NZ Truck & Driver December 2019/January2020

NZ TRUCK & DRIVER

FREE GIANT TRUCK POSTER LIFTOUT

| December 2019/January 2020

December 2019/ January 2020 $8.50 incl. GST

FLEET FOCUS

BIG TEST Mountain mastery | FLEET FOCUS As tough as you make it | FEATURE The tip of a trucking iceberg

As tough as you make it

FEATURE

The tip of a trucking iceberg

The Official Magazine of the

Issue 230

y r e t mas

ISSN 1174-7935

CONTENTS

Issue 230 – December 2019/ January 2020

2

News

48 Fleet Focus

The latest in the world of transport, including….more change in Daimler Trucks’ dealer setup in NZ; new truck dealer Keith Andrews dies; Freightways buys Big Chill (in one of a number of trucking company buyouts); long electric truck goes to work in NZ

22 Giti Tyres Big Test What better place to put a new Euro 6 DAF CF through a Kiwi fitness test – to ensure that the truck acclaimed in Europe is also suitable for New Zealand conditions before its imminent launch – than the Southern Alps? Twice a day – over some of the country’s highest-altitude stretches of highway

Latest news from the Road Transport Forum NZ, including…..RTF CEO Nick Leggett reckons that the Government is taking the cheap option on road safety – slowing the country down, rather than investing in new roads; economic commentator Cameron Bagrie warns of the coming “Grumpflation;” praise for Government move to protect small businesses from unfair late payment practices

Publisher

Advertising

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 products and services for the road transport industry

101 TRT Recently Registered New truck and trailer registrations for October

COLUMNS 95 NZHHA

FEATURES 64 The tip of a trucking iceberg The fleet of 10 Sinotruk bulk trucks working on the Transmission Gully motorway project isn’t all that spectacular in itself. But it’s just the tip of an impressive transport industry iceberg

There’s a new process for gaining Class 2 load pilot licences

97 RTANZ Chief executive Dennis Robertson wonders whether “the stampede to bring down speed limits” is based on any evidence

81 Hello hydrogen

39 Transport Forum

MANAGEMENT

93 Truck Shop

Pukekohe livestock transport operator Don Wilson reckons that his drivers “virtually have to be vets nowadays,” such is the level of compliance demanded. But he still says happily, that doing livestock “can be as hard or as difficult as you want it to be”

Korean industrial giant Hyundai believes that hydrogen is the truck fuel of the future…and it’s putting $US6.4billion of its money where its mouth is! And, at truck shows in the US and Japan, it’s not alone

99 National Road Carriers Association NRC teams up with a tv production company for NZ Trucks television series

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

Gerald Shacklock Dave McLeod Olivia Beauchamp

ART DEPARTMENT Design & Production Luca Bempensante Zarko Mihic EQUIPMENT GUIDE AUCKLAND, NORTHLAND, BOP, WAIKATO, CENTRAL NORTH ISLAND Advertising Don Leith 027 233 0090 don@trucker.co.nz AUCKLAND, LOWER NORTH ISLAND, SOUTH ISLAND Advertising Hayden Woolston 027 448 8768 hayden@trucker.co.nz Dion Rout 027 491 1110 dion@trucker.co.nz

ADMINISTRATION Sue Woolston MANAGER accounts@trucker.co.nz SUBSCRIPTIONS Sue Woolston accounts@trucker.co.nz NZ subscription $80 incl. GST for one year price (11 issues) Overseas rates on application ADDRESS Phone +64 9 571 3544 Fax +64 9 571 3549 Freephone 0508 TRUCKER (878 2537) Postal Address PO Box 112 062, Penrose, AUCKLAND Street Address 172B Marua Road, Ellerslie, AUCKLAND Web www.alliedpublications.co.nz PRINTING & DISTRIBUTION Printer Bluestar Retail Distribution Ovato 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 31/03/2019

11,360

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Truck & Driver | 1

NEWS

Top truck retailer Keith Andrews dies NEW ZEALAND NEW TRUCK INDUSTRY GIANT Keith Andrews, who died in November, turned a modest FUSO dealership into a company said to be the country’s biggest new truck retailer.

His family says that Keith was “a leader and a mentor and was universally acclaimed as someone who would never settle for second best.

“Staff knew that Keith would always beat them to work in the morning: First to arrive and last to leave, Keith led from the front.

“He had an amazing work ethic and a genuine passion for his people and his customers.”

The week before he died at the age of 65, after a long battle with cancer, it was announced that the company he founded in 1991, Keith Andrews Trucks, had dramatically expanded its business interests.

Its appointment as a Freightliner dealer for the North Island added to its existing FUSO dealerships in the top half of the North Island and Mercedes-Benz sales representation in Whangarei and Hamilton, to make KAT NZ’s No. 1 new truck retailer, the company said.

Keith’s drive saw him begin selling trucks from his Whangarei garage back in the 1980s – his business acumen seeing that quickly develop into a full FUSO sales and service business in Whangarei….and to subsequent expansion into Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga.

His businesses also hold the NZ distribution rights for FUSO trucks and buses and represent Mercedes-Benz buses here.

The company says that its “ethos centres on the principle that great people make great businesses, and KAT is proud to have a team of passionate individuals, who share a common approach to delivering excellent customer service.”

Keith was, said his family after his passing on November 13, “a self-made

Keith Andrews was a truck dealer for almost 40 years man who had achieved much and was an inspiration to us all.”

Keith’s absence from the business over the past 12 months has meant that the KAT and Fuso NZ teams have operated under the leadership of Keith’s son, Kurtis –“ensuring that Keith’s high standards remain at the forefront of the business and that all staff are committed to continuing Keith’s proud legacy.”

Keith leaves his wife Vicki and children Kurtis, Camden and Holly. T&D

Penske honoured, buys Indy IT WAS A BIG FORTNIGHT FOR motor racing icon and automotive industry giant Roger Penske – starting in late October, with the billionaire businessman receiving America’s top civilian honour, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, from Donald Trump…..

And ending with the announcement that his Penske Corporation is buying the prestigious IndyCar Series and the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway – alias The Brickyard…..home of the Indy 500.

Penske, 82, told President Trump that he was “humbled by the president’s acknowledgment of our achievements in business, in motorsports and in our community.”

Penske received the honour at The White House, accompanied by his wife (of 46 years) Kathy and family.

Penske Corporation, which generates $US32billion of revenue annually, includes 2 | Truck & Driver

new car dealerships and leasing operations, wide motor racing interests, truck leasing and rental (and distribution of MAN and Western Star trucks in New Zealand and Australia) and logistics and fleet services businesses. Team Penske has won the Indy 500 a record 18 times.

Penske attributed his success to his wife, family and “our nearly 65,000 team members worldwide: These are the people that I need to thank today, because if they hadn’t done their work, I wouldn’t be here today. As we all know, people make a team and people make power…..”

“Think about 18 Indianapolis 500s and also the many championships. But guess what? That was the power of the team.

The award, he said, “means more than any business success or motorsports trophy.”

Indianapolis Speedway and IndyCar owner Hulman & Company chairman Tony George said the company approached Penske to buy the

businesses: “There is no one more capable and qualified than Roger and his organisation to lead the sport of IndyCar racing and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway into the future.” T&D Roger Penske receives the prestigious award from Donald Trump

NEWS

A Freightliner Coronado 114 on the Keith Andrews Trucks yard in Hamilton

Daimler dealer change…again THE REPRESENTATION OF DAIMLER TRUCKS’ makes in New Zealand has undergone another big change – with Keith Andrews Trucks announcing that it’s now an authorised Freightliner dealer for the North Island.

The news comes hard on the heels of the announcement by North Island Freightliner trucks and Mercedes-Benz trucks, vans and utes dealer Trucks & Trailers that it had purchased South Island-wide dealer Prestige Commercial Vehicles.

Keith Andrews Trucks says the latest development strengthens its position “as the country’s leading Daimler commercial vehicle specialist.”

It means that truck sales, parts and service for the full Freightliner range are now available at Keith Andrews Trucks dealerships in Auckland, Hamilton and Whangarei – with sales also at its Tauranga branch.

The company says that the expansion of its Freightliner offering is the latest stage in the continued growth of the Keith Andrews network, which started life in Whangarei in 1991 as a dedicated FUSO dealership.

Since then, it says, “the business has grown to become the largest commercial vehicle dealer in NZ.” Keith Andrews Trucks is also an experienced Mercedes-Benz specialist, covering sales, service and parts for the Northland region from its base in Whangarei, and for Waikato from its Hamilton branch – with parts and service support in Auckland. Freightliner parts and service support has been offered at the Whangarei dealership for the past 15 years.

“The addition of full Freightliner services under the Keith Andrews banner, alongside Mercedes-Benz and FUSO, cements our status as the North Island’s go-to Daimler dealer,” says managing director Kurtis Andrews.

“Collectively, these brands represent premium options across a wide range

of applications, offering leading European, Japanese and American design and technology – all within the Daimler Trucks family.

“While this is a natural progression for our business, it is also the result of hard work, dedication and consistency in delivering the highest level of expertise and customer service for operators across the North Island. We are very excited for the future.”

Trucks & Trailers directors Mark and Shannon Wright said in October (prior to the Keith Andrews Trucks announcement) that the company’s purchase of Prestige Commercial Vehicles fulfilled “an important objective” in their ambition “to be a leading heavy and light commercial vehicle supplier across NZ.” In August 2017, Daimler Truck and Bus Australia Pacific managing director Daniel Whitehead announced that it was closing down its own NZ distribution operation in favour of appointing a new, NZ-based distributor for Freightliner and Mercedes-Benz Truck and Bus. “We are talking to a number of potential parties, but we are not in a position to disclose their identity at this stage of the process,” Whitehead said.

“Our local team on the ground has done a fantastic job, but we think having a distributor with closer ties to the NZ market could deliver additional benefits for the Freightliner and Mercedes-Benz brands.”

The plan, said Whitehead, was to have the process concluded by the end of 2017.

But, two years on there’s still not been an official announcement regarding the distributorship – just much rumour and conjecture….with both Trucks & Trailers and Keith Andrews Trucks rumoured to be the leading contenders for the role. T&D Truck & Driver | 3

NEWS

This picture: Freightways’ purchase of Big Chill Distribution is worth upwards of $117million Below: Hawke’s Bay operator Tomoana will continue to operate under its own name, with Stewart Taylor “at the helm,” under new owner Booth’s Transport

Kiwi trucking companies sold A HANDFUL OF KIWI TRANSPORT COMPANIES HAVE recently changed hands – probably the biggest deal involving the buyout of Big Chill Distribution by Freightways.

Freightways announced to the New Zealand Stock Exchange in late October that it had entered into an agreement to buy 100% of Big Chill – for at least $117million.

In other deals, two long-standing Southland transport operations – Central Southland Freight, based in Winton, and Mataura’s Tulloch Transport – have been sold…to Canterbury company Hilton Haulage and Invercargillheadquartered McNeill Distribution respectively.

In addition, Hawke’s Bay company Tomoana Warehousing has been purchased by Palmerston North-based Booth’s Transport.

Freightways says that Big Chill “is a NZ market leader in temperaturecontrolled transport, specialising in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and time-critical parcel freight – both chilled and frozen.

“Big Chill operates a fleet of over 200 temperature-controlled trucks and trailers and delivered more than two million shipments in 2018 through its nationwide network of depots and purposebuilt coolstores.”

In the announcement, Freightways CEO Mark Troughear said the purchase “represents a highly compelling transaction and will provide Freightways with both short and longterm growth opportunities, while further diversifying its earnings base.

“Big Chill’s founders and senior management have done a fantastic job growing the business and we look forward to working together, recognising the strong cultural alignment between our two businesses.”

The deal is subject to Overseas Investment Office approval, with completion of the purchase expected to occur in the first half of 2020.

Freightways said that an initial payment of $117m represents 80% of an agreed enterprise value (EV) for Big Chill. A final payment will be made in the

second half of 2022, representing 20% of Big Chill’s EV at June 30 that year.

Freightways, which has over 4000 employees and contractors and delivers 50 million items annually through the likes of its Post Haste Couriers and NZ Couriers, reported a net profit of $63.4m in the year to June 30, 2019.

In the other three deals it’s reported that the companies acquired will continue to operate “as usual” – under their existing names and with their existing staff retained by the new owners.

Stuff reported that Inky Tulloch will continue to work with the new owners for a time in the business his father Mac founded in 1945, and Corey Price will remain with Central Southland Freight, while his parents, Garry and Helen will retire from the business they started 35 years ago.

Similarly, at Tomoana, founder Trevor Taylor (involved in road transport in Hawke’s Bay for over 40 years) is retiring – while son Stewart “will remain at the helm” in a new executive director role and as interim GM. In an announcement to customers, Trevor and Craig Booth and Stewart Taylor say that Booth’s purchase of Tomoana “has come about from the desire to tackle some of the challenges in recent times head-on, as well as the retirement of Trevor Taylor.” T&D

Truck & Driver | 5

NEWS

TR Master Drive Services’ two top driver trainers joined a group of Southpac Trucks staff in Holland for an intensive training course, led by DAF factory driver trainers. Along with the rest of TR Master Drive’s trainers, they will pass on their knowledge to Kiwi customers....to help them get the full benefit of the new Euro 6 DAFs’ technology and safety features

DAFs…with driver training included FEBRUARY’S NEW ZEALAND LAUNCH OF THE NEW Euro 6 DAF CF and XF will see their drivers receive free training from professional TR Master Drive Services trainers.

Each new E6 DAF sold will come with six to eight hours of free training for two drivers – earning them a Safe and Fuel Efficient Driving qualification…a programme that the NZ Transport Agency endorses.

The new models are so different to their Euro 5 predecessors that DAF and Kenworth importers Southpac Trucks have decided to call in the experts to help customers “understand the new technology and safety features standard across the DAF range.”

Southpac general sales manager Richard Smart says: “The new product is a completely different truck to the current Euro 5 – not just a facelift. In fact, the only thing that hasn’t changed are the wheels and tyres!”

To ensure that customers can realise the full fuel-saving potential and maximise the suite of high-tech safety features on the new models – with active collision avoidance, adaptive cruise control and lanekeeping assistance systems part of the standard spec – Southpac has even taken TR Master Drive’s two top trainers to Holland.

The pair joined a team of Southpac staff for an intensive training course on the new Euro 6 XF and CF models, run by DAF factory trainers, on roads in Holland and Germany.

6 | Truck & Driver

TR Master Drive strategic development GM Neil Bretherton says the company’s lead trainers were “incredibly impressed by the new trucks and are eager to show Southpac’s customers how to get optimal experience driving them.

“Working with Southpac fits perfectly with TR Master Drive Services’ desire to lead in the heavy vehicle training space, and TR Group’s goal to support our customers and the industry to operate fleets more safely, efficiently and profitably.”

The European training was all conducted on-road, with fully-loaded E6 DAFs – at times on two-lane roads, “on the wrong side of the road,” says Smart.

The TR Master Drive and Southpac team was taught how to fine-tune driving styles to suit the vehicles – focusing on fuel saving and setting up trucks to individual drivers’ preferences.

By the time of the February launch, the knowledge gained in Europe will mean that all of TR Master Drive’s 18 trainers – working out of 12 locations around NZ – and all of Southpac’s frontline team, “will be up to speed” on how to train DAF drivers to get the best out of the E6 models, says Smart.

Seven of the new DAFs will be shown off to customers nationwide in an eight-stop roadshow that starts in Auckland on February 17. T&D

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NEWS

The electric Isuzu unit has gone to work shuttling empty containers around Auckland

Electric container carrier WHAT’S BELIEVED TO BE THE longest electric truck combination to go on the road in New Zealand has gone to work in Auckland for a company specialising in hiring, selling, servicing, storing and shuttling shipping containers.

ContainerCo’s 4x2 Isuzu FSR, which has a battery electric powertrain built by Australian company SEA Electric, tows a two-axle trailer – the combination able to cart three empty 20foot containers.

The 22-metre combination is powered by a 136kWh battery pack and a SEA-Drive motor producing 250kW maximum and 150kW continuous power…and 2500Nm of peak torque, with 1230Nm continuous.

It’s used to shuttle-run empty containers between Auckland’s port, rail facilities and ContainerCo depots.

The unit was commissioned by ContainerCo with funding support from the Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority (EECA), and company MD Ken Harris says that it marks an important first step in reducing air

and noise emissions.

“We operate our container hire, sales and services businesses from sites right around the country and the ability to silently and cleanly move containers to and from rail and ports in urban environments is a big step forward.”

Harris says that the success of this unit, which can operate for up to 15 hours before recharging, will “certainly see us end up with something like 15 of them”…..over the next five years.

Extra units could be put to work in on-wharf container movements – the high torque of the electric trucks making the towing of multiple trailers a possibility.

Says Harris: “We’re excited to welcome the first electric truck to our fleet, in partnership with EECA. It’s the first step of an ambitious longterm programme to prove the viability and desirability of transforming our fleet of handling and transport equipment to EVs. “ContainerCo operates facilities that handle hundreds of thousands of shipping containers around the country and with innovation we can

electrify a wide range of our vehicles, including forklifts, cranes and support vehicles.

“We expect this new truck to demonstrate the opportunity to reduce environmental impacts and improve the efficiency.”

ContainerCo hires and sells shipping containers throughout NZ and operates large parks for empty containers around key ports.

Moving those containers is a task that increases year on year as trade grows, Harris says, and that transport is often within urban environments… and over short distances.

That makes the work ideally suited to electric trucks – given that they are silent, have zero emissions, don’t travel far in a day and brake frequently….when the braking energy can be used to recharge their batteries.

The Isuzu has a theoretical range of 350kms, but actual use in Auckland indicates that 200kms or less is more accurate.

Its silent operation should support the company’s ambition to operate over longer hours and open up new, more efficient routes in urban areas. T&D Truck & Driver | 9

NEWS

Black Dog aims to raise hope

The Mack, with its in-your-face messages to check on a mate who might be suffering from depression

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NEWS

A NEW TRUCK AND TRAILER TIPPER UNIT, dubbed Mack the Hopeful Black Dog, has gone on the road in Auckland – carrying messages of support for people experiencing depression and mental health issues.

The unit is the brainchild of truck and trailer leasing business TR Group: In a bid to offer hope to people suffering from depression it decided to go for spectacular messages on the 6x4 Mack Super-Liner and its five axle trailer.

Messages contained within murals on the Transport & General bins on the truck – put on the road for Winstone Aggregates – include: “What are you doing to make it ok for your mates to ask for help?” And “Ask your mates if they are ok.”

There’s more: “Are you or your mate carrying a heavy load.” And the support to “Hang on – pain ends.” Another inquires: “Have you checked in on your mates today?” And there’s the suggestion that “Kindness is as much a part of a man as courage.”

One side of the trailer carries the messages: “Love you brother!”….

“I am hope”…. “Live in hope”….and “The most precious gift you can give a mate is your time.”

The messages are accompanied by dramatic murals on the unit’s black cab and bins. There’s also the message that “There is help available – Text 1737.”

TR Group general manager Brendan King says that TR Group has been affected “by mental health’s darkest and worst outcomes.

“Many of the team are affected by depression – either themselves or via family members or both. It is a big issue.”

The truck is called Mack the Hopeful Black Dog for a reason: “Depression is often referred to as ‘the black dog.’ So the idea was a black Mack – a black dog.

“But we obviously wanted it to brighten things up and be positive – hence Mack the Hopeful Black Dog. You will also note that the bulldog on the front is neither silver nor gold – it’s a one of a kind black one!”

King adds that the unit is “an expression of love and support for all of you who have experienced, or are experiencing, mental health struggles – either directly or via someone that you love.

“You may or may not be surprised just how many of the TR family have experience with this. What we wanted to achieve with the Mack was to give love and support to everyone affected by mental health issues and raise awareness in the community. To let you know that you’re not alone and that there is always support here and there is always hope.

This connects to our vision of leaving a lasting imprint on the world and making a positive difference in people’s lives.”

Comedian Mike King, voted New Zealander of the Year in 2018 for his mental health work – including founding I Am Hope – has supported the TR Group effort and was present for the Mack’s official handover to Winstone Aggregates.

Says Brendan King: “For a long time the messaging in the media has been about encouraging people who are struggling, to ask for help – messages like ‘it’s okay to ask for help.’

“Frankly this is largely ineffective and, whilst well intended, is misguided. Someone in the depths of depression already feels hopeless and they are not going to make themselves more vulnerable by asking for help. The messaging on our truck is aimed at the friends and loved ones – it’s our job to ask our mates if they are okay and to offer them our time, our love, our support.” T&D

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NEWS

A chassis bound for NZ is completed by the new robotic welding system at the Hammar factory in Sweden

The first five robot-welded chassis arrive in a container at the Hammar assembly facility in Auckland

Robots speed up Hammar deliveries A NEW ROBOTIC WELDING SYSTEM JUST INSTALLED in the Hammar factory in Sweden is speeding up the sideloader manufacturer’s production in New Zealand.

