it could do with higher overall gearing.”

Terry Northcott is certain that the powerplant will have more up its sleeve as it beds in. On top of that, he reckons, Merc has engineered the shift protocol to play it safe with the big loads the SLT is designed for – not letting the revs drop to the point where the power can be overcome suddenly on a slope.

In fact, the overall gearing seems pretty spot-on, with the big engine spinning at 1520rpm in top gear at the 90km/h the truck seems able to achieve quite easily on level going, of which this journey offers a fair amount.

Beyond Pakipaki, the road climbs steadily but, for the most part, gently to Norsewood. Shortly after comes a stiff little challenge in the shape of the climb after crossing the Mangatewainui River,

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Above: Cab tilt is generous, and with it forward the size and bulk of the ancillaries tower becomes even more obvious. The structure carries all the gear conventionally slung off a truck’s chassis, including fuel tank, cooling system and air bottles Right & top right: The 15.6-litre OM473 powerplant is Merc’s variant of the Daimler Group’s global engine platform

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Normally this would be a no-no in the eyes of the law, but the heavy-haul permit requires centreline running on several bridges and narrow sections of road – with traffic managed by the guys in the pilot vehicles ahead and behind

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followed by an undulating but generally downhill run to Woodville.

Dave has been with Tomoana for barely six months, but has packed a huge amount of experience (and variety) into a near40-year career that started with the late Snow Pearson and Stock Transporters Ltd (now STL Linehaul) in 1981: “I spent a year or two with them, before then operating a taxi in Wellington. After deregulation of that industry I swapped back to trucks with Waste Management on a rubbish round in Lower Hutt.

“That was particularly hard on the body. I got to the point where my shoulder had virtually packed-up from tossing rubbish bags into the truck, so a full change was called for.”

This took the form of signing-up at Lincoln University and completing a commerce degree, majoring in marketing and supply chain management. During this time he worked part-time driving trucks for Tegel, and came away with a high regard for that company’s business ethics.

After getting his degree, he linked up again with the Pearson family, working in STL Linehaul’s Wellington operation during 2004-2005. Then came a two-year stint as business development manager with MITO, followed by a shift to NZL. After that, he says, it was more variety: “Some contract work, relief driving, technical writing, some time spent with Fitchett Linehaul. It has never been less than interesting.”

He’s very impressed by the overall professionalism of the Arocs, the fit, finish and storage facilities of the double-bunk StreamSpace sleeper cab, and the supremely comfortable ride, rendered more remarkable when you realise that the front steering (and driving) axle and the rear drivers sit on high-capacity steel springs rather than air. Obviously the air-sprung cab and high-end seats have an important part to play here.

On the other hand, he has his reservations about the power output and gearing, demonstrating the point about the latter on a little climb before Pukehou after the AMT drops from eighth to sixth. Dave transfers the box to Manual operation and slots into seventh, resulting in the engine spinning at more relaxed revs and handling the climb no less easily.

He’s not a total fan either of the axle crosslock system that requires the truck to be in six-wheel-drive before it can be engaged: “I’ve found myself in situations where the main drivers, plus crosslocks would work fine – but having the front axle in play as well just leads to a bit of sledging in the tighter bends and accelerated front tyre wear.

“And when it comes time to drop the diff locks out and move back into two-axle drive, the truck has to be stopped.”

A lot of the problem, he reckons, lies with the extensive use of chip seal on our highways: “It polishes off quickly, especially after a summer when you get bleeding in the bitumen. After that, all you need is a bit of dampness and traction goes out the window.

The Saddle Road and stretches of the Napier-Taupo at Tarawera are particularly bad, and need the crosslocks if it’s even a little damp.

I reckon NZTA has blood on its hands with the number of crashes caused by roads like this.”

His point about the state of the roads is demonstrated later, as we head up past the old hospital on the Dannevirke bypass in a light drizzle and momentarily lose traction. The Arocs is in normal two-axle drive, and as he points out, being able to engage the crosslocks without bringing in all-wheel drive would help in these situations.

Detail quibbles aside, he loves the way that the Arocs goes about what is a challenging job. And a job that’s made much Truck & Driver | 31

Clockwise from top left: From behind, the ancillaries tower looks even more dramatic. Cross-chassis walkway has slide-out access ladders at either end.....Dave Harris hard at work during the chaining down process...Terry Northcott does a final, careful check of the trailer ride height....and also works on securing the load....the truck’s frame is super-strong and uncluttered

easier by the support from the pilot vehicle drivers, headed today

by Terry Northcott.

There’s a constant stream of radio messages, detailing the model and colour of the last vehicle through, going either way – before or after narrow sections – so Dave is confident in being able to use all the road.

As soon as there’s a straightish section the logjam is smoothly cleared – the uphill stream first on the climbs. The calls over the radio are precise and detailed, and ensure there’s no confusion. As Dave says, this is a perfect example of the importance of competent pilots: “Anyone who thinks pilot work is a cushy number would change their opinion after seeing these guys in operation. They make it so easy for me to just keep trundling on, and also ensure we have minimal effect on other traffic.”

Terry is also talking to specific trucks in the oncoming traffic via CB, advising them of the oncoming rig and telling them where to stop.

Regular drivers on SH2 also get a pat on the back from Dave for the courtesy they show the cavalcade: “There’s the occasional car driver who’s in a dream, but for the most part we couldn’t ask for 32 | Truck & Driver

better treatment. They’re brilliant.”

Depending on what the permit says, some bridges call for full central running, in others the truck can stay in its lane. Speed limits on the bridges vary as well, some dropping as low as 10km/h.

The planner in the cab lets Dave know the details of the permit, though – having now done the trip so often – he has it pretty well memorised.

Despite his reservations about the output of the OM473, it earns its keep brilliantly on the slog up the Saddle Road, grinding through the steepest bits at 1500rpm in third gear and around 8km/h.

Not quick, but vastly competent. A hint of the power that’s being produced comes from the fuel gauge, which indicates around 0.8km/l and suggests the big-capacity tank is not the overkill it might first appear. And this trip isn’t the toughest on fuel, says Dave: “When we run the Napier-Taupo with the biggest loads it can drop to 0.4km/l – we barely make Albany from Napier on a full tank.”

Well, when you’re toting an all-up weight of up to 130t around the countryside something’s got to give. In all other respects the Arocs SLT looks to have the business of heavy haulage very well covered. T&D

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Trevor Test

W

E VENTURE INTO THE REALM OF THE HEAVY HAULERS with this Trevor Test, when we catch up with Tomoana’s Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3363 AS. Its heavy in every way, with a truck and trailer combined tare weight of 57 tonnes and a loaded weight today of a modest 107 tonne. It’s rated with a 33t GVW and 250t GCM. Making up the weight is the giant Mercedes-Benz 8x6 tractor unit, hooked up to a TRT gooseneck trailer with three rows of eight and a rear electronic self-steer trailer with four rows of eight.

The bridge beam that we’re carrying today is not actually one of the bigger ones – weighing-in at just over 50t and destined for the Transmission Gully motorway project.

The Trevor Test kicks off in Waipukurau, on our way down to the Saddle Road, where the Arocs will cross over into the Manawatu and then carry on down State Highway One to Paekakariki.

Climbing up into the cab is very easy despite the height of the floor from the ground. There are three really good, deep, wide steps – each one slightly inset from the step below.

There are also cleverly-designed handholds: There’s a long handrail up the side of the door opening and a handhold in the side panel to the left of the steps. Once you’re on the first step, you transfer your left hand to another rail that runs up the back of the door opening.

When we pull away, the first thing I notice is the nice, clean shifting of the G280 16-speed AMT, which is set in Auto Heavy mode. In this setting it tends to hold the gears at higher revs and Dave feels it’s sluggish. We discuss this at length during the drive and it is clear that it is revving out past the maximum torque

Trevor Woolston

levels…and this does give the feeling of it running out of power.

First impressions are that it could upshift around 300rpm lower, keeping it in the optimum torque range. However, there is a good reason for its late upshifting – and that is to protect the drivetrain, as we are talking about a lot of torque…combined with very high weights. So the settings in the gearbox are kept more conservative to reduce strain.

The engine produces its 625hp maximum between 1500 and just over 1700rpm and its 3000Nm maximum torque between 1050rpm and 1300rpm. From 1300 revs onwards it’s dropping torque.

We encounter a jolt every time the power comes on…even if I slow right down, then apply constant throttle. Dave says he has mentioned it to (Auckland dealer) Trucks and Trailers.

It appears to be coming from around the front drive axle. It’s something that will need to be checked out, as it’s worrying in something producing this much torque, combined with these sorts of weights. You don’t want anything loose down there in the drivetrain.

On even a gentle slope the weight takes over and the speed drops. The queue behind is about to be called past by the pilot vehicle

34 | Truck & Driver

• SPECIFICATIONS • MERCEDES-BENZ AROCS SLT 8x6 Engine: Mercedes-Benz OM473 Capacity: 15.6 litres Maximum power: 460kW (625hp) @ 1600rpm Maximum torque: 3000Nm (2210 lb ft) @ 1100rpm Engine revs: 1520rpm @ 90km/h in 16th gear Fuel capacity: 900 litres Transmission: 16-speed Mercedes-Benz G280-16 AMT Ratios: This big hunk of steel will soon be supporting motorway traffic north of Wellington

1st 11.72 2nd 9.75 3rd 7.92

With two escort vehicles out-front and one behind, you’re well protected from the general public on the roads – but, as usual, you still see clowns who don’t seem to understand the instructions of the escort drivers.

The truck drivers though are all very courteous towards the wide and heavy load and make the trip south much more relaxing.

Inside the cab it’s all very familiar – very much the same as the Actros I tested two years ago. All controls are placed in very logical positions, exactly as per the Actros. With its high roof and sleeper cab it is a nice, spacious and light cab interior.

It’s also a very driver-friendly cab, with very low noise levels and even at this heavy weight, a very good ride.

The mirrors are right up there with the best, with a good, wide, flat upper mirror and a good-sized convex mirror below it. They work well together, giving good visibility down the sides of the widened unit. Electric adjustment is also useful on this job to help keep track of the trailer through corners.

The 8x6 has two rear drive axles and two steer axles – the second one right in front of the rear tandem drives. Driving this setup, you have to be aware of the effect this second steer axle has – taking weight off the rear drivers on hill climbs.

With this sort of weight, you need to adjust to the weight transfer on any significant hills, as well as dialling-up the diff locks. It takes a bit to drag 107t up any hill and with much of the weight sitting on the trailers, weight on the drivers is critical.

During the climbs Dave manually downshifts

two gears at a time, because he’s not confident enough to trust the AMT to keep up….and who can blame him! The last thing you need is to have 107t stalled out on a hill. Also, as he says, there’s not too much relaxing on this job.

Our run to Dannevirke doesn’t have any major hills but even the few drop-downs into river gorges and then the climbs out test the Merc’s traction.

Keeping the truck positioned on the road is not an issue, with the trailer tracking nicely.

Obviously, when you first start driving this unit, you’re very aware of its size. But it very quickly becomes clear that you can hold a good line on the road, mostly within the left lane – just making sure your left wheels stay clear of the edge.

Through highway corners the unit tracks very well and it’s only when you come to very tight corners, such as turning off onto side roads or negotiating roundabouts, as Dave had to do in Napier, that you really need the self-steer rear trailer.

It’s an impressive unit and it’s certainly built tough. Today’s bridge beam is only 50t, but other beams can get up to 70t-plus – and they either have to go over the Saddle Road or the Napier-Taupo highway, so this truck will really be tested.

You see pictures of these units in Europe, carrying heavy loads….but usually on nice, flat roads….nothing like the terrain that confronts the Tomoana unit.

It’s a great example of a super-heavyweight truck, capable of the toughest heavy-haul jobs, but still delivering exceptionally high levels of driver comfort and ease of operation. T&D

4th 6.58 5th 5.29 6th 4.40 7th 3.64 8th 3.02 9th 2.66 10th 2.22 11th 1.80 12th 1.50 13th 1.20 14th 1.00 15th 0.83 16th 0.69 Front drive and steer axle: Mercedes-Benz hub reduction, rating of 9000kg Subsidiary rear axle: MercedesBenz hydraulic steer, rating of 8000g Rear drive axles: Mercedes-Benz hub reduction, combined rating of 26,000kg Auxiliary brakes: Three-stage engine brake, two-stage hydraulic retarder Front axle suspension: Parabolic springs, shock absorbers, stabiliser bars Subsidiary rear axle suspension: Air, liftable Rear suspension: Parabolic springs, shock absorbers, stabiliser bars GVW: 41,000kg GCM: 250,000kg

Truck & Driver | 35

Contact: Trevor: Mob 0274 437 968 Email: trevor@jacksonenterprises.co.nz Paul Hirst Mob 027 4437969 Email: paul@jacksonenterprises.co.nz

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THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

Evidence is that increasing numbers of people are driving under the influence of drugs, be they illegal substances or prescription medication

Roadside drug testing critical to road safety M

by Nick Leggett Chief Executive Road Transport Forum NZ

OST NEW ZEALANDERS ARE QUITE shocked to learn that over the last two years there have been more road deaths involving drugs than there have been as a result of excess alcohol.

In 2017 and 2018, 159 people died on our roads in accidents where drugs were a factor – as opposed to 140 in accidents involving excess alcohol.

The NZ Transport Agency and the Police have quite rightly bombarded us with anti-drink driving advertising for decades now and we’re all well aware of just how dangerous it is to be on the road with people who have been drinking.

Far fewer people consider the growing proportion of road users who are driving under the influence of drugs, be they recreational and illegal substances or prescription medication.

The concerning thing is that the road death statistics are just the tip of the iceberg, as drug testing is currently extremely limited and there are no statistics for drug-related accidents that result in serious injury or harm.

The Road Transport Forum has always been a staunch advocate for comprehensive roadside testing for drug impairment, whether that’s the result of recreational drug use or prescription pharmaceuticals.

We have continued to advocate for more sophisticated drug wipes or saliva testing to be used over the current Compulsory Impairment Test, which we see as a rather blunt and therefore under-utilised instrument.

The good news is that the issue of roadside drug testing is back on the table, with the Government giving consideration

to improving testing and enforcement.

RTF has submitted on the discussion document, Enhanced Drug Impaired Driver Testing, on behalf of the industry.

However, I fear that – despite being on the right side of all the evidence – we may still not get the result we’re looking for.

The timing of the process is somewhat troubling. On the one hand the instances of drugs contributing to road deaths is increasing and the Government has made no secret of its desire to improve road safety….

Yet, on the other, they are considering a significant liberalisation of the laws around the use and possession of cannabis. Ministers appear to be ignoring this obvious doublestandard, as both initiatives are in their very early stages.

However, at some point, they will be forced to confront this problem.

