NZ Truck & Driver July 2021

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BIG TEST Super spreader: Bigger, better, grippier | FLEET FOCUS Moving on...moving up | FEATURE The world’s one and only truck show?

FLEET FOC

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The wor ld’s one and only tru ck show ?

Issue 247

r e p u S : r e d a e r p s ier ripp g , r e t t e b Bigger,

The Official Magazine of the

ISSN 2703-6278

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CONTENTS Issue 247 – July 2021 4 Aeolus News

The latest in the world of transport, including….acquisition creates big metal recycling business; negativity from some to RTF driver traineeship “disappointing; ” Rail billions a cost to road safety

20 Giti Tyres Big Test

Jason Williamson decided to try the “bigger is better” philosophy when he bought his latest all-wheel-drive bulk spreader. When the towering MercedesBenz Arocs 6x6 arrived, everyone thought: “How’s this going to work!!”

35 Transport Forum

Latest news from the Road Transport Forum NZ, including…..Government transport plan pays no heed to the population’s demand for just-in-time freight; time for mandatory e-logbooks; truck drivers want employment choices, not Fair Pay Agreements

FEATURES

95 CrediFlex Recently Registered

62 Southpac Trucks Legends

New truck and trailer registrations for May

Matthew Gillies isn’t just a trained engineer – he’s a trailermaker….who’s the son of a trailermaker. In other words, he was “born into it, so to speak…”

COLUMNS 89 NZ Heavy Haulage Association

64 The world’s one and only truck show?

The organisers of this year’s Brisbane Truck Show shrugged off COVID-19 concerns and the withdrawal of six leading truck makes – and its show-must-go-on determination paid off

Oversize loads and road works – what needs to happen to ensure that the roads remain open and oversize loads keep moving

91 Road Transport Association NZ A single united voice is required for the road transport industry – via an amalgamation of industry associations

81 Predicting when tyres will wear out

A Kiwi tyre specialist has developed a tyre life management/monitoring system it believes is a world first – able to accurately predict when a tyre will wear out

93 National Road Carriers Association

REGULARS 46 Teletrac Navman Fleet Focus

Four years ago, after a bitter breakup with her husband and business partner, Teressa Grigg was left with two options: “Buy him out or close the business up.” Now she’s grown Southern Furniture Movers into an award-winning nationwide operation, with 16 trucks and 37 staff

MANAGEMENT Publisher

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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

80/ NZ Transport Imaging 81 Awards

Recognising NZ’s best-looking truck fleets….including a giant pullout poster of this month’s finalist

CONTRIBUTORS Gerald Shacklock Dave McLeod Olivia Beauchamp

ADMINISTRATION Sue Woolston MANAGER accounts@trucker.co.nz

ART DEPARTMENT Design & Production Luca Bempensante

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027 233 0090

trudy@trucker.co.nz AUCKLAND, LOWER NORTH ISLAND, SOUTH ISLAND Advertising Hayden Woolston

NRC CEO David Aitken signs off after “an amazing 13 years”

027 448 8768 hayden@trucker.co.nz Dion Rout 027 491 1110 dion@trucker.co.nz

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Truck & Driver | 3

NEWS

Phoenix says it is now the second-largest metal recycling operation in NZ

Metal merchants merge ONE OF NEW ZEALAND’S FASTEST GROWING scrapmetal dealers, Phoenix Metal Recyclers, has boosted its expansion phase by acquiring the North Island operations of established industry player Metalman.

Phoenix says that the strategic move makes it the second-largest metal recycling operation in the country and complements its recent national brand relaunch to lead the way in recycling for a better NZ. Phoenix managing director Eldon Reeve says the business is dedicated to creating a world-leading recycling operation here: “Phoenix Metal Recyclers is transforming from being ‘just another scrapmetal operator’ to an environmentally-driven brand that’s taking on complex demolition projects – and, in most cases, recycling more than 90% of the material removed from site.

“NZ is quickly running out of landfill so we’re focussd on an ethos of helping every Kiwi play their part in a more sustainable future. The acquisition of Metalman helps bring this vision one step closer, by extending our footprint and significantly increasing our sustainably-focused business operations,” says Reeve.

Phoenix will continue using the Metalman name as part of a dual branding strategy, taking over the Metalman operations in Takanini, West Auckland, Whangarei and Hamilton. The Christchurch Metalman site will remain in the ownership of the South Island-based HW Richardson Group.

Metalman Group general manager David Foon says Metalman has been an iconic NZ recycling brand for more than 75 years: “Given the similar culture and values we share with Phoenix, we are delighted to pass the 4 | Truck & Driver

baton over to them as the next logical owners.