And the autonomous welding system will help the company overcome a production bottleneck that’s been hampering high demand here, says Hammar NZ MD Fred Sandberg.

Despite Hammar’s Auckland factory at Takanini having been extended and modified for more efficient assembly operations – and a separate nearby workshop opened for assembly and final testing of new Hammarlifts – the company has not been able to keep up with demand in recent years.

“We could have sold more of our sideloaders if the product was available,” says Sandberg.

Now, he says, “with the option of ready-made chassis from Hammar HQ in Sweden requiring less production time when they arrive, our team will be able to complete each sideloader more speedily.”

A number of Hammar sideloaders will now be shipped to NZ with fabricated chassis using the new robotic welding system – the chassis broken-down into two halves in order to fit into containers.

It’s then “a simple task to reassemble them on arrival here”…..thus reducing assembly time at the Auckland production plant. The NZ facility will also continue to fabricate complete chassis, as before.

The first five sideloaders manufactured using the new robotic welder arrived here recently and were completed to buyers’ specifications and delivered in 12 | Truck & Driver

around half the usual assembly time.

Sandberg says that the sophisticated robotic welding system also “means that our products are made to even more precise and accurate tolerances.”

Hammar sideloaders for NZ customers are built to each buyer’s specifications, including their choice of axles, suspension, wheels and other items sourced from suppliers here. The cranes are imported from Sweden already built up, certified and tested under rigorous European regulations. They’re also manufactured using robotic welding assembly techniques.

Hammar attributes the success of its sideloaders in NZ to a combination of their Swedish technology and quality, along with designs that suit transport requirements in this market.

An example of this localised approach is the recently introduced, light tare weight Hammar 110 model that it says was designed with NZ transport operators in mind. It features a double-action system that can either deploy the StepOver leg technology developed for the Hammar 155 for transferring containers – with greater stability and much lower ground pressure on the stabiliser foot – or a new, patented, fast, ground-handling ability that has been dubbed the SledgeLeg. In SledgeLeg mode, the legs extend to less than half their maximum outreach to rest on a knuckle built into the upper part of the longer StepOver leg as it folds into itself. This enables the Hammar 110 sideloader to operate in much tighter, confined spaces. And because the leg does not need to completely unfold, loading and unloading containers is much faster using the SledgeLeg. T&D

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SonaSafe 20/20 sees sonar pulse-emitting units, installed on forklifts and the like, trigger an alert when staff – who must wear personal detector units (right) – stray too close to a moving vehicle or machine

Safety with 20/20 sonar vision A NEW ZEALAND COMPANY’S workplace safety system, using sonar technology to reduce the risk of accidents in situations where people work around vehicles or moving machinery, is achieving dramatic results.

SonaSafe International says its proximity warning system is the most advanced in NZ and Australia – reducing accidents and near-misses, and giving workplace staff greater confidence at work.

The company says that the use of sonar has proven to be the most effective and accurate proximity control system across a range of conditions (inside or outside), according to market feedback from environments including freight warehouses, earthworks, roading and construction sites.

SonaSafe 20/20 combines proven technology of sonar-based proximity sensors with enterprise analytics to deliver “a world-first proximity awareness system.”

The system sees sonar pulse-emitting units installed on forklifts, vehicles or moving machinery – and having each member of staff or visitors in their vicinity wear personal detector unit tags (PDUs) that receive the sonar pulse.

When a pulse is detected, the system instantly calculates the distance between the vehicle

and the PDU – and if it comes within a preset exclusion zone, the vehicle or machine operator is alerted.

A loudspeaker issues a spoken voice warning and a light on the speaker is also activated.

The system can also be configured to turn off a vehicle’s stereo system, turn on an external light or automatically stop the machine or vehicle.

As each PDU tag is unique, and the data is recorded centrally in real time, it’s easy to immediately identify which staff member is involved…and may need retraining.

In trials and with early adopters of the system, SonaSafe says that companies have recorded a huge number of events that they would otherwise be unaware of. By highlighting the issues, the system has helped the companies make changes to improve safety.

NZ Post safety and wellbeing manager Arthur Preuss says his company is “very happy” with the system’s performance: “We started it off in our tipper area. It’s a confined space, with four conveyor belts and a number of people operating in that area – so the interaction between pedestrian and forklift was extremely high. If something was going to go wrong, it would be in that area.

“In our first week, we noted 100 near-

misses per day that could have possibly gone unreported. We implemented further training and correct operation in the workplace, reducing near-misses down to 10 notifications per day by the fourth week.

“Because the PDU was allocated to the specific employees we could chat specifically to repeat offenders and by doing this we reduced near-misses to around 10 per week.

“The SonaSafe initiative drove a lot of changes and improvements and we’ve got to the point where there wasn’t actually a need to have a forklift in that area, we substituted it for a different piece of equipment which is safer, therefore eliminating the issue.

“SonaSafe has helped us change people’s attitude, and ultimately the culture.”

SonaSafe believes that a recent spate of forklift deaths and a current review of the Health and Safety Act focusing on people working around vehicles and machines, means that that its system is necessary – in addition to other measures already in place.

SonaSafe 20/20 is currently marketed in NZ and Australia, but the company aims to improve workplace safety globally – in construction, mining, logging, roading, warehousing and port operations, along with other workplaces. T&D Truck & Driver | 15

NEWS

New life for Oz icon

THE LAST EURO 5 ACCO HAS ROLLED OFF IVECO’S Melbourne assembly line….but the iconic Aussie truck is about to get a new lease of life.

Fifty-nine years after the first ACCO was completed at the same factory, a new Euro 6 version will be launched early next year.

Over its lifetime the ACCO has undergone over 4300 specification changes.

The milestone final E5 model’s completion was celebrated by IVECO staff, including some NZ representatives and IVECO brand ambassador Lloyd Reeman, who’s been involved with the model since the 1970s.

The last E5 unit is to be kept by IVECO as a piece of trucking history. The oldest surviving and registered ACCO is housed at Bill Richardson Transport World in Invercargill.

In addition to their new Euro 6 engines, the E6 ACCOs will have Allison automatics and new technology including adaptive cruise control, advanced emergency braking, EBS with brake assistance and electronic stability systems, plus daytime running lights.

Optional extras will include a hydraulic retarder, lane departure warning, driver attention support, tyre pressure monitoring and xenon headlights. T&D

Auckland port move Growing demand makes no sense prompts move north

MAKING WHANGAREI’S NORTHPORT AUCKLAND’S main port will require massive investment in rail and road – and will increase carbon emissions and the cost of goods.

This is the view of National Road Carriers Association CEO David Aitken, responding to news that the final report of a working group led

by Whangārei mayor Wayne Brown recommends that Ports of Auckland be moved to Northland.

If it goes ahead, it will reportedly be the largest infrastructure project in New Zealand’s history, costing $10billion.

“Although it would be good for road freight – as they would get a lot more work and travel a lot more miles – it doesn’t make sense,” says Aitken, whose organisation represents 1800 trucking companies nationally.

“Where else in the world has a port for a country’s largest city been moved 140 kilometres away from its main market? This will increase freight costs – which will, inevitably, be passed on to consumers.”

Rail will only be able to carry a small portion of the freight, Aitken says: “Road will carry most freight, based on the current volumes going through Ports of Auckland.”

He says that any relocation of Ports of Auckland functions to Northport needs to be based on sound economic analysis and proper costings of all the infrastructure improvements needed including the development of Northport and decommissioning the current Ports of Auckland.

It will also include the cost of an effective rail freight service, from Whangarei through Auckland, to service the lower North Island and the expense of a new four-lane highway, through difficult terrain.

Aitken says that Northport should build and compete on its own merit. T&D 16 | Truck & Driver

ASSET FINANCE LENDER, PARTNERS FINANCE & Lease, has opened a new Auckland branch – a response, it says, to growing North Island demand.

The company, one of New Zealand’s non-bank commercial lenders, has been primarily serving the South Island, out of its Christchurch HQ. But now the firm says its new Auckland office will better serve its North Island client base, providing better access for finance brokers and clients.

Partners Finance says it has lent more than $100million to businesses in recent years and is on track towards the $200m mark.

CEO Francis Fitzgerald says: “We’ve had another fantastic year of growth, backing more NZ businesses, particularly across the North Island.”

Managers Matt Mooney and Andrew Borland, who will join Partners Finance & Lease CEO Francis Fitzgerald (second from right) with (from the Auckland-based team, have left) managers Anna Svensson, Matt “35 years’combined experience at Mooney and Andrew Borland at the new an Australian-owned equipment Auckland office finance company, which will ensure our personalised and understanding approach to business continues,” Fitzgerald adds.

The company provides asset finance to businesses in transport, as well as other NZ industries. T&D

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NEWS

West Coaster Sam stars GREYMOUTH CABLEPRICE TECHNICIAN SAM REECE has become Hitachi’s world champion tech.

After taking out the New Zealand and Oceania finals of the 2019 Hitachi Top Technician Competition, Reece made it a clean-sweep by beating eight other regional finalists in the global final in Japan.

Reece’s victory makes him the World’s Best Hitachi Technician – a title that CablePrice staff have won three times.

The competition tests various levels of skills including finding and diagnosing machine faults, written theory tests and presenting in front of a judge’s panel about various findings regarding the machine.

The world finals at the Hitachi Technical Training Centre in Japan, saw Reece and his rivals first given a 75-minute practical test, during which they had to find three faults in a Hitachi ZX200-5B excavator – the first of them being that the machine wouldn’t start.

None of the competitors found all three faults, but Reece was quickest to get his machine started – and went on to find an attachment fault quickly as well.

The Kiwi was hit by an unintended disadvantage in another test, when the maintenance app didn’t work. His 13 years of Hitachi knowledge meant he didn’t panic and found a way around the app problem.

Like the other competitors, he also had to endure being in the spotlight – with a live audience and with camera crews getting up close.

“Dealing with the cameras and lights in your face – while all the time I had to be thinking about the work in hand: It was intense,” says Reece.

In the reporting section of the contest, the finalists had to create a presentation of the processes they took in repairing the machine and present it to the panel of judges.

Reece was announced winner of the 2019 Hitachi Top Technician Competition that night.

He is, he says, very honoured to have won the title and has been shown pride in his victory by workmates and the wider Greymouth community. T&D

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Right: Greymouth’s Sam Reece waits to start his 75-minute fault-finding test on the excavator behind him. None of the nine finalists found all three faults....but the Kiwi was the quickest to get his excavator started Left: Reece picks up the global champ’s trophy from Hitachi Construction Machinery vice president and executive officer Takaharu Ikeda

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Truck & Driver | 19

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BIG TEST

The light snowfall around the Arthur’s Pass summit, with its monument to surveyor Arthur Dobson, is a reminder of the alpine challenges this new DAF regularly faces in its daily work

22 | Truck & Driver

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Truck & Driver | 23

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The steep haul up Porter’s Pass is one of the highest-altitude stretches of New Zealand’s state highway network

S

O, IMAGINE YOU’RE THE NEW ZEALAND DISTRIBUTOR FOR A truck make and you need to put a new model through a bit of a Kiwi fitness test – ensure that it’s going to be suitable in NZ conditions.

Check that the combination of its new automated manual transmission and revised 13-litre engine is going to be up to the job of dealing with NZ’s steep, sharp up and downhills – as against the autobahn, auto strada, autoweg and auto route running that it’s already been proven on in Europe.

That its smart technology isn’t going to be fooled by something peculiarly Kiwi…or just our bloody awful roads.

And then someone comes up with a brainwave. Do a deal to get one of three pre-production test trucks into the Greymouth-based Trans-West Freighters – running it as a bulk unit…to-ing and fro-ing daily across the Southern Alps. Boom! Double tops!

Yeah, that should do it: Have it negotiate what must amount to hundreds of corners, get hammered by bumpy, potholed and just plain rough tarmac road surfaces, bang its way on and off dozens of bridges….

And climb up and run down big hill, after big hill….after bloody big hill! Including, of course, two of the highest passes taken by NZ’s main roads – Porter’s Pass and Arthur’s Pass.

So here we are in Trans-West’s pre-release Euro 6 DAF CF, coolly cruising up to the summit of one of NZ’s most iconic bits of road, the Arthur’s Pass summit, with its Dobson Memorial stone monument (a tribute to Arthur Dobson, who surveyed the route in the 1850s, guided by local Maori).

That’s coolly as in the 530-horsepower DAF doing it with sublime ease….and coolly also as in it’s pretty damn cold around here! Yeah, it’s spring….but between Arthur’s Pass village and the summit, we’ve actually been in light snow.

Right around here, State Highway 73 (alias the West Coast Road) reaches a height of 920 metres above sea level. And this isn’t the highest altitude we’ve been at today – having already tooled-up the long, steep Porter’s Pass climb, which tops out at 939m.

Heading west, that climb is gonna ask a few questions of a truck engine and transmission – climbing a close on 10% gradient for almost 3kms to the summit. Now that, my friends is a test!

The vagaries of alpine weather are, of course, an added challenge to the geographic obstacles involved in running this road every day: Today, for instance, Porter’s Pass is bitterly cold when we pass through – a bone-chilling, icy wind leaving us feeling sorry for the road workers replacing a safety fence.

We feel lucky – nice and toasty warm inside our DAF cocoon (or cab). Actually, we’re even luckier than we realise! Later we find out that not long after we go through, the road’s closed for hours….by quite a heavy snowfall.

Luckily for us the snow we get in the 4k from Arthur’s Pass village to the Dobson Monument isn’t enough to force a road closure – just enough to remind you of the transport trials regularly served up around here.

So, this has been the life for this new Euro 6 DAF for over six months – during which time it’s clocked up over 61,000 kilometres…. pretty much all of it on this run.

It usually involves leaving home in Greymouth in the early hours, heading 70kms northeast to Reefton to pick up a truck and trailer load of coal, then running south again – cutting through the Arnold Valley and Lake Brunner roads to join SH73 at Jacksons.

Then it’s either through to Christchurch or Timaru (the latter via Darfield and on down to SH1)….reloading with fertiliser or stock feed and heading back to the Coast, where the homebound loads are mostly delivered direct to farms.

Truck & Driver | 25

It runs to somewhere between 650-800kms a day, five days a week – most of the time fully loaded. On the Arthur’s Pass route, which is the usual, it runs on a 48-tonne permit. If it’s heading from Reefton via the Lewis Pass, it can run as a 50MAX unit.

With the 6x4 tractor unit and its four-axle trailer tareing at 17,280kg (the truck itself tips the scales at 11.5t – a tonne of that entirely down to its blower gear for unloading stock feed), it’s usually carting a payload of 30t-plus….

Like today, where there’s palm kernel from Christchurch in the refurbed Lusk Engineering trailer and meal from Timaru in the Lusk truck bin.

It amounts to what Richard Smart, general sales manager for Kenworth and DAF importer Southpac Trucks, happily terms “a fantastic workout for a truck. I mean, that’s why we chose putting the trucks on trial in that sort of environment, rather than sticking them on the Northern Motorway, moving empty containers. There’s not much to be learnt from that.”

The other Euro 6 DAF test units have been running for about the same length of time – one a nine-axle Dynes Transport HPMV truck and trailer tanker unit, the other an eight-axle bulk tipper unit, doing farm feed deliveries around Southland for Ryal Bush Transport.

“I’d say all three of them have been over some of the most arduous terrain we could find,” says Smart.

They’ve been monitored all the while via their onboard telematics – with downloads going back to the DAF factory for analysis. Says Smart: “We’ve been monitoring gearshift patterns, braking patterns – whether the drivers use them in Eco or Performance (modes)…. so the factory can get as much intelligence and feedback as possible.”

While, he reckons, “a lot of our competitors are building a European truck and sending it out here,” this exercise has “given us a lot better understanding of how NZers drive (our trucks).

“And then the factory has been able to make a lot of software changes so that the trucks we get are designed for the style of driving and the roads out here.”

So, a Kiwi-ised version of a truck that was the European Truck of 26 | Truck & Driver

the Year in 2018 (alongside its XF big-bro), should be an attractive proposition.

Then again….why bother? When the Euro 6 emissions standard doesn’t even have a date scheduled for its introduction here….and the Euro 5 CF has been selling so well. In 2018, for instance, Southpac sold 272 DAFs – all but a handful of them CFs. Go back 19 years (to when the DAF brand was officially launched here) and over 1600 CFs have gone on the road in NZ – the model’s attractiveness to Kiwi customers boosted in 2008 with the addition of options to spec an 18-speed Roadranger manual transmission and heavy-duty Meritor rear axles.

It gave the model, as Richard Smart puts it, “the best of both worlds….the European high spec and safety features and comfort factor…. An export European truck….that ticked all the boxes for NZ operators.

He said a while back that “over the years we’ve fine-tuned what the factory’s got, to the point where the latest Euro 5 would have to be the best product we’ve ever had from the factory.” Like an 8x4 tractor unit – unique to NZ. And like gearshifting software for the AS Tronic AMT modified for Kiwi terrain.

So….why? “It’s a combination of things – but is probably driven by safety. More and more of the customers we deal with want their products delivered safely – for the public and for their drivers.”

Increasingly too, they’ve been wanting environmentally cleaner vehicles. With this Euro 6 CF, they’ve got both – particularly since Southpac decided that it’s including DAF’s full suite of active safety features as part of the standard spec.

And thirdly, for many, it’s time to focus on new technology: “The last few years we’ve seen people going away from the Roadranger as…. probably, the numbers of older, skilled drivers who like that gearbox have been getting less and less. We have seen that go from probably 70% to nearly 30%.”

Okay, so usher in DAF’s biggest product change in NZ for going on 12 years: What’s new? Lots, it turns out.

The PACCAR MX engines now come in new ratings, the 13-litre (as in

Opposite page: The CF makes its way down the Otira Gorge, under the flume that carries Candys Creek over the highway and through the rock shelter Above: The cows look on as their pelletised feed is unloaded into the silo on a farm near Reefton

In fact, even at 1100rpm it’s delivering more retardation (around 1450Nm) than the E5 engine’s maximum… the Trans-West truck) peaking at 530 horsepower/390 kilowatts, with 2600 Newton metres/1917 lb ft of peak torque – up from the outgoing 510hp/380kW and 2500Nm/1843 lb ft.

There’s also a 483hp/355kW rating, with 2500Nm/1843 lb ft, and a 428hp/315kW alternative, with 2300Nm/1696 lb ft. Or opt for the MX-11 instead, at ratings from 367hp/270kW and 1900Nm/1401 lb ft, to 449hp/330kW and 2300Nm/ 1696 lb ft. The outgoing alternative, the MX340, delivered 462hp/317kW, with 2300Nm/1696 lb ft.

The 530 delivers its 530hp/390kW maximum power at 1675rpm (compared with 1500-1900rpm with the Euro 5 510) and its 2600Nm peak grunt from 1000 to 1425rpm (1050-1410 with the E5). The other two 13-litre engines hit peak power at 1600 revs and maximum torque from 900-1125rpm.

DAF reckons that the new engines allow the CF to cruise at 1000rpm and deliver the “highest” fuel economy and more torque in top gear for greater driveability.

The engines use a combination of selective catalytic reduction (SCR), exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and a diesel particulate filter (DPF) to achieve the tough Euro 6 emissions standard.

A big plus is that the MX13 has an integrated engine brake – a hydraulically-operated compression brake that works at the same time as the exhaust brake and far exceeds the stopping power of the old 13-litre.

In fact, even at 1100rpm it’s delivering more retardation (around 1450Nm) than the E5 engine’s maximum…which was achieved at

2050rpm. The flattish performance curve of the integrated engine brake achieves over 1600Nm of braking from 1300-2100 revs, peaking at 360kW. Southpac reckons that it is effectively “twice as strong as the Euro 5 one” – and at lower engine revs, “where this engine spends a lot more of its time.”

If that’s still not enough, the ZF Intarder is also available as an optional extra. The standard braking package is completed by ventilated disc brakes all around.

Then there’s a new TraXon automated manual transmission – the replacement for the old model’s AS Tronic….and now the only gearbox option. A 12-speed is standard, a 16-speed optional – the latter installed in the Trans-West truck.

DAF says this new AMT is more intelligent and better integrated with the engine than the AS Tronic…as well as quieter, faster, smoother and with a more precise clutch actuation – delivering improved fuel economy as a result. There’s a range of shift programmes for different applications and DAF promises extended use of the fuel-saving EcoRoll function (not that the latter is going to be much of a factor in running back and forth over the Southern Alps!).

New DAF/Meritor SR1360T single reduction rear axles, on electronically controlled air suspension and each rated to 13 tonnes, complete the driveline. They have inter-axle and cross-locks. The ECAS allows the remote raising and lowering of the rear axle for loading/ unloading.