The Vision Zero road safety programme, which the Government wishes to uplift from Sweden, would indicate that a hard-line needs to be taken on drug use. The Swedes famously have a zero-tolerance approach to drugs right through their justice system – including in transport. Yet our Government seems happy to ignore that fact and is attempting to have its cake and eat it too.

Unsurprisingly, the Government’s discussion document drifts away from the core purpose of mitigating safety risks on our roads and focuses heavily on the costs and inconvenience of a future expansion of drug testing.

The inconvenience of time spent testing is mentioned 12 times and the inconvenience of cost and “pressure” on the Truck & Driver | 37

THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

We fully support the institution of roadside drug testing, using sophisticated drug wipes and saliva testing as a tool for early detection of impaired drivers.

Nick Leggett (right) sits down with motor racing legend and Autosense ambassador Greg Murphy to discuss the benefits of better training for Kiwi drivers

system appears a further 12 times in the document.

This gives the consultation a very lopsided feel and, as RTF has submitted, does not appropriately emphasise the potential of drug testing as a key contributor to road safety.

If the Government is as committed to road safety and reducing deaths on our roads as it says it is then surely the small amount of time (2-5 minutes) spent testing a suspected drug-impaired driver is justified.

For our industry there is also an obvious and concerning inconsistency between what the law demands through the Health and Safety at Work Act and how drug impairment is treated, and the exposure that truck drivers face out there on the roading network from members of the public.

This creates problems for road transport companies who must do their best to manage the impairment risk in the industry…while this is in stark contrast to the current approach being taken to manage road safety by government agencies.

Truck drivers undergo extensive testing including preemployment, random and post-accident drug testing. However, they can have no confidence that those they’re sharing the road with are not impaired by drugs – as there’s currently no adequate roadside testing regime.

While it is unrealistic to expect members of the public to go through the same kind of thorough testing that truck drivers do, the increasing prevalence of drugs in road deaths does mean something has to change.

RTF does not believe NZ can rely on the Compulsory Impairment Test on its own to act as a sufficient deterrent.

We fully support the institution of roadside drug testing, using sophisticated drug wipes and saliva testing as a tool for early detection of impaired drivers.

This must be part of the Government’s overall aspiration to reduce the road toll and mitigate the risk on NZ roads.

Another aspect of road safety that has long been neglected by successive governments is the role of driver training and providing drivers with skills beyond the very basic core ability to drive a car and identify hazards.

38 | Truck & Driver

I recently attended the RTANZ Region 4 and 5 seminar down in Twizel and was lucky enough to have a good chat with motor racing legend and Autosense ambassador Greg Murphy.

Greg is passionate about the need to improve the driving standards of NZers through more training. He describes Kiwi drivers as under-trained and over-confident and is extremely critical of the Government’s Vision Zero strategy, especially if it doesn’t mean the necessary emphasis will be placed on improving driving standards or the sorry state of our roads.

Murphy convincingly makes the point that a couple of hundred million dollars’ investment in a comprehensive driver training regime – rolled out throughout NZ secondary schools – would have a major benefit in the reduction of accident rates. This small investment would generate a return on the investment many times over, especially considering the estimated $4.8billion in current social and economic costs of road accidents.

NZ First, to their credit, have done some work in this area.

In fact, in their coalition agreement with Labour they state their goal of providing free driver training to all secondary students.

However, we have yet to see anything substantial come from this and I suspect the party will struggle to convince the rest of Cabinet of the merits of the investment required to properly roll it out nationwide.

To properly turn around our negative road safety statistics, Labour and the Greens must change their blinkered approach to the problem. They cannot rely purely on speed reductions and forcibly moving freight to rail. They must take a more holistic look at all the contributing factors, including those that may not be politically convenient to them.

Finally, don’t forget that the RTF Conference is fast approaching. The full programme, registration details, accommodation and sponsorship packages are all available at www.rtfconference.co.nz. I look forward to seeing you there and discussing some of these issues in more detail. T&D

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THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

The NZ Intermodal Safety Group is (from left to right): Coral Carlyle (MITO), Mark Purdue, Richard Smith, Jason Heather, Ian Pauling, Clinton Burgess, Grant Darrah, Murray Young (chair), Calven Bonney, Paul Neumann (MITO), John Anderson.

Absent: Mark Ngatuere (RTF), Pia Carpenter, Mike Herrick

Sideloader unit standards updated

L

AST YEAR THE NEW ZEALAND INTERMODAL Transport Safety Group (NZITSG) was formed to address the significant safety issues associated with the interface between road transport and the other modes associated with import and export freight.

The NZITSG, with secretarial support from RTF, is tasked with establishing and maintaining best practice safety and compliance standards for road transport operators loading, handling and delivering intermodal freight.

“As announced at the Group’s formation, the first major project was to improve the safety of sideloader operations,” says NZITSG chair Murray Young.

“A number of companies willingly shared internal procedures and policy to help inform the Group’s work in this area and help develop best practice across the industry, which was really pleasing.

“The NZITSG has recently completed the first stage of this project, the review of the unit standard 17679 – Operate a Truck Mounted Sideloader.

The key change established by the Group is the splitting of the current unit standard into two separate components, one theory based and the other with a more practical focus.”

People credited with the first unit standard will be able to describe safe sideloader operations, preparations to operate a sideloader and loading, unloading and transferring procedures for a sideloader and container.

The second practical-based unit standard will ensure those who complete it can check a truck-mounted sideloader, ensure site safety, load a container from the ground onto a sideloader vehicle, unload a container from a sideloader vehicle onto the ground, and transfer a container from one vehicle to another.

The current version of Unit Standard 17679 can still be assessed until

40 | Truck & Driver

the last date of assessment, which is December 31, 2021. This will allow operators time to shift from the current version of the unit standard to any new versions listed.

“The NZITSG would also like to introduce recurrent training to ensure worker engagement and everyone operating a sideloader is staying up to date with best practice and maintaining competency,” says Young.

“It is proposed that those who hold the current version of the unit standard would receive a refresher to bring them up to the competencies in the new theory and practical standards as soon as possible, with this being completed by the end of 2022.

“Ongoing refresher training would then take place every three years, with both a theory and practical component for all operators.

“The scope of this needs further discussion between industry and those who deliver the training and the NZITSG looks forward to facilitating that.”

The Group is also currently working alongside Worksafe NZ, manufacturers and MITO to develop a Sideloader Code of Practice, which will be added as a reference document to these standards once developed.

“The use of the Sideloader Code of Practice will not be mandatory,” says Young.

“However, we hope that members of the industry will take advantage of the Group’s work, and use our recommendations to enhance their best practice and make sure the operation of sideloaders is as safe as possible.”

If operators are interested in becoming a third party provider to deliver training and assessment of the two unit standards, please contact Murray Young at murray@nzexpress.co.nz T&D

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— Active Attention Assist

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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

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THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

RTF’s Mark Ngatuere checking out a SEAElectric truck at the recent Brisbane Truck Show

The challenge of getting to net zero R

OAD TRANSPORT FORM CHIEF EXECUTIVE Nick Leggett recently attended the Sustainable Business Council’s Net Zero Transport Workshop, to explore how freight transport will achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

“The big take away for me was just how much pressure is about to come on the transport sector to reduce its carbon footprint,” says Leggett.

“Without a doubt, government and business leaders see transport as the low-hanging fruit in the push to reduce emissions.”

The overall transport sector currently contributes around 20% of New Zealand’s emissions, while the heavy transport sector (road, rail and shipping) makes up 24% of that. This means that approximately 5% of NZ’s overall emissions are from heavy transport.

NZ, like many other nations, is committed to achieving the goal of limiting global warming to less than 1.5 degrees, which means reducing emissions to net zero by 2050. Net zero is the balance between carbon emissions and carbon sequestration.

While there is no specific emissions target for the heavy transport sector yet, the workshop worked off a scenario whereby NZ’s heavy transport emissions, currently around 3.8 million tonnes of CO2e, would be reduced to 1.7 million tonnes of CO2e by 2030…and zero tonnes by 2050.

Leggett makes the point that 2050, “and even 2030, may seem like a long way off – but industries like ours that include longterm capital expenditure on vehicles and equipment, have to be thinking about how to reduce their emissions now.

“It was therefore encouraging to see nearly 50 transport industry leaders from organisations such as Fonterra, NZ Post and Ports of Auckland attend the Net Zero Workshop and engage on practical ideas to assist the sector to achieve these goals.”

A number of different ideas were discussed, but the stated goal of the workshop was to focus on one solution and put it into practice.

It was decided that the most practical thing the sector could do was develop a shared financing model for research into the viability of low emissions solutions that could be piloted and used by the industry.

“It was considered that shared financing would help spread the necessary capital investment while providing the most inclusive model,” says Leggett.

“This would help smaller industry players, who would otherwise not have the resources to participate, to be involved in the research and development of solutions right from the beginning.

“RTF is also encouraged that many businesses involved in road transport are already stepping up and making commitments to reduce their emissions. Some are doing it privately or alongside their customers, Truck & Driver | 43

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44 | Truck & Driver

THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

New Plymouth-based Hiringa Energy is developing hydrogen fuel cell technology and an infrastructure network for heavy transport.

Photo: “New Plymouth 76” by mytdx 4 is licensed under CC BY 2.0

while others – like the signatories to the Climate Leaders Coalition – have made public commitments.”

The Climate Leaders Coalition comprises over 100 of NZ’s most prominent businesses, that together account for over 60% of NZ’s emissions. Members of the Coalition include significant freight and logistics-associated businesses such as Fonterra, Z, Freightways, TIL Logistics, Toll and Waste Management.

Each member of the Coalition publicly supports NZ’s international climate commitments, as well as carbon budgets enshrined in law. Coalition members are also obligated to measure their greenhouse gas emissions and publicly report on them, set a public emissions reduction target consistent with the national target, work with suppliers to reduce emissions and work towards the transition to a low emissions economy.

As well as being a member of the Climate Leaders Coalition, TIL Logistics has recently partnered with New Plymouth-based Hiringa Energy to develop hydrogen fuel cell technology for its transport vehicle fleet.

TIL and Hiringa hope to begin their first hydrogen vehicle trials in 2020 and will roll out the technology across their fleet and put the necessary refuelling infrastructure in place after that.

Hiringa and TIL are by no means alone in the hydrogen space either: Hyundai, Toyota and Honda have light hydrogen vehicles on the market overseas and late last year Nikola rolled out the third version of its hydrogen-powered electric tractor unit and is soon to begin testing.

Says Leggett: “It will be interesting to see the results of the trials, both here with Hiringa and overseas, as to whether hydrogen fuel cells and the complex infrastructure that comes along with that technology can displace the battery-based electric motor as the clean alternative for heavy transport.

“While the heavy vehicle sector is generally a wee way behind light vehicles when it comes to the uptake of new powertrain technologies, due to the added complexities involved, there is no question as to the broad momentum of change taking place,” he adds.

“The fact that Tesla cars outsold BMW, Lexus, and Mercedes-Benz in the United States in the last quarter of 2018 illustrates just how swiftly the overall vehicle market is changing.

“Without question the freight and logistics sector will face increasing pressure from both government and our customers to reduce our emissions. However, it is heartening to know that a number of NZ transport businesses are already confronting the problem,” says Leggett.

“I can only encourage other operators to do the same, as the sooner we plan and prepare for net zero the less painful the transition to it will be.” 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/Manawatu-Wanganui/ Taranaki/Wairarapa/Wellington/ Gisborne Sandy Walker 0800 367 782 (Option 3) 027 485 6038 swalker@rtanz.co.nz Northern West Coast/Nelson/ Marlborough/North Canterbury John Bond 0800 367 782 (Option 4) 027 444 8136 jbond@rtanz.co.nz Southern West Coast/Christchurch/ Mid-Canterbury/South Canterbury Simon Carson 0800 367 782 (Option 5) 027 556 6099 scarson@rtanz.co.nz Otago/Southland Alan Cooper 0800 367 782 (Option 6) 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 Northland/Auckland/Waikato/ Bay of Plenty Scott Asplet 0800 367 782 (Option 2) 027 445 5785 sasplet@rtanz.co.nz

Truck & Driver | 45

NEW TRUC K FRESH THINKER Story Dave McLeod Photos Gerald Shacklock

Much has changed with the new-era Transcon, but FUSO continues to be the favoured truck brand – with the new Indian-built Enduro particularly well-liked 46 | Truck & Driver

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Remarkably, Blake Noble had no trucking background when he bought Transcon four years ago. But he’d always loved trucks....and had already tapped the brains of some of NZ’s most successful transport operators

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O SAY TRUCKING COMPANY OWNER BLAKE NOBLE IS A little bit different – even in an industry that’s jam-packed with individuals – is one of those ridiculous understatements.

Seriously. Ridiculous.

So here’s a guy who, at 38, is running his own 16-truck transport operation. So far, so….well, interesting. Unusual. But probably not unique.

Not until you take account of the fact that he’s now just four years into trying to breathe new life into an old trucking company….a business he bought despite having absolutely no previous experience to speak of with trucks or the road transport industry.

So, no – this was not one of those classic family trucking business succession deals, whereby Mum and Dad bow out, and one or more of the kids take it over.

Yes…he was formerly a partner and shareholder in a successful family business – but that happened to be a medical supply company (which he worked in for 16 years).

And when he bought the then Wellsford-based Transcon from founder and longtime owner Ian Ward in 2015, he was giving up the comfort of a good salary and a shareholding in the Noble family’s Allied Medical….and stepping instead into the largely unknown.

The closest he’d come to any hands-on experience with trucks was when the family business went on its annual roadshow – with Blake hiring a light truck to shift its products around the country for two weeks…and happily volunteering to drive it.

Plus there were the days when he’d hire a truck – not to cart anything, just so he could drive it around for the day.

As all of that strongly hints at, here’s a man who’s had a

passion for trucks since he was a kid. Who’s always harboured a burning desire to one day run his own trucking company.

The Blake Noble path to becoming a transport operator is even more remarkable because of the way he enlisted the help of some giants of the industry to help him get started.

See, Blake has this belief that what the trucking industry really needs is a bunch of young operators with fresh ideas. Yep, people just like him.

And because this young, go-get-‘em entrepreneur wasn’t afraid to put that concept to the test with some of the industry’s most successful execs and owners, he’s enjoyed the benefit of their insights and advice in achieving his own ambition.

In the past four years at Transcon he’s had the chance to put the results of that – his philosophy and some of their thinking – into practice.

Transcon, with a fleet of 16 trucks, was a straight-up-and down, old-school, smalltown trucking business, specialising in livestock and general freight. A company too that was very much in the image of its creator, Ian Ward.

Transcon’s former owner was, as writer Bob Pearce put it when New Zealand Truck & Driver profiled the business back in 2001, “very much a man of his district” – a ruggedly-built young Northland rep rugby prop who was told at school that he was “a dumb bastard”….