“Our customers will be in very safe hands and the future is promising.”

The four acquired Metalman sites will nearly double Phoenix’s footprint and scale of operations, adding to its existing six locations in Penrose, Otahuhu, Onehunga, East Tamaki, Hamilton and Whangarei. T&D

The deal has seen Metalman’s four North Island sites acquired

NEWS

At the Road Transport Forum’s Te ara ki tua Road to success driver traineeship launch are (from left to right): Trainees employer Chris Carr, Transport Minister Michael Wood, trainee Betty Heremaia Sola, Minister of Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni, trainees Shaun Tomai and Liana Manu, RTF CEO Nick Leggett and RTF chair Greg Pert

Negativity not what’s needed A NEGATIVE REACTION TO THE Road Transport Forum’s new truck driver traineeship from some in the industry is “disappointing,” says Forum CEO Nick Leggett.

The Te ara ki tua Road to success industry training programme was launched in May – with the RTF making it clear that it will stand or fall depending on industry support.

And now, says Leggett: “I guess it’s just the New Zealand tall poppy syndrome, but it is disappointing when every positive step is met with derision by some in the industry.

“Road to success pays people while they train and obtain recognised qualifications, and we opted to better the minimum wage with a liveable wage. Some people in the industry object to paying $21.50 an hour to secure their future workforce. That is not a good look.

“The vitriol on social media platforms about driver wages and working conditions should be sounding warning bells and certainly doesn’t help to promote truck driving as a career choice for a new, young and diverse cohort.” At least, he adds, “only older people use Facebook.”

Leggett says the employment landscape

is changing dramatically, with new entrants to every industry expecting a better work/ life balance, assistance with qualifications, and recognition for doing well: “This groundswell is gathering momentum and if employers in road transport turn their backs on it, they will struggle to survive.

“The RTF has been preparing for this changing landscape, which is why we launched Road to success. We worked with a number of Government agencies to get the scheme off the ground and got endorsement at the launch event from two Cabinet ministers – Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni and Transport and Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood.”

“The race to the bottom just makes the RTF’s role in advocating for the best possible conditions for the road transport industry more difficult. But we operate on support from a coalition of the willing. Those who can see what’s ahead, rather than what’s in the rearview mirror, understand we need to show the Government and prospective employees a willingness to

change.

“If you are not reading the tea leaves the Government are steeping, then let me be clear: Employers are facing some big challenges, and our industry is going to have to make some changes.

“We know we need to focus on more than just training. We need a safe and compliant industry focused on the future and ready for changes and challenges, the greatest of which will probably centre around carbon-neutral goals. We think industry should work on solving its own issues rather than waiting for the big hand of Government to direct terms and conditions.

“That is why the RTF is working on developing a way the industry could be covered by an accord that meets the Government’s requirements and makes the industry safe, compliant and attractive now, and into the future, for those young people looking for their next career move.

“The average age of a truck driver today is 54.

We need to be thinking about bringing through our future workforce, and the workforce behind that, and so on. We can’t do that if we just truck on the way we always have,” he adds. T&D Truck & Driver | 5

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NEWS

Road safety the Budget loser THE $1.3BILLION ALLOCATED TO RAIL IN BUDGET 2021, to build trains and boost freight capacity, is money largely misdirected….and comes at a cost to road safety, says Road Transport Forum chief executive Nick Leggett.

“It is the Forum’s view that any rail spend should go into the area where there is some impact – passenger rail in our major cities. This could ease congestion at peak times by taking cars off the roads.

“There is a case for some spend to move freight between the Auckland and Tauranga ports by rail, particularly given the supply chain issues we’ve seen in the past year, which look set to continue for some years yet,” he adds.

“But we also believe money should not be wasted on trying to revive rail freight in areas where it didn’t work before, and won’t work again. We should be looking forward, not to some ‘good old days’ in Dunedin’s history where they built trains at the Hillside Workshops.

“Or spending on the Wairoa to Napier line, where there have been derailments that leave it unusable for days and trucks have to be brought in to move the freight.

“The reality is, no amount of spending on rail will reverse international trends away from rail freight to road, or budge the 93% of freight moved by road in New Zealand.

“Trucks will still be needed to deliver goods to and from trains, and to unload them when they derail, or get stuck in tunnels. Customers through the supply chain want their goods delivered door-to-door, as fast as possible – and those demands are only increasing.