Truck & Driver | 27

Both pictures: The MX13 engine comes with an extra 20 horsepower, a seriously good engine brake...and selective catalytic reduction (SCR), exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and a diesel particulate filter (DPF) to clean its exhaust emissions to tough Euro 6 levels

Last, but certainly not least, in Southpac’s opinion, is the suite of active safety and driver-comfort features in the new CF. It comes with adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning and advanced emergency braking, lane departure warning and vehicle stability control. All as standard.

Says Southpac’s Richard Smart: “We just decided that we were going to do everything – put it all in the price of the vehicle. So, I don’t want to sell a vehicle out of stock that hasn’t got a safety pack in because somebody wants to save couple of grand. And then five years later, it’s involved in an accident.

“So we made the decision to make safety a standard.” It’s one of the reasons why the Roadranger manual gearbox is no longer an option: The safety features only work with an AMT. We meet this new-era DAF at Darfield, where the truck and regular driver Liam Edmonds have spent the night. The truck was serviced in Christchurch yesterday, so its task today is just the second half of its usual over-and-back run.

It’s a good-looking thing, this E6 CF: Its exterior styling has been updated – is now sleeker, more sculpted and flowing than the old model’s flatter front. And with an upturned, smiley-face grille and teardrop-shaped headlights.

The flowing, curvy looks extend inside as well: Once you climb up the three steps (yep, one more than the old model) what catches the eye first is the stylish (but simple) oval pod that comprises the main dash display.

There’s a minimum of hard, sharp edges in here – just about everything seems rounded, smoothed. Liam reckons that “everything’s different” from the six-year-old 8x4 day cab CF85 he was driving on this same run until this newcomer arrived: “All your switches are different, the radio’s different, the aircon’s different.”

There’s a comfy air-suspended seat and the now-customary driverfriendly cruise control and stereo controls on the steering wheel…with engine brake and gear selector/controller functions on stalks just a finger’s reach away from the wheel.

Liam demonstrates the controls on the steering wheel – cycling through the menu for the digital display on the dash and calls up the fuel use figures: “At the moment, I’m averaging 51.1 litres per 100K.” Not bad that, considering the run and the loadings – the equivalent of 1.96kms per litre. He never checked it in his old truck so can’t provide a comparison.

Even this day cab model seems light and roomy, the impression helped by the sunroof. Liam’s okay with the amount of storage in here – including a few cubbies, a centre storage box with a tray on top, a pullout drawer from the turnout section of the dash, a couple of drinkholders – although he does feel that the engine intrusion into this cab is a bit bigger.

Not that he’s complaining: At 1.74m tall he reckons he still has 28 | Truck & Driver

“plenty of room – legroom and plenty of seat adjustment. I’ve got the seat quite far forward.” Yep, far enough to leave some space behind to stow gear in.

Before we head for the hills (and I don’t mean that just figuratively), there’s time to lift the cab, with a manual hydraulic jack. It’s a bit of a surprise that it isn’t pushbutton/electric, but the good news is that it’s easy anyway.

Unsurprisingly, the area exposed is pretty busy – or, as NZ Truck & Driver publisher and test driver Trevor Woolston puts it – “it’s emissions control central there.”

Just after 8am we head west, our 24-year-old driver explaining as he drives how he’s come to be one of the first truckies in the country to experience the latest DAF. It’s a path he started on five years ago, when he began driving…following the lead of his Mum’s partner and an uncle.

He did the necessary commercial driver training courses to progress through his Class 2 to 5 licences “as quickly as you can” – getting his start at the wheel of tippers on forestry roading work in the Marlborough Sounds, then moving into logtrucks in the same region.

Moving to the West Coast in late 2018 and starting with Trans-West on the Alps run in the 2013 DAF was his first highway driving job. His offroad background means he’s unfazed by the challenges of the alpine environment that he works in every day.

Driving out towards the Southern Alps gives us spectacular vistas ahead as we drive through Canterbury. Says Liam: “But yesterday morning, coming down Porter’s at six o’clock, it was snowing. And it snowed yesterday at Arthur’s.

He reckons he’s been lucky with the conditions during his first winter on this run – with just one morning when the Porter’s Pass descent was butt-clenchingly icy: “I just stuck it in first gear…had it in stage one (on the engine brake). I had the crosslocks and all that in – and it just went down real good.”

He’s a self-contained sort of a bloke – not one to get excited about things. Thus he reckons that getting this brand-new DAF so early in his trucking career is “pretty good.”

So does he like it? Does he ever! For starters, it’s 530hp versus the old CF’s 510 “Twenty horsepower: You think, ‘oh it’s not a lot.’ But it’s definitely a lot better…it climbs hills better.”

And it goes down them spectacularly better, thanks to its engine brake/exhaust brake combo: “You can go down Arthur’s (Pass – heading west) in sixth gear. Where, in the old one, I had to go down in second, at about 10K.” In this, he reckons, he goes down at around 20-25km/h.

“This is a lot better than the old one: Retardation, hauling power….I reckon it rides better. It drives better.”

Liam is not a high-tech kind of a guy and he is a bit ambivalent about some of the safety features. He turns off “the lane departure

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All pictures: The cab is all-new, with scarcely a hard-angled edge in sight – but plenty of smooth, rounded shapes and lots of driver-friendly features, including many major controls within easy reach

warning thingy…” because it’s so often triggered by road markings.

“But the following distance thing’s good for when you’ve got a car in front of you (and he’s using the adaptive cruise control). Yes, but it’s got...I don’t know what it’s called – the automatic braking or whatever.

“It’ll detect road markers. Generally... when we’re going over the hill, it’ll pick up on the same things each time: Road markers, road signs.”

And “if you’re driving along and you’ve got a car that’s turning off, sometimes it’ll detect that and it’ll brake.

“I’m going to pull over a bit and go around him – but then once you get close it thinks ‘You’re going to crash!’ And it hits the brakes.”

The Forward Collision Control (FCW) triggers a visual and audio alert when it senses that a collision is “nearly unavoidable.” If the driver doesn’t respond quickly enough to avoid whatever’s in the radar and the camera’s view, the advanced emergency braking system (AEBS) will initiate partial braking to start with….and then full emergency braking.

Southpac’s Smart suggests that the fix for any false alerts could

be as simple as adjusting the distance at which FCW and AEBS is activated, which ranges from 20 to 50m.

One thing that has been changed on this truck’s new DAF’s TraXon AMT is the software’s automatic default to fuel-saving Eco mode. Liam reckons it was set so that every time you stopped after driving in Power mode for more than three minutes, it would switch to Eco when you restarted. Now the techs have reset it so it will only default to Eco after three or four hours of Power mode driving.

Eco mode might be good for motorway driving….but not for this road. And, Liam reckons, it means that the truck will never make it to 90km/h, let alone its speed-limited 93k.

Anyway, that annoyance is now sorted – and he can now select Eco mode if he chooses, “just by tapping the (button on the) end of the shift controller.” Tap it again and you’re in Power mode.

Despite its many driver-friendly features, Liam reckons it “took a wee bit to get used to driving when I first got it.” But that’s only because Truck & Driver | 31

he was accustomed to driving an 8x4, rather than a 6x4: “I found it would wander a bit... But now I don’t notice it.”

The evidence is in the fact he’s hardly working at the steering wheel, despite some pretty bumpy, rough patches of road along the way.

The E6 DAF’s ride starts with the Goodyear 385/65R 22.5 Fuelmax S steer tyres and TR690 Goodyear Triangle 11R 22.5s on the drivers – all mounted on Alcoa alloys, as are the 19.5-inch retreads on the trailer’s SAF axles.

The DAF 167N steer axle is on parabolic springs, the SR1360T rear tandem has air suspension and, unexpectedly, the cab is on mechanical suspension with integrated shocks. It all adds up to a smooth ride.

As we cruise along quietly – it’s so quiet in the cab that the wind on the translucent green exterior sunvisor is one of the louder noises noticeable – Liam mentions that, in cruise control mode, the truck quite often lifts off the gas through corners.

And not far from Porter’s Pass it does it – just a slight lift, a hint of braking: “See, there we go there.”

It definitely doesn’t seem warranted, but it feels like the vehicle stability control system’s sensors are being triggered. It’s something to tell the techs next time it’s in the shop, I reckon. And Southpac’s Smart agrees.

We get to a hill before Porter’s that Liam reckons is “quite a deceptive climb: “You don’t think it’s much but there is a bit of a hill here.”

We’re in 15th, and the speed soon starts dropping from 70-odd K….the TraXon in automated mode choosing to allow the revs to drop to 1100 before downshifting two gears.

Liam: “I’m pretty sure…the old DAF, I think, would do about 35 up that hill – 35 to 40. About that. And it’d be two…might even be three or four gears lower.”

That is why he says he leaves it in automated mode “90% of the time.”

Even across Arthur’s Pass? Surprisingly, the answer is still yes: “The real odd time I’ll have to give it a little bit of assistance. Just when I know that it’s going to need it.

“But on a couple of the corners it’ll click up a gear because it’s level.” But what it doesn’t know is that the hill is then going to steepen, and Liam’s actually going to take it down a gear or two.

It prompts him to remember that “when I first hopped in this from the old one, I thought this upshifted way too early. Sometimes the old one would rev up to 2000 before it’d click up.”

The TraXon takes itself down to 13th gear on another hill just before Porter’s Pass. And then…we’re stopped for roadworks. Right at the bottom of Porter’s.

Okay, so this is going to be a different hillclimb test than we’d hoped for – ‘specially given that there’s a loaded fuel tanker just ahead of us, along with a line of cars. And there’s a 30k speed limit.

We get started, with the MX13 revving out to 1700, 1800 before upshifting as it works up to 12th. Then the hill really bites and the AMT drops from 12th to 8th in one shift, pushing the revs up to 1600 and holding 26km/h.

Liam: “I could click it up a gear….but it wouldn’t last that long.”

As long as it’s not in Eco mode, a simple pull or push on the shifter stalk will prompt an upshift or downshift. To go with the traffic Liam eases off the throttle towards the end of the roadworks, the DAF still

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Above: The trailer load of palm kernel has come across the Southern Alps...to this farm shed at Totara Flat Top left: Liam Edmonds, just 24, says the new DAF is “pretty good”

Bottom left: Tilting the cab requires a bit of manual labour. Luckily, NZ Truck & Driver’s Hayden Woolston is on hand to do the honours

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

TD30267

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Truck & Driver | 33

at 24km/h, still in 8th, at 1500-1600rpm.

Actually, he reckons that, even given a clear run, “this is about it.

You might push 30k.”

The fuel tanker slows, so Liam downshifts to seventh – just before the steepest bit of the climb finds us at 18-19km/h, revs at 1500.

Liam pulls over to let the light vehicles go by, then gives it a bit more throttle – getting up to 20k in 7th, before it drops down to 16k, at 1450rpm.

In the old CF85 he reckons he’d be doing a similar speed here – but in 4th or 5th gear.

Liam: “The gearchanges are a lot quicker in this than the old one.

I had trouble with the old one going over hills like that. You could not let it drop below about 1500. Otherwise you would never get it back.

Oh well, you could…but you’d be pushing down through the gears.”

The engine brake’s on stage 3 and holding us at 85km/h in 14th gear for the downhill run to Lake Lyndon, which is steep, but with no severe corners.

On a right-hand bend, at 80k, there’s a brief electronic beep and a visual warning: “See? There we go there,” says Liam. It was the forward collision avoidance system triggered momentarily – seemingly by a road marker.

“Sometimes it’ll brake….” This time it just beeps once. Then, apparently sensing the object has gone, it does no more.

It’s just after 9am (with the tacho on 61,214kms) when Trevor Woolston gets behind the steering wheel at Castle Hill for his drive.

Since Liam drives in Auto mode most of the time, he’s happy to do likewise – and duly follows Liam’s instructions to tap the button on the end of the gearbox control stalk once we’re under way….to put the AMT into Power mode.

But it doesn’t feel like it’s in Power mode, with quite lazy downshifts at low revs on the first rise and it doesn’t appear to show anywhere on the dash display whether it’s in Power or Eco mode....so he taps 34 | Truck & Driver

the button to make sure…and maybe a second time, by mistake.

Unfortunately two taps on the button puts it into Manual mode!

That discovery comes pretty soon – as he gets to the first hillclimb.

He waits patiently for the first downshift….which doesn’t come. He realises, too late, that it’s in Manual mode!

It takes a momentary stop, then an immediate restart in Manual mode to recover. Liam guesses what’s happened pretty much straight away. It’s a trap for a first-time driver. He has, he confirms, inadvertently bumped it into Manual himself…but has realised it without any dramas.

It reminds him of moments in the old CF “when it wouldn’t change quick enough: You’d be pushing it down…and it still wouldn’t change!”

Closing in on Arthur’s Pass, the outside temperature drops down to 3.5 degrees and Liam hears from another driver that it’s snowing at the summit. But he’s optimistic that the road won’t be closed, regardless: “They’ve got the grit trucks up here and that. Should be fine.”

At Arthur’s Pass village Liam gets back behind the wheel for the next stretch, which happens to include the steepest bit of road on the whole trip – the descent immediately after the summit.

There are other challenges en route to that point though, as we cruise along at 30-35km/h – like a bridge that’s had chunks of tar ripped off it and in patches is down to the wooden decking: “Don’t we pay Road Users to fix that sort of thing?” Liam wonders aloud. It has, he adds, been in this state for a long time.

The first climb is taken in 7th gear, at about 19k and 1600-1700rpm – then the AMT upshifts steadily to 14th and 60km/h as the hill eases.

And then, when the hill really bites again, it quickly drops to 10th, at 30k. It’ll drop another two, Liam predicts – just before it lets the revs fall to around 1100….then actually drops three gears, to 7th. Now it’s at 1500 rpm, and 30k. Geez this thing is uber-confident in its own abilities!

Liam’s confident in it as well – and so he leaves it in automated

Opposite page: The DAF runs daily, five days a week to and fro across the Southern Alps Above left: Liam gets the flow of pelltised stock feed started into an auger

Above right: She’s tightly packed under the Lusk Engineering bulk bin - largely thanks to its feed blower unit installed between the chassis rails

mode on another steep pinch, where it repeats its 10th to 7th downshift, happy once more to let the revs drop as low as 1100 before making the multi-gear change.

Up here, it’s snowing – and there’s a good coating of the white stuff all around as we make the summit. At the sign “Trucks – check your brakes” Liam says happily: “I don’t need to.” In fact, he reckons, he seldom gets to use the foot brake pedal and so doesn’t really know how good the disc brakes are.

He commentates on this gnarliest bit of our drive: “I’m in 11th now, but I’m gonna go sixth. This is one of the very important times when you manually shift it. It’s still in Auto (mode), but I’ve assisted it into sixth. Doing 1500, 17k.

“And look, you could take the brake pedal away. I don’t need it!”

After only about 90 seconds of steep descent, he orders an upshift – and the TraXon goes up to 11th, with the engine brake still on.

We stop at Deaths Corner, where the steep (16% gradient) side road up to the Otira Viaduct Lookout marks the route the old main road took – up to the notorious zig-zag – before the viaduct went in (in 1999).

When we restart, because there are slippery metal strips at each end of the viaduct, Liam puts the crosslocks in – “just to avoid the wheels locking up….which in turn cuts out the engine brake.”

He’s happy to initially keep the TraXon in automated mode, albeit prompting it to settle in 8th at 20k, at 1600 revs, flicking the retarder between its second and third stages.

Liam orders up a downshift to 7th and 23k for a bit, then – from the viaduct down to the flume that channels Candys Creek over the highway, and the rock shelter – he drops it another gear. We’re down to 16-18km/h, using maximum engine braking: “You can go down here a touch quicker, but it’s wet,” he reasons. And this, after all, is the steepest part of our trip.

“Now, I haven’t touched the brakes once,” he reports proudly.

We’ve been as low as 6th gear, our speed between 16 and 20km/h and the MX13 ranging between 1400 and 2000rpm, depending on the engine brake selection.

And in the old CF, he reaffirms, his go-to gear down here was second….at about 10km/h.

Now, as the hill eases, he puts the TraXon into manual mode…. which seems cack-handed, arse-about-face. But he explains that the next 10kms or so is faster, but windy – good for 9th to 14th gear, with the engine brake on stage 3 to slow the truck for corners. But in automated mode the AMT responds to a throttle pedal lift (for a corner) with a double downshift.

Manual mode avoids those unnecessary downshifts. Remarkably,

we’re over three hours into this trip so far, and he’s only been in manual mode for 11 or 12 minutes before he switches back to auto, with adaptive cruise control engaged again as well.

He’s so taken with the AMT he can’t see why it wouldn’t be suitable for tough offroad work – including logging: “Look at what we’ve just come down!”

Driving through here reminds him that one thing he felt when he first got this new truck was that it had more body roll in corners than the old one. To the extent that on one corner around here on one of his first runs in it, the stability control system triggered. It’s interesting because today he shows himself as a careful, smooth driver – definitely not a speedster.

We turn off SH73, just after Jacksons, onto the Lake Brunner Road – an inland route that cuts through the Arnold Valley to the Greymouth-Reefton road (SH7).

It’s pretty easygoing terrain and the AMT responds accordingly: On the hills we do encounter, it allows the revs to drop down to 1000 before downshifting.

Four hours from Darfield, we’re at Totara Flat, negotiating a muddy farm track – without the diff locks in, “because then I’ll have no steering. That’s the worst thing about the three-axle truck. Yep, but hey it’s not that bad.”

The palm kernel in the trailer is quickly tipped off into a shed and we’re soon dropping off the trailer on the main road, before carrying on towards Reefton to deliver the cattle feed to a farm at Mawheraiti.

The last 5kms or so of gravel road to the farm includes a final piece of the test: Big potholes and corrugations are handled nicely by the DAF’s suspension (although we do get banged around a lot more when we drive out, empty).

At the farm, under the watchful gaze of a herd of dairy cows, Liam sets up an auger to convey the feed pellets from a trapdoor in the tailgate, up a tube and into a silo.

He tips the bin a little – to start the flow going – then progressively lifts it higher over the next 40 minutes to keep the feed flowing. Worst part is, it’s now raining pretty hard – completing our full set for the day: Sun, snow and rain!

Back down the road, at Ikamatua – six hours into what’s been half a typical day for Liam and his new DAF – we take our leave: He’s heading into Greymouth to pick up a load of fert for some local farms.

After what we’ve seen this E6 DAF do already today in our run “over the hill,” a couple of local farm deliveries don’t excite us.

We prefer to part with the memory of its mountain mastery foremost in our minds. T&D Truck & Driver | 35

Trevor Test

W

E CATCH UP WITH LIAM AND HIS TRANS-WEST EURO 6 DAF CF 530 on a nice fine morning in Darfield, ready for a run over Arthur’s Pass to the West Coast.

After the compulsory stop at Sheffield Pies for breakfast we’re on the road towards the Alps.

Liam’s in the driver’s seat for the first stage and then I take over once we get up onto the flats beyond Porter’s.

It’s an easy entry with three well-spaced steps, each with good width, depth and a grippy treadplate for stable footing.

Grabhandles front and rear of the doors complement these great steps and make it nice and safe.

Once inside it’s easy to get comfortable, with a great Comfort Air seat that gives plenty of adjustment, along with great steering adjustment.

Right in front of the steering wheel is the main dash with the usual speedo and tachometer, along with fuel and temperature gauges and, in the middle, the multifunction driver performance assistant (DPA) – an interactive programme to assist the driver to achieve more fuel-efficient driving.

On the steering wheel to the right are the cruise control switches and to the left are the stereo volume and station select and phone controls. Off the steering column are two stalk controls – on the right are the AMT controls and engine brake and on the left are the wipers and indicators.

In the centre of the dash are the usual stereo and aircon controls and various switches such as diff locks, ride height etc.

The CF crosses the Ahaura Bridge en route to delivering its load to a couple of farms

36 | Truck & Driver

In general operation there’s really no need for drivers to take their hands off the wheel, as all major functions are operated on or close to the steering column.

As we’re up in the mountains, once we take off I immediately select Power mode for the AMT, by pushing Trevor Woolston the button on the end of the control stalk.

But…what I don’t realise is that this button also selects manual mode if it’s pushed twice and pretty soon this catches me out, when I find myself in Manual on one of the first hill climbs. I have to take some quick action when the gearbox doesn’t automatically shift down as expected.

A quick conflab with Liam as to how this has happened, sorts it out and from there on my drive is a breeze, with the engine/ transmission combination performing impressively.

Under the cab is the new Euro 6 MX13 engine, developing 530hp and 2600Nm of torque, right down to 1000rpm. Certainly, in Power mode the AMT uses

this torque, the TraXon AMT downshifting at around 1000 revs and the engine handling it with no issues – even on some of the steeper grades.