But who was big and strong and and well-suited to the oldfashioned hard yakka and long hours involved when he switched from motor mechanic to truck driver…and then, in the early 1970s, to transport operator, with the purchase of an old Leyland Comet tipper.

Blake, on the other hand, had a very different background: He’d Truck & Driver | 49

Top, from left to right: The new catchphrase for Transcon reflects the Blake Noble approach - running a local business to service other local businesses....he reckons “the real excitement” about running trucks is that they are the conduit for some great local business ventures Bottom left: A Transcon FUSO Fighter’s curtains serve as a billboard for local business Daily Organics

Bottom right: Transcon set up a semi-trailer refrigerated container unit so it could cart blueberries and ice cream for one local company....and then door-knocked Biomarine and now also carries its live oysters to market

gone straight from school in Auckland to work in the family’s business – initially as a technician, working with the company’s mobility products…then progressing on to manage that side of the business. Eventually he became the company’s business development director.

He also indulged his passion for things mechanical, as assistant editor of NZ Performance Car magazine, in his spare time. That along with mentoring standout tertiary students.

But busy and rewarding as all of this was….it still wasn’t enough. Wasn’t achieving his lifelong dream. That reality hit home during a month-long execs’ programme he did at the University of Michigan’s School of Business in 2013.

He explains: “There was a group of successful GMs and CEOs (all on salaries – not running their own businesses)….from around the world, mostly in their 50s. And every one of these guys had the regret that they’d not done their own thing. They were now stuck in a rut.

“I came back, knowing that my time was up and if I didn’t get on with it, there was never going to be a better time: I didn’t have kids or even a wife at that stage.

“So I started looking. I didn’t tell anyone because I was sceptical that I’d go through with it!

“The business I was in with my sister and Dad was awesome.

We did a really rewarding thing (personally and financially) but I guess I just decided I was too young to be comfortable!”

Even so, a move into buying and running a transportation company still seems a big stretch – particularly with zero

50 | Truck & Driver

experience to draw from: “I guess I was a little delusional. I was into wheelchairs..... They did have wheels,” he laughs.

“I got my class 2 licence at age 19, without any specific reason to have it – other than wanting to drive trucks for fun.”

Hiring a truck for the company’s annual roadshow became “a highlight of my year. Returning the truck was always a sad day!”

He even hired trucks for a weekend – “just to be able to spend more time driving.” It helped that a friend who worked at TR Group made sure he got behind the wheel of increasingly bigger trucks as he gained his next licence class.

And his office was filled with model trucks – so “it was pretty evident that trucks were going to feature at some point. I get excited about trucks.

“But for me, the real excitement is about them being the conduit for businesses: We take raw products into local businesses and then (once they’re made into something) we help take them to market – whether that’s South Auckland or South America.”

Still…a young director of a medical supplies company – with no trucking experience – becoming a transport operator?

Okay, so Blake had done some very important planning – and over an extended period: “I spent probably 10 years, prior to owning the business, going to meet (trucking) business owners from all over the country – to get a business insight as to what’s behind it.

“The first guy that I met was Jim Ramsay at TIL (he’s executive director of TIL Group). Jim at the time didn’t know me from a bar

of soap – I just emailed him and said I was a young person in business and wanted to talk about transport and stuff.

“I flew down (to TIL HQ in New Plymouth) for the day and he gave me four or five hours and we just talked. That’s basically it, to be honest. I was like ‘shit, you’re a good rooster!’

“Jim was really upfront about the fact that this is a brutal industry. It’s hard, but he said: ‘You’ll get out what you want from it.’ Jim is a guy I still see a couple of times a year.

“I’ve been very fortunate – there’s been some really significant guys who have given me a lot of their time. But that’s what this is about: There’s a lot of talk about a driver shortage….but shit, there’s also an operator shortage!

“Because it takes such a long time to come through, everyone in the industry is ageing. And I don’t say that in a bad way – it’s just the reality of it.

“So, I think as a result, some of these guys were pretty keen to do what they could to encourage someone young to get into the industry.”

Among the “these guys” he’s talking about are more big names in the industry: “Someone who I’ve been fortunate to spend a little bit of time with is Scott O’Donnell (former MD and current director of the giant HWR Group).

“He’s been incredibly generous with his time in helping me get established.”

“Through my involvement with National Road Carriers, I’ve spent a lot of time with Calven Bonney (former Road Transport Forum NZ board chairman, longtime NRC stalwart and owner of

Auckland tanker and container specialist LW Bonney & Sons), who has worked so tirelessly for industry – more than we realise.

“Bruce Plested, at Mainfreight (the co-founder and current board chairman, in fact) – I’ve had an afternoon with him.

“Someone else who’s been instrumental in building my confidence and giving me some perspective on progress – including setbacks and so on – is Jeff Smith at Swanson Transport.” He and Blake catch up for a beer every month to keep in touch.

This kind of mentoring is, Blake clearly believes, how it should be: “Leaders of industry need to be looking at how they can engage the next generation of operators.

“And it has been good. The industry has a bad rep about being cut-throat and how everyone cuts each other’s lunch. Sure, there are people at that level – but there are people at that level in every industry. They just don’t get it.”

The reality, he reckons, is that there are actually “also a lot of collaborations and partnerships and people who do want everyone to succeed – ‘cos it wouldn’t work without it. That’s the bit that I see.”

That trickles down to day-to-day operations: At Transcon, for instance, “we don’t do all of our own work – and a lot of the work we do is subcontracted from other carriers who can’t service this area….in the same way that we can’t service an area that they operate in.”

Transcon has a history that dates back to the late 1980s.

Although former owner Ian Ward started out in trucking 18 or

Truck & Driver | 51

One of the company’s FUSO HD Euro tractor units pulls out of local customer OOB’s property with a load of produce

19 years earlier, it was around 1989 that he and local contractor Alister Mason amalgamated their businesses, bought out Warkworth Transport and adopted the Transcon name.

They divvied the business up again a few years later – Ward retaining the Transcon name and concentrating on general freight and livestock cartage for the Warkworth and Wellsford areas.

When Blake Noble started looking for a transport company to buy, Transcon was one of 13 he checked out: “This is the first one I looked at and thought ‘shit that looks like hard work!’

“But when you looked at the others and came back….actually it’s not that bad. It was a tired business. The owners had done 45-years of it. They’d been trying to sell it for a while – the GFC (Global Financial Crisis) came along and they couldn’t sell it.

“They’d had it for about five years longer than they’d probably wanted to, so I guess I saw an opportunity to come and kick it in the guts.”

It helped that Blake already knew the area: His family had a holiday home nearby, so he’d spent enough time locally to know that the area has plenty of potential.

He explains: “I guess the opportunity with this business is that it’s in an area that’s got great organic growth. The population’s growing, industry’s growing, so the company’s new tagline, ‘Growing Places,’ sums it up nicely.”

So how does someone entirely new to the industry, let alone the business, go about settling into a long-established – and wellknown – company?

Says Blake: “Fret, to be honest. It was pretty surreal – coming into a new business that was already running. I would liken it to buying a house and moving into it….but the old owner’s still living there and carrying on!

“You spend 15-16 hour days, seven days a week for the first six months trying to figure out what’s what, who are you, what do you do, where are you going and how does that work.

“I was hanging on for dear life, but you just hang on for the 52 | Truck & Driver

ride. It was a stagnant business.

“It was a business that was (and still is) run on relationships.

But previously, through the rugby club on a Friday night. The world has moved on.

“Operationally, Ian (Ward) was excellent – all about the design of the trucks and specifications, axle and loading weights….

“That’s not me: That’s what I rely on other people’s skill and resources to do. The financial operations and customer success side of the business – that’s my gig.

“So I guess the first six months was getting out and meeting customers, finding out what the customers actually do – what could they be doing and what could we be doing for them.”

So, understanding what he’d bought was paramount – but what was the first big change, or breakthrough?

“It was a fluke phone call actually. About two months into owning the business, out of the blue someone rang from a big nursery in Kaiwaka. It’s a nursery that runs its own trucks.

“One of the directors from there said they needed help with some of their winter overflow movements and was it something we’d be interested in? I knew nothing about much to be honest, so I went and saw their operation….

“And before we knew it, we had frames built to go inside an existing curtainsider truck and we had a truck out delivering plants to big planting sites at motorways and infrastructure sites.

“And that work’s carried on. Now, over winter we have work.

That I guess changed our thinking – so when someone knocks on our door, we’re more likely to try and find a way of scoping up the opportunities.

“The other significant thing that happened was that when I was out meeting customers, I met with OOB (Omaha Organic Blueberries). They do ice cream and pre-packed berries.

“I thought ‘this is weird – they’re a significant brand, but we do very little work for them.’ Turned out that, in 14 years, they’d never met anyone from Transcon – so they didn’t realise what we

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did.

“Off the back of that, we set up a trailer that’s got a generator on it and we now do refrigerated containers for them and use that for other businesses too.

“We’ve tried not to say no to things. It’s about doing – saying ‘shit! If we’re doing this for one customer, who else can we find in that area that we can be doing the work for.’ ” As an example, he adds: “We knocked on Biomarine NZ’s door and now we’re moving live oysters.”

It helps, he says, that when the opportunity’s been put in front of them, the area’s local businesses have proven keen “to use local carriers too. And it’s that ‘local’ thinking that had us move the main hub of the business (from its former Wellsford base) to Warkworth. It’s where the majority of our work had refocused.”

Noble has taken this personalised and targeted approach further still: “We started looking at new business opportunities near existing clients’ locations.

“Customer demand has meant that we now have a couple of trucks based in Auckland, which has increased time efficiencies.

Also, we look to get more work from the same people. When we’re looking at what we’re putting into businesses, we see if we can be pulling stuff out at the same time.

“Plus, we’re loading up the trucks. So before trucks would probably go down (to Auckland) 60% loaded and come back 60% loaded. Now the focus is around maxing them out – doing roughly 60% more work with the same fleet numbers…with a different fleet composition from when I began though.”

The fleet that came with the business comprised 16 trucks, all

but three of them FUSOs/Mitsubishis. The fleet’s still the same size, with just one mid-1990s Volvo FH12 (due to be replaced soon) the only exception to the FUSO rule.

And, in spite of the fact that Blake says he never was much of a fan of the Japanese make (he has a personal liking for Macks), he’s not only carried on running many of the FUSOs that were part of the Transcon deal…he’s also continued to buy the same brand.

For that he credits “the guys at Keith Andrews Trucks,” the Northland FUSO dealer, for being so good to deal with. Plus, of course, there’s his strong sense of loyalty…and they’re local.

So now the Transcon lineup includes nine Fighters, ranging from early 2000 models to two late-model versions – a mix of curtainsiders and tractor units that work with container swinglifts, plus one that totes a demountable swinglift. There’s also a nearnew FUSO Enduro, one mid-2000s Shogun and four HD tractor units that work with container skeletals. An 8x4 FUSO HD truck and a new four-axle trailer will soon replace the old Volvo.

Having such a predominantly local operation means that the Transcon trucks run relatively low kilometres. They also cart many loads that are relatively light, like the capsicums and other produce – thus putting less stress on the machinery.

Thus Blake is happy enough to opt for some secondhand trucks as fleet replacements – although the Enduro is now seen as a more attractive alternative: “The Enduro is a Mercedes model that comes from a production line in India. It’s an older-style model, but still a Euro 5 – so AdBlue – and being $50k cheaper, it will allow us to put more new trucks on more frequently.

“Secondhand trucks are getting harder to source too, so the

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Blake Noble reckons that Transcon’s business opportunity is in its location..... “in an area that’s got great organic growth. The population’s growing, industry’s growing, so the company’s new tagline, ‘Growing Places,’ sums it up nicely.”

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Blake Noble says he went into the business with no particular liking for FUSO/Mitsubishi trucks....but that happened to be what most of the Transcon trucks were. He’s stuck with the Japanese brand simply because the people at longtime Northland dealer Keith Andrews Trucks “are so good to deal with”

Enduro is a brand-new truck that’s warrantied and looks the part….for what’s not a significant premium over a secondhand vehicle. For us, it will be a 15-year truck because of the mileage (we do).

“The thing that really appeals to me about the Enduro is where it comes from. (It’s built in India in a state-of-the-art Daimler factory). Maybe access to technology and support isn’t that high there, so to me it’s naturally a more durable vehicle. It’s all steel – no plastic or fibreglass bumpers. It doesn’t come with all the new driver aids. It’s got modern technology but it doesn’t have all the stuff that the equivalent Fighter would have – but we don’t need that. So, fit for purpose. It’s ideal for us: The trucks are not doubleshifted, they’ll run for 10 hours a day, with light weights and in the local area.”

Don’t get the idea though that the new-era Transcon doesn’t embrace technology in its operation. In fact, it’s something Blake has focused on from the start.

“Ian (Ward), to his credit, had spent and worked extensively on a mobile dispatch and job solution. But it was all server-based and very reliant on connectivity in the area – and unfortunately Wellsford is poorly serviced.

“The system (TDS) was also limited in development due to the number of users. We have moved to ICOS, which is a locallydeveloped, web-based dispatch system. It’s not perfect, but it has resolved a heap of the reliability and portability issues that we had.

“Biggest thing for us is we’ve been able to interact with customers in a way we couldn’t previously. A huge number of customers can directly enter their jobs in and it’s got automated tracking and delivery. All the trucks have tablets and sign-onglass PODs. “It’s more professional from a customer point of view, less administration for us and better for the drivers. It’s reduced their workload – all they have to do is supply logbooks and timesheets.

“The accountancy platform was changed early on – we use Xero – and for the trucks we use EROAD.” The electronic RUC management and fleet monitoring system is, he says, “outstanding: They get what their customers are up to. I’ve dealt with them across the board and the depth of talent and knowledge they’ve got there is phenomenal. They know what they’re about.

“A big catalyst for me to move to EROAD was compliance and driver involvement. They have a leaderboard where they benchmark your fleet and operators against fleets across Australasia, and we’ve put in place an incentive programme for our drivers to reach a certain level of achievement on that.

“I can only give credit to the drivers and the way they’ve engaged with it. All of them have demonstrated improvement – from idling time….to visibility on things like hard braking, cornering, max speeds, over-speeds. We can even self-impose speed limits on sites.

“Before, we’d have drivers idling for a couple of thousand Truck & Driver | 57

A flashback to Transcon, version 1: Co-founder Ian Ward (top right) started out in the early 1970s with an old Leyland Comet tipper (right). Ward was known for pioneering ideas in terms of his trucks – like the 210hp, V8-engined Leader (top left) – an expensive truck back in 1978, but one that broke new ground in the lower North....because its power enabled it to haul a trailer up to airstrips that no-one else could get into

minutes a month – now it’s around 20 or 30 minutes a month.”

EROAD delivers other pluses: “Its maintenance management is awesome. All three of our service providers are feeding data into the system, updating information and planning the next service interval.