“It is particularly disappointing to see more of the Budget’s ‘new’ money going to the Prime Minister and Cabinet department ($40million) than to the NZ

Spending big on rail instead of roads is not only money largely misdirected.....it is also a major blow for road safety, RTF CEO Nick Leggett believes

Police ($33m). This is at the expense of things we think are pretty important, like road safety, which has had a $63m cut in funds.

“From where we are sitting, the roads are getting less safe because less money is being spent on the actual engineering and surface of them. They are also less safe because there will be less policing.

“We want to see some of that spending directed to roads. We pay for the roads we use and they need to be safe and suitable for the tasks they are used for. The Government’s solution of propping up rail at the expense of roads and slowing down speeds in the name of safety – because the roads themselves are actually unsafe – will not see any economic or environmental gains for NZ.” For its part, KiwiRail sees the investment creating a clear pathway to business sustainability, says group chief executive Greg Miller: “This is an outstanding level of investment from the Government which is truly revitalising rail for NZ. “It means that KiwiRail will be taking on around 200 more employees – for ongoing track maintenance and renewal work across the country and wagon assembly at Hillside. We have committed to 10% of new staff being apprentices or trainees.

“This all means money going back into the regions, and helping NZ recover from the economic impacts of COVID-19,” he added. T&D Truck & Driver | 7

NEWS An autonomous Volvo truck, bristling with 21 sensors, has begun working in a Swedish Port in a pilot project run by Volvo Autonomous Solutions

Driverless future is on the way THERE’S A NEW WAVE OF ACTIVITY IN EUROPE, CHINA and the United States in developing and testing autonomous trucks.

And don’t think that just because most photos and video of current testing clearly show humans sitting in the driver’s seat that they’ve necessarily got anything to do with controlling things.

On many highways around the world these days they’re just there as a regulatory safety backstop...and pretty soon the artificial intelligence behind autonomous vehicles will be good enough to dispense with the human overseer, say developers.

All major truckmakers plan a driverless future for their models, with the technology generally being co-developed with specialist companies in the AI field.

The flurry of activity around trucking reflects a growing consensus that selfdriving cars are still a long way from reaching most roadways and that heavy trucks might be a better place for the technology to take hold. Longhaul rigs spend most of their time moving straight ahead, on highways without stop lights, cyclists or pedestrians.

And freight is more accommodating than human passengers. As Chris Urmson, CEO of startup Aurora Innovation, puts it: “If a truck takes its time on the way from warehouse to store, the roll of toilet paper doesn’t care.”

Aurora – founded by former executives at Waymo, Tesla and Uber – is partnering with Volvo and PACCAR. Among their competitors, Daimler is linked with Google-owned Alphabet’s Waymo, which launched its trucking division Via in 2017….

While Navistar has hooked up with TuSimple Holdings, a San Diego-based company that made its initial public offering earlier this year.

In each case, the truckmaker plans to install the developer’s automated driving systems into its Class-8 trucks. From there, the business models are still being worked out.

Aurora plans to sell its driverless technology as a service, similar to the way that jet engine makers charge airlines for hours of throttle. TuSimple and Via are pursuing similar plans as well as operating freight services as they test their technology.

None of the partnerships with manufacturers are exclusive. Daimler, for 8 | Truck & Driver

instance, is also working on self-driving trucks through its inhouse subsidiary Torc Robotics.

Autonomous trucking platform provider Embark Trucks has begun hauling loads of office printers for consumer electronics giant HP, using self-driving trucks. Embark is running its autonomous vehicles on a route between Phoenix, Arizona, and Los Angeles, California, covering highway miles between transfer hubs located in both cities.

In Europe, VW Commercial Vehicles has joined with US-based Argo AI to start international trials of autonomous driving, while Volvo subsidiary Volvo Autonomous Solutions is now moving ahead with a commercial pilot project in the port area of Gothenburg.

Chinese firm Inceptio Technology is partnering with Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle and Sinotruk, respectively, to jointly develop two models of Level 3 autonomous trucks that will use its Xuanyuan system, which it claims to be the first in the industry to be developed from the ground up to support mass production.

At Level 3 autonomy, vehicles have environmental detection capabilities and can make informed decisions for themselves, such as accelerating past a slowmoving vehicle. But they still require human override. The driver must remain alert and ready to take control if the system is unable to execute the task. T&D

TuSimple’s fleet of autonomous Internationals are running on US highways

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NEWS

New Christchurch site for Transport Repairs

IN RESPONSE TO INCREASED DEMAND FOR ITS services in the region, Transport Repairs has completed the second-stage expansion of its facility in Templeton, on the western edge of Christchurch.