It’s a nice smooth shift and it brings the engine right back on the power each time.

On some of the steeper gradients it selects a double downshift when needed.

While the engine is only 20hp up on the current DAF CF 85, which Liam previously drove, he tells us the extra power is really noticeable and I certainly find it a very lively motor – one that handles the Arthur’s Pass easily.

On the downhills Liam finds using the Manual mode helps with controlling the gear selection and stops unexpected upshifting – as long as the revs aren’t allowed to climb above 2000rpm (as even in Manual it will upshift if it revs past that point).

It’s not a problem if you select the right gear for the descents.

For instance, when Liam suggests sixth gear for one of the longer downhills, I can switch the engine brake between stages two and three to keep the revs just below 2000rpm… and there’s no need for the brake pedal.

As I’d expect from a European offering, the ride is first-rate, with no noticeable impacts coming up through the cab. Also, sound

levels in the cab are great: With the windows up it’s very quiet and a conversation can be conducted across the cab at normal talking levels.

Handling is great, with a very positive feel through the steering making it very easy to position the truck on the road and very little correction is needed to hold your line.

Combine this with a great driving position and it’s very easy to quickly relax behind the wheel….even first time out.

Visibility is great, with a tall screen and nothing above the dash to impede the view out front. The mirrors are great, with electric adjustment of both the large flat mirror and the lower convex mirror. Their positioning doesn’t appear to create any blindspots to the sides….but up in the Southern Alps there aren’t too many intersections to put that to the test!

The three evaluation units of this new CF have been monitored by DAF for about six months to make sure that their spec is right for the local market.

My drive certainly confirms to me that this will be a very competitive truck on the NZ market – and is well suited to our conditions.

It’s right up there, with its host of safety features – which should satisfy the toughest health and safety advocates – and it also offers great driveability and driver comfort. T&D

• SPECIFICATIONS • DAF CF FAT 530 6x4

Engine: PACCAR MX13 Euro 6 (SCR, EGR & DPF) Capacity: 13.0 litres Maximum power: 390kW (530hp) @ 1675rpm Maximum torque: 2600Nm (1917 lb ft) @ 1000-1425rpm Fuel capacity: 430 litres Transmission: 16-speed TraXon 16TX2640 DD AMT Ratios: 1st – 17.93 2nd – 14.68 3rd – 12.11 4th – 9.91 5th – 8.28 6th – 6.78 7th – 5.57 8th – 4.56 9th – 3.92 10th – 3.21 11th – 2.65 12th – 2.17 13th – 1.81 14th – 1.48 15th – 1.22 16th – 1.00 Front axles: DAF 167N, rated at 8000kg Rear axles: DAF/Meritor SR1360T, combined rating of 26,000kg Auxiliary brakes: Three-stage MX engine compression brake and exhaust brake Front suspension: Parabolic springs Rear suspension: DAF air suspension GVW: 25,600kg GCM: 70,000kg

Truck & Driver | 37

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THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

Auckland Transport has proposed a 30km/h speed limit for much of Auckland’s CBD

Taking the cheap option on safety O

by Nick Leggett Chief Executive

TD30270

Road Transport Forum NZ

VER THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS, we have seen the beginning of the new emphasis on road safety.

Unfortunately, investing in newer, safer roads to deal with our growing population and economy is not on the table. Instead, the plan is to slow the country down by reducing speed limits.

Unquestionably, roads and the vehicles that travel on them pose a safety risk. But they also allow for the geographic, economic and social mobility that is fundamental to our society. Sensible transport policy is about finding the balance between these two priorities.

Of course, it’s logical that the slower the traffic moves, the less chance of serious accidents – I accept that.

However, there has to be a limit where reducing speeds below a certain point becomes unreasonable and starts having an adverse impact on the overall efficiency of our roading network.

Auckland Transport has recently pushed ahead with a new speed limit bylaw that will reduce speeds across 700 kilometres of the region’s roads. Much of the media’s focus has been on the new 30km/h inner-city speed limits, but there’s also a big group of rural roads that are going to be brought down from 100km/h to 60km/h or even 40km/h.

Motorists can accept a minor reduction in speed limits where that seems reasonable and there exists the quid pro quo that investment is being put into the roads themselves, but asking open-road traffic to crawl along at 40km/h Truck & Driver | 39

THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

seems on the surface of it to be pretty drastic.

The Government is also pushing piecemeal proposals to lower speed limits on main highways around the rest of the country, with no consideration of the impact on freight movements.

In the South Island, local residents and the New Zealand Transport Agency are at loggerheads over lower speed limits to reduce accident numbers on State Highway 6, from Nelson to Blenheim. If approved, the limit for the entire journey between the two towns, about 110kms, would not be more than 80km/h at any point.

NZTA says the “technical assessment of the state of the road” was the reason behind the proposed reduced speed limit.

I would argue that if the roads are not “technically” safe, the Government should be spending money on upgrading them, not simply reducing the speed limit to suit what they know is a deteriorating piece of infrastructure.

The impact on road freight of such speed limit changes can be significant: In the Blenheim-Nelson area, it ’s estimated that the new speed limit will extend truck travelling time by 20 minutes each way.

That means that, where drivers can now do three roundtrips a day, they will have to reduce that to two, to stay within legal limits. This will result in an increase in costs that have to be passed on down through the supply chain and will eventually hit consumers and exporters.

Delegates at September’s RTF Conference were assured by the Minister of Transport that 160 deaths and serious injuries will be prevented each year through the Government’s “targeted safety upgrades” to our roading network.

Unfortunately, two years into this Government’s time in office we haven’t seen much evidence of these safety upgrades. All we have to show for it is the scrapping of a plethora of much-needed new motorways and a whole lot of money siphoned away from roads to pay for pet projects such as the Wairoa to Gisborne rail line and the complete shambles that is Auckland’s light rail.

To be fair, it is not just this Government to blame – there has been a chronic under-investment in roading for 20-30 years. The last Government focused on building new motorways through its Roads of National Significance Programme, but undeniably failed in the adequate maintenance of existing roads. This Government, according to Twyford, is all about reversing that.

But the reality is we need it all. We need general improvements in maintenance and upgrades across the whole network. We also need the East-West Link, a new motorway between Katikati and Tauranga, four lanes from Levin to Wellington, and an upgrade of State Highway 1 from Christchurch to Ashburton. We need the Manawatu Gorge replacement with four lanes...and we need the Mount Messenger Bypass.

As much as this Government doesn’t like to acknowledge it, big new motorway projects are critical to deal with increasing traffic volumes, increasing economic activity and to help future-proof our transport network for decades to come.

The fact is that the longer we tread water on our roads, the further we get behind. The recently-released National 40 | Truck & Driver

Minister of Transport, Phil Twyford, discusses the Government’s transport plans during the RTF Conference.

Freight Demand Study shows that since 2012 there has been a 18% increase in the overall freight task to nearly 280 million tonnes per year – 93% of which is transported on the road.

Despite the best efforts of politicians and bureaucrats, people and businesses choose the transport mode that best suit their requirements, and in the 21 st Century, where timeliness and flexibility is everything, the best choice will continue to be the road.

This Government has a massive surplus and some of the cheapest borrowing conditions in history. The best investment it could possibly make with that is to our roads.

Blanket speed limit reductions are merely a sticking plaster over what is a self-inflicted wound. The only sure cure for our roading network is new roads, better roads – roads that are not just safe, but also fast, and will help power our economy through the 21st Century. T&D

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THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

Economic commentator Cameron Bagrie explains the dangers of short-termism in the current economic climate to RTF Conference delegates.

Grumpflation, part two, is here A

s.

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T THE 2018 RTF CONFERENCE, ECONOMIC commentator and former ANZ Bank chief economist Cameron Bagrie explained how the New Zealand economy was about to go through a frustrating environment of slowing, grumpy growth and increasing cost pressures that he termed “Grumpflation.”

At this year’s conference Bagrie introduced some new phrases to describe just where NZ could be heading over the next two to three years, and it’s fair to say the path ahead is a bit rocky.

Is the economy heading for the handbasin, the bathtub or the toilet?

These bathroom amenities are the three possible outcomes that Bagrie foresees for the NZ economy, and all three describe some form of economic slowdown.

The best-case scenario – the handbasin – is where the economy starts to pick up in 2020. It relies on a couple of unlikely situations, says Bagrie – the Reserve Bank getting the benefits from its interest rate cuts and further pushing the NZ dollar down to help out the export sector.

This would need to combine with an increase in Government

spending and the Government finally starting to deliver on infrastructure investment.

The bathtub scenario sees things slow a bit further and the economy linger at the bottom of the economic cycle a little bit longer.

“In this scenario monetary policy sort of works, but people have a whole lot of debt, the Auckland housing market is unaffordable and Government spends unwisely – not inspiring confidence across the economy,” says Bagrie.

“The environment is a little bit niggly and we are getting growth, but it is of the grumpy variety. It’s not a downturn – there is a plug in the bottom of the bath and we are going to be okay – but we are going to underperform.

“Option three is the toilet…..and we don’t want to talk about option three,” says Bagrie.

“It’s the financial crisis, part two, and we don’t have enough policy ammunition to get the economy back on a strong footing.”

What is the international outlook?

The first thing Bagrie asks us to consider is that the international Truck & Driver | 43

THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

M S

• • • • •

Bagrie says that in subsidising rail the Government is “taking from Peter to pay Paul”

outlook is a bit bleak. Interest rates around the globe are so low there is very little room to drop them further to stimulate growth and there are some major political problems in the form of Brexit, Middle East instability, protectionism and mixed attitudes to globalisation that are driving unease.

As Bagrie points out, these political problems are often more difficult to fix than the economic ones.

NZ has not really been impacted by the international problems so far, but the economy has nevertheless slowed from around 4% to 2% growth.

What about our domestic situation?

According to Bagrie, in many sectors we don’t have the workforce capacity, which as trucking operators know, is particularly true of the transport sector. The dairy sector is going through some financial stress, with banks turning off the lending tap, although other pockets of the rural community are doing well.

There is also considerable nervousness about Government policy, as the Government doesn’t seem to have its act together….making the private sector nervous, which is reflected in various mood-of-theboardroom surveys.

“When businesses get nervous about Government policy, they get cautious and don’t tend to invest or hire,” explains Bagrie.

“That is precisely the state that NZ sits in right at the moment.” We are also suffering from an economic hangover from “partying too hard” when the times were good, he says.

“It’s household debt levels, it’s whether we’re building too many houses, it’s whether we’re seeing a whole lot of shadow banking sector activity, it’s whether we’ve got too much debt in too many sectors.

“But we’ve also got lower interest rates, not higher interest rates. That’s a good news story….making sure the economic party can continue.”

These lower interest rates benefit borrowers and are designed to fire up the housing market, but it makes things very difficult for savers 44 | Truck & Driver

and retirees.

What is the Government doing?

Bagrie is concerned at political considerations driving the policy agenda. This is leading to poor Government spending on pet transport projects instead of economy-enhancing roads.

Subsidising rail he describes as “taking from Peter to pay Paul,” and investing in more and more branch networks across NZ – from an economic point of view – “just doesn’t work.”

So, which of Bagrie’s bathroom amenities is the NZ economy facing? “My personal view over where the economy sits – we are in the bathtub,” he reckons: “I think we will be ok, but Grumpflation, part two, is here.”

How should businesses respond to Grumpflation?

Businesses that embrace the long game will get ahead, according to Bagrie. For the last 20 years a lot of NZ businesses have focused on short-termism and making quick money, which is a model that needs to change.

Bagrie explained how the NZ banking sector in the 1990s used to think longterm: “They ran an economic model that was about looking after their staff, who in turn looked after the customers….and if the customers were looked after, the shareholders made a buck.”

In a lot of sectors, including the banking sector, maximising shortterm profits has come at the expense of customers and staff and the longterm sustainability of the business.

“We are seeing signs around the globe and across the economy that those behaviours need to shift. We need to be environmentally responsible; we must connect with our communities and look after our staff,” advised Bagrie.

“Organisations that embrace the long game are going to be the ones that get ahead. Those that remain focused on short-termism will get caught out.” T&D

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GOVERNMENT BACKS RTF ON DEFERRED PAYMENTS T

HE ROAD TRANSPORT FORUM HAS PRAISED the Government for announcing a commitment to introduce legislative measures to protect small businesses from unfair commercial practices.

“Smaller transport operators and service providers, particularly in provincial areas, have for years suffered from bullying at the hands of some of the corporate big boys,” says RTF CEO Nick Leggett.

“For a rural transport operator, in many cases their whole business relies on servicing one dominant client – and there is little choice but to accept the contract terms they’re presented with….lest they should lose that contract and go out of business.”

When it comes to unfair commercial practices, one of the most insidious is the imposition of unfair contract terms through deferred payment terms, sometimes as long as 90 days after invoicing.

“Large corporates cynically do this to exploit their suppliers as a cheap source of finance,” says Leggett.

“It’s an accountancy trick that is available to those businesses that 46 | Truck & Driver

exist in an environment that contains very little competition.

“Unfortunately, New Zealand has a few sectors of our economy where competition is scarce and corporates can get away with such practices. This places small transport operators under significant stress.

“As every small business owner knows, cash is king. The timely payment of invoices allows small businesses to pay staff, invest in maintenance and upgrade their machinery when required.”

RTF began lobbying the previous National Government prior to the 2017 election and was one of the first organisations in the door to see new Cabinet ministers Kris Faafoi and Stuart Nash on the issue early in Labour’s time in office.

“We were given a very positive indication by ministers Nash and Faafoi that the Government was keen on doing something and we helped facilitate that further by providing them with a legal opinion that set out the legislative amendments required,” says Leggett.

“Earlier this year the Government subsequently ran a public consultation process to further ascertain the scope of the problem

THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

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

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

For small transport operators, cash is king.

The timely payment of invoices allows them to pay staff, invest in maintenance and upgrade machinery.

across the economy.”

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Faafoi said, in announcing the measures: “We know that unfair commercial practices are harming NZ businesses and consumers.

“We’re taking action to prohibit the most serious types of commercial misconduct, and to ensure there are better protections against unfair contract terms.”

During the consultation process, says Minister for Small Business Nash, “we heard about a range of potentially unfair contract terms, including extended payment terms, one-sided contract terms, and businesses being locked-in to contracts for long periods of time.

“We also heard that some businesses aren’t complying with the terms of existing contracts, making excessive demands, and blacklisting and bullying their suppliers.”

The Government ’s measures include a specific commitment to extend the provisions of the Fair Trading Act to business to business contracts with a value below $250,000.

Unfortunately, as part of the same process the Government is also determined to try to legislate to prohibit “unconscionable conduct.”

Unconscionable conduct applies where courts consider it unfair or “against good conscience” to allow a party to enforce its contractual rights against another party which is deemed to be in a weaker position and is forced to accept what’s on offer. Contracts would therefore not be enforceable if a court decides they are “unconscionable.”

Says Leggett: “RTF opposes this measure as we believe it will inadvertently put into law provisions that are so vague and ambiguous that all they will do is unnecessarily add to corporate litigiousness and be unusable for small to medium businesses that do not have the significant legal resources required to pursue it.

“Nevertheless, we are pleased that ministers Nash and Faafoi have acted on our concerns and are making a proper attempt at levelling the playing field for small NZ businesses. RTF awaits the details of the Government’s plans with interest and will continue to engage in the process on behalf of our members.”

The Government’s intention is to introduce these measures through a Fair Trading Amendment Bill early in 2020. T&D

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

South Taupo/Turangi/Gisborne/ Taranaki/Manawatu/Horowhenua/ Wellington 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/ Thames-Coromandel/Bay of Plenty/ North Taupo/King Country Scott Asplet 0800 367 782 (Option 2) 027 445 5785 sasplet@rtanz.co.nz

Truck & Driver | 47

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ORT co-owner Don Wilson is clearly an optimistic, positive, glass-half-full kind of a guy

T

HERE ARE A FEW NEGATIVES THAT COME AS PART AND parcel of Don Wilson’s line of trucking business.

They come in the form of compliance demands, regulations…..and more compliance demands. And more regulations.

All areas of road transport, of course, are subject to these increasing compliance demands, as Don sums up: “The extra things you have to do each day to make your business operate is getting harder and harder.”

Don, the boss of Pukekohe’s OnRoad Transport, is the chairman of the National Road Carriers Association – and knows full well how much compliance stuff that NRC does to assist its members, across the industry.

But then, if you want to carry livestock – OnRoad Transport’s specialty – the compliance demands ratchet-up dramatically: “Our compliance nowadays is a lot harder than it was 20 years ago.

“We’ve got to be certified to do this, certified to do that. You can’t drive onto a meat processor unless you’re NZLTA (New Zealand Livestock Transport Assurance) qualified or registered….

“And the auditing process we have to go through every twoyears is huge: Our yard gets audited, our trucks get audited.

“Our drivers have virtually got to be vets nowadays too! We can’t just go in and pick up 35 cows – we’ve got to make sure those cows are fit and proper for transport.

“Even though the farmer should ensure that anything that’s marginal should have a vet’s certificate with it – saying things like ‘must be last on and first off’ and ‘must go to the closest plant.’ These are things that our drivers have to be aware of all the time.

“Cancerous eyes, mastitis, horns just touching the scalp….”

The list just seems to go on….and on.

And now, on top of all that, there’s the dreaded (well, much-hated anyway) NAIT – the controversial National Animal Identification Tracking system, with which the Government wants to put the onus on transport operators, rather than just farmers, for ensuring every animal carted has a little white ID tag in its ear.

Otherwise they’re threatened with a $400 per animal fine – and even the mild-mannered Wilson gets feisty at the thought of it: “The transport industry has had enough. We’re sick of being the easy target!

“If they continue to push…” he tails off, shaking his head at the thought of it. It brings to mind another negative of his particular situation: “It’s getting harder and harder to attract staff – especially 50 kilometres south of Auckland! Nobody wants to work Sundays.”

Considering all of this, it’s just as well then that the 56-yearold Don is clearly one of those glass half-full, positive types: Even with all of these challenges, he reckons, doing livestock “can be as hard or as difficult as you want it to be.”

Besides, livestock transport is what he grew up with – his Dad had a stock carrying company in Whangarei (John Wilson Ltd) back in the 1960s and early ‘70s.

And even when he had a good job in produce transport with Balle Brothers – a big Pukekohe-based vege grower, packer, marketer and transporter – livestock cartage called him back.

Don’s life in transport started in Northland, via his Dad’s business – riding in trucks with the drivers during holidays and after school: “When I left school I worked on a farm for a bit, then started with United Carriers – like everybody else in the transport industry in Whangarei back then.

“I started in the warehouse and did a bit of general freight work for them – and ended up in a stock truck like my father Truck & Driver | 51

New DAF CF is contracted to Dynes during the milk season to pick up milk around Pukekohe and the north Waikato. For the rest of the year, the tanks will be replaced by stock crates

52 | Truck & Driver

and older brother. Started on a 1418 Mercedes, then a G88 Volvo, an F10 Volvo, and finished on a 2233 Mercedes.”

The lure of the ‘big smoke’ eventually got the better of Don: “I moved down to Auckland in ‘89, to work for United carriers here, when they bought R.W. Howard. I worked there for another five-years before I decided it was time to

move on.”

In 1994 he decided he needed a change – and started with Balle Brothers in Pukekohe, “to drive a tractor or a spud truck.”

The lure of livestock intervened: “I had a bit of history with one of the stock agents, and in January 1995, we (Balle Brothers and Don, that is) put a stock truck on the road, under the Balle

Brothers umbrella.

“It was a K100E (Kenworth). We borrowed some crates off a guy I knew, stuck it on the road and away we went.”

The business quickly gained momentum – “predominantly working for Affco, but the clientele just grew and grew.

“We put a brand-new S108 Foden with a 500 Cummins on the

Truck & Driver | 53

P

•

•

Above: When the company ownership structure changed in 2014 and it was renamed OnRoad Transport, the property purchased for its new yard came with the necessary consent to operate a cleanfill Left: Balle Bros K100s from the early days of the livestock operation

road in about March or April – that replacing the K100. Then we put another one on in ’96 – exactly the same. Both brand-new.

That same year, the livestock operation was separated from Balle Brothers….into Balle Brothers Livestock Transport Ltd: “I had 33% and Balle Brothers had the rest.

“The work was there: I was driving and running the business – it was a lot easier to do that then than it is right now. Not too many staff issues.

“In ‘98 we put a Kenworth on – again brand-new. It was truck of the year in ’99 – the latest and greatest and lightest in tare weight. I was pretty proud about getting that truck. The small fleet all had brand new Fruehauf trailers and Delta stock crates back then.

“In 2000 we replaced the older Foden with a brand-new unit and in 2001 we bought a demonstrator CF DAF. Balle Brothers still operates that truck today, as a flatdeck.”