“We’ve also put together a dashboard that pulls together data from ICOS, from Xero, from EROAD and from our payroll system, and aggregates that into a dashboard so I can quickly get a snapshot of the business performance, revenue and expense.

“Not only for me though – it’s good for the team (now 22-strong) to know where they should be focusing.”

Speaking of the Transcon team, Blake is keen to recognise the work and support of a crew that’s grown – out of necessity: “The team I have are all new. I’ve been through some pretty tough times in the business. Very challenging.

“The business was tracking in the right direction, but it was taking all my energy and when a dispatcher went off on ACC for eight months, I had to step into that role too.”

He pauses, then reckons: “If someone had written me a cheque for the business back then – it could have had ANY number on it – I would have walked away.

“Something had to give, so I gave myself a pay cut and I brought in an operations manager and lucked on a guy called Karl Middleton, from a transportation company in the area. He gets it and seems to be awake at all hours. He’s been awesome and enabled me to worry less about the day to day and focus on building and shaping the business….and getting some enjoyment back out of it all.”

As well as Middleton, other key Transcon personnel include 58 | Truck & Driver

Don Watson, who manages container operations, and freight operations manager Joe Oliver.

Unshackling Blake from the dispatch desk has allowed Transcon to flourish. The company has virtually doubled its turnover since he acquired it and he spends his working week focusing on growing the business and fully embracing the industry – the latter including taking a seat on the National Road Carriers Association board.

He explains that in June last year “I got myself nominated for the… board. I was told it would be highly unlikely I’d succeed in getting voted on, but at the AGM I actually won a vote and took a position!

“I’m pretty passionate about advocating for the industry. I’m chairing the port committee for NRC – so heavily involved with the ports and container operators.

“And I guess, although I don’t have the industry background, I actually see this as advantageous, as I’m not dyed in the wool, I’m not blinded by what’s been before. I’m there to challenge things that maybe others have just rolled with.”

What – like rail? “In my opinion, rail is a partner. There are a lot of transport operators that rely on rail – a lot of the containers we move are coming on and off Kiwirail.

“But it’s got to be a team effort. Politically what frustrates us is that we’re played off against each other rather than seen as being in tandem. A train is never going to come to a blueberry farm and pick up blueberries to take them to the supermarket – and nor are we (the trucking industry) ever going to be the most efficient means of moving certain commodities.”

Back to Transcon: What does he see now as issues for the

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Above: A Transcon truck picks up a load of beer from customer Sawmill Brewery, at Matakana

Right: Blake believes in everybody in the Transcon team knowing how the business is performing, so they can focus on what’s necessary

business? “The driver shortage is always on my mind, but I think what may come from that will be innovation.

“I don’t think robots, as where we service is still some ways off autonomous vehicles. But something will evolve. EVs I see, in good time, and probably hydrogen.

“I’m probably never going to be an innovator on the truck front.

It’s just not me. The efficiency, the compliance and the legality of it all matters to me a lot – and to the industry.

“But, based on this operation in particular, we’re a pretty conventional operation. The nature of the things we do and what I foresee we will do is not pushing the bounds of weight or volume – it’s just not where we are.”

Clearly, the last four years spent running Transcon haven’t been easy. So, how has his family viewed his business decision – to leave them for trucking? Says Blake: “My Dad is probably the business hero in this. He left school at the age of 15, with

no qualifications – but demonstrated to me that if you want something bad enough and are prepared to work hard enough it’ll stick…and customers and the team will see that.

“He epitomises that stuff. My Dad now waves at every (Transcon) truck and is super proud. When we got our first new tractor unit, I took it around to his house and let him drive it. I’ve never seen him smile so much. The whole premise of one…driving the truck, but two….that it was his son’s.”

So what’s ahead for Blake Noble’s lifetime-dream trucking company? “Transcon, by my own desire, is never going to be a monster fleet. If it got to 25 trucks I’d be rapt with that – and organically I think we’ll tend towards that in the next five to 10 years.

“But I’m pretty keen to give this a crack somewhere else. I’m still young and see the opportunity of doing this elsewhere: That’s what excites me.

Truck & Driver | 61

Above: An important part of the new-era Transcon has been a very effective rebranding exercise. The old Mitsi Shogun still carries the livery of the old company

Right: The employment of key operational staff, like freight operations manager Joe Oliver (pictured), has freed Blake up to focus on growing the business...and improving the trucking industry

“It’s painful as hell going through it (the startup process), but I love the customer part of this business. It’s a great industry and on the whole people in transport are good for what they say.”

A day spent with Blake lays bare his passion for this business and its clients – from servicing the seemingly ever-expanding needs of Southern Paprika, with its 22 hectares of glasshouse growing space….to delivering Biomarine NZ’s live oysters.

From picking up OOB’s berries and ice cream, to handling Matakana Botanicals’ natural skincare products….and the craft beer produced by the Sawmill Brewery.

He clearly pays very close attention to what each of his clients do – and, just as importantly, how Transcon can make a difference in assisting them.

It’s comes across strongly as he speaks warmly about them, their products…and the loyalty they’ve shown him.

“I expect and want our customers to be loyal to us, so we try to show the same loyalty in return. And that’s across the board – with as many of the suppliers that we can.”

His keenness for the industry shines through despite the fact he’s a little bleary-eyed the day we spend with him. Last night was a late one – a big night. Not having fun, not driving a truck, nor sorting out some transport problem or other….

But launching a not-for-profit network for young, emerging community and business leaders. Yep, his NEXT creation is for people just like him.

He explains: “I was looking, as a younger business owner, for a network of like-minded people who were into both community and business – learning from one and other and also from business leaders around you.

“I’ve always been active…getting out and meeting people 62 | Truck & Driver

that I’m inspired by. And so I have met a lot of community and industry leaders and members of government.

“I was like ‘shit, it would be really cool to turn this into something I’m sure other people would be into.’ I looked at Rotary Clubs and it was just that ‘pale, male and stale’ gag.”

His quest for a like-minded organisation that would support such a concept eventually led him to Auckland’s North Harbour Club – a charitable trust with a strong record of fostering leadership development and peer networking.

Says Blake: “But it also supports excellence in sub-25-yearolds. It tries to tap into young leaders as they’re growing and developing. So it’s supported people like Lydia Ko, Eliza McCartney, Lorde, Tom Ashley – people who have gone on to Olympic or global success…in arts, innovation, music, education and sport.”

He realised that here was a really good organisation “for us to try and tack this onto.” He duly approached the club in early 2018 with his idea – “and it turns out that they’d been waiting and hoping that something like this would emerge.

“And so, for the last 18 months, I’ve been working on that concept and last night was the official launch of it. NEXT is literally about the next generation. We are next.”

It’s a programme that seems to fit perfectly with Blake Noble’s own experience – and his philosophy for fostering the next generation of transport operators. As he sums up: “I’ve been lucky – so many operators have shared their time with me. And that’s what we need to do more of.

“To me, it’s not just a driver shortage, it’s an industry interest shortage that needs to be fostered both from within and outside. Fresh thinking and new ideas. And let’s face it – shit, who wouldn’t want to be around a truck?” T&D

2019 BRISBANE TRUCK SHOW

FEATURE

Dana shows off its TM4 Sumo HD electric powertrain, connected to a new (but standard) drive axle

SUPPLIERS SWITCH ON Story Wayne Munro Photos Hayden Woolston, Wayne Munro

I

T’S NOT ONLY TRUCKMAKERS WHO ARE BUZZING ABOUT electric trucks and connectivity at the Brisbane Truck Show – some of their suppliers are switching on too….

Unsurprisingly, I guess – since they need to be keeping up (or staying ahead?) of where the OEMs are heading with new-age powertrains.

Same story with increasingly making the most of connectivity: Trailermakers….even tyre manufacturers are tapping into connected technology with products on show here.

Driveline manufacturer DANA’s stand at the show very much reflects its recent global focus, which has seen it dramatically up the ante in developing electric and hybrid axles and propulsion systems.

Hence the centrepieces are two electric driveline products – the first a TM4 Sumo HP hybrid system: The electric motor/generator is designed for series and parallel hybrid configurations and can be integrated with a standard diesel, with multi-speed gearboxes, or used to charge a battery pack….and so power an electric motor, which drives an axle.

It produces up to 220kW of peak power and 915Nm of peak torque and is reckoned by Dana to be well-suited to high-power applications, ranging from light commercials to heavy-duty trucks and offroad dumptrucks.

The other switched-on showpiece is a heavy-duty TM4 Sumo HD motor and inverter system, capable of producing up to 350kW of peak power and 3500Nm of peak torque.

It’s targeted at medium to heavy-duty truck applications and is designed to interface directly with standard rear diffs and/or gearboxes....or e-axles.

On the stand, the HD is coupled to a Dana driveshaft and a new 40,000 lb standard axle, designed for applications in agitator and car carrying markets.

It’s this electric motor that’s in two Isuzu F Series concept trucks on display elsewhere at the show – namely on the stands of development partners Isuzu Australia and Aussie company SEA Electric.

As Dana’s Brad Wolstenholme puts it, the company, which was founded on the back of Clarence Spicer’s invention of the encased universal joint – which “revolutionised and reinvented the automotive industry” 115 years ago – is “now determined to reinvent propulsion in the electrification space.

“We are,” he declares, “at the start of what we expect to be a wave of electrification in the commercial vehicle industry.”

And yes….the electric drive systems on show “are available right now,” Wolstenholme adds.

Dana has been developing electric driveline products for quite a few years, but has increased the urgency of its e-programme during the past 12 months – buying electric motor specialist TM4, and the SME Group….maker of low-voltage motors and controllers for hybrid drivelines.

It has also started up production of Dana e-axles in China, bought a major shareholding in heavy-duty hybrid/electric truck developer Hyliion and has acquired the drive systems division of the Oerlikon Group – maker of high-precision hellical gears and planetary drives for electrification systems.

The way the company sees it, “there is no ‘one size fits all’ in the electrification space,” so it’s e-products range from mild hybrid systems to independent e-axles, hybrid transmissions, direct drive Truck & Driver | 65

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Top: The show attracts almost 40,000 people over four days – with more than 300 exhibits to check out Lower left: ZF adds predictive maintenance to its TraXon transmission options

Lower, right: MaxiTRANS shows off a full range of aero skirts and infills for its trailers...even including wheel infills

motors, powered axles and e-drive units, as well as rigid axle and wheel drives.

More conventionally, Dana also launches a heavy-duty AUS70SLS 46K drive-head at the show – aimed straight at the big Australian East Coast B-double linehaul sector, which demands a 70-tonne rating and a self-lubricating pump system.

It is, says Wolstenholme, “designed in Australia, built in Australia and it’s for Australian conditions.”

It is, “after many months and with more than five million test kilometres, with major Australian fleets – plus destruction testing at the Dana commercial vehicle labs, as well as on-road fatigue testing in the US….now available for order with Kenworth models.”

Fellow drivetrain (mobility systems and braking) supplier MERITOR is on a parallel path to Dana – both here, at the show, and globally… also with a serious focus on commercial vehicle electrification.

The centrepiece of its stand is a Meritor 14XE Blue Horizon eCarrier that’s an axle….and so much more! As Meritor’s “first-ever fullyintegrated electric drive axle…it’s designed to replace a diesel engine, transmission and driveline – or work in conjunction with a series hybrid powertrain, where there’s no mechanical connection between diesel engine and axle.”

As Meritor Australia says, the 14XE e-axle is integrated into a Meritor rear drive differential carrier housing – rather than “simply bolting an electric motor onto the axle, as many other suppliers are

doing.” It makes for a compact design and “takes a lot of cost and weight out of the system.”

It also “frees up a lot of space in front of the axle, so we can package batteries for other items between the frame rails, which is a safer, more protected location.”

The e-axle is a two-speed unit, able to “shift automatically on the fly – very similar to an automated manual transmission.”

Explains Meritor: “The two-speed feature is important, because it allows us to significantly downsize the motor….which saves cost and weight. It also allows us to operate the motor in its most efficient zone more often, which improves the efficiency of the overall system so that we can use a smaller battery pack.”

Another thing that’s “unique about the housing? Simply that it’s not unique. We’ve designed our electric carrier to drop into an existing 14X axle housing.

“We can literally pull out our conventional mechanical carrier and drop in our new electric carrier without changing the suspension, the housing, any mounting brackets, or even the brakes. This makes it extremely easy to integrate into a customer’s vehicle.”

The 14Xe has 150-200kW per axle power settings, with peak power of 250kW. Meritor says it’s suitable for axle load capacities of 740010,500kg and for applications ranging from metro deliveries and refuse collection to linehaul.

Meritor launched its Blue Horizon advanced technology brand in Truck & Driver | 67

Above, left: Detroit’s DD16 finally gets its Australasian launch....ahead of going to work next year in the new Freightliner Cascadia mid-2018 – with a range built around electric drivetrain, efficiency and connectivity systems. It includes eAxle and eSuspension platforms, plus an eCorner module for medium-duty and pickup and delivery applications.

Globally, it now has over 22 electrification programmes under way with OEMs – and says it expects to have at least 130 fully electric medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks on the road by the end of next year.

It already has a programme with a major fleet customer in the US to run six medium-duty Peterbilt metro delivery trucks using the 14XE electric drive and fully-integrated sub-systems from TransPower, a commercial vehicle e-technology specialist that’s partly owned by Meritor.

And it has just announced that it will soon start supplying 38 electric terminal tractors for two Californian ports – the trucks equipped with TransPower drives, powertrain controls and energy storage subsystems, along with the Meritor eAxles.

SAF-HOLLAND is another with some electric drive emphasis in its display, courtesy of its latest SAF TRAKe trailer axle, which has an electric drive module to generate electrical energy…to power equipment on the trailer and also provide a boost to the vehicle’s main drive engine.

The company says that a key advantage of the TRAKe axle is “that it offers an environmentally sustainable solution. The main drive engine of the truck is optimised due to traction assistance, thus reducing fuel consumption and emissions.”

It shares stand space with another interesting product – a visual indicator that shows whether a trailer has been successfully coupled… or not.

The ELI-te (electronic lock indicator – technology-enhanced), confirms a successful coupling, or warns “if something isn’t quite right.”

Says SAF-Holland: “A dropped trailer due to incorrect fifth-wheel coupling can be a costly and dangerous scenario.” The ELI-te is designed specifically to address this risk.

“When the kingpin has been properly seated into the fifth-wheel’s lockjaws, and the cam plate is in the closed position, the ELI-te system’s four bright white LED lights activate and directly illuminate the closed jaws around the kingpin. This assists the driver in visually confirming that the kingpin is correctly coupled to the fifth wheel.

Flashing red LED lights on both sides of the fifth-wheel provide an unmistakable visual warning of a failed coupling attempt.

Global automatic transmission giant ALLISON uses the show to 68 | Truck & Driver

preview its “next-generation” nine-speed auto – scheduled for global launch within the next two years.