The huge site (nearly 10 hectares in area) is on State Highway 73, the main road to the West Coast, putting it just minutes away from the main transport hubs of Hornby, Christchurch Airport and Yaldhurst, and only a couple of kilometres away from SH1.

The branch was opened in November 2019 and the recent expansion makes it the company’s largest operation. In conjunction with the expansion, TRL has closed its branch in Hornby and merged that operation into the Templeton facility.

The new Christchurch operation has been purposebuilt and features the latest technology in heavy truck servicing – the best from around the world, says the company. The building has been fitted out with wireless and has wifi-enabled workstations, onscreen booking systems and laptop diagnosis for the latest trucks.

It has state-of-the-art oil delivery systems and dual pits that can cope with the longest truck and trailer combinations currently on the road.

With nine lanes, it can accommodate around 30 trucks under cover, while the outside yard can take over 50 trailers. It also includes an engineering facility where major jobs can be undertaken safely and efficiently.

This site includes a dedicated CoF lane where customers can enjoy a coffee while their truck obtains a CoF. Minor issues can be dealt with on the spot or a booking made for further work.

The new site is the brainchild of Mike Webster, director and a major shareholder of Transport Repairs. Webster is a 30-year veteran in truck repairs, and he has had a vision of this facility for many years – and has personally supervised the project from planning right through to completion.

He worked closely with fellow director and shareholder Jason Popplewell in the development of new sites in Cromwell, Gore, Dunedin and Invercargill – with the Templeton facility incorporating all the lessons learnt from these projects over the past seven years.

The branch manager for the site is Kevin Haugh, with Webster the operations manager for Canterbury and Marlborough.

TRL was established in 2017 from the amalgamation of three existing companies – Transport Repairs (2003) – with workshops in Invercargill, Gore and Cromwell – Dunedin’s Full Fleet Service & Maintenance,

and Heavy Transport Specialists, with workshops in Hornby, Bromley, Rangiora and Darfield.

With the closure of Hornby, the company now has eight branches covering the South Island, from Blenheim to Invercargill. It is 50% owned

by Dynes Transport, with the other half being held by Transport Repair Holdings, of which Webster and Popplewell are major shareholders.

TRL is the Cummins engine dealer for Marlborough, Otago and Southland, and a Southpac Trucks service dealer in Marlborough, Southland and Central Otago, supporting the DAF and Kenworth brands. T&D

Above: The extended facility has nine work bays and can accommodate 30 trucks under cover Below: The Transport Repairs Christchurch management team, from left: Paul Burgess (parts manager), Kevin Haugh (branch manager), Mike Webster (regional manager), Pete Cosseboom (service manager) and Tania Wright (service adviser)

Truck & Driver | 11

NEWS Central Diesel Services has expanded its Daimler Trucks parts and service representation to Rotorua

CDS into Rotorua CENTR AL DIESEL SERV ICES H AS opened a new branch in Rotorua – the move made in conjunction with the company’s appointment as the authorised service and parts dealer for Daimler Trucks’ makes in the Rotorua region.

The Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner and FUSO representation is a natural extension of CDSL’s status as the service and parts dealer for the makes in the Tauranga area.

The new purposebuilt branch has four drive-through bays (including a full-length pit), a truck wash area, a parts warehouse and office, as well as a generous offstreet parking area for trucks and trailers awaiting service.

Managing director Robert (Bert) Hayden and his wife and fellow director Debbie, say they are very excited about this next phase in the development of their business and see great potential for the Rotorua operation: “We

have established longstanding relationships with many of the heavy transport operators in Rotorua who we have been servicing from our main branch in Tauranga for many years.

“It will be great to now be able to strengthen this even more with local representation.”

In addition to the Daimler Group truck franchises, CDSL is also the authorised dealer for Cummins and Detroit engines, and BPW and Jost transport parts for the Bay of Plenty. T&D

Slot-in electric conversions AN AMERICAN COMPANY SAYS IT HAS A HEAV Y truck electrification solution that more easily allows owners to replace their existing diesel powertrains with electric.

Trova Commercial Vehicles is developing a unique diesel-to-electric driveline conversion programme for existing trucks, using what is essentially the reverse of the so-called “glider kit” approach, where a new cab and chassis is fitted with a remanufactured diesel engine from an earlier emissions standard.

Trova has developed what it calls a “skateboard” solution, where a truck’s cab and running gear (axles, brake systems etc) will be fitted to a new proprietary rolling chassis, which is purposebuilt to accommodate batteryelectric driveline components.