Basically, the growth of the business – and thus the fleet – has never stopped, as Don details: “We put a K104 on the road in ‘05 as a replacement and in ‘06 put on another K104B. That had us up to five trucks – then we also put a six-wheeler Isuzu on the fleet in ‘06 to attract a Class 4 driver.

Another DAF was purchased in 2007 – and a year later the operation added the first 510hp CF85 with a Roadranger in it.

And so it went – with extra and replacement trucks regularly added – until 2014, when the company name was changed to OnRoad Transport (ORT). Don explains that Balle Brothers decided to act on an idea that he and the company had “bandied around….for quite some time.

“They said they wanted to concentrate on their produce company – so I added funds and brought my shares up to 50%, and one of the Balle brothers, Jim, became the other 50% shareholder….and that’s how it’s been ever since.

54 | Truck & Driver

“So, in 2014 we bought the property where our yard is, built a truckwash and slowly continued from there.”

Along with the new property came another business opportunity: “When we bought the 35 acres where our yard is situated, there was already a consent to operate a cleanfill there.

“Since then, we’ve got consent to increase the capacity of it.

It was quite a big deal to get the resource consent increased, but having it certainly helps our business – it blends in well with what we do.”

Since then, the ORT fleet has continued to grow. It’s now up to 16 trucks – eight company-owned and eight run in company colours by four owner/drivers. The ORT-owned lineup comprises seven PACCAR products – DAFs and Kenworths – and one Scania. The OD trucks comprise one Volvo, two Kenworths, three Mitsubishis and two DAFs. All but two trucks in the ORT fleet are dedicated livestock units – the first exception being a new DAF CF85, which swaps its crates for milk tanks during the milk season and is subcontracted to Dynes. The work was, says Don, “just something different – and the opportunity was there.”

The other is an old Kenworth T404 tipper, used to do a bit of bulk work for local farmer clients.

PACCAR and its NZ dealer, Southpac Trucks, have been “bloody good to us,” says Don: “Their aftersales service and the way they look after us….I’d struggle to go anywhere else. We don’t have issues with them.”

The same loyalty extends to other suppliers, Don explaining why: “You build a relationship with people that you trust and you want to work with. I’m a real fan of building relationships with our suppliers.

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truck bodies, trailers. Nationwide Stock crates at the Mount, for crates. It’s even down to our tyre suppliers. It’s easy.”

Running a successful business is, of course, a challenging fulltime job….but somehow Don has also managed to fit in years of work for the good of the industry, through the National Road Carriers and the Road Transport Forum (which he’s now a board member of ).

It started “years ago: Paul Chappel from Pyramid Trucking came and saw me about coming on the National Road Carriers board. I went to one of the board meetings and had to talk a bit about myself. Most people know who I am, so it wasn’t a biggie.

I got nominated and at the AGM was successful in getting on the board.

“And then, three years ago, I was put in as chair. This is my fourth year as chairman of the National Road Carriers. Now I’ve just gone on the RTF board, to take over from Calven Bonney.”

He values the work of both organisations: “I see the likes of the NRC as a very important part of our industry. We need someone to do the advocacy work for us and we need to stick together.

“I can’t go and fight a battle by myself – you need to do it as a collective. Our current CEO at the Forum (Nick Leggett) is going to take the Forum in a totally different direction from where it had been going. We need the Forum. It’s our lobby group to Government – that’s our pathway.”

Don continues. “The Forum actually works for us as members, whether it’s an NRC or an RTA member…and they have to lobby Government.

“What we are going to do is make sure is that what we’re

getting the Forum to do is something that affects the country.

If we’ve got a problem in Auckland, we can normally sort it out locally – there’s no need to get the Forum involved.

“But it’s still good to tell them, because we might be having a problem in Auckland or in Northland or wherever – but that problem might also be in Hawke’s Bay or Canterbury. If we’re all telling the Forum the same thing then it becomes a national problem. So we all work together and sort it out.”

The value of an organisation like the NRC has been on show recently, Don reckons, with its Fix The Road campaign: “The Government actually listened to that campaign at the RTF conference recently. Twyford actually spoke about it, so it got a bit of traction.

“What people have got to realise is that you don’t have to be a member of the NRC to actually say anything – just go on our Facebook page and you tell us.”

He highlights the roading issue because, he adds, “the Government is all about putting barriers down the side of the road, but if they don’t fix the road surface first, there’s no point!

“It’s the surface that’s causing the vehicle to veer off. So the more first-hand information we have, the better.”

The Labour Government’s attitude to roading is an added challenge for transport operators, Don believes: “The increased taxes are not going where they need to go. The consolidated funds, Road Users, fuel taxes are not being spent on the roads – and the roads are how everything, well certainly a big percentage, is getting moved.

“So if we don’t have a good roading network, it just adds cost. As a business, we can’t just continue absorbing cost

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Above: Somehow, as well as a hands-on role running ORT, Don also gets time to work on industry bodies National Road Carriers and the Road Transport Forum

Top left: John Wilson’s TS3 Commer, bought around 1967, was a 4x2, with a belt drive third axle. It was repowered with a Detroit 6V53 by Tidd Ross Todd Left: Two of Don’s earliest drives were at the wheel of the United Volvo G88 (left), then the F10

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because of what’s happening in Auckland or because of the road surfaces – they need to be passed on….to the primary producer or the exporter and ultimately the end-user.

“I see the current Government, with them stopping spending money on infrastructure, will impact all of us over the next five to 10 years. It will be massive.

“It’s a safety issue too. The road surfaces we drive on are not being maintained up to a standard which is acceptable. Our drivers go to work and we have to provide them with a safe truck to drive, safe equipment to use, high-vis and hard hats, all the PPE… “Yet, the way I see it, I’m sending them into an unsafe work environment. So where’s the line?”

His current No. 1 battle though, as an RTF board member and a livestock operator, is on the unfair NAIT scheme: “Myself and Mark Ngatuere from the Forum spent a week travelling the country getting support from the bulk of the transport operators about this.

“If we cart an animal without a NAIT tag…the Minister wants to prosecute us $400 per animal.

“We’re pushing back: We (myself, RTF chief executive Nick Leggett and Ngatuere) have done a submission to the Government select committee a month ago to say that ‘sorry, that goes back to the farmer. The farmer is the one that puts the tag in its ear, the farmer should be making sure that they all have tags.’

“Federated Farmers are on our side – they say that it’s not our problem: We can’t be expected to go out to a farmer’s place and make sure that every animal has got a tag in its ear – we can’t scan them. It’s not our job. It all stems back to the Mycoplasma Bovis (outbreak) – because it took so long….the tracing and the tracking. NAIT wasn’t working.

“So they see us as another part of the chain, which we are.

But the equipment isn’t available to scan everything – it’s not that easy. We’ll be somewhere in the dark and in the rain, you just can’t see. On top of that, they (the tags) don’t always read.

“I think the pushback we’ve done with NAIT is a bit of a signal to them that the transport industry has had enough.”

The technology that goes into today’s stock crates and trailers certainly helps an operator with compliance: “The technology we’re using now is better – so much aluminium. The last three trailers I’ve bought are all full aluminium trailers – a little bit lighter, but certainly the length has made a big difference for us.

“But our biggest issue now is back rub infringement. If a cattle beast rubs itself, on the top deck predominantly – whether it’s on the pin bone, or hip, or top of the tail – if it’s bigger than the size of registration sticker, we’ll get an infringement notice with a $500 fine (per beast) attached to it.

“Animal welfare is paramount in livestock transport. It’s (arguably) easier for us here in Auckland, as the distances are shorter. But I feel sorry for the guys carting out of the East Coast or down in Hawke’s Bay, who have to get stock to Auckland – or anywhere that’s some distance away.

“If they turn up and there’s an 800kg ox that they can’t ‘fit in,’ next minute they’re coming to Auckland with half a load: A 50MAX unit running at 45t. The processors and the farmer have to be more aware and act accordingly.”

He does believe that “in some ways,” the high compliance demands do have one benefit: Simply because those who can survive the tough regime are those who “can do quite a good job.” But, brutally, any who can’t or won’t comply will be forced out.

Mention to him that the wider rural industry he’s part of is a popular target for environmentalists and the Government, and he’s forthright in his views: “The rural sector is the backbone of this country. The Government has to realise that without the rural sector – sheep farming, dairy farming, logging plantations….whatever – that’s where NZ makes its money.

Tourism is up there as well, but without the rural sector, I think the country’s screwed, myself.

“We need those sectors. The primary industry is what this country was built on. The logging sector looks like it’s going Truck & Driver | 59

to continue where it is – I don’t see it changing too much. The sheep and beef side of it – with the clean water regulations and stuff that’s coming in now – it will be harder for them.

“But that’s what the country was built on – agriculture. It doesn’t matter whether it’s growing cauliflower or cabbage, or sheep or beef or dairy, we need it.”

“I see smaller farmers falling away and the neighbour buying out the neighbour.”

Rail freight versus road freight is another industry issue that’s getting a lot of attention, given the Ardern Government’s determinedly pro-rail focus: Don happily concedes that “trains have their place, if you want to shift bulk product from A to B and it’s connected by rail lines – that’s fine.

“But if it’s got to be transported by truck to get onto a train and then another truck the other end, and you’re only travelling 100kms down the road, it’s totally inefficient…absolute waste of time.

“The money they’re going to spend on the lines up North is just an absolute waste. The cost of trying to put a railway line out to Marsden Point is horrendous.

“You can’t make the trains any longer or any bigger, (I hear) the lines between Auckland and Hamilton are already at capacity, especially since they’re trying to get more people on trains. So either the freight or people will need to take a back seat. And with the congestion in Auckland…”

Ah yes – Auckland’s infamous, time-wasting, money-burning traffic congestion. What of that and its effect on ORT? “We do so much work through Auckland and the loss of productivity we

face going through Auckland…..

“You never know how long it’s going to take you. We have a delivery time we have to meet and if that puts you going through Auckland during rush hour, you’re stuffed.

“And it’s getting worse. I can’t see that what they’re doing with the motorway to Drury – three-laning it – will make any difference. It should be four lanes and it should have been done years ago. It’s too little, too late!”

Unsurprisingly, given his heavy involvement in NRC and the RTF, Don takes an interest in industry developments overseas, as well as back here. And yes, that includes keeping an eye on what’s happening with exhaust emissions standards, alternative fuels.…even autonomous trucks.

So far as Greenhouse gases go, he reckons we’re about where we should be – with truckmakers beginning to bring in Euro 6-compliant trucks, or their North American or Japanese equivalents.

“We have Euro 6 – that’s available now in Scania, DAF... so we’re doing what we can with the gases. For us, EVs (electric vehicles) wouldn’t work – not for the heavy rural operator. Where are we going to charge it? I don’t know the full technologies (involved) but right now I can’t see it working. Plus with the added batteries, the tare weight would be too much, I would have thought.

“Hydrogen maybe? Which still leaves the tare weight issue.

Somebody told me that the amount of savings you can get moving from Euro 5 to 6 is large. You use twice as much AdBlue, but your emissions are halved, plus also it’s more fuel-efficient.

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Right: 1996 Foden S108, pictured at a wintry National Park, was ORT’s third purchase – following an identical truck bought a year earlier

60 | Truck & Driver

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Apparently, if your truck does 100,00kms per year, you’ll save $4000 in fuel…at a cost of $1500 extra in AdBlue.”

As for driverless trucks – he can’t see them finding much use in NZ: “They might be fine working on an Autobahn over in Europe, but our country isn’t big enough, we don’t have the infrastructure…plus someone’s got to load it at each end.”

So these are not issues that he spends much time worrying about. Not like some that are vitally important: “Our biggest issue right now is the driver shortage, and I think you’ll find that everywhere.

“It’s good as an owner to get behind the wheel of a truck and go and meet customers and see facilities first-hand but the

62 | Truck & Driver

driver shortage is a huge issue.

“The roading issue is not far behind it, because if we don’t have a good safe environment for our staff to work in, they’re not going to want to work.

“And we (as truck company owners) need to work a little bit harder at working together.... Take some of the competition out of it and build a relationship with other operators. You can get a good system going where you can all gain from it.”

He’s grateful for the work that the NRC, for instance, is doing – much of it unsung, unnoticed…. “members might not see it.

They spend a lot of time working behind the scenes doing work for the industry.

Main picture: One of the handful of Kenworths that wear OnRoad colours. Don reckons distributor Southpac Trucks is so good to deal with, he won’t bother going elsewhere Opposite page, left: United Mercedes-Benz 2233 was Don’s fourth drive

Opposite page, right: Don has also found the time in recent years to volunteer his time as chief judge in the NZ Truck Driving Championship – helping do the honours after the 2017 contest, alongside (from left) sponsor Andrew Carpenter (TR Group MD), outright winner Simon Reid and 2016 champ Stuart Howard

“The importance of the NRC is far-reaching. It’s not just the fuel deal, it’s about the partnerships and advice. For example, mental health: Our staff spend a lot of time by themselves, so they actually spend a lot of time thinking.

“If things aren’t going right at home or in your life, I think you can see signs, or signals. So maybe just talk to people – don’t be afraid of saying ‘shit, I’m having a bad time right now.’

“And that’s something that we may have to get through to our staff: ‘Don’t be afraid of saying something.’ We’re not counsellors, but we might be able to point them in the right direction.

“And that’s the beauty of belonging to an association….we

might have somebody that can help them.”

So far as OnRoad Transport goes, “for the next probably five years anyway, I see us maintaining where we are. Never say never, but there’s no desire for me to get any bigger right now.

“I like building relationships with people. We have a good working relationship with some other transport operators and we outsource to them when we’re under pressure.

“Rather than buying more equipment of our own, utilising some of their gear, especially out of town, makes more sense.

And hopefully that’s a vice-versa situation.”

This is a positive, optimistic man – and as he said earlier: “It can be as hard or as difficult as you want it to be.” T&D

Truck & Driver | 63

THE TIP OF A TRUCKING ICEBERG Story Dave McLeod & Wayne Munro Photos Gerald Shacklock

I

T’S ONLY (SO FAR) A FLEET OF 10 BULK TRUCKS… doesn’t amount to anything sensational when it’s set in the midst of one of New Zealand’s single biggest road construction projects.

But this modest fleet, employed on the $850million Transmission Gully motorway construction project north of Wellington, is actually just the tip of an impressive road transport industry iceberg.

The lineup is, in fact, an insight into a remarkable operation

64 | Truck & Driver

that’s an impressive – and growing – power in the trucking industry.

There’s a business philosophy that reckons there’s strength in diversity…and another that embraces the idea of being all things to all people: The old one-stop-shop approach. Both are on show with the company that imported, built, sold and owns these trucks.

If that sounds unlikely, here’s how it works: The fleet is a showcase for some (not all, by any means) of the capabilities

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Both pictures: A fleet of Sinotruk bulk trucks, each fitted with ejector (push-off ) bulk bodies and owned by Modern Transport’s vehicle and machinery lease division, is working on the giant Transmission Gully motorway project

Truck & Driver | 65

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Robin Ratcliffe on the shop floor at Modern Transport Engineers. The combination of MTE and Roadmaster trailers, which became part of the Ratcliffe-owned Modern Group in 2018, makes his business the biggest trailermaker in the country of longtime trucking industry businessman/entrepreneur Robin Ratcliffe’s Modern Transport Group.

The trucks, for instance, are Sinotruks – a Chinese make that Modern Transport took over the NZ distribution rights for in October 2018. They’re fitted with ejector (push-off ) bodies – designed to be safer than a tipper for unloading on side-slopes.

And the bulk bodies are built by Roadmaster Trailers – a company that Modern Transport Group bought in September 2018.

To complete the Modern Transport circle, the trucks are owned by another Ratcliffe company, Equipment & Transport Leasing (ETL) – working for the Transmission Gully sub-contractors, the CPB HEB joint-venture.

Modern Transport reckons that soon more Sinotruks will be joining ETL’s current lineup on the Transmission Gully job – all bulk trucks…some more with ejector bodies, others more traditional tippers.

With them and other brand-new Sinotruks, the synergies between the Modern Transport family members continue: MTE (Modern Transport Engineers) – the foundation member of Ratcliffe’s business empire and a company he started in 1973 – also builds Hardox steel tipper bodies and its speciality lowloader transporter trailers for new ready-to-work Sinotruks….

While Roadmaster also supplies its Glidemaster and Metromaster bodies and trailers for other models in the turnkey Sinotruk lineup.

It’s a powerful business model…and one that’s growing: In 2018, for instance, MTE sold 138 heavy trailers in NZ, while Roadmaster sold 117. The MTE/Roadmaster combo thus made the Modern group the biggest trailer manufacturer in the country.

And, while just 37 Sinotruks were sold in 2018 (and 31 in 2017), the make’s now on track to perhaps sell 100 in 2019, with 75 sold

in the first nine months.

It’s undeniably an impressive operation that’s behind all of this….and a quite remarkable person driving it.

Modern Transport founder and boss Robin Ratcliffe says it all makes sense – it’s all logical: “If you have a look at what’s happened here, transport is transport.

“We’re doing nothing different: This is ALL transport orientated.

“What we’re doing is ‘cradle to grave’ transport. You can come to us now and you can buy a truck, you can lease a truck – you can get your truck painted with us, you can buy a spare part for your truck….

“We’ll give you a trailer to go on the back, we’ll lease you it, we’ll sell you it, we’ll hire it to you, we’ll finance it for you. We’ve got the parts and everything for that as well – and we’ll even sell you plywood that we bring in to use on the decks,” he sums up.

Actually, he adds: “We go a wee bit further”: For companies working with heavy machinery, Modern can not only provide the transporters to shift the gear....but most likely also the machines to go on them.

“So today, if you want to cart a bulldozer, we’ll sell that – we’ll hire it to you too. We’ve got the agency for NorAm graders, for Lonking forklifts and excavators, Ensign loaders – we’ve got a whole range of gear that is all transport orientated.”

To understand how Modern got to this point you need to turn back the hands of time – way back, in fact: “My Grandfather was the secretary to PM Gordon Coates and my father was a top LA1 aircraft mechanic. He was in the War (World War 2) maintaining the Catalinas (flying boats) for the air force.

“However, I was brought up by my Mum and stepfather….a joiner and funeral director.”

Truck & Driver | 67

The Sinotruk production line: The company offers a range of ready-to-work units including tippers, pushoff bulk trucks, curtainsiders, flatdecks, loggers, tractor units and readymix concrete trucks At the age of 15, Ratcliffe moved to Hamilton to live with his father – initially attending Fraser Tech, but soon starting work at boilermakers Ajax Engineers – a job arranged by his Dad. At 17, Robin met his wife Colleen (then just 16) and in September, 1966, they married. They’re still together today.

Ratcliffe completed his apprenticeship before moving to a factory making plastic products, where he made machinery for the secondary operations there. He says he left there because his boss claimed Robin’s ideas as his own….to boost his career.

Says Ratcliffe: “I’m not into this corporate bullshit, so I thought ‘bugger this – I’ll go and get another job,’ and immediately got accepted at (trailermakers) Transport & General.

“I loved it: Loved the job, loved the environment and loved the respect from the boss, Ian Stevenson.”

At 24 Ratcliffe was happily working for T&G by day and doing a NZ Certificate of Engineering by night.

But when he was passed over for the job of running a new branch in Taranaki, as he recalls, “I was pretty disappointed, as I knew I had the attributes to do it. I was looking for a challenge and for the next step to be able to do something with my life.

“I was always a guy that loved advancement – loved furthering myself. I didn’t want to be ‘just another engineer.’

“So, by the time 1973 came along….bang! I was into business.”

Ratcliffe left Transport & General and started Modern Transport Engineers, with Ray Leach and Harbijan Singh.

Things didn’t go smoothly at the outset: The fledgling operation was forced to move from its initial home, because the same yard already had another transport engineering company.

And then Leach bowed-out as well: “So the two of us – Harbijan and myself – started out in a 3000-foot rented building.

“For the first year we didn’t make a trailer at all – it was just engineering: We made 27 curing trolleys for Readymix Concrete.

68 | Truck & Driver

We did a good job….made some good money and started to have to pay some tax.”

Rather quickly, things between the two partners became a little strained, resulting in a split: “We had another company at that stage – it was a machine shop – so he (Harbijan) took the shop and I went alone.”

So, in 1976, Ratcliffe took over MTE and began building trailers – its first customer, Readymix Concrete: “They wanted a tipping trailer and I remembered that at T&G they had looked at building either a high-tensile tipper from Lysaght in Australia, or an Australian alloy design.” In the end though they decided to build in alloy – and “never made one in the high-tensile steel.

“So I wrote to Lysaght and asked whether I could build their tipper. They said ‘no problem at all’ and sent me across the drawings. So I started to make some tippers that were lighter than the aluminium ones.

“I made them for Readymix Concrete, AF Porter and a few other clients and that got us into the world of tipping trailers.”