The new auto, which is designed for medium-duty and HD trucks and buses, demonstrates Allison’s “commitment to help achieve standards regarding fuel efficiency and emissions,” says senior vicepresident of product engineering and programme management Randy Kirk.

Allison reckons that the gearbox’s “industry-leading ratio coverage” and fuel-saving technologies such as FuelSense 2.0, xFE, and Dynactive Shifting, see the nine-speed deliver “significant” fuel savings.

It will also cope with more powerful engine ratings and higher GCWs and delivers optimised skip-shifting, a lifetime filter, integral cooler, input retarder and integrated engine stop-start system with vehicle hold.

Allison sees the nine-speed best suiting distribution applications, rental and lease fleets, special-purpose trucks and defence vehicles.

It’s been designed to use the same vehicle and engine interfaces as the Allison 2000 Series six-speed, so it can be easily integrated into trucks currently using the six-speed – but with “even better comfort” due to its smaller range steps, which make for smoother and faster acceleration.

But Allison isn’t out of the electric picture either – talking-up its e-credentials, which include the development of what it terms “highly efficient and powerful” axles for electric vehicles.

Its AXE Series electric powertrain, announced in the US just a few weeks before Brisbane, is being integrated into a heavy-duty Peterbilt Model 579EV truck in the States for evaluation and testing.

Allison says that the truck will have 1475 horsepower/1100kW – “delivering industry-leading performance as well as efficiency.”

Allison president and CEO David S. Graziosi says the development builds on the company’s “legacy of innovation” and takes the industry “to the next level of electrification.”

Allison says its electrification strategy “leverages and extends current electric hybrid technologies, develops new electrified propulsion solutions and expands system and integration level capabilities in alternative propulsion.”

It also recently bought British electrified propulsion and vehicle connectivity company Vantage Power and the electric vehicle systems division of US-based AxleTech.

If going electric isn’t an option for tyremakers, BRIDGESTONE for one isn’t missing out on the technology race – embracing the possibilities presented by connectivity with the launch of a system to

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automatically monitor tyre pressures and temperatures….every time a truck drives in or out of its depot.

The new tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) sees tyre data sent from tyre valve sensors as vehicles pass through magnetometeractivated gates.

The data is uploaded to a cloud-based reporting system twice a day – but will also trigger instant email or text message alerts to depot or fleet managers with critical alerts on dangerously low pressures or high temperatures.

Bridgestone says that the gate-based TPMS system, which is now being introduced in Australia and New Zealand as an addition to its Total Tyre Management offering, provides more regular and efficient pressure checks to reduce the risks of tyre-related breakdowns.

It’s targeted at applications that see trucks regularly returning to their depots – including the likes of metro delivery, refuse and construction.

The valve sensors each have a unique identifier. The data they send is transferred when the vehicle passes between the gates – which then upload it.

The system is easily installed, with no need to remove existing tyres to implement the technology.

Bridgestone Australia and NZ MD Stephen Roche says that the system’s introduction “is a major advancement for the industry and will allow us to bolster our fleet offerings.

“The technology is designed to alert fleet operators of potential issues before they become a problem and streamlines what was previously a manual task in the yard.”

The TPMS’ development, he adds, “is a demonstration of our commitment to the Australian and NZ trucking industries, by identifying and developing solutions beyond tyres and creating greater value for our customers.

“There’s no denying the importance technology is playing in the trucking industry – evidenced in part by the rise of telematics and 70 | Truck & Driver

significant advancements to safety systems that manufacturers have developed.”

Bridgestone’s Jon Tamblyn estimates that the technology “will provide a 70% reduction in tyre-related failures.

“Slow leaks are difficult to detect and often they’re not picked up until it’s too late. It only takes a few days for a slow leak to become a critical issue, or worse, result in a catastrophic failure.”

Enginemaker CUMMINS, this year celebrating its centenary, announces at Brisbane that it will release its entire Euro 6 truck engine range in Australia and NZ next year.

And all of its engines will be EGR-free – the next-level emissions standard achieved with SCR (selective catalytic reduction) and a diesel particulate filter (DPF).

The announcement comes after 14 X15 Euro 6 engines have been put through more than three million kilometres in an Aussie fieldtesting programme, running in single trailer, B-double and roadtrain operations over the last 18 months.

The range-topping X15 will come with ratings of 525-625hp and 1850-2050 lb ft of peak torque in its Performance configuration (with hardware and software enhancements including optimised compression ratios and air handling systems)….

While an Efficiency version will offer 460-550hp and 1650-2050 lb ft of torque – the top ratings coming in a special 550hp Efficiency model.

Its 2050 lb ft takes it into what was “previously the domain of 600hpplus engines,” says Cummins.

That 550hp Efficiency engine, in particular, “will focus on improved fuel economy through engine downspeeding, while still providing the performance that meets driver and trip time expectations.”

It will be linked to Eaton’s UltraShift Plus 18-speed AMT – highlighting, says Cummins, the “deep integration” between itself and Eaton in together developing a powertrain package with a fuel economy focus.

Cummins South Pacific director of engine business Mike Fowler

Caption

Opposite page: Cummins announces that it will launch its Euro 6 truck engine range in NZ and Australia next year This page, top (both pictures): Meritor e-axle is part of its strong electric focus at the show

This page, above: Kiwi-founded TRT has a strong show presence, with its new TIDD PC28 pick and carry crane and its electronic steering system for transporters

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Truck & Driver | 71

Top left: JOST Australia shows off numerous axle innovations, including one trailer axle that stores compressed air for the suspension and brakes

Top right: Data from Bridgestone’s new automatic tyre pressure monitoring system will be integrated into its B Mobile platform, which digitally manages service technicians’ workflows

Left: SAF-HOLLAND shows off a trailer axle with an electric drive module – to generate power to run the likes of a fridge unit....and provide some extra drive power to the host truck’s diesel engine

72 | Truck & Driver

Duly, among the innovations it presents are aerodynamic aids designed to reduce fuel use, including trailer tails on a next generation Maxi-CUBE van, and streamlining side-skirts – the latter a modification of those deployed on a super-fuel efficient B-double concept unit created by Volvo Trucks and MaxiTRANS last year.

The system includes infills over the suspension, on the wheels, over the wheel arches and, for B-doubles, between the trailers.

Says MaxiTRANS’ Kevin Manfield: “A lot of this has come out of the testing that we did in conjunction with Volvo…. We turned a result in that combination of 20% (fuel economy improvement).”

They aero aids are, he confirms, available to MaxiTRANS’ NZ customers – specced with their new trailers.

In terms of safety features, there’s a modular side underrun protection system that’s available across all of the company’s trailers.

And, most notably, there’s a MaxiCUBE van with a collision avoidance system. No, clearly not like the active truck systems of the same name that will autonomously swerve to avoid a vehicle ahead!

This system deploys a camera each side of the trailer and a series of sensors – three each side and two at the rear – to help drivers manoeuvring a unit in tight situations avoid damage to a trailer or other objects…or, worse still, injury to bystanders or workers.

The pictures from the cameras are shown on a screen in the cab and combine with alerts from the sensors to help avoid contact with anything or anyone around the trailer.

MaxiTRANS’ Kevin Manfield explains that it’s a system under evaluation – “we’re just feeling the market out.”

Cost-wise the collision avoidance system “comes with a fair premium….it’s about $AU14,000.”

But that’s still worthwhile for “guys who’ve got a real safety issue with objects – where they’re manoeuvring around them and they’ve already suffered damage….or injury.”

Hamilton-based transporter and crane specialist TRT follows up the Aussie launch of its newest product, the TIDD PC28 pick and carry crane, by showing it off here as well.

TRT says that it consulted with industry to design and build “a crane that will work to improve operator safety and deliver productivity improvements across Australasia.”

The crane includes the TRT developed and patented Slew Safe safety feature, which the company says is designed to minimise the risk of a crane rollover when the crane is lifting on uneven surfaces – a leading cause of articulating crane incidents in Australia.”

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reckons that there is “strong customer demand” for the X15’s littlebrother X12 engine, which has been field tested in Australia for around four years.

It is now offered in coaches in Australia, but so far there’s been no takers for it among the truckmakers. Says Fowler: “We’re continuing discussions with truck manufacturers about the release of the Euro 6 engine in truck models for Australia and NZ in 2020.”

The Euro 6 version has peak outputs of 500hp and 1700 lb ft of torque and weighs-in at just 900kg. Thus, says Cummins, “it achieves the highest power-to-weight ratio of any engine in the 10-16-litre class.”

The display model on the Cummins stand is coupled to the new 12-speed Endurant AMT – the first product of the Eaton/Cummins JV and reckoned to be a game-changer in terms of its “sophisticated communications system between the engine and the transmission software.”

Finally, there’s the L9 Euro 6 successor to the ISLe5, which Cummins reckons is the biggest-selling engine in waste collection and readymix concrete applications. The L9 is rated up to 400hp (the same as its predecessor) and 1328 lb ft of torque – the latter a decent increase on the ISLe5’s 1255 lb ft. By avoiding EGR, the engine can get by with a smaller cooling system, thus suiting applications with space and tare weight constraints.

DETROIT too has a new engine here – namely the long-awaited Detroit Diesel DD16 big-banger that’s officially launched in Australia by Penske Power Systems.

Penske says the DD16, which will soon be available to Australian customers, combines Detroit’s “unfaltering reliability with high performance” and is the most powerful on-highway engine ever produced by Detroit.

Sean McLean, general manager – on-highway, Penske Power Systems, says: “The DD16 has been built on the well-proven reliability that Detroit products are known for, while providing additional horsepower for customers who want the extra pulling power.”

The DD16 is the top-end model in Daimler Trucks’ global engine platform and is the basis for the powerplants in the most powerful Merc models and will be used in the Freightliner Cascadia, to be launched here next year.

Australasian trailermaker MAXITRANS’ GM sales and marketing Andrew McKenzie says its focus at Brisbane “is all around safety, reliability and efficiency.”

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“Detroit too has a new engine here – namely the long-awaited Detroit Diesel DD16 big-banger....”

Slew Safe provides feedback through the steering wheel so that an operator can feel when the crane moves into an unsafe operating zone – in addition to visual alerts through its dynamic load indicator (LMI).

Also on show is TRT’s electronic steering system (ESS), which it says gives its low loaders, platforms, beam and house trailers unprecedented steering control while carrying over-dimensional loads.

There’s also its new trailer modular system, Quick Connect, which enables large platforms, low loaders and house trailers to be reconfigured to suit each load…..in 20 minutes or less.

Electric power is, of course, the lifeblood of HELLA’s commercial vehicle lighting products – and it has something suitably innovative on show here: Its Visiotech work and reversing lights, which enhance safety during loading and unloading by projecting a warning symbol onto the ground to optically mark danger zones.

The technology has been integrated into three products – an LED projection module for OEMs and two warning lights, the SL60 LED and the Modul 50 LED spot.

The LED projection module’s symbols projections can clearly mark a loading area – projecting an exclamation mark as a warning symbol (although Hella says it can develop other symbols with vehicle manufacturers).

The SL60 LED warning light, which is available to aftermarket customers as well as OEMs, uses a special lens optic that allows light rays to “converge and become so sharply focused that, depending

on the light’s orientation, a horizontal or vertical line appears on the ground.”

The red or blue lines can be used as a warning to other drivers and pedestrians that a vehicle is approaching.

ZF’s high-tech TraXon automatic truck transmission, which made its Australian debut two years ago at Brisbane, is back – this time highlighting its recent enhancements. The TraXon, which uses GPSbased connectivity to improve its fuel savings, operational efficiency and refinement, now has an optional predictive maintenance function.

This constantly monitors vehicle operation, offering owners the ability to easily keep tabs on the condition of components including transmission oil and clutch discs, via the Cloud.

It allows proactive planning of maintenance, thus reducing truck downtime and avoiding roadside breakdowns. ZF points out that it also has the potential to reduce costs and extend the transmission’s service life.

HENDRICKSON shows off an updated HAULMAAX heavy-duty premium rubber truck suspension, designed for vocational applications that put durability, lightweight and driver comfort at a premium.

The suspension has a low-maintenance design, using rubber bolster springs and an auxiliary spring – providing “a superior combination of empty ride quality and loaded stability,” says Hendrickson. It can also save up to 310kg.

The HAULMAAX suits demanding job sites and offroad conditions –

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allowing up to 17 inches of diagonal wheel articulation when loaded, to keep the load on all drive wheels.

Hendrickson says that its updated design means that the suspension’s spring system “easily adjusts to the load for an enhanced combination of empty-ride quality and loaded stability.” Extra-wide bolster spring centres and a progressive load spring provide “exceptional” stability for demanding applications such as refuse, readymix agitator and tipper.

JOST Australia shows off what it reckons is “the world’s first and only trailer axle that stores compressed air for the air suspension and brakes in its housing – resulting in substantially reduced weight and allowing entirely new vehicle concepts.”

The axle beam of the DCA Airmaster can also function simultaneously as a tyre inflation system.

The compressed air reservoir has a capacity of 40 litres per axle, enabling the DCA Airmaster to replace the usual compressed air chambers on a semi-trailer, says JOST. “This results in weight savings of up to 50kg, as well as freeing up the assembly space below the trailer, thus laying the cornerstone for the creation of entirely new vehicle concepts with innovative frame and assembly constructions.” It’s also available with a brake-pad wear indicator.

Remarkably, the Airmaster is part of the JOST DCA (durable compact axles) range that already integrates the trailing arm, axle tube, brake flange and axle journal into a compact axle housing that “is extremely durable and lightweight.” T&D

HELLA Visiotech work and reversing lights project visual warning lights to warn pedestrians and other operators nearby

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Sector Workforce Engagement Programme

Alex Fraser started his cadetship in October last year – already holding a Class 4 licence.... but with no C4 experience. Here he’s at the wheel of an Awatere River Winery truck, gaining some of that C4 experience

SWE P

Tyler Anderton-Williams started the cadet programme a year ago with only a Class 1 licence. Dynes teams up with other companies, like Allied Concrete, to give the cadets extra experience – as Tyler is getting here in an Allied C2 readymix truck

CADETSHIPS – THE BEST VOCATIONAL COURSES TO TAKE L

By Steve Divers

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

AST MONTH WE HIGHLIGHTED THE LAUNCH AT the Gisborne careers expo, of ShiftUp – the road freight industry’s school programme, which is administered by MITO. We view this as a definitive programme to align schools and students with transport operators and commercial road transport course provider.

We see this as the first step in an industry cadet programme. But this will take a year or so to gain momentum – raising the profile of the industry as a valid career and fostering those important links with industry employers.

We’re still yet to see the launch of the second stage, a 3+2 programme, but the result of the review of vocational education is due soon and that will guide us on this important second-stage school programme.