The approach will significantly reduce the cost of conversion as well as improving safety, says Patrick Collignon, Trova’s founder and CEO: “Our package combines the latest electric driveline technology with a completely new chassis, thoughtfully designed from the ground up specifically for EV components.

“Also, our conversion process is being engineered to deliver rapid volume production, rather than the slow build of a typical ‘mom-and-pop’ converter.

12 | Truck & Driver

“It also allows the truck’s battery packs to be packaged within the chassis rails. Central mounting increases battery-pack durability compared with side-rail mounting, helps improve vehicle stability, and increases the safety of the batteries and vehicle in major side-impact crashes.”

Collignon was previously the CEO for Volvo Trucks North and South America and has attracted several former Volvo/Mack executives to the startup. Denny Slagle, who retired as executive vice president of Volvo Group and president of Mack Trucks in 2018, is a senior adviser. Susan Alt, who retired as Volvo Group senior vice president of public affairs in 2019, recently joined the Trova advisory board. T&D

NEWS Volvo has developed a suite of unique sounds for its electric trucks, to warn pedestrians, cyclists and other road users of their approach

Volvo adds noise MANUFACTURERS OF HEAVY TRUCKS HAVE traditionally tried to make them quieter...but now Volvo is adding sound to some of its models!

The company has developed an acoustic alert system with unique sounds for its electric trucks, making pedestrians, cyclists and other road users aware of the approach of the otherwise near-silent vehicles.

There will be five different sounds – one for slowing down (which sounds like wind blowing through a pipe or tube), another for idling (like a musical note) and one for reversing (a repetitive “dong” sound – though nothing near as obtrusive as the high-pitched beeping used now for reversing trucks).

Moving forward is signalled by a tone that’s like a gong, and higher speeds produce a sound something like a distant train or plane.

The sounds are designed to not penetrate through walls, to allow for quiet nighttime deliveries and to contribute to better working conditions. They have been developed to meet a requirement that all new electric vehicles in the EU have to emit a certain sound level when travelling at speeds below 20km/h.

The level required depends on the speed and gets higher as it increases.

At 20K it should be at least 56 decibels. The US has similar legislation for vehicles when driving 30km/h or slower. T&D

Four decades for TransDiesel A BUSINESS STARTED BY TWO KIWI mates in a London flat is celebrating its 40th anniversary...with the founders still both involved in the company.

Dave Wooff and Alister McLaughlin kicked off with the refurbishment of a single transmission – those early efforts since growing into a nationwide business back home, employing more than 260 people and trading at nearly $200million annually.

The Christchurch-based TransDiesel distributes construction equipment, diesel engines, transmissions and generator sets as well as oil and filtration products, and now operates out of 17 branches around the country.

Mike McKessar, managing director of TransDiesel NZ, says in the early years the founding mates referred to themselves as pirates: “They shook up the industry, putting the customer

firmly front of mind, and it’s this people-focused ethos which has become the backbone of the company and contributed to its success over so many years.”

The company has the distribution rights to the Volvo range of construction equipment and is the

national distributor of Shell engine oil.

Other brands, products and services available from TransDiesel and its team of field representatives include Yanmar construction equipment, Perkins engines and Kohler engines and power generation equipment. T&D

The company is based in Christchurch, now with 17 branches nationwide

Truck & Driver | 13

NEWS

Broshmik Trucks is truly a family business, which features father Wink Rudsits (second from right) and his sons (from left) Brock, Mikhail and Josh

Scania service dealer changes SCANIA NEW ZEALAND HAS appointed a new, authorised Scania service dealer for the Drury area – Broshmik Trucks.

Scania NZ service director Nick Allan says maintaining Scania’s quality customer service was top of mind in signing-up Broshmik: “The appointment also supports Scania’s growth plans in the greater Auckland region. Broshmik

Trucks will continue to operate from their Drury workshop.”

Founded in 2015, the company is a family owned and operated heavy vehicle workshop.

Operations manager and director Josh Rudsits says the company’s professionally-trained technicians live and breathe Scania: “A childhood passion of figuring out how things turn and exploring

Aitken departs NRC NATIONAL ROAD CARRIERS ASSOCIATION CEO David Aitken is leaving the job at the end of this month, after leading the nationwide organisation for 13 years.

NRC chairman Don Wilson says Aitken has shown great leadership during his tenure and leaves the organisation in a very strong position, both financially and in terms of membership numbers and perceptions: “When David was appointed in 2008 the organisation was in a shaky financial position and he worked with the chairman at the time, Paul Chappel, to stabilise the situation and put the association onto a firm footing.