When Waikato Heavy Haulage owner George Scott asked MTE to quote on building a transporter, Ratcliffe says: “I knew pretty much what the opposition price was, but the only way I could beat it was to build the trailer for the cost of the materials, and axles and tyres…and donate the labour into it.

“We built two transporters for him for basically no labour cost.

My accountant said: ‘Why are you doing that?’ I told him it’s the future of the industry and heavy haulage industry trailers was what I was good at and I enjoyed doing.

“That led on to more and more trailers and that started us into the heavy haulage industry.”

By 1979, Modern Transport Engineers was ready to build its first three rows of eight transporter – given a shot at it by Renners, in Tauranga. It was the first full air S-cam 3R8.

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“Then Jim Ross (from TRT) got us to make a trailer with hydraulic brakes. I didn’t want to ‘cos we were building them with air. He was operating in the South Island and the temperatures down there were minus in the winter, so when they parked it at night, the drums would shrink down and the wheel cylinders would start leaking.

“Anyway, Jim asked if we could change them to air, so I made up an adapter and changed all his axles back over to air.”

A year before this Ratcliffe had become involved in something completely different – as in a circus! His brother Tony owns the popular Whirling Brothers Circus and Robin had become his business partner.

“I grew its fleet of trucks and invested a lot in there. My tax had dropped because I was spending so much of my time there.

We brought in an elephant out of Hawaii and the circus was full of other animals. Then we built a lion park at Mystery Creek and put 15 lions there – bred some there too. That was 1980.”

However, the lion park was a drain on Ratcliffe’s resources: “We closed the park in ‘81 because it wasn’t meeting our expectations.

It would have caused the engineering business to fail had I kept it going.”

Ratcliffe returned his focus to Modern Transport – put his “heart and soul back into it.”

What’s happened with MTE in the close on four decades since, wasn’t a Robin Ratcliffe vision: “I never really thought that Engineering was going to get to the size it is now. I would have been quite happy just to have a good crew and have what Ian Stevenson had.

“But I didn’t have a boundary limit – there was no upper limit.

I didn’t have the expectation that I was only going to grow to a certain size.”

But first, with the business still reeling from the lion park venture, Ratcliffe had to make some bold moves to keep it afloat: “We knuckled back down and started charging deposits on trailers – something we hadn’t done before. And that helped us – gave us more cashflow.

“Then we started buying some property. The first section I had, I bought for $38,000 and it had $35,000 worth of topsoil on it.

I sold that, only to be told that it was capital so I didn’t have to pay tax on it! I virtually got the section for nothing.”

They built a factory on the section…but immediately found it was too small, so bought the land next door and built on that too.

In 1982, a customer from Greytown, Kelvin Grey, turned up at the shop, saying he’d heard they were building good trailers and he wanted them to build a house removal trailer.

Remembers Ratcliffe: “But I was busy…I was working on the shop floor. I had an engineer from Albany, John Wildy. We had a good relationship – almost like a father/son: I was pretty young, he was retired.

“Anyway, he and I were engaged in trying to design a big transporter for the Tiwai aluminium smelter.

“So Kelvin came to us and he had a brown paper bag with him.

He put it on the table and he said: ‘Maybe this will help you.’ It was full of money! A lot of money.”

So, says Ratcliffe, the trio sat down and started to dissect what the trailer really had to do: “I had no idea about house removal.”

Kelvin brought them up to speed, including the need to hydraulically lift the load up to 18-inches. It helped, says Ratcliffe,

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Above: Low-loader transporters have long been an MTE speciality

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Left: Robin keeps an old spanner his Dad gave him when he was a kid....so he could fix his own bike.

Robin sees it as a reminder that given the tools, you can do anything Above: The “ready when you are” Sinotruk range offers a nine-axle flatdeck truck and trailer unit for $382,500, a curtainsider for $405K that Wildy had worked in England on the design of army tanks and had worked for Land Rover.

And he said: “What would happen if we made a split axle and we put a pan under it?”

Ratcliffe had seen a split axle before, understood the concept… and immediately was on-board with the idea: “So I said ‘that’s what we need to do.’ And I said to Kelvin, ‘leave it John and me.’ ” They launched into the project right away, with the more experienced Wildy designing it and Ratcliffe building it.

“The trailer only weighed 8.5 tonnes so it was really pretty good. But to our surprise, it didn’t have 18-inches of suspension travel – it had an extra 12-inches as well! Thirty inches in total!

It’s not just suspension – it’s the movement of the ram that gave us the extra height.

“So we built the first trailer and the cost was about $38k and it was a roaring success. We didn’t have what we’ve got today, but we had a trailer that worked on displacement rams and an electro-hydraulic power pack and tromboned out. It did the job and everyone was happy as a sandboy.”

Warwick Johnson from House Removals was the next customer to order a transporter and this was followed by Gold Coast Removals: “As we went on we just started developing little, subtle changes. We went from displacement rams to piston-driven rams to give us more power. Then they wanted more power, more height, more length, top decks….all different things as they kept on coming.

“There was a run on these house trailers from 1982 to 1998 and we had good command on it because we were developing as we went.”

While this was all going on, another new business opportunity was opening up – namely, selling its trailers in Australia: “A New Zealander that had a company over there had heard about us. He said, ‘could you build me a bitumen tank?’

“I knew very little about those tanks other than what had been built at T&G, and I really wasn’t involved in that. Anyway, I knew a guy (Graham Hasler) that worked down the road from us…he’d worked at the National Dairy Association building stainless steel tanks and I said to him ‘how’d you like to build a tank for us?’

“I told him, ‘you build the tank and I’ll put all the running gear underneath it and finish it off.’ So he made the tank out of 5mm, we put the burner tubes up it and sheathed it in aluminium. It was a great trailer – 24,000 litres.”

The customer was so impressed, he came back and asked for a tilt-deck trailer as well: “So I built a tilt-deck for him. Then one of his competitors (Boral) said, ‘can you build us two tanks?’ ” Ratcliffe went back to Graham Hasler and asked for his help.

“He said ‘no I can’t – I’m too busy. But what I’ll do is show YOU

how to make them.’ So from then on, we started developing bitumen tanks for NZ and Australia. We became so good at it that most of the regulations that have been written on bitumen tanks have been based on our tanks.”

In 2009, MTE Australia was established: “We needed to have a base there because the Australians are so parochial. We needed to show them that ‘we are not fly by night – you can come and touch the trailers…. We will sell you them, trade them, maintain them, supply parts.’

“We care and are part of Australia. It has gone through the doldrums recently,” but MTE’s commitment has been “not to leave Australia….there’s opportunities there to still grow. And right now the shoots are starting to come through again. We’re seeing it start to pick up again.”

MTE has ended up with teams of guys – specialists in house trailers, another in bitumen tankers and another in transporters – and has continued to flourish….although Ratcliffe insists he was never actually striving to be the biggest in the business.

“I wasn’t thinking about being the Number One trailermaker.

But I know in a duelling match there can only be one winner – and in a race you don’t aim for second.

“We’re not going out of our way unnecessarily to be No. 1, but if it happens, it happens. It’s a journey that we’re on and I’m not going to break my neck to be the No. 1. There’s business decisions that you need to make as well.”

There have been many, many such decisions made over the years. Like purchasing Taylor Couriers in 1993 and buying Japanese secondhand tyres importer Budget Tyres a year later. He built a house in Whangamata, created a housing subdivision with 40 sections on it….and purchased land near the MTE office for its vehicle maintenance company.

Then there’s ETL (Equipment and Transport Leasing). That began back in 1992 when, says Ratcliffe, he and Hamilton property developer and businessman Tom Andrews (who’s since created a world-class classic car museum in the city) came up with an idea.

They “decided that there must be an easier way to make money, so we jumped on a plane and went to America.

“We flew around the country and found these trucks (Kenworth T600s) in Dallas and thought it would be a good thing to bring them to NZ. Not knowing stuff-all about trucks we bought four of them (one for Tom, three for me).

“Schenker, the freight company, managed to demolish two of the trucks by hitting a bridge with an over-height load. It wrecked the cabs, so we had to rebuild them when they arrived. Then we changed them over to right-hand-drives and learnt how to convert trucks.

Truck & Driver | 73

Above: The Modern Group not only builds transporters – it will lease or sell the machines to go on them as well Top left: Sons Zane (pictured) and Michael work in the business

Lower left: Robin’s wife Colleen started as MTE’s secretary a year after it began in business

“We sold one, but they were hard to sell because they were secondhand…and we didn’t have the backup service either. So we thought ‘stuff this, we’ll lease them.’ “And they went out alright.

That was the start of the leasing of the trucks. Then we brought some more in and did the same, including some (Peterbilt) 357s and 362 cabovers. In all, from ‘92 to ‘98 we brought in about 60 trucks and converted them across. The last real conversions we did was in 2002, where we did some T2000s. It was a highly skilled job.

“We also started to bring in some new ones, in 1996, to sell. Of course, PACCAR found out about it and the war between them and us started! Their solicitors served papers on us ‘to desist’ under copyright law.

“Kenworth’s designs in those days were derived aerodynamically from Cummins, so I argued a bit with PACCAR but finally had to relent because I couldn’t afford to fight PACCAR. They were too big.”

Ratcliffe says he wrote them a letter saying “as long as the law on parallel importing didn’t allow us to do it, we wouldn’t import Kenworths.” But he also lobbied the NZ Government to change the law – and in 1998 it did.

In 2000 Ratcliffe took over sole ownership of ETL and started to lease trailers too: “The next problem we found was controlling the debt. We found that most truckers were very poor businessmen and paid for fuel and RUCs before they paid us.”

The company that had started with the secondhand Kenworths took until 2000 before it bought its first brand-new truck, a Sterling.

Ratcliffe added machinery to the mix shortly thereafter: “We weren’t going to lease machines because Porters were doing that and we were loyal to the cause. But Porters started building some of their own trailers….and when they did that we started leasing machines – bulldozers, excavators, diggers.

“We already knew that the money that was being earnt at that stage on machinery was a lot better that what we were doing with trucks.” A deal with AB Equipment fell over – but only after ETL had already bought machines and was operational… “so we had to go deeper into it.

“We bought more machines and then realised that we needed 74 | Truck & Driver

more trucks: We had some contracts that we had to supply – so we started buying new Hinos and getting them turned into logging gear and leased them out.

“Then we got some Isuzus for tippers. One year we bought 50 of them. We leased them and we also started to sell some, because people would lease for a while and then say: ‘I want to own it.’ Isuzu came back and said ‘you can’t do that.’ ” Two years ago, Ratcliffe reckons he chanced on the Sinotruk deal: “We ended up with Sinotruk by mistake,” he says, recounting a complex chain of events that began with a Chinese customer wanting four trailers for a water factory in the South Island. “We couldn’t build them in time, so I said ‘I’ll get them built in China for you.’ But the tradeoff was, that rather than pay me he’d give me some brand-new Chinese trucks – they were an MAN-copy Sinotruk.

“I had a look at them and said ‘shit yeah, they’ll be alright.’ He did the deal and duly ended up with some 8x4 Sinotruks – and says he was asked if he’d like the South Island agency for the make.

“I said if I was gonna do anything I’d want both islands – that way we could control it better.” The North Island distribution rights were already taken, so Ratcliffe says he looked at buying them….but when that got messy he gave up on the idea.

He ended up talking directly with Sinotruk in China – and was offered the NZ rights....provided he bought 100 trucks in the first year.

He was unfazed: “Well I knew that the leasing company needed 50, so we committed to buy 100. But the deal was, they had to build bodies to our specification.

“The first 10 they built were scrap – they were no good. They bleated a bit but we sent one of our guys up there to show them how to do it. The next 20 were good. They then asked for a forward order for 50 more that we would take at some stage.

“But they turned that into delivering them as fast as they could…and we ended up with 150 trucks here in the first nine months! In reality, that’s how many we think we can get through each year.”

He seems comfortable with this new branch of his business: “Nowadays, you couldn’t go and get the Isuzu agency, couldn’t

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get the Kenworth agency – all these agencies are taken.

“But what’s happening is all these new shoots are coming in from China and if you don’t get the agencies now and you don’t start building on them, you’re not going to have them.

“You’ve got to believe that China is coming: You’d have to have your head in your arse if you don’t think it’s coming!”

For sure, the need to supply the ETL fleet has given a big boost to Sinotruk’s sales figures, but Ratcliffe believes in the make’s potential on the open market: “Sure the internal business will help, but it should stand alone.”

Another area of the Modern group is Mikes Transport Warehouse (MTW), which began as an aftermarket parts division – supplying parts for MTE’s wide range of trailers.

“Now the philosophy behind MTW is to be able to sell parts that are made for us…but are made available for the rest of the industry,” says Ratcliffe.

“For axles and wheels and tyres and so forth – stuff that’s specific to our trailers only – they’re not sold to MTW…that stays here (internally).

“But the other things that we need – like plywood, lighting, things that you can go and buy from other places – you can get at Mike’s Transport Warehouse. They stock them there and we buy from them.

“Our fingers go into China quite deeply and we are very proficient at what we do. We bring in container loads of different stuff – even electrical gear….230v lighting that we use ourselves, because we’ve got $100million worth of buildings that we need lighting for.”

According to Ratcliffe, MTW does reasonably well. It makes a little profit and it supplies the needs of the business well, which apparently is a bit of a penalty – “because that’s at a thin margin.

But in saying that, we are the initiator behind the scenes, in terms of volume and negotiation.”

The 71-year old industrial entrepreneur is clearly still at the helm of the group, but it’s plain to see that family (both blood and relationship-wise) is paramount to the business’ success and ultimately its future.

Robin’s wife Colleen joined the business as a secretary in 1974.

Their sons, Michael and Zane, are directors. Grandsons Jordan, Aiden and Logan works there and Robin’s brother Bryan runs ETL. Then there are a group of loyal friends, neighbours and trusted employees that all share the group vision.

Ratcliffe is also always on the lookout for fresh talent – people who can add to the business too. A case in point is development manager Robbie Pasley, the former owner of Te Kauwhata Transport, who has brought different expertise and skills to the group.

Says Ratcliffe: “I’m not afraid of employing someone smarter than me.”

In essence, having so many people around with a shared vision offers great opportunities for the business’ future: “We’ve always believed in succession planning. A lot of effort goes into it.

“It’s not an easy thing. It’s not even easy for people in that succession to come through and be that person that you’d like or expect. It would have been easier in the old days than it is today, because we’re going through quite a generational difference with

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our children.

“These children have come through a computer age, and this has not been what I’d call a ‘stable age’ – it’s been an age of high development, so we’re seeing children that are totally different to what their grandparents are. We’re just hoping that along the way, some of the ideologies that we have as old people carry on with the young people.”

Although Ratcliffe is obviously a very driven character, his measure of success comes as a bit of a surprise: “Success is a really good thing isn’t it. Health and happiness is part of it.

Capitalism demands that you make a profit, it demands that you expand your business.

“If you’re really, really good, you should expand your business tenfold in 10 years. That’s really motoring and doing a great job.

We’re probably achieving five at the moment.

“I’m not necessarily driven by growth – I’m driven by the necessity to make all the ends meet. Make everyone make a profit, so that you can buy and do the things you want to do.

“Sometimes, some aspects of the business don’t pull their weight: One could be down, the other could be up. Sometimes

78 | Truck & Driver

you take a ‘longterm strategy’ look at it – you might choose to make a bit of a loss to actually get ahead.

“We’d like to see vehicle maintenance, for instance, doing a lot of outside work – but they’re always behind us, doing our own. The leasing company keeps them busy.

“The leasing company has had a downturn in one area with this Government that we’ve got. However, we’re finding a slightly different direction and the sales will increase because of it.

New technology brings new things out to the market and more opportunities.”

And so the Modern group looks set to continually evolve. Says Ratcliffe: “We could go into energy more – we’ll have a look at that in the future.

“But transport is the No. 1 thing. Opportunities within the transport industry are there already – we’re evaluating it. Big is not necessarily great. You’ve got to look at things and see if it complicates things or makes things harder. Sometimes you’re better off leaving things alone.”

That wasn’t the case though when Robin heard that Roadmaster trailers in Rotorua was looking to either sell or link

Main picture: Sinotruks for Africa....well, for NZ actually. Ratcliffe ended up buying 150 of them from China in the first nine months of his distribution deal

Top, from left: The Roadmaster ejector bodies on the fleet of Sinotruks working on the Transmission Gully project are designed for extra safety in unloading on side-slopes..... the Sinotruk NZ lineup has C7H heavy-duty and T5G medium-duty models in 6x4 and 8x4 variants..... Roadmaster, which built this nine-axle curtainsider unit for Northchill Express, ranked as NZ’s fourth-biggest trailermaker in 2018 (while MTE was third)

up with a partner. So they had a talk.

“We said it would fit with us and we’d be interested. So our accountants talked, and we talked about our philosophy and how we were. And we joined.

“We had succession planning – they didn’t. And we thought it was a great mix with us and so we’re quite happy to have that under the Modern umbrella.

“It’s still standalone, with its own brand – I love the brand, I love the red bull and we want the family behind it, giving it direction.”

In case you hadn’t noticed, Ratcliffe is passionate about the transport industry – and he’s equally passionate about wanting it fixed: “The Resource Management Act has had too much influence on what we do, our social system has been too PC….and it’s caused us the problem we’ve got today with our transport system, which is really quite inefficient right now.

“And the answer is not within trains – the answer is with a good roading system. But we needed to have done it a hell of a lot cheaper and we could have only done that with more dictatorial vision.

“Some of my philosophies are the same as some of the great people, like from Douglas Bader: ‘Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men.’

“In other words, go and break the f***ing rules if you’re wise – but if you’re a fool, follow them.

“We should have had a good road system right through the country and we should have had good arterial routes to the cities.”

Modern Transport Engineers has come a very long way since its beginnings in 1973…but some things have remained constant throughout: Its vision and devotion to road transport is unfaltering and it has a seemingly relentless approach to the way it adapts and evolves within the industry.

Ratcliffe surprises by leaving us us with a quote from the Bible, namely Revelation 22:13: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

To which he adds: “Where is the end? There is none – it’s just infinity, you just keep on going. There’s no end to business until you own the whole world. There’s nothing in capitalism that stops you.” T&D

Truck & Driver | 79

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FEATURE

Hyundai’s futuristic (yet also a little art-deco) HDC-6 Neptune concept tractor unit (and integrated trailer) is tangible evidence of its push to establish hydrogen as the future fuel for trucks

Story Wayne Munro

H

YDROGEN IS THE FUTURE FUEL FOR TRUCKS, Korean manufacturer Hyundai reckons – and it takes a groundbreaking step in that direction with the unveiling of a hydrogen fuel cell heavy-duty electric truck.

Its HDC-6 Neptune – a concept tractor unit with a new-age, high-tech heart…but also with a nod to the past with its art-deco design – is a star at the North American Commercial Vehicles (NACV) show.

And it’s not alone in choosing this moment to back hydrogen as the best bet for the future for heavy commercials: At the NACV and at the Tokyo Motor Show, other major players in the trucking industry also hype hydrogen.

The H crowd at these shows comprises an impressive lineup of heavy vehicle powers – namely Toyota, Kenworth, Cummins and FUSO/Daimler Trucks, as well as Hyundai.

Electric truck startup Nikola is not at these shows, but is also committed to the same hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FECV) path….and already has an order for 800 trucks from Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch.

The attraction of hydrogen is that it is, as one proponent puts it, “the most plentiful stuff in the universe.”

Okay, so there is currently “an issue” with hydrogen FCEVs: Like, how the hell do you get the hydrogen to keep your truck, car or SUV running – because there sure aren’t hydrogen gas stations in every city in New Zealand. Nor even in Europe, the States….nor

Japan.

But, the hydrogen lobby is adamant that infrastructrure is coming. Fast.

The HDC-6 Neptune, for instance, is part of Hyundai’s FCEV 2030 vision – which aims for the establishment of a global hydrogen ecosystem within little more than a decade.

And the giant vehicle manufacturer announced a year ago that it was committing $US6.4billion to back up its dream of “a hydrogen society.” With that investment, it says, it will build the capability to produce 500,000 fuel cell systems for cars and commercial vehicles by 2030.

Hyundai lays claim to having long been the global leader in developing hydrogen as the zero emissions vehicle fuel of the Cummins is also a committed member of the H club

Truck & Driver | 81

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Top & lower left: FUSO’s Vison F-Cell, unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show, is just a concept at the moment – but a fully-functioning one, capable of running up to 300kms between refuels Lower right: The wraps come off the droop-snoot nose of the all-electric International eMV

future.

Six years ago it launched the world’s first mass-produced and commercially available hydrogen FCEV with its Tucson ix35 SUV. In 2018, it added the next-generation NEXO….