A key theme since SWEP started has been the availability of an apprenticeship or cadetship, and the advice from those in the know has been to avoid the term “apprenticeship.” The reason for this is that the requirement is for a strong theoretical com ponent,

with at least 120 credits in the programme (equates to 1200 hours minimum training). This can be split between two 60-credit programmes, but half of the credits must be at level 4. This was viewed as a tough ask for our industry.

We already have a 90-credit level 3 Certificate in Commercial Road Transport – Heavy Vehicle Operator.

This is one of two qualifications that our driver trainer reference group worked with MITO to review.

This is available through at least seven tertiary institutes and MITO, with the log safety Pathways to Success utilising the largest uptake of employed cohorts undertaking this qualification. It’s great to see the logging sector taking a lead in these formal qualifications, which acknowledge the experience and skills of those professional drivers.

The time taken to develop qualifications is not short – some 18 months were spent getting people together to review, discuss and approve changes. This has now been completed.

So the next stage for us is to look at a purely Truck & Driver | 77

Sector Workforce Engagement Programme

SWE P

A

Drae Holm has been with Dynes for just four weeks. The new cadet, pictured here on a job with mentor/cadet manager Des Morris, has a C2 learner’s licence currently

vocational pathway. We have already made tentative enquiries with a national provider of training, with its response being: “Tell us what areas you want to focus on to train?”

This is now our opportunity to develop a national cadet programme that operators can deliver in their own workplaces….and have an external practical assessment to underpin the skills learnt, if they so wish.

The term vocational is paramount, and the feedback from the limited number of companies we’ve talked to so far is clear: No classrooms!

So this month I’m taking a look at a southern company’s cadet programme….which started after a successful trial with a mature cadet and after the company previously brought through some younger cadets.

The team at Dynes Transport knew they wanted to start a programme, and without over-complicating the process, they brought in an experienced mentor (Des Morris) with the right attitude, skills and experience.

Every new programme starts with working your way through some challenges – who to target, what elements to teach them, and what work will they do. All of this while keeping costs under control. After all, you’re a business and not a training institute.

Some of the learnings passed on by the Dynes team after more than a year operating its programme include: Back to basics: For youth entrants, some basic skills, such as sweeping up correctly, developing a work ethic and decisionmaking, need to be taught. People develop poor habits that need to be unlearnt, regardless of age. The assumption that an older worker will be better trained is not always the case.

Everyone has baggage: Do they have a car licence, access to a vehicle to get to work....or do their personal circumstances prevent them from being lucid and eager to work and learn.

Pastoral care: Don’t allow poor work behaviour, but do offer support. There is a limit on how much care can be given, after all you’re not a social welfare organisation.

Mentor: Designate one person to be the point of contact/coordinator/trainer. The right person is fundamental as he/she needs the right temperament, demeanour and people skills to work across all ages. The success of a cadet programme is reliant upon the mentor/trainer.

Be choosy: When you interview would-be trainees, centre on the basics – attitude, motivation and honesty are likely to be a better gauge of suitability. Less than 7% of communication is verbal, everything else is non-verbal communication, so trust your senses as to their suitability.

Employment agreements and bonding: This indicates how much you plan to invest in training and developing skills that cost you. But make it reasonable. Advice from the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment suggests that relating the cost to a reasonable length of term is important – the higher the value, the longer the term.

And consider a percentage reduction over term. Link gaining skills to moving up a pay rate – making it a reward for gaining a skill or licence.

78 | Truck & Driver

None of this is likely to come as any surprise, but often we forget how we learnt and the length of time per cadet will vary upon their ability and age, so consider all ages and any licence class.

Funding assistance is available – the Ministry of Social Development will assist with in-work payments and training subsidies for qualifying clients, so get in touch with your local work broker. But interview the candidate as you would any other employee.

Agencies such as Te Puni Kokiri can also assist if you have an approved cadet programme and a cadet who qualifies. These funding sources are not guaranteed, but they can take the sting out of the cost of recruitment.

We’re interested in your feedback – who do you want to recruit and how do you want to recruit them and build a training programme.

We can assist with advice – putting a programme together that works for your business, with our aim of developing a national framework.

More and more companies are considering and implementing cadetships and this is an encouraging sign for our industry. If every company had a cadet/new entrant programme, there would be no driver shortage.

T&D Email me at: steve.divers@truckingcareers.nz

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FEATURE

Martin Merrick started out as a mechanic....is now Volvo Trucks’ top man in Australasia

EX-MECHANIC…NEW CEO Story Wayne Munro

H

EARD THE ONE ABOUT THE SCOTTISH TRUCK MECHANIC, the senior exec for a Swedish icon and one of the top men in Australian and Kiwi trucking?

Okay….so they’re actually all one and the same man! And this isn’t a joke: It’s the remarkable real-life story of the new president and CEO of Volvo Group Australia.

Martin Merrick, speaking in his thick Scots brogue, says wryly: “Well, I suppose you’ve already worked out I’m a Scottish guy.” His background, he sums up – clearly a man to use words sparingly: “The short story, pretty much is….from mechanic to CEO.” Of course, there’s quite a bit that happened in the intervening years, since he started out in Glasgow as a truck mechanic: Fully 31 years ago he joined the local Volvo dealer as a reception engineer, then proceeded to work his way through truck sales, dealer management, through heading-up the aftermarket business for Volvo in Scotland….then became the MD of its Scotland and northern England retail business for about eight years.

Three years ago he moved to Volvo HQ in Sweden – becoming part of the global truckmaker’s executive management team… specifically as its senior vice-president of retail development.

And now this – taking over last September as the head of Volvo Trucks’ operations in Australia and New Zealand. Replacing Peter Voorhoeve, who left to head-up Volvo Trucks in North America.

Unsurprisingly, given his background, Merrick is very focused on customers and service – his history in that area of the business

dating all the way back to that first job at the Volvo dealership in Glasgow.

He was “liaising between our customers and our workshops to ensure the maximum uptime of our customers’ vehicles. In my mind, this was my apprenticeship in customer relationship management.”

And he adds: “What I’m really passionate about is customer success.”

So, he says, he’s spent a lot of time since moving to Australia, travelling extensively around NZ and Aussie, meeting customers and dealers: “I’ve spoken to many people, from mechanics on the workshop floor, to CEOs in the boardroom.”

That’s all in keeping with his philosophy – that, “based on what I’ve seen and heard, delivering customer success is about working in partnership with our customers – enabling them to achieve a safer environment, a more efficient and more productive business.

And ultimately, a safer and more profitable industry.

“To achieve our goal, we will build on the success of our ‘service, service, service’ mantra – to deliver a premium customer experience.

“My vision is that our people will get even closer to our customers; to know their businesses intimately. And with that, deliver solutions that will enable their ongoing success.”

It’s not just talk: Unsurprisingly, his NZ experience so far has included meetings with NZ dealer Sime Darby and huge Volvo customer Fonterra. But it’s not just the corporate giants he took Truck & Driver | 81

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Roles commence late August and on the job training is provided.

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The Mack Anthem (second from right) will be launched in Australia and NZ next year. New-for-2019 models include the aptly named FH Globetrotter XXL – a supersize-me version of the FH cab – and a 25-Year Special Edition FH 540 to mark the anniversary of the first Aussie-built FH time to visit, his Kiwi tour also taking-in the smaller, but superloyal Volvo operator Temuka Transport, among others.

Merrick left NZ “super-impressed” with how Volvo and Sime Darby “have worked together with Fonterra to create something just unique.

“For a small market, to see that working was a surprise, I have to say. It was a great example of best-practice – one that I enjoy sharing and talking about when I go somewhere else: When we work together with customers, to actually create a solution that’s second to none.

“And not just there….I met Gutsy (Aitken – Temuka Transport founder) and had a chat with him,” learning about the family history and a little about their business – and its close alliance with Volvo and Sime Darby.

It is, clearly, something he loves about the business: “I feel that the team there (in NZ) have got a really strong customer base. And we know this is a fantastic industry and people are passionate – not just about the business itself, but the trucking industry. It was good to see, and we had some good conversations.”

Experienced as he is with Volvo globally, Merrick concedes: “I’ve still got a lot to learn about NZ and Australia.” On the other hand, he adds: “I’ve got a lot to bring and I’m sure we’ll do some really good stuff together.”

Merrick took over the top job Down Under for VGA as it was about to end a record-breaking 2018 year – during which its Volvo and Mack assembly plant in Brisbane operated ABOVE capacity to build more trucks than ever before. And build them, Merrick adds, “at the highest level of quality recorded in our almost-50-year history.”

And that’s not all: “For the fifth year running, we were market leaders in heavy-duty truck sales. Volvo and UD both delivered a

record year for truck sales. It was also a great year for Mack – its second-best year on record, only beaten by the pre-buy effect in 2007.”

It has resulted in recognition from the mother company: VGA was Volvo Trucks’ International Hub of the Year and International Market of the Year for both Mack and UD. Says Merrick: “We won the treble in 2018. We also showed our commitment to the Australian market by investing in this fantastic new headquarters. And the investment continued with two new state-of-the art, brand new dealerships.”

Now, says Merrick, it’s continuing its investment – to his declared end of “delivering total transport solutions.

“As the market-leading heavy-duty truck manufacturer, we have an important role to play in the transport industry. We take this responsibility seriously, and we’re committed to driving a safer, more efficient and more productive transport industry in Australia and NZ.” The thing is, as Merrick outlines, “one of the challenges of success is that our factory is operating above maximum capacity.

Our market share has increased over the last few years….and to continue meeting demand, we will increase our production capacity.”

The 47-year-old Wacol, Brisbane factory – where 65,000 Volvos and Macks have been built – is being treated to a $AU25million redevelopment over the next three years. That’s on top of $AU15m spent over the last five years.

Merrick has also ordered-up the creation of a Connected Services Centre of Excellence at VGA – “investing in the future,” as he says, “by ensuring that we have a leading position in the automation, electromobility and connectivity space.”

The company is “changing the way we work. But we’re not Truck & Driver | 83

moving away from ‘service, service, service’ – we’re going to build on it.

“Truck and fleet owners are increasingly looking to telematics to help them improve their safety, their efficiency and their productivity – and we’re looking towards the exact same goal.

“Our connected services monitor the truck, protect the driver and guarantee that the truck is on the road when it’s needed to be. The goal is to maximise safety and uptime – reducing operating costs and ultimately reducing the total cost of ownership.

“Working in partnership with our customers the Connected Services Team utilise the data from the connected truck to finetune the truck and driver performance. This is a total transport solution – it’s understanding customers’ needs, identifying the key insights that will enable them to be safer, more profitable and even more successful.”

VGA, says Merrick, is “engaged with government and various industry associations to examine new technology opportunities.

Our approach is to start with our customers’ business. To understand how these new technologies can create opportunities or address pain points.

“Technology needs to add tangible value to our business partners. Technology for technology’s sake is a one-dimensional approach that won’t unlock the growth potential that a customerinsight approach will.”

When Merrick is asked about the possibility of VGA taking the lead environmentally – whether it will push the Australian government to legislate the Euro 6 exhaust emissions standard – it’s pretty clear that’s not going to be happening.

He says simply that “we work with the government legislation – and we have a production facility here that’s designed to 84 | Truck & Driver

work with that government legislation. We’re a customer-centric organisation – and if customers really want what’s required we’ll work with that.”

He puts forward the view that “there’s a whole load of trucks that are way out of the emission zones – you know, one Euro 5 would equal 26 of them. So there’s maybe something else we can do to improve the environmental challenge overall.”

So what was the attraction in taking the VGA role? “To be the president or the CEO of the Group in Australia, with the full value chain – end to end – it’s a fantastic opportunity.

“What we have here….it’s unique in the Volvo Group. I grew up in the retail business – serving customers. But what I’m really learning about is local engineering, local manufacturing, and how we can be even better working together with commercial, retail and suchlike.

“I think the opportunity is that we work even smarter together – to really learn the level of solutions the customers want.

“That for me is a steep learning curve, but we’ve got a fantastic team here. I’ve been Volvo brand all my career… I’m learning lots.

“Having the multi-brands and having the manufacturing facility here is just super exciting – and I love walking down the lines, speaking to the guys, speaking to engineers. So I’m actually like a sponge right now, learning every day.”

So what will keep VGA up on its 2018 high? Well, for Mack, the new Anthem’s coming (albeit not till next year). The good news is that NZ will be getting it at the same time as Australia…and in 6x4 and 8x4 formats from the outset.

While Mack Trucks Australia VP Dean Bestwick offers his personal view that the new Anthem is “a ripper looking truck,” which runs a well-proven and well-refined powertrain, it’s greatest

Above: UD’s 11-litre Quon is being joined by a little brother, eight-litre version – here parked in pride of place at one end of the VGA stand at the Brisbane Truck Show, alongside the new jumbo-cab Globetrotter

Opposite page, clockwise from top left: Medium-duty UD Croner is to be launched next year....Volvo adds this low-entry FE model for metro work...

Mack boss Dean Bestwick proudly introduces the Anthem....the new cab interior in the Anthem is everything Mack Australia was hoping for

gift is that “the functionality of everything in this product is something that we’ve been sweating on for a long time for here in Australia.”

While the exterior aerodynamics of the Anthem are reckoned to deliver up to a 6% improvement in fuel efficiency, “the big thing about the Anthem is actually inside. So the HMI….the human machine interface, is where it all happens.

“So the ergonomics and the electrical architecture that’s in this truck are something that we have been really pushing to get hold of. The standup sleeper for a start… Just tilt the steering wheel forward and you can stand up in the driver’s seat.”

Not only that: The Anthem, says Bestwick, delivers the kind of truck that Mack Australia has been building in Brisbane for years: “The reason we design trucks here in Australia, the reason we build them here in Australia is because of their robustness, their durability for the Australian conditions. Well, this truck has all of that built into it.

“It’s not a new model as such – a new name, a new exterior look…and a new cab interior and, critically, new electronic architecture and so on.” That so on includes “next-generation” telematics and connectivity.

All of that on an unchanged chassis and running the current, well-proven driveline.

Currently, pre-production Anthems are undergoing final validation testing for Australian conditions – embedded with fleets, working daily, with heavy loads and on rough roads. Says Bestwick: “It’s critical for us to ensure that whatever we release into Australia….they’re designed by Australians, they’re built by Australians, for Australians and particularly for the Australian

conditions.”

Volvo Trucks Australia VP Tony O’Connell says that behind Volvo’s record-breaking sales performance last year was: “A) – the trust our customers have in our product is a big one. B) – the dealer network to support that….and the product itself is fantastic obviously.”

Building on that, Volvo’s new-for-2019 offerings have started with the I-Shift Dual Clutch models now in production – and kicking-off sales in NZ with a bang…with 50 orders in the first week!

O’Connell is happy about that – but not surprised: It’s a product for “a specific area in the market. It just so happens NZ’s the perfect area for that in the market, with your hills and environment over there.”