“NRC has grown substantially over the years with large groups of members from around the country joining us because they recognise the value of the assistance and representation David and his team provide.”

Aitken says that on taking up the role he was almost immediately embroiled in the nationwide trucking protest action, with about 2000 trucks driving into Auckland city centre – along with many more in other cities nationwide – protesting proposed RUC increases.

Other highlights of his time at NRC have included dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown last year – requiring almost round-theclock communications with authorities and trucking companies, and meeting and working with people from the road freight industry.

Aitken plans to take on new challenges: “It’s time for someone fresh to keep NRC moving forward.” T&D 14 | Truck & Driver

our parents’ fleet of 3-Series Scanias has led to a profound understanding and sense of pride in what we do here at Broshmik Trucks,” he says.

Meanwhile, Scania NZ has also announced that ACL Smallbone Timaru is now its sole Scania approved workshop in Timaru. Previously the company was also represented by Scania Timaru, but that operation has now closed. T&D

Fair Pay Agreements not that fair THE GOVERNMENT’S PROPOSED FAIR PAY AGREEMENT (FPA) legislation will be far from fair, Road Transport Forum CEO Nick Leggett says.

Instead, it is likely to lead to compulsory unionism and centralised wage bargaining, which are the antithesis of economic growth and productivity, he says: “We had hoped consideration would be given to the factors that will be required for New Zealand competing in a post-COVID world.

“NZ’s minimum wage is among the highest in the OECD countries. Generally, we have good, safe working conditions, all covered by existing laws. Compulsory unionism ended in NZ in 1991 – 30 years ago. We don’t want to turn back that clock because it is certainly not the worker who will gain from it.

“The trucking industry is not heavily unionised, with good reason. Drivers want choices about how and when they work. Trucking varies tremendously between different companies, regions, freight types and vehicles used. National, or even regional awards, are not going to be flexible enough to allow for that variation, or to meet driver needs. With driver shortages, good drivers have flexibility and should see continued increases in their pay as a result.

“Unionising the workforce will not alleviate a worker shortage. Quite the opposite will occur; it will make the road freight industry less attractive to people who want flexibility, including women who are moving into our industry because they can start early and get home in time for the after-school run for their children.

“Our industry is working on the idea of developing an industry accord – a shared commitment between Government and industry to ensure workforce conditions, supply, development and health and safety are all at desirable standards. This would be a voluntary sign-up, not compulsory,” he adds. T&D

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NEWS

Jake Brake turns 60 THE JAKE BRAKE HAS NOTCHED-UP 60 YEARS OF service to the global transport industry.

In 1961 Jacobs Vehicle Systems, maker of the world-renowned diesel engine retarder, introduced the first engine brake for commercial vehicles.

It had been invented by Cummins founding father Clessie Cummins. His original patent used engine oil to transfer the motion of the fuel injector camshaft to the exhaust valves, causing them to open momentarily at top dead centre.

That bled the compressed air in the cylinders, that otherwise would have pushed the pistons back down, resulting in little engine braking.

Today, more than nine million Jacobs engine brakes have been produced for commercial vehicles throughout the world.

In 2019, Jacobs sold its eight millionth example and just two years later – in March this year – the nine millionth unit came off the assembly line.

Initially, the mechanism was destined for the aftermarket only and was sold exclusively in North America. However, in the late 1980s, interest in the product from the trucking industry began to increase significantly and a shift was made to OEM factory installations. Global expansion soon followed, and today Jacobs is selling and delivering engine brakes from its locations in North America, China and Europe, to more than 30 OE customers worldwide.

Pictures, clockwise from top left: Clessie Cummins’ original patent for the engine brake....Clessie in his workshop....the nine millionth Jake Brake was made in March

An early partnership was with Detroit Diesel, which in 1962 installed engine brakes on a Series 71 engine. Since then, Jakes have been Detroit standard equipment, starting with the S60 engine platform and then again in 2007 with the introduction of the first Daimler Heavy Duty engine platform.

Vehicles such as the Mercedes-Benz Actros, Antos and Arocs, Freightliner Cascadia and FUSO Super Great/Shogun, as well as the Mercedes-Benz and Setra coaches and intercity buses are driven by this engine platform, with integrated Jacobs engine brakes.

Engine retarding technologies at Jacobs have become increasingly more sophisticated over the years, and today the company manufactures four types of retardation systems – exhaust, bleeder, compression release, plus the next generation of engine retarders, its High Power Density (HPD) design.