And now it’s promising to produce 1600 hydrogen FCEV heavyduty trucks in Switzerland, starting next year and continuing through to 2023.

It explains, in simple terms (in its promo material for the NEXO), how an FCEV works: How hydrogen, stored in “incredibly durable carbon fibre tanks, tested to withstand extreme heat and pressure,” is introduced into a fuel cell stack.

There it undergoes an electrochemical reaction with oxygen,

collected from the air intake – producing electricity, “which then powers the vehicle’s motor.” Hydrogen, it says reassuringly, “is as safe as gasoline, if not safer.”

The Neptune, with its weird mix of future technology and art deco styling, comes to the NACV with heaps of eye appeal for showgoers….but not much detail.

Hyundai certainly doesn’t say that this will be how its FCEV trucks that will start working in Switzerland within the next 12 months will look.

What it does say though is that now it has things in hand to develop its hydrogen technology for trucks in Europe, it’s time “to start exploring opportunities in the US commercial vehicle market.

Truck & Driver | 83

“Furthermore, we are willing to work with other partners to pave the way to establish a hydrogen ecosystem for CVs,” says Edward Lee, head of Hyundai’s commercial vehicle business division.

Hyundai says it has “the necessary processes and experience” to develop the vehicles to support its FCEV 2030 vision for a hydrogen ecosystem: Fuel cells, it adds, are “the perfect fit” for heavy duty trucks and long driving distances – because of their greater range, lighter weight, reduced fuelling time and, ultimately, lower costs.

The locomotive-like Neptune has a louvred grille that wraps around the sides of the tractor unit. Hyundai says it’s not only for looks, but also to maximise smooth airflow, with retractable steps integrated into it.

Kenworth shows off a much more workaday hydrogen FCEV at NACV – simply because it is about to do exactly that: Start work!

The day cab T680 is launched at the US show, just before it’s due to go into service at the Port of Los Angeles, hauling shipping containers.

It’s the result of a joint-venture development programme between Kenworth and Toyota – the latter bringing its hydrogen FCEV knowledge already gained by developing the hydrogenfuelled Mirai car….now on sale in Japan, Europe and the US. The partnership, supported by $US41million worth of California government grants, says it will have 10 of the hydrogen FCEV trucks in work by the end of 2020. So far four have been built – with Kenworth providing the T680 chassis and cab, electric motors, transmission and cooling systems….

While Toyota contributes the fuel cell stacks, hydrogen tanks, batteries and the high-voltage power controls.

The design of the trucks and their fuel systems is already being modified, says Kenworth GM and PACCAR VP Kevin Baney, with second and third-generation technology now being introduced: “Whether it’s motors or hydrogen tanks, they’re being developed as it goes. The intent is to develop and prove the technology and develop the business case.”

He acknowledges that hydrogen fuelling infrastructure is still a “challenge,” but points out that was also the case with natural gas – and customers, parcels giant UPS included, are “still buying high volumes of natural gas trucks.”

Cummins unveils its latest hydrogen FCEV heavy-duty truck at the show – saying that while “some companies make headlines talking about the future…..we’re busy building for the future.”

Its 6x4 day cab tractor unit demonstrator is “an important step in gaining valuable insights that are critical to continue developing the right solutions for the market and preparing for the next 100 years,” says Thad Ewald, leader of Cummins’ electrified power business.

Cummins’ strategy is to offer “a broad portfolio of power options – from diesel and natural gas, hybrids, to battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell solutions.”

The Cummins concept is targeted at vocational applications including regional haul, urban delivery, port drayage and terminal container handling operations.

It has a 90kW fuel cell made by Hydrogenics – a business recently purchased by Cummins – but the fuel cell can be scaled up to 180kW, in 30kW or 45kW increments. It also has a 100kWh lithium-ion battery capacity.

That gives it a range of up to 400kms, although that can be

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Right & top left: At the Tokyo show, Hino unveils its FlatFormer concept – essentially an electric, autonomous platform able to take a wide range of bodies.....like the courier delivery pods at top left

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extended, Cummins says, with extra hydrogen tanks, or by adding more fuel cells or increasing the tank storage pressure. Cummins designs and builds many of the key components of the FCEV powertrain, including the fuel cells.

The concept truck has been intentionally designed and built

by Cummins without partnering any one of its original equipment manufacturing (OEM) customers.

Prior to its NACV appearance Cummins announced that it has signed an agreement to collaborate with Hyundai on hydrogen fuel cell technology for commercial vehicles in North America. It has also invested in Loop Energy, a developer of fuel cell electric range extenders.

Cummins says that longterm it’s likely that its customers will need more than one type of power – “depending on their specific markets, applications and use cases. We are uniquely positioned to help our customers select the right solution for their needs.

Our deep technological expertise and global service and support network means we are able to help them transition from one technology to another at the time that’s best for their business.

“Cummins is proud to have developed the technology that will power the future. From advanced diesel, to battery electric – and now unveiling our first hydrogen fuel cell powered truck, we’re committed to pioneering the right solutions that continue to serve our customers.

“After 100 years of powering our customers’ success, we’re preparing for another 100 with the same unwavering commitment to offer a dependable and innovative portfolio for our customers.”

Things evolve quickly: Two years ago Cummins unveiled its AEOS heavy-duty fully-electric tractor unit concept. Now, it points out, it is supplying battery electric powertrains for light commercials, medium-duty trucks, transit buses and school buses. It has introduced fully electric powertrains to six markets, across seven applications.

Now it also shows off its new Integrated e-Drive system – an electric motor, transmission and inverter integrated into a single unit. The new traction system, designed for medium-duty and HD commercial vehicles, is currently in development and is expected to be launched in 2022. It will simplify installation for OEMs, reduce weight and volume by a third and improve efficiency by 86 | Truck & Driver

10% compared to direct drive systems.

Meanwhile, 11,000 kilometres from Atlanta, at the 46th Tokyo Motor Show, FUSO does its bit for the hydrogen revolution – giving its Vision F-CELL, a light-duty hydrogen FCEV concept truck, its world premiere.

It’s an electric truck that uses the power of a fuel cell as one option to extend its range – building on FUSO’s leadership in electric trucks: In 2017 it was the first to market with an all-electric truck, the eCanter, in small series production.

Now more than 140 eCanters have been delivered to customers in Japan, Europe and the United States…with the first trucks also expected to go to work in New Zealand soon.

The 7.5 tonne Vision F-Cell is a fully drivable concept model, with a maximum output of 135 kW and a range of up to 300kms.

FUSO says that means its powertrain “is basically comparable to that of a battery-powered truck – apart from significantly reduced battery power and the addition of hydrogen tanks.”

The truck can be configured with a high-voltage battery ranging from 13.8-40kWh, plus three or four hydrogen tanks and a 75kW fuel cell and 135 kW battery.

Electric trucks also hold sway at both shows – Peterbilt to the fore at the NACV show in Atlanta, showcasing three of the 16 e-trucks it now has in operation, accumulating mileage in realworld working environments, embedded in fleets.

It plans to have another 21 electric trucks in work with customers in the next six months and Peterbilt GM and PACCAR VP Jason Skoog reckons that the iconic American make is “leading the charge in electric vehicle development.”

Its three e-trucks on show at NACV are targeted at refuse, regional haul and city delivery applications – a lineup that “allows us to support our customers’ diverse needs.”

Skoog says that Peterbilt is on track to begin low volume production of the three e-truck models by the end of 2020.

The Peterbilt 579EV is driven by a Meritor Blue-Horizon electric drive motor that delivers up to 430 horsepower, with a range of around 220 kilometres and one-hour charging (with a fast-charging system). It has a TransPower energy storage system, with a total storage capacity of 264 kWh. It’s in use in the fleet of third-party logistics provider Biagi Bros.

Hyundai’s integrated Neptune tractor unit and trailer concept signals the giant manufacturer’s intention to ramp up its drive towards a “hydrogen society” – with North America its next focus

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PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay fleet has just started running the first Peterbilt 220EV as it explores “current and emerging technologies for our freight equipment as we work toward reducing PepsiCo’s absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2030,” says PepsiCo’s VP of supply chain, Michael O’Connell.

The zero-emissions 220EV is powered by two TransPower battery packs with a total storage capacity of 148 kWh, and a Meritor Blue-Horizon two-speed drive eAxle, producing up to 335hp. It has a range of over 160kms and can be recharged in as little as one hour, with a fast-charging system. Peterbilt reckons this makes it well-suited to local pickup and delivery operations.

Also on show is a Peterbilt 520EV, designed for the refuse market. It’s powered by a TransPower energy storage subsystem with a total storage capacity of 308 kWh. It’s driven by a TransPower mid-ship motor drive subsystem with up to 430hp. It has a 160km range and can be recharged in four hours.

Peterbilt chief engineer Scott Newhouse says that the three electric models have been designed “to perform as well as a diesel powertrain truck.”

The company is, he says, focusing right now on “gaining real-world miles in real-world applications” – backed up by a continuing test programme at PACCAR’s technical centre.

But he adds: “We believe these three applications – refuse, regional haul and city delivery – will provide the most immediate and near-term return on investment for our customers.”

Navistar, manufacturer of International trucks, doesn’t stop at unveiling a new medium-duty electric truck at the NACV….it uses the show to launch an entirely new business unit “to deliver customised electrification

• Cummins ISLe5 394hp • 18 speed manual • Meritor MT40-14XGP

From left to right: The International eMV e-truck.....UD’s streamlined Quon Concept 202X....Isuzu tractor unit concept takes its styling cues from sharks and robots

solutions” in the truck and school bus markets.

“Companies interested in operating electric trucks have more questions than answers. They’re looking for a partner who also brings clarity,” explains Navistar executive VP and COO Persio Lisboa.

Its NEXT eMobility Solutions “combines the technical expertise required to develop leading electric vehicles, with the industry experience to deliver custom solutions that go beyond the vehicle.”

NEXT has a world-class, lean engineering team dedicated to developing “the best products in the electric vehicle space, using a unique consultative philosophy that embraces the full range of customers’ needs,” says Lisboa.

Navistar plans to have International medium-duty electric trucks introduced in early 2021 and NEXT exhibits a prototype electric version of International’s mid-range MV Series at the show.

The International eMV Series concept features a distinctive redesigned aerodynamic bonnet for superior visibility – the droop nose made possible by the removal of the standard MV’s diesel engine.

It has an electric motor with peak power of over 474kW/645hp, with 300kW/400hp-plus of continuous power, available at all times.

NEXT says that the system, exclusive to Navistar, enables peak efficiency across the entire operating range.

The vehicle was designed to accommodate multiple battery capacity options, ranging from 107 to 321 kilowatt hours.

Navistar says that customers operating an eMV with a 321 kWh battery in typical pickup and delivery cycles can expect to be able to travel up to 400kms miles on a single charge.

NEXT says it will take a comprehensive “four Cs” approach to developing eMobility solutions – the four being Consulting (with customers), Construction of the vehicles, Charging (namely designing solutions for each customer) and Connecting – using Navistar’s telematics and remote diagnostics to provide customers with support.

Its customer consultation will see NEXT use experts in truck engineering, charging infrastructure, telematics and more “to craft a custom implementation plan for each customer’s business, while optimising each product for its usage and duty cycle.”

“NEXT will combine the lean and agile approach of a startup with the proven engineering and manufacturing capabilities of Navistar,” Lisboa says.

“The team is well positioned to deliver rapid, customer-focused innovations in the eMobility space.”

Dana announces at the NACV show that it’s partnering with a major (but unnamed) North American truckmaker to supply complete e-Powertrain systems for a medium-duty vehicle 90 | Truck & Driver

programme.

The new trucks will feature Dana’s Spicer Electrified powertrain technologies and are expected to be on the road in early 2021.

Maybe it’s no coincidence that this is the same timeline as the International eMV. The direct drive system will see a Dana TM4 motor and inverter powering a Dana axle and driveshaft. Its e-Power system generates, stores and manages the energy for the vehicle and includes the battery packs, battery management system and onboard charger.

Dana says it’s also partnering with a second truck manufacturer on an electrified vehicle development platform, incorporating a Dana TM4 SUMO high power motor, designed for hybrid or battery electric setups.

Dana recently acquired Nordresa, a leader in electric CV integration, and that is enabling Dana “to expand the development and integration of clean, electric powertrains to deliver higher efficiency and lower cost of ownership,” says Dana’s Mark Wallace.

“These new vehicle programmes leverage Dana’s complete e-Powertrain products and capabilities, while demonstrating our ability to deliver end-to-end turnkey electric systems for our customers.” That will, in turn, “provide Dana profitable growth through electrified system sales.”

To date, Dana says its e-Propulsion technologies have been used in more than 16,000 commercial vehicles globally and have been driven almost a billion kilometres – cutting CO2 emissions by nearly 160,000 tonnes and saving around 13.2 billion litres of diesel.

At the Tokyo show, Hino unveils a futuristic commercial vehicle concept that it reckons “will change the concept of mobility forever.”

Its FlatFormer is pretty much a flat 4.7-metre platform on wheels – a driverless battery electric vehicle with six-wheel-drive….and an ability to transform itself by way of interchangeable cargo holds.

“The idea is to produce a standardised truck bed, upon which customers can customise according to the services they offer,” says Atsuyuki Hanazawa, manager of the design division at Hino’s future projects group.

Hino believes that its FlatFormer concept, powered by Lithium ion batteries with a 50kWh capacity, will not only “bring greater efficiency to the mobility of people and goods, but it will evolve mobility into a space where value is provided to people through services.

“While there are diverse range of services that enrich our lives, mobility, the provider of these services must also be ‘superversatile.’”

It displays a FlatFormer configured as a metro parcel delivery

vehicle, with its platform carrying stacked boxes. It would allow courier companies to sort, load and deliver goods more efficiently.

But it also reckons that the “mobility platform” could be used as mobile mini-hotels…or even beauty salons!

Says Hino: “With FlatFormer, services themselves become mobile. By sparking metabolism of old and new in our lives and communities, FlatFormer can dynamically vitalise our urban areas and create prosperous and sustainable societies – where people can connect with each other and each individual is able to achieve happiness.”

Happiness, it seems, is a Hino electric, autonomous platform!

Isuzu also unveils its striking FL-IR autonomous concept vehicle for the first time in Tokyo. It’s a futuristic tractor unit that the truck maker says was designed to give showgoers a glimpse into the future of long-haul road transport.

Isuzu is light on details on its FL-IR 4x2 concept – except to say that it’s semi-autonomous, designed for platooning…and styling-wise it takes its cues from marine mammals and robots.

It’s a head-turner but so far doesn’t appear to take things much further than showpiece status. Here’s what else Isuzu has to say about the sculpted, streamlined tractor unit, which it says has been developed “to depict a futuristic distribution network.”

It aims to create “new ways of working for the long-haul driver, enabling them to feel safe, secure and stimulated…

“By linking the similarities in connected and platooning trucks to marine mammals that navigate through ultrasonic sound waves and their unique swimming formation, a shark-inspired bio design was created to illustrate an image of a mighty robot.

“Its exterior is designed organically, with a sharp-nose cabin vital to let it cut through the wind, which is contrasted by a

sturdy aero device around it.”

Inside the cab, the dashboard layout adjusts to allow switching between autonomous operation or having a driver in control.

Isuzu also has the more practical ELF EV walk-through concept truck on show – a next-generation light delivery electric vehicle with 3D multi-view periphery monitoring technology for safer and more efficient deliveries in busy city streets.

As well as zero emissions, the electric architecture allows the driver to turn in the swivelling driver’s seat and walk through into the parcel bay.

The digital “mirror” system provides a wider range of view than any conventional system.

UD Trucks also has an eyecatching electric truck on show in Tokyo – its Quon Concept 202X, incorporating automation, electromobility and connectivity…and “re-imagining smart logistics in the future.”

UD says the Concept 202X “will be intricately connected to its surroundings, including other trucks, infrastructure and people – achieving new levels of efficiency, productivity, safety and sustainability.

“It will become indispensable to the infrastructure of future smart societies that will see significant strides in the use of IoT (internet of things) and AI (artificial intelligence). It will also employ personalised displays and camera monitoring systems.

“The heavy-duty truck of the future puts people and society at the centre. The truck connects people to each other, and people to the transportation infrastructure.

“It connects rural and urban, produce from the farm to the dinner table. It is more friendly and safe.” T&D

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Truck & Driver | 91

TRUCK SHOP

UK fleet management system in NZ

Foodstuffs North Island group transport manager Gareth McFarlane (left), with Microlise director of sales – Asia Pacific, Luke Olsen

F

OODSTUFFS NORTH ISLAND is introducing the British Microlise journey management and fleet analytics system into its trucking fleet.

The company says that deployment of the system – used by 14 of the United Kingdom’s 15 biggest retailers – across its transport operation will increase efficiency and customer satisfaction, reduce paperwork and streamline collection and deliveries.

The Microlise system integrates fully with Foodstuffs’ existing planning tool, “to provide compelling, real-time data and visibility of vehicles against planned routes and schedules – with airport-style arrival and departure boards highlighting the fleet’s progress in real-time.”

The paperless Microlise proof of delivery (POD) reduces administration load, while creating and storing POD documentation.

Additional features include driver communication, access to site notes and manifest information, job dispatch and schedule adherence.

Microlise, which has branch offices in Australia and India, is also used by Coles Online in Australia – along with “delivering value to some of the world’s largest companies and transport fleets.”

Foodstuffs North Island group transport manager Gareth McFarlane says: “Microlise’s approach to logistics and telematics, and its digital investment, make it an excellent fit

for us. We ran a successful Microlise journey management trial and are confident we will quickly make a return on investment by delivering greater efficiencies.

“Fundamentally this helps us to provide the very best value and service for our customers – an objective which is always front and centre in any decisionmaking process.”

Microlise director of sales – Asia Pacific, Luke Olsen says that Foodstuffs North Island has a “keen focus on fleet efficiencies and customer service” which is commendable.

“We are delighted to be providing additional tools to manage, monitor and add value, as the business continues to streamline and futureproof its operation.” T&D

Livestock trading goes online

N

EW ZEALAND’S FIRST INDEPENDENT ONLINE livestock trading platform has been launched – targeting farmers, stock agents and meat processors.

StockX promotes itself as “a more efficient, cost effective, secure and transparent way to trade livestock, compared with traditional yard and onfarm sales.”

It enables “direct buying and selling, which reduces costs and frees up time.”

The tech solution created for the rural industry by Hawke’s Bay entrepreneur Jason Roebuck, is described as “TradeMe for livestock” – in that “it’s an open and traceable platform, offering farmers far more freedom and more choice in the way they trade."

Says StockX: "Importantly, this new way of trading also offers significant environmental and animal welfare benefits, which is pertinent considering

the Government’s current drive to lift sustainable practices in farming.

“Trades through StockX cut out the need for livestock to mix at yard sales and require animals to be moved only once – from their farm of origin to their new destination – reducing the risk of the spread of disease and distress caused to the animals through the multiple journeys usually required in traditional trades….and damage to the environment caused by more truck stops.”

Since a pilot version of the platform went live in 2015, it has earned multiple innovation awards and has been redesigned – responding to feedback from users and key players in the rural industry by expanding its offering from open tender to auction-based trading.

“Through StockX,” says the company, “trades can take place anywhere – nationwide – anytime.” T&D Truck & Driver | 93

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New Zealand Heavy Haulage Association

New process for Class 2 load pilot licence

By Jonathan Bhana-Thomson – chief executive, New Zealand Heavy Haulage Association

T

HERE IS A NEW PROCESS FOR GAINING THE CLASS 2 LOAD pilot licence, which is the entry-level pilot grade, primarily for accompanying smaller oversize loads.

The new process involves obtaining an updated Guide for Class 2 piloting from the New Zealand Transport Agency, then sitting a test at one of the locations supplied, through a company called Aspeq.

There were a number of issues that drove the change to a new system, including the need to be sure that the person sitting the test was the one gaining the licence, and that the test needed to be more comprehensive – in line with the current operating environment.

The old multi-choice questionnaire was the model used since 2002, and the new system is designed to address better actual onroad piloting knowledge, as well as using a more robust system for undertaking the assessment.

Aspeq was chosen to deliver the new assessment, and is already used by NZTA for the provision of the Certificate of Law and Knowledge test to gain a Transport Service Licence.

The Heavy Haulage Association, NZTA and Aspeq all worked together to develop and implement the new system for assessing the Class 2 licence.

Key to this was the review of the guide book for Class 2 pilots, and this has been updated and has had new material added to it, including some guidance on how Class 2 pilots work in with Class 1 pilots on the larger oversize loads.

The Class 2 Load Pilot Course Guide is available for downloading from the NZTA website, and contains the key information that a

Class 2 pilot needs to know prior to undertaking the test.

Note that existing Class 2 pilot licence holders do not need to go through this new test, however downloading the new updated Class 2 Guide is recommended to ensure that a Class 2 licence holder’s knowledge is current.