There are other niche markets being catered for as well – with the likes of the 25-Year Special Edition FH 540 model, celebrating the first Aussie FH coming off the Brisbane production line in 1994.

The limited-edition model comes with pretty much everything: The new dual clutch I-Shift, iSee predictive cruise control, Volvo dynamic steering and a full suite of active safety, including autonomous emergency braking.

And another niche model: An FE with a low-entry cab, specifically designed for the safety of the driver and other road users….particularly in urban environments, on applications such as metro distribution and waste collection.

And one more – this one the king of them all: The aptly named FH Globetrotter XXL cab – the new flagship of the fleet.

Volvo reckons that “with Australia’s vast distances and many Truck & Driver | 85

This page, clockwise from top left: Merrick officiates on the VGA stand at his first Brisbane Truck Show...Volvo Trucks Australia VP Tony O’Connell... it’s 25 years since the first FH rolled off the Wacol line...UD Trucks VP Mark Strambi

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The Mack Anthem will be launched here next year. The good-looking Super-Liner behind it is a concept with a shorter BBC to suit Australia’s popular 26 metre B-double linehaul requirements

drivers spending extended periods away from home, the new supersized version of Volvo’s FH cab responds to demand for extra living space from the truck industry.”

Says O’Connell: “Our customers asked for this and we responded. I can’t begin to tell you how proud we are to have this truck brought to reality…..it’s 40% larger than the XL cab, 30% larger than the previous Classic XXL. The XXL cab is 250mm longer than the XL Globetrotter version, with a bed that’s 130mm longer and 250mm wider than in a regular FH sleeper. It also has a thick innerspring mattress.

“A better sleep means a better and safer driver,” sums up O’Connell.

He says that the XXL “underlines the importance of the Australian market and customers, within Volvo Trucks’ global operations. Australia is one of a very few selected markets that will see the all-new XXL cab…”

Extra C-pillars strengthened the cab, which has passed stringent Swedish and European cab strength tests, including rollover simulations.

UD Trucks Australia VP Mark Strambi says that for VGA’s Japanese make, it’s all about “going the extra mile for our customers and to deliver a smart logistics solution.”

That is not, he adds, “just an empty phrase. It’s about products and services being efficient, and safer, and more productive for our customers. Allowing our customers to deliver smart logistics to their customers.

“We can do this by utilising the best of three worlds: Yes, we’re a Japanese truckmaker with a very proud heritage of quality and innovation.

“But that doesn’t mean we can’t use our local engineering to enhance the offer that we have from our Japanese brands – to make those trucks more suitable for the Australian market.

“We have the strength and support of our parent company,

the Volvo Group. And thirdly, we have the local strength of our…. extensive dealer network, to support our customers, and keep them on the road.”

Strambi puts forward the view that “right now, we have probably the best product lineup that we have ever had…..a full lineup of smart and modern trucks with a multitude of market applications and strengths.”

And now it’s expanding – firstly with a new, eight-litre version of the heavy-duty Quon flagship that was launched in NZ last year.

It’s coming initially in two models in 6x2 and 6x4 formats, using a Volvo Group engine that delivers 360hp/263kW and 1428Nm of peak torque and meets the Japanese equivalent of Euro 6.

By downsizing to the eight-litre, “we have shaved 300 kilograms off the 11-litre truck, offering more payload and allowing for greater efficiency for our customers.”

It has the same safety features as the 11-litre Quon, including disc brakes, active emergency braking, stability control and lane departure warning and, says Strambi, “continues the reputation that the Quon has developed as being the best-specified heavy-duty truck in the Australian market, from a Japanese manufacturer.”

Early next year UD will add a new medium-duty Croner to its range, using a 280hp version of the same eight-litre just introduced in the Quon.

It will be launched with 4x2 and 6x2 versions, with an Allison six-speed auto and a variety of wheelbases and suspension options.

The replacement for the Condor inherits “the same robustness that you’ve come to expect from our existing workhorse.” It has been “tried and tested in different environments – with customers – for 1.5million kilometres, on three continents.” T&D Truck & Driver | 87

0 FT 6 LY LE N O CES A SP

#3 $)3# /2 $25- !8,% st 3530%.3)/. !33%-",9

1 Feb 2020 Bombay Rugby Club ,IGHTWEIGHT VIRTUALLY INDESTRUCTIBLE

VERY LOW MAINTENANCE WITH HIGH ROLL STIFFNESS

-IRA TRACK TEST HAVE CONl RMED THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST PRODUCTS EVER PRODUCED BY !RVIN -ERITOR 2/2 4HE TRAILING ARMS FEATURE A @# CROSS SECTIONAL PROl LE WHICH PROVIDES A MORE EFl CIENT ENGINEERING STRUCTURE AND FURTHER REDUCES SUSPENSION WEIGHT

4RAILING !RM

The Bombay Truck Show will be held on the 1st of February 2020. We have space for 200 trucks (trucks only no trailers). Space will sell out well in advance so get your trucks registered ASAP, Facebook search Bombay Truck Show or phone 0211661295. It will be a real family day out with 0IVOT %YE 4RACKING kids and adults alike, all thoroughly entertained. All proceeds will go to charity and we are already looking at this being a truck load of money. We will be announcing on the day the interim amount raised with final$AMPERS tally following soon after the show. There will also be an announcement in the Truck & Driver magazine so everyone knows exactly how much money was raised and how much will be donated to our chosen benefactors, St !XLE #ONNECTION John Ambulances, Bombay School and Community Pool and Bombay Rugby Club. See you at the show!

Marieka Morcombe Show Convener 0ERMITS REALIGNMENT DURING SERVICE WHICH IN TURNS IMPROVES HANDLING AND TYRE WEAR

2OAD FRIENDLY REDUCES ROAD DAMAGE #ONTROLS THE EFFECT OF WHEEL END SHIMMING VIBRATION 0REVENTS OVER EXTENSION OF AIR SPRING

4HE ARMS ARE RIGIDLY ATTACHED TO THE AXLE IN A SPECIAL PATENT PENDING JOINT THAT PROVIDES A PROTECTIVE AXLE @GRIP THAT ACTUALLY EXTENDS THE AXLE LIFE DUE TO THE STRESS SMOOTHING DESIGN 4HE TRAILING ARMS WILL LAST THE LIFE OF THE RUNNING GEAR

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National Road Carriers

Together, let’s help get better roads

By David Aitken, CEO of National Road Carriers Association

T

HE GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN PUSHING ITS SUSTAINABILITY agenda in the last few months, giving the transport industry plenty to think about, with future switches from fossil fuels to electric and hydrogen power being signalled to meet reduced carbon emission targets.

We’re delighted by the response to our appeal to truck drivers, for pictures of our broken-down roads. Many New Zealand roads that trucks travel on regularly are in a dangerously poor condition.

This has been a growing topic of conversation for some time, but now there is a groundswell across the whole industry demanding that action be taken.

We see that road maintenance is not undertaken as regularly or as well as it used to be. Furthermore, when repairs are made they’re often poorly done and the roads are back to a damaged state in a matter of days or weeks.

The implications are broad: • Safety of our drivers and other road users • Stress from having to navigate substandard roads • Wear and tear on vehicles • Slower journeys Following our member survey where, sure enough, one of the biggest results was the deteriorating condition of our roads, we launched a Facebook appeal for photos to provide hard evidence of just how bad the problem is.

We have had hundreds of posts and, unexpectedly, the Facebook page attracted the attention of 1 News reporter Sarah Bradley whose excellent story, featuring John Baillie from Baillie Transport and National Road

David Aitken

Carriers chairman Don Wilson, appeared on national television on June 23.

John pointed out that we have increasingly higher traffic volumes and we’re not keeping up with road maintenance. Don said roads are not safe enough and their poor condition pushes up repairs and maintenance costs on trucks.

This news video is now posted on our Facebook page and I urge you to watch it. The NZ Herald also featured the story a few days later.

The momentum around this is building faster than I’ve seen for any issue in a long time. In the first two days of the Facebook appeal being posted it received 6000 views.

The Road Transport Forum and National Road Carriers Association want the photographic evidence of roading disrepair as part of a longterm project, which will go towards highlighting this issue. We will be presenting this undeniable visual evidence to the Government.

We want to keep this appeal going to get as much evidence as possible, so we’re asking for your continued assistance: Next time you’re driving on a main road or highway in poor condition, please let us know by: Sharing a picture and location on the NRC Facebook page • Calling NRC on 0800 686 777 with the location • Emailing us on enquiries@natroad.co.nz • Texting/calling on 0211927799 IMPORTANT: When gathering this information please make sure you do it safely and without causing disruption to other road users.

It is so much easier for us to make a difference together. Thank you for supporting our industry.

Below are some of the images and captions we’ve received so far. T&D

Truck & Driver | 89

PIL is New Zealand's largest dealer of Foton Trucks , with an extensive range to suite all purposes.

PIL also offers parts and services for Fotons

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Road Transport Association NZ

You need to be keeping ahead of your costs

Dennis Robertson

By Road Transport Association NZ chief executive Dennis Robertson

A

S YOU WILL ALL KNOW, THE RUC RATES WENT UP ON JULY 1 – and they will also be going up next year at the same time, as signalled by the Government.

This year the rates went up by about 5% to 7%, depending on the vehicles you use and the combinations.

To make life easy, we have the new rate table on our website at www.rtanz.co.nz – indicating the movement in the rate this year.

It’s worth noting that a RUC change of 5%, for example, is a change of 5% of 13% – the 13% being the total estimate of what RUCs cost you as part of your total costs of running a transport company.

If you, as a member of RTANZ, check out the Grant Thornton Transport Cost Index, you will see how this all tracks as a cost to you – and it’s critical that you calculate these changes in cost when you establish your rate or the price you want to charge.

RUC, of course, is only one cost that’s increasing, and it’s important that you continue to track all of them, so that you’re maintaining your profit margin and not slipping behind….and ending up running your business as a potential loss-maker.

It’s also worth noting the other changes that the sector is experiencing. We have lots of conversations with members and they tell us that costs are on the move: For example, repairs and maintenance seem to have gone up by 7% to 9%. And if you have to replace your skid plates as part of the recent compliance requirement, this cost will be much more.

Clearly, one of your biggest costs – that of staff and getting labour – has also gone up across the board. This seems to be about 3%, but with the driver shortage this is likely to be much more. The Government has signalled that it wants wages to rise and if you use immigration to support your labour pool this will cost more in the future too.

Insurance has gone up. This has been a trend since the Christchurch earthquakes, especially for vehicle repairs, which are now costing more…so the insurance cost is also creeping up to compensate for these movements, by about 20%-40%.

Fuel prices are always on the move and we have developed a fuel adjustment tool to help you understand this and to include in any contract. This arrangement will help you to manage the changed cost of fuel monthly, rather than yearly – because as fuel is about 15% of your total costs, you need to have this mechanism operating in a way that it immediately tracks change, because it’s changing almost every week.

The problem we have as an industry is that if you don’t keep passing on these costs, two things will happen: One is that you will go broke….and the second is that that, because your rates are so low, you will get lots of work and you will bring the industry rates down as a result – because others will have to compete at this rate. And then you will go broke.

Do step up and keep passing your costs on: Not only are you doing yourself a favour (and sleeping better at night), you’re doing the whole industry a great favour. T&D Truck & Driver | 91

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James Murray

Free Phone: 0800 451 451 Mobile: 0212283246 Email: james.murray@mtcequipment.com 62 Greywacke Road, Harewood, CHRISTCHURCH

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Cambridge’s Curin Contractors has put its eighth new DAF to work, doing demolition, forestry roading and construction work. The 6x4 has a 510hp PACCAR MX engine, an 18-speed Roadranger manual gearbox and Meritor 46-160 rear axles with full crosslocks. Extras include a heated driver’s seat, a fridge, woodgrain dash, leather steering wheel, a factory B-pillar blind-spot camera, plus central tyre inflation and automatic greasing systems.

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HIS YEAR’S RUN OF RECORDbreaking sales for the New Zealand heavy truck market came to an end in June.

After five straight months of alltime bests, the market cooled – dropping to 402 registrations compared to May’s 518, and last year’s benchmark June tally of 510.

However, this year’s string of unprecedented monthly sales still carried the 2019 first-half registrations total to a new record, with 2621 sales in the overall market (4.5 tonnes GVM and above).

Total sales for the first half were 3.9% up on 2018’s 2518

registrations at the same point – a modest increase compared to the 10% to 40% gains common since 2010 (when the firsthalf total was just 720).

The half-year alltime best was achieved despite the fact that Q2’s total sales were slightly below those in the second quarter last year – 1320 compared to 1333 in 2018.

The trailer market, with 107 June registrations, was significantly down on the same month last year, when the market clocked a record 164 sales. It was also a sharp contrast to the 156 registrations in May this year.

(continued on page 95) Truck & Driver | 93

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Napier operator Whitfield Transport has put two new Kenworth K200 8x4 tractor units to work in what is primarily a Freightliner fleet, the newcomers working nationwide, towing either six-axle B-trains or quad semis. Both have 600hp Cummins X15 engines, but one has a Roadranger 18-speed manual gearbox, the other an Eaton Ultrashift AMT with hill start assist and ADEPT functions. They ride on PACCAR Airglide 400 rear suspension. Extras include Alcoa Dura Bright alloys, dual exhausts and air intakes, drop stainless visors, custom grilles and bars, stainless steel headlight covers, dual fuel tanks and fridges.

23,001kg-max GVM 2019

4501kg-max GVM 2019 Brand ISUZU FUSO HINO VOLVO MERCEDES-BENZ KENWORTH UD DAF IVECO SCANIA MAN SINOTRUK FOTON FREIGHTLINER MACK HYUNDAI VOLKSWAGEN INTERNATIONAL FIAT WESTERN STAR RAM OTHER Total

Vol 603 417 372 172 146 144 132 126 122 90 62 52 39 34 27 23 22 16 8 8 3 3 2621

% 23.0 15.9 14.2 6.6 5.6 5.5 5.0 4.8 4.7 3.4 2.4 2.0 1.5 1.3 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.6 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.1 100.00

June Vol 89 69 59 13 25 20 21 14 20 27 6 10 5 7 1 6 7 1 0 0 0 2 402

% 22.1 17.2 14.4 3.2 6.2 5.0 5.2 3.5 5.2 6.7 1.5 2.5 1.2 1.7 0.2 1.5 1.7 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 100.00

3501-4500kg GVM 2019 Brand FIAT MERCEDES-BENZ FORD CHEVROLET RENAULT PEUGEOT LDV IVECO TOYOTA FUSO NISSAN VOLKSWAGEN Total

Vol 121 36 19 17 13 13 8 4 3 2 1 1 238

% 50.8 15.1 8.0 7.1 5.5 5.5 3.4 1.7 1.3 0.8 0.4 0.4 100.00

June Vol 13 6 2 1 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 27

% 48.1 22.2 7.4 3.7 0.0 7.4 3.7 3.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.7 100.00

4501-7500kg GVM 2019 Brand FUSO ISUZU IVECO HINO MERCEDES-BENZ FOTON VOLKSWAGEN HYUNDAI FIAT RAM Total 94 | Truck & Driver

Vol 177 155 74 66 57 28 22 15 8 3 605

% 29.2 25.5 12.2 10.9 9.7 4.6 3.6 2.5 1.3 0.5 100.00

June Vol 38 28 11 5 6 2 7 4 0 0 101

% 37.3 27.5 10.8 4.9 6.9 2.0 6.9 3.9 0.0 0.0 100.00

In the 23t to maximum GVM premium division, Isuzu (172/23) ousted Volvo....