The company’s product portfolio also includes variable valve actuation systems, designed to reduce emissions and optimise fuel consumption, cylinder deactivation for decreased emissions and improved fuel economy, and active decompression designs, which allow drivers to experience smoother engine startup and shut-down.

Then there’s fulcrum bridge technology, which eliminates the need for valve lash adjustments and makes lashless valvetrains compatible with engine braking, improving both fuel economy and emissions. T&D

East Coast trucks on show THE 2021 GISBORNE/EAST COAST TRUCK SHOW HAS been set for November 27 at the Gisborne A&P showgrounds.

The show will be open to the public between 11am and 4pm on a gold coin donation basis – the proceeds going to the Gisborne Cancer Society.

Entry costs $20 per truck, capped at $100 for five or more units. Trucks can assemble from 8:30am onwards. For enquiries contact Pete de Denne on 027 434 4727 or email gizzy.truckshow@gmail.com T&D Truck & Driver | 17

NEWS

Fast-laning Fast -laning LONG TOUTED AS THE ANSWER TO CARBON-NEUTRAL transportation, but hampered by the expense of production and the lack of a distribution infrastructure for the gas, hydrogen fuel cells are increasingly being seen as the future for heavy vehicles.

Major truckmakers and energy companies are now combining to accelerate their development and widespread adoption.

Heading the push are Daimler Truck AG and the Volvo Group, who have launched a joint venture called cellcentric, with the ambition of it becoming a leading global manufacturer of fuel cell systems, with production beginning in 2025.

Meanwhile, hydrogen fuel cell and electric truck startup Nikola has announced that it and Iveco – its major European investor – have formed a partnership with natural gas distributor OGE to set up a hydrogen pipeline and fuel station system across Europe in order to supply fuel cell-powered heavy trucks.

Nikola and Iveco say their joint goal with OGE is to improve hydrogen availability and hold down the cost of distributing and storing the fuel.

Elsewhere, Hyzon Motors, a major producer of fuel cell packs and a startup aiming to mass-produce its own hydrogen FCEVs, has set up a collaborative pan-industry group committed to advancing the use of hydrogen worldwide.

Members of the Hyzon Zero Carbon Alliance (HZCA) include European

18 | Truck & Driver

energy giant Total, Bank of America and several development companies, among them NZ’s Hiringa Energy, which is already advanced with plans to provide “green” hydrogen and hydrogen FCEVs to the transport sector here.

And in California, the Port of Los Angeles has introduced five new hydrogenpowered fuel cell heavy trucks and opened two hydrogen fuelling stations as part of an $82.5million project called Shore-to-Store (S2S).

The vehicles’ duty cycles will consist of local pickup and delivery near the port and short regional haul applications in the so-called Inland Empire (the area to the south of Los Angeles including the cities of Riverside, San Bernadino and Ontario that contains much of California’s industry).

According to Daimler and Volvo, purely battery-electric and hydrogenbased fuel cell trucks will complement each other depending on the individual customer use. Battery power will be mainly used for lower cargo weights and for shorter distances, while fuel cell power will tend to be the preferred option for heavier loads and longer distances.

To accelerate the rollout of hydrogen-based fuel cells, the two cellcentric shareholders call for a harmonised EU hydrogen policy framework to support the technology in becoming a viable commercial solution.

That stance is supported by all of Europe’s major truck manufacturers, who are calling for the setup of around 300 high-performance hydrogen refuelling

NEWS Clockwise, from right: Daimler has been testing its GenH2 heavy-duty fuel cell electric Mercedes-Benz truck since April and says it’s on target for series production in 2027....

Hyundai’s XCIENT hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks are already in production....the Merc’s hydrogen fuel cell stack.....these five Kenworth T680s, now working out of Los Angeles Port, have Toyota-developed hydrogen fuel cells. Shell is providing two hydrogen refuelling stations

stations suitable for heavy-duty vehicles by 2025, rising to 1000 no later than 2030.

In the Nikola-led partnership, OGE says it is committed to establishing a pipeline infrastructure to transport hydrogen from production sources to critical exit points of distribution.

The European development comes as Nikola says it is preparing to create a US fuelling and charging infrastructure for trucks with both battery electric fuel cell electric power supplies.

It has an agreement to buy low-cost surplus solar power in Arizona, where the company is based, and will use this to make hydrogen from water via electrolysis, though it is yet to announce the locations of its first fuel stations.