The next stage is to book online with Aspeq and sit the test on a Jonathan Bhana-Thomson computer at one of many locations around NZ where the test is available.

The cost of this this new test is $120 plus GST, to be paid at the time of booking the test.

After sitting the test, the candidate will be emailed the result – this required for the next step…applying to NZTA to have the Class 2 load pilot licence issued. There is no cost for this step in the process.

The NZHHA is confident that this new process will result in Class 2 pilots with a higher level of knowledge about Class 2 piloting.

But, of course, the on-road practical experience of actually undertaking piloting is the best way of becoming a good pilot.

Where possible we recommend that Class 2 pilots gain experience working with a respected Class 1 pilot to get good practical skills – providing suitable advance warning to oncoming traffic of an oversize load. T&D Truck & Driver | 95

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FUN FOR MUM DAD AND THE KIDS Truck driving simulation machine.

Remote control trucks on a huge course.

Mini Mack giving kids(and big kids) rides Exhibitors stands Bouncy castles Lolly giveaways Colouring in competition And much much more!!

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POWER IS NOTHING WITHOUT CONTR

Road Transport Association NZ

Are these speed limit reviews a con?

W E ALL KNOW THAT THE FASTER YOU GO, THE BIGGER THE mess, and we also understand the physics of crashes…

But the recent stampede to bring down speed limits all over the place, in the name of road safety, seems to be stretching the point. And really, is it based on evidence?

Most of the serious and fatal crashes in New Zealand occur in 100km/h environments and this is because the impact speed can be almost twice that in the event of a head-on crash. It’s not the speed limit at fault – it’s the road users…which is another story.

The recent consultations with the various communities to test what speed limits they want, all supported lowering the speed. Of course they will – because it’s like asking a bunch of guys: “Who wants a free beer?” Everyone will want one regardless of the outcome.

The other thing I know from previous studies, is that in those communities where they want to lower the speed, it’s all around other people’s speed…but if you were to actually do a trial of who’s speeding in their neighbourhood, the overwhelming evidence would be that it’s them – the locals themselves!

So, it begs the question: If they all want lower speeds, why don’t they just slow down?

But there is a more interesting take on this: Is there a more insidious game at play here and is it really not about road safety at all, but all about diverting money away from maintaining and building safe roads, that are fit for purpose?

Like it or not, we all have to share the road, and all road users have equal access to it – even though some don’t directly pay for it. For the freight industry, it’s essential to have access to the total network and to be able to have the required flexibility of travel on it to meet the demands of urban communities – that want goods and products delivered to supermarkets and shops for their consumption.

So, if you want to have a 30km/h road in your urban city environment, go for it…

But on roads that are used to transport goods and are fundamentally key to the economic wellbeing of New Zealand Inc, we should be looking at this network and making it fit for purpose

By Road Transport Association NZ chief executive Dennis Robertson

so it has a consistent speed, is reliable in terms of travel time and is safe.

The only way to do that is invest in this network and have a hierarchy of roads fit for the purpose for which they’re used.

I totally get that some of these roads will pass through urban communities on the way to a port, for example, but we need to understand that – like it or not – freight and trucks have every right to be on these roads. And it’s essential that they can move in a reliable and safe way to deliver the goods….that the urban community expects to be sitting on the shelves every time they drive to the shops.

This whole consultation seems to be promoting the well-known NIMBY approach – not in my backyard. And, worse, it appears to be a not-so-subtle way to divert funding away from much-needed road investment.

If we all were serious about road safety, we would look at the evidence – and it is becoming obvious that we need to ban cellphone use for all vehicle users.

I think that we’re going to see increased injury and death on our roads due to this distraction….rather than reduced death and injury by having multiple speed limits on what really is and should be a 100km/h road.

If you’re really serious, take this first responsible step yourself and make it a priority and personal policy to turn off your cellphone and don’t even use hands-free while driving. Why don’t you do what you can to support this move, drive like a professional and leave the speed limits alone? T&D Truck & Driver | 97

National Road Carriers

NZ Truckers tv series announced

H

ERE’S SOME EXCITING NEWS WE’RE SURE WILL PROMOTE the critical role road freight plays in the economy, improve the image of the trucking industry and make it more attractive to newcomers.

National Road Carriers Association has teamed up with television production company Stripe Studios – with support from Teletrac Navman, Mobil Oil and Bridgestone – to produce a new tv series dubbed NZ Truckers.

The series will show off the skills of truck drivers, what it takes to move goods around the country and bring glamour back to the job.

Right now we are looking for drivers, ops managers, company owners, dispatchers and others in the industry to feature in the television series – to help tell the full story of what it takes to move freight around New Zealand.

We need characters and personalities who will be good in front of the camera, who have a story to tell and portray the industry in a good light. If you have anyone in mind who would be good for this show please get in touch with NRC. NZ Truckers will follow the journeys of a number of truck drivers on their day to day missions to move goods around NZ. Each episode will be on the road, in the cabs of a couple of drivers – one might be transporting a container of frozen chickens from Nelson to Auckland before the depot closes, another might be transporting the hull of the Team NZ America’s Cup boat.

At the same time the film crew will be with the dispatchers dealing with the daily dramas of road closures, delivery deadlines, customer requests and NZ Transport Agency compliance.

NZ Truckers is a vehicle for the road freight sector to tell our story

By David Aitken, CEO of National Road Carriers Association

and show NZers what it takes to run a trucking business and to turn being a trucker into a rock star job. Stripe Studios plans to work with operators big and small, as well as key partners, to showcase the industry across eight prime-time, halfhour episodes that are scheduled for production in early 2020 for broadcast on Three in mid-2020.

In the UK the hit series Eddie Stobart: Trucks & Trailers has run for seven seasons, coinciding with a marked increase in inquiries from people wanting to become drivers. In NZ, Ice Road Truckers and Outback Truckers have been prime-time ratings hits and it’s time to get a NZ series on the road.

NZ Truckers will show the skills of drivers and, we hope, bring back the days when every second kid at school wanted to be a truck driver.

Before it airs and when the show is running, NZ Truckers will have weekly promo trailers across the Three network. On radio, NZ Truckers will work with The Rock to run a promotion to raise awareness of truck driving as a career for young people.

National Road Carriers Association is delighted to be partnering with Stripe Studios, which is one of NZ’s most prolific new television production companies, making more than 230 hours of television a year for broadcast channels and Netflix.

We see NZ Truckers as a fantastic opportunity to support a tv series that highlights the skills and importance of this great industry and to promote road transport as a great industry to be part of. T&D

The tv series aims to showcase the skill of truck drivers, what it takes to move freight around NZ.....and bring back the glamour of the job

Truck & Driver | 99

THE NEXT GENERATION IVECO. BUILT SMARTER, SAFER, CLEANER AND MORE ADVANCED THAN EVER.

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Masterton’s Kieran Oliver Contracting has put this new DAF CF85 sleeper cab tipper to work, doing general and rural contracting and forestry roading. The 6x4 has a 510hp PACCAR MX engine, an 18-speed Roadranger manual gearbox, MT23 Meritor rear axles on Airglide 400 suspension and a Transport & General 5000mm steel tipping bin. Extras include polished alloy wheels and super singles on the front axle, with a 7200kg rating. It also has a fridge, an alloy bumper, central tyre inflation and a Groeneveld auto greasing system.

Truck sales record streak runs on T

HE NEW TRUCK MARKET CONTINUED TO be in record-breaking form in October.

The month itself produced the best October performance ever in terms of registrations in the overall (4.5 tonnes-plus GVM) market – the 480 sales a 9% improvement on previous best, from 2018.

The trailer market was 29 units behind 2014’s alltime best October and also trailed the same month in 2018 by eight units – thus also dropping the year-to-date tally further behind the same point 12 months earlier.

October’s 138 trailer registrations carried the 2019 YTD total to 1302 – 10.7% behind 2018’s record-breaking market.

In October’s 4.5t-maximum GVM truck market, things

remained much the same, with Isuzu notching-up its sixth 100-plus month for the year, with 120 registrations, official NZ Transport Agency data shows.

That saw its 2019 monthly average sitting at 104 – up from 2018’s 96 average.

It was well ahead of FUSO’s 70.6 monthly average so far in 2019 – and Hino’s 60.2 per month average. Between these three and UD, Japanese trucks accounted for 59% of the market YTD. At the end of October, Isuzu’s registrations totalled 1040 YTD, with FUSO (706/60) next YTD – some way behind.

Then came Hino (602/57), Mercedes-Benz (341/36), Volvo (277/37) and Iveco (244/34), which moved ahead of

(continued on page 105 Truck & Driver | 101

Recently

Registered

4501kg-max GVM 2019 Brand ISUZU FUSO HINO MERCEDES-BENZ VOLVO IVECO KENWORTH DAF UD SCANIA MAN SINOTRUK FOTON MACK FREIGHTLINER HYUNDAI VOLKSWAGEN INTERNATIONAL FIAT WESTERN STAR RAM CAMC OTHER Total

Vol 1040 706 602 341 277 244 240 216 216 196 96 84 74 53 46 39 29 26 15 14 6 3 3 4566

% 22.8 15.5 13.2 7.5 6.1 5.3 5.3 4.7 4.7 4.3 2.1 1.8 1.6 1.2 1.0 0.9 0.6 0.6 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.1 100.00

Vol 120 60 57 36 37 34 18 15 22 29 11 9 13 6 0 5 1 4 1 2 0 0 0 480

October % 25.0 12.5 11.9 7.5 7.7 7.1 3.8 3.1 4.6 6.0 2.3 1.9 2.7 1.3 0.0 1.0 0.2 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.00

Vol 25 8 3 0 2 2 1 2 2 0 0 0 45

October % 55.6 17.8 6.7 0.0 4.4 4.4 2.2 4.4 4.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.00

Vol 25 33 24 20 6 7 1 5 1 0 122

October % 20.5 27.0 19.7 16.4 4.9 5.7 0.8 4.1 0.8 0.0 100.00

3501-4500kg GVM 2019 Brand FIAT MERCEDES-BENZ CHEVROLET FORD PEUGEOT RENAULT LDV IVECO VOLKSWAGEN TOYOTA FUSO NISSAN Total

Vol 208 66 27 24 24 21 16 8 7 3 2 1 407

% 51.1 16.2 6.6 5.9 5.9 5.2 3.9 2.0 1.7 0.7 0.5 0.2 100.00

4501-7500kg GVM 2019 Brand FUSO ISUZU MERCEDES-BENZ IVECO HINO FOTON VOLKSWAGEN HYUNDAI FIAT RAM Total 102 | Truck & Driver

Vol 310 280 183 136 102 54 29 29 15 6 1144

% 27.1 24.5 16.0 11.9 8.9 4.7 2.5 2.5 1.3 0.5 100.00

Craig and Mel Moorcock’s CMT operation has put this new Kenworth K200 2.3 flat roof sleeper logger unit to to work, contracted to Panpac – carting logs to the Bayview mill from the lower North Island.

The 8x4 has a 600hp Cummins, an 18-speed Roadranger manual gearbox and RT46-160 rear axles on Primaax air suspension.

Extras include custom paint done by Darren Caulfield in Rotorua, dual exhausts and highrise intakes, Alcoa Dura-Bright alloys, a custom grille, a drop visor and stainless steel panels.

It has Patchell logging gear and a matching five-axle trailer.

www.trt.co.nz

23,001kg-max GVM 2019 Brand ISUZU VOLVO KENWORTH DAF HINO SCANIA FUSO MERCEDES-BENZ UD MAN SINOTRUK IVECO MACK FREIGHTLINER INTERNATIONAL WESTERN STAR CAMC HYUNDAI Total

Vol 292 273 240 202 193 175 158 131 115 88 73 59 53 46 26 14 2 2 2142

% 13.6 12.7 11.2 9.4 9.0 8.2 7.4 6.1 5.4 4.1 3.4 2.8 2.5 2.1 1.2 0.7 0.1 0.1 100.00

Vol 31 36 18 14 20 27 15 10 12 9 8 7 6 0 4 2 0 0 219

October % 14.2 16.4 8.2 6.4 9.1 12.3 6.8 4.6 5.5 4.1 3.7 3.2 2.7 0.0 1.8 0.9 0.0 0.0 100.00

Vol 17 13 15 10 10 7 6 5 6 2 5 2 1 2 1 3 0 1 1 0 2 3 1 0 1 2 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 13 138

October % 12.3 9.4 10.9 7.2 7.2 5.1 4.3 3.6 4.3 1.4 3.6 1.4 0.7 1.4 0.7 2.2 0.0 0.7 0.7 0.0 1.4 2.2 0.7 0.0 0.7 1.4 0.0 0.0 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.0 0.7 1.4 0.0 0.0 0.7 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 9.4 100.00

7501-15,000kg GVM 2019 Brand ISUZU HINO FUSO UD IVECO FOTON MERCEDES-BENZ HYUNDAI DAF VOLVO MAN SINOTRUK OTHER Total

Vol 438 205 180 38 36 20 13 8 7 1 1 1 3 951

% 46.1 21.6 18.9 4.0 3.8 2.1 1.4 0.8 0.7 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.3 100.00

Vol 53 24 12 0 6 6 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 104

October % 51.0 23.1 11.5 0.0 5.8 5.8 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 0.0 100.00

15,001-20,500kg GVM 2019 Brand HINO UD FUSO ISUZU SCANIA MERCEDES-BENZ IVECO SINOTRUK DAF MAN VOLVO CAMC Total

Vol 75 48 44 26 18 14 12 9 6 6 3 1 262

% 28.6 18.3 16.8 9.9 6.9 5.3 4.6 3.4 2.3 2.3 1.1 0.4 100.00

Vol 7 6 6 3 2 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 29

October % 24.1 20.7 20.7 10.3 6.9 6.9 3.4 0.0 0.0 3.4 3.4 0.0 100.00

20,501-23,000kg GVM 2019 Brand HINO UD FUSO ISUZU SCANIA DAF MAN SINOTRUK IVECO Total

Vol 27 15 14 4 3 1 1 1 1 67

% 40.3 22.4 20.9 6.0 4.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 100.00

Vol 0 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 6

October % 0.0 66.7 33.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.00

Trailers 2019 Brand Vol PATCHELL 160 MTE 111 FRUEHAUF 104 ROADMASTER 98 TRANSPORT TRAILERS 89 DOMETT 86 TMC 84 TRANSFLEET 51 TES 49 JACKSON 34 FREIGHTER 29 HAMMAR 22 EVANS 21 MILLS-TUI 21 KRAFT 19 CWS 18 MAKARANUI 17 FAIRFAX 16 MAXICUBE 16 NEWZELOHR 15 TIDD 14 MTC 14 TANKER ENGINEERING 13 CHIEFTAIN 8 WAIMEA 7 PTE 7 HTS 6 KOROMIKO 6 MORGAN 6 MD ENGINEERING 6 LUSK 6 ADAMS & CURRIE 6 COWAN 6 IDEAL 6 WARREN 5 SEC 5 LOWES 5 TEO 5 GUY NORRIS 4 DOUGLAS 4 WARNER 3 OTHERS 100 Total 1302

% 12.3 8.5 8.0 7.5 6.8 6.6 6.5 3.9 3.8 2.6 2.2 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.0 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.2 7.7 100.00

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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:

___________________________________________________________________________________________

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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There’s love in the livery

LOVE OF TRUCKS, A PASSION TO SHOW THEM OFF at their best….and a tribute to family members tragically lost on the highway are heartfelt factors in the presentation of Gisborne transport operator Tim Greaves’ trucks.

Greaves reckons he loves trucks and was only ever going to become a truckie…..just like his Dad Ali: He “grew up in the passenger seat,” he says, of his “old man’s Mitsis” – the stock trucks he owned from 1979-1991.

Through a few years as a driver and then, since 2005, as the owner of Greaves Bulk Haulage, Tim’s always wanted to have his trucks looking good: “Presentation is huge for me.”

And having them look something like his Dad’s trucks – with their blue, white and black colour scheme.

For a long time he nursed the idea of combining his love of trucks and trucking with one special truck – a Kenworth K104 cabover. Or, as he puts it, “THE best truck ever built.”

K104s are, he reckons, “probably the last of the good, honest, solid trucks, you know. They just don’t age. They’re built to last.”

In early 2018, in the wake of a terrible tragedy for his family and business, he decided that it was time to make his dream truck a reality….

As a tribute to his “best mate,” brother-in-law and longtime employee Aaron McDonald, and Aaron’s truck-mad son Cruz – both killed in a company truck in an unexplained late-night crash a year earlier.

Putting it on the road in mid-2018 – with an airbrushed mural of Aaron and Cruz on the back of the Aerodyne cab and dedicating “Dream Maker” to them – has been one bright spot in a sad, brokenhearted three years for the Greaves and McDonald families.

Main pictures: The DAF CF85 carries a simpler version of the current company livery than Tim Greaves’ pride-and-joy Kenworth K104B – a tribute truck to his “best mate” brother-in-law and his nephew

Opposite page, top left: The airbrushed mural on the back of the K104 featuring Aaron and Cruz McDonald Opposite page, top right: Tim reckons he “grew up in the passenger seat” of his Dad’s trucks 2 | Truck & Driver

The truck, he says, is “100%” inspired by them and dedicated to them. He even had Kenworth badges modified, with the names Cruz and AA on them, for the sides of the sleeper cab.

Aaron, 37, had driven for Greaves Bulk Haulage for 10 years, but was much more than a loyal employee and a brother-in-law: “He was actually the brother I never had,” says Tim. He adds that “Cruz idolised his Dad and loved trucks” – and “was born to be a truck driver.” His school holiday trips with his Dad in his Kenworth were “what he lived for.”

The tribute truck – a 2007 K104B bought from Maskill Contracting in the Manawatu – was kept a secret from Aaron’s wife Anah and their little boy Rome, while Tim, his company mechanic and another driver converted the 8x4 curtainsider into a dropside tipper over six months.

Tim says that Anah and Rome were “blown away” when the tribute truck was rolled out in mid-2018.

Sadly, there’s been no closure for the McDonald and Greaves

TRANSPORT IMAGING AWARDS

families in the wake of the crash – as the cause of it remains a mystery, with the family told the police investigation remains open.

Tim and Anah said publicly after the crash that they suspected another vehicle had been involved. Aaron, they pointed out, was a safe and careful driver – who’d done nothing worse than “rip a mudflap off” in 10 years of driving for Tim. It would have been completely out of character for him to have been speeding or driving tired.

Tim added: “We remain convinced there was no way Aaron could have caused this to happen by himself.”

He still believes that – and explains: “Things just don’t add up. The speed the truck was doing…he was very capable of going around that corner at that speed, you know.

“We’ve got a very strong suspicion there was a car involved – but they’re not going to come forward.”

The family’s love of trucks has now “trickled down to my young fulla, Jackson. He’s six years old and he just can’t get enough of them.” Like their Dads, Jackson and Cruz were also “good mates.”

Tim reckons that the diesel mechanic’s apprenticeship he started as a teen “was like killing time till I got my licence.”

After a few years of driving for wages, at 24 he bought a forestry roading business – with Mitsi metal trucks and diggers….that just happened to be blue and black: “That was always my old man’s colour scheme. Not exactly the same….but the bones of it were pretty much the same.”

Funnily enough, Ali Greaves had also inherited the colour scheme for his trucks through a family connection: He bought his first truck – in the blue and white of Te Awamutu’s

Osborne’s Transport – from distant relative Marty Greaves, then an Osborne’s OD (and later the owner).

Over the last 14 years – as the forestry roading and then logtruck work was sold off – the Greaves colour scheme has slowly moved to a lighter blue. It’s ended up with the Cobalt Blue that’s shown off to good effect by the DAF CF85 that’s on this month’s PPG Transport Imaging Awards poster, and on his beloved Kenworth K104.

The simple silver stripes on the DAF, which was painted by Transvisual in Auckland, have been modified on the K104 – with arrowhead stripes and detailed scrollwork. The paint on that was done by Andrew Harvey Spray Painters in Gisborne – “who’d be one of THE best truck painters around,” Tim reckons.

Presentation isn’t only key for him – it is “very, very important for the business. Presentation does come second to maintenance…but it’s very close, you know.”

The difficulty in finding drivers who care about the gear is one reason why he’s downsized his fleet to his current four trucks: “I’m not really interested in having… just bums in seats.

I’d rather have a small group of good guys, than a big group of average ones.”

The 2014 DAF, with a flatdeck and a Transfleet swap tipper body, and the 620hp Cummins-engined K104 are currently the only two trucks in full company colours – with two other Kenworths running for Weatherells Transport.

Tim reckons he gets comments on how good his Kenworth looks “almost daily. A lot of people ask me if it’s a new truck.”

He’s proud to say that it’s done 1.3million kilometres: “I love that truck.” T&D

Truck & Driver | 3

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