7501-15,000kg GVM 2019 Brand ISUZU HINO FUSO UD IVECO FOTON MERCEDES-BENZ HYUNDAI DAF VOLVO OTHER Total

Vol 256 127 94 24 19 11 8 6 4 1 3 553

% 46.3 23.0 17.0 4.3 3.4 2.0 1.4 1.1 0.7 0.2 0.5 100.00

June Vol 35 19 11 6 1 3 2 2 0 0 2 81

% 43.2 23.5 13.6 7.4 1.2 3.7 2.5 2.5 0.0 0.0 2.5 100.00

15,001-20,500kg GVM 2019 Brand HINO UD FUSO ISUZU SCANIA SINOTRUK IVECO MERCEDES-BENZ MAN DAF Total

Vol 40 29 26 16 10 7 5 3 3 3 142

% 27.5 20.4 18.3 11.3 7.0 4.9 3.5 2.8 2.1 2.1 100.00

June Vol 9 3 4 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 20

% 40.0 15.0 20.0 15.0 0.0 5.0 5.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.00

20,501-23,000kg GVM 2019 Brand HINO FUSO UD ISUZU MAN SINOTRUK SCANIA Total

Vol 20 9 9 4 1 1 1 45

% 44.4 20.0 20.0 8.9 2.2 2.2 2.2 100.00

June Vol 6 0 3 0 0 0 0 9

% 66.7 0.0 33.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.00

Brand ISUZU VOLVO KENWORTH DAF HINO FUSO SCANIA MERCEDES-BENZ UD MAN SINOTRUK FREIGHTLINER MACK IVECO INTERNATIONAL WESTERN STAR HYUNDAI Total

Vol 172 171 144 119 119 111 79 78 70 58 44 34 27 24 16 8 2 1276

% 13.5 13.4 11.3 9.3 9.3 8.7 6.2 6.1 5.5 4.5 3.4 2.7 2.1 1.9 1.3 0.6 0.2 100.00

June Vol 23 13 20 14 20 16 27 17 9 6 9 7 1 8 1 0 0 191

% 12.0 6.8 10.5 7.3 10.5 8.4 14.1 8.9 4.7 3.1 4.7 3.7 0.5 4.2 0.5 0.0 0.0 100.00

Trailers 2019 Brand Vol PATCHELL 91 ROADMASTER 68 FRUEHAUF 60 MTE 57 DOMETT 56 TMC 55 TRANSPORT TRAILERS 55 TES 30 TRANSFLEET 26 JACKSON 23 FREIGHTER 18 MAKARANUI 15 EVANS 14 MILLS-TUI 13 HAMMAR 13 KRAFT 12 TIDD 12 FAIRFAX 11 NEWZELOHR 9 CWS 9 CHIEFTAIN 8 MAXICUBE 8 MORGAN 5 KOROMIKO 4 LUSK 4 HTS 4 LOWES 4 WARREN 4 TEO 4 IDEAL 3 SEC 3 DOUGLAS 3 WAIMEA 3 WARNER 2 OTHERS 54 Total 760

% 12.0 8.9 7.9 7.5 7.4 7.2 7.2 3.9 3.4 3.0 2.4 2.0 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.4 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.1 0.7 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 7.1 100.00

June Vol 15 7 14 9 12 5 8 10 3 3 0 2 1 1 3 0 3 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 4 107

% 14.0 6.5 13.1 8.4 11.2 4.7 7.5 9.3 2.8 2.8 0.0 1.9 0.9 0.9 2.8 0.0 2.8 0.9 0.0 1.9 0.0 0.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.9 0.0 0.0 0.9 0.9 0.0 3.7 100.00

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This new Volvo FH750 Globetrotter 8x4 has gone to work for DW Butcher, contracted to cart chemicals nationwide for Ixom. Along with its 750hp D16G engine and I-Shift AMT, it has Alcoa Dura Bright alloy wheels and a full suite of Volvo safety systems including adaptive cruise control, collision warning and emergency braking. It also has Bi-Xenon headlights, a fridge, tv and microwave, a factory-fitted PTO and hydraulic pump, a Domett deck and a Cormach crane. It will work with a new five-axle Domett trailer.

(continued from page 93) Trailer registrations for Q2 (at 389) and the first six months of 2019 (760) also fell well short of last year’s alltime records – with 482 and 866 registrations respectively. Those figures represent a 19% and a 12% drop respectively – while the June total this year was 34.7% down on the same month last year.

The overall truck market in June was once again led by Isuzu (89), with FUSO (69) second – pushing their 2019 totals out to 603 and 417 respectively.

Hino (372/59) was again third (for the month and the year), while Volvo (172/13) stayed fourth and Mercedes-Benz (146/25) moved into fifth, ahead of Kenworth (144/20). UD (132/21) moved ahead of DAF (126/14), while both Iveco (122/20) and Scania (90/27) held their YTD places.

In the 3.5-4.5t GVM crossover segment, Fiat reached 121 YTD by adding 13 for the month (well behind its 157 YTD at the same point last year), followed by Mercedes-Benz (36/6) and Ford (19/2).

In the 4.5-7.5t category, FUSO (177/38) strengthened its lead, ahead of Isuzu (155/28), Iveco (74/11), Hino (66/5), Mercedes-Benz (57/6), Foton (28/2) and Volkswagen (22/7).

Isuzu (256/35) continued to dominate the 7.5-15t segment, with Hino (127/19) still second and FUSO (94/11) third. A long way behind were UD (24/6), Iveco (19/1), Foton (11/3),

Mercedes-Benz (8/2) and Hyundai (6/2).

In the 15-20.5t segment, Hino (40/9) led UD (29/3), FUSO (26/4), Isuzu (16/3), Scania (10/0) and Sinotruk (7/1).

In the small 20.5-23t segment, Hino (20/6) remained at the top, with FUSO (9/0) joined in equal-second place by UD (9/3), with Isuzu (4/0) in fourth.

In the 23t to maximum GVM premium division, Isuzu (172/23) ousted Volvo from the YTD No. 1 spot....albeit by just one sale. Volvo registered 13 for the month.

Kenworth (144/20) retained third YTD, while DAF (119/14) was joined in fourth-equal position by Hino (119/20). FUSO (111/16) remained sixth, but Scania – registering 27 trucks in June to claim the No. 1 position for the month – jumped from 10th to seventh YTD, with 79 sales.

Mercedes-Benz (78/17) lost one spot, UD (70/9) dropped two and MAN (58/6) was down one.

In the trailer market, Patchell (91/15) increased its YTD lead over second-placed Roadmaster (68/7), while Fruehauf (60/14) moved up from sixth to third.

MTE (57/8) retained fourth position, while Domett (56/12) improved two spots to fifth, ahead of TMC (55/5) – down from third – and Transport Trailers (55/8), sharing sixth-equal place. TES (30/10), Transfleet (26/3) and Jackson (23/3) completed the YTD top 10. T&D Truck & Driver | 95

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The world’s first International ProStar R8 HD logger has gone to work on the East Coast for Gisborne operator Shane Bunning. The 8x4, which Shane doubleshifts with Kahurangi ThatcherWhareinga, has a 615hp Cummins X15 engine, an 18-speed Roadranger manual transmsission and Meritor 46,000 lb diffs. Extras include an Ali Arc bumper, a premium interior and twin exhaust stacks. It pulls a five-axle Mills-Tui trailer.

Whakatane’s Waiotahi Contracting has put this new Iveco Trakker AD500 bulk tipper to work around the Bay of Plenty, partly on forestry roading. The 6x4 has a 500hp Cursor 13 engine, a ZF EcoShift AMT and Iveco planetary hub reduction diffs on cantilever suspension. It has a Koromiko Hardox steel body and a central tyre inflation system.

Segetin Cartage, of Wellsford, has put this new Kenworth T659 day cab logger to work in the upper North Island in Aztec colours. The 8x4, driven by Archie Connelly, has a 600615hp Cummins X15, an 18-speed Roadranger manual transmission and Meritor RT46-160 diffs, with full crosslocks.

Cargo Plus has added a new DAF CF75 FAS to its Auckland operation, supporting the busy Kerry Logistics in the Auckland International Airport environs. The 6x2 has a 360hp PACCAR PR engine, a ZF 12-speed AMT and a 16-pallet Roadmaster curtainsider body, with a tail-lift.

McKeown Group Ltd

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McKeown Group Ltd is proud to be the Caltex lubricant distributors for the South-Canterbury and Otago regions.

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Our oil distributing network covers all areas from the Ashburton River all the way down to the Clutha River.

Alongside our businesses of chemical distribution, delivering bulk fuel to farms and businesses throughout most of the South Island, and our 26 McKeown-branded 24/7 Card-Fuel sites, McKeown Group offer our customers a comprehensive range of services and quality products.

We pride ourselves on having the expertise and resources to deliver quality Caltex product, service and technical support to meet our customers’ requirements throughout our region.

For sales and technical support enquiries, call one of our expert Sales Managers: Michael McKeown - 021 221 8384 Cameron Miller - 021 509 297 Dave Honeyfield - 027 432 2770 Allan Crawford - 021 396 639 Or feel free to come visit us, or call one of our oil shops: McKeown Oil Shops OAMARU Waterfront Road Ph. 0800 800 908 or 03 433 1022

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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.

Contact name name & position in company: ________________________________________________________________ Location:

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Phone numbers: __________________________________________________________________________________________

TD16163

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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From anonymous... to awesome

TRUCKING COMPANY THAT JUST A FEW YEARS AGO was running plain (almost anonymous), mostly-white trucks, has been judged the best-looking fleet of the year in the annual PPG Transport Imaging Awards.

In a classic example of the transformative powers of a good fleet livery, Bombay-based N&J Wood’s bulk tipper business has boomed since Neil and Joanne Wood bought their first new truck in 2013.

And Neil happily reckons that it wouldn’t have happened if not for the fact that Joanne loved the look of the retro hotrodstyled International LoneStar that was arguably THE star of the 2013 Transport & Heavy Equipment Expo at Mystery Creek.

It prompted them to scrap their plans to buy a sensible (but boring) Inter 7600…and order the LoneStar instead.

The iconic retro-styled conventional just happened to be painted in a spectacular turquoise colour, which had been enhanced for its starring role at the THE Expo with distinctive white, silver, navy blue and black/blue striping by Truck Signs in Mount Maunganui.

And that paint and striping package became the N&J Wood livery – with the striping extended back from the cab, along the side of the tippers’ bulk bins, broken by a big V-shaped space that accommodates a new N&J Wood logo.

The standout look now graces 13 trucks (most of them

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bought new). The lineup comprises six makes (Volvo, DAF, Mack, Peterbilt, Renault and International), 10 different models, a mix of cabovers and conventionals…..and the livery looks spectacularly good on all of them!

So good that Neil Wood says straightout that “in all fairness it HAS transformed the business. If we hadn’t got the LoneStar we probably wouldn’t be where we are now.”

The point is, the Wood trucks are unmissable – and that’s brought the business “to the fore in people’s minds.”

Be they the members of the public and truck enthusiasts who “are always ringing up” the N&J Wood office to find out where its trucks are – so they can take photos of them….

Or the companies that “we now work with – relationships that have come about because they like the good gear….and then our drivers are intelligent, so we get more and more work.”

The colour scheme is good enough too that all five judges in the annual PPG Transport Imaging Awards have voted it their top choice of the 10 2018/2019 finalists.

The judging saw the Wood livery score 46 out of a possible 50 points – well clear of the judges’ second choice, the eyecatching orange and white colours of the Christchurchbased RAC Group.

Fellow Canterbury operation SML Logging, the Bay of Plenty’s Brett Marsh Transport and Northland’s Douglas

TRANSPORT IMAGING AWARDS

All pictures: Remarkably, the colour scheme that came with the International LoneStar (bottom left), has proven to be equally spectacular on all of the company’s trucks....in a very varied fleet (which features six makes and 10 models).

Logging were all close behind RAC, in that order.

PPG Industries New Zealand’s David White summed up the N&J Wood livery succinctly: “Bold and beautiful,” he said.

Road Transport Forum technical manager Kerry Arnold gave it a 10 out of 10, commenting: “Very dramatic colours, with great flowing characteristics.”

NZ Truck & Driver publisher Trevor Woolston said it has “outstanding colours” and is very recognisable, while PPG’s Mark Brearley felt it is “a very modern, sleek look.”

And editor Wayne Munro rated it “a standout livery that shows exactly how powerful a good-looking colour scheme can be.”

Neil and Joanne Wood say they’re “chuffed” with the PPG Award, which carries with it a commemorative trophy and a $2500 travel prize: “We’re very honoured. Very proud.”

Before the LoneStar and the standout livery, N&J Wood was barely noticeable on the Auckland trucking scene, he concedes: “We just sneaked around I guess….we just left them in white, and put a touch of colour on them.

“It’s just that LoneStar….it just stood out like crazy! And everybody thought that colour was awesome.”

If not for the change, six years later, he reckons that still, “no-one would know who we are.”

The original striping work for the livery was done by Truck Signs’ Cliff Mannington, then (with Mannington’s blessing)

for subsequent trucks Joanne’s brother Ron van Dam – an Auckland airbrush artist and signwriter – extended the design to the bins.

Transvisual Spraypainters painted the next few company trucks, but most recently the paint has either been factoryapplied or done by Independent Truck Sprays in Auckland.

Ron van Dam has modified the striping to suit each new body shape and style and has also done airbrushed murals for most of them.

There has been one recent deviation from the supersuccessful N&J Wood livery – in the form of the salmon pink and black branding of good customer Rock and Rubble on the bins of a new Volvo FM unit.

Since buying the LoneStar and adopting its colour scheme, says Neil Wood, the business has been on “a very interesting ride, if you want to call it that.”

He reckons that, until six years ago, he never would have believed the reaction that good-looking trucks would have on the public – and on business: “And it’s still going. We just keep adding and keep adding.”

The Woods will, for instance, have another new truck (he’s not saying what it is) on the road in time for the Bombay Truck Show on February 1 next year. It’s the Woods’ local show and it’ll have six trucks there…including the mystery newcomer.

T&D

Bottom photos & poster: Gerald Shacklock Other photos: Joanne Wood

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