At the vehicle, and used in a fuel cell, hydrogen is a near-perfect fuel. It has up to twice the energy efficiency (the proportion of its potential energy per kilogram that’s converted to work) of internal combustion fuels, while the process produces only water. So far, so good. But the majority of hydrogen today comes from natural gas, which results in the production of CO2 (though markedly less than by conventionally burning fossil fuels).

And if electrolysis is used to produce hydrogen, in Europe and the USA a high proportion of the electricity comes from coal-fired or natural gas-fired power stations – another carbon-neutral no-no.

The ideal is to have “green” hydrogen, electrolysed with electricity from renewable resources (wind, solar, hydro and the like). That’s not too far away.

Norway’s Nel Hydrogen, also a Nikola partner, says it has developed highlyefficient electrolysis technology. It estimates it can produce hydrogen from renewable sources at a large scale by 2025 at a cost of around $1.50 a kilogram, which it says is well below current fossil fuel prices.

A similarly bullish stance is taken by Hiringa Energy, which plans to use wind-generated electricity for its primary electrolysis plant in Taranaki and offpeak electricity from this country’s largely renewable supply at regional refuelling sites.

Hyundai is recognised as a pioneer of hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks, with its XCIENT heavy trucks already working for customers in Switzerland. It says it will have 140 XCIENT FCEVs on the road this year – and is on track to build 1600 of them by 2025.

Then there’s Raven SR, a US-based company that transforms biomass, mixed municipal solid waste, bio-solids, sewage, medical waste, and natural or biogas into renewable fuels. Using its proprietary, non-combustion, non-catalytic “Steam/CO2 Reformation” technology Raven SR produces a hydrogen-rich syngas regardless of feedstock utilised.

Since the process does not combust its feedstock, Raven produces more clean fuels – hydrogen or FT fuels – than similar systems, and because Raven uses mixed and multiple wastes, the environment is cleaned by reducing waste going into landfills.

The Los Angeles Port’s technology development partners in the S2S project are Toyota Motor North America – which designed and built the powertrain’s fuel cell system – and Kenworth. The truckmaker designed and built the 560hp Class 8 T680 trucks. Shell Oil Products US designed, built and will operate the project’s two new high-capacity hydrogen fuelling stations in Wilmington and Ontario.

Their high power outputs, 500km range per fill and fast refuelling times (as quick or even quicker than conventional diesel), make fuel cell vehicles far preferable to pure battery-electric in this sort of applications, says the Port. T&D

Truck & Driver | 19

Super : r e d a spre er i p p i r g , r e t t e b , Bigger Story Dave McLeod

Photos Gerald Shacklock

Despite appearances – and some consternation at the height of the 6x6 when it arrived – the big Arocs has proven to be very stable offroad

20 | Truck & Driver

BIG TEST

Truck & Driver | 21

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z

Plumes of lime billow out from the back of the Merc’s custombuilt spreader body

HEY SAY THAT THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER on the other side of the fence. In truth, SOMETIMES it MAY be.

But in rural New Zealand, it probably ain’t gonna happen without the right soil, the right amount of rain, just enough sunshine…and fertiliser. Lots and lots of fertiliser.

Which is where Dargaville’s Jason Williamson and his new Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3348 come into the picture: He’s the owner of Spreading Northland – running a fleet of bulk spreaders that work all over its home region.

And when the demand is there for lots and lots of fert, it’s logical – right? – to go for a spreader that’s bigger, better….grippier. Meaning, it can spread more fert.

Hence the Arocs – the first 6x6 in a Williamson spreader lineup that otherwise comprises 4x4s – three Mercs, two Scanias and a FUSO. We’re here in Dargaville on a sunny Northland day to find out how the theory behind the latest purchase is working out in practice.

The Arocs and its three-axle automat trailer are heading out to a farm at Aranga – on the West Coast, 40-odd kilometres north – to go about its business. Spreading some lime and fert.

Williamson highlights the three-axle all-wheel-drive’s attractions: “It’s got higher productivity, a bigger payload and more horsepower.” It is, he adds: “Just for our bigger jobs – and loading from a stockpile.

“Offroad, the truck can take 10-15-tonnes, which is three times more than the 4x4s. So you can get the jobs done a lot quicker.”

In the Spreading Northland/Williamson Contracting yard, the test truck sticks out like a sore thumb. The Merc, with its ClassicSpace M daycab, towers over the mere 4x4s!

Even Williamson was surprised when he took delivery of it, a year ago now: “I didn’t think about the height when I ordered it and when it arrived we thought ‘holy shit!’ ” The Arocs’ driver Michael Shelford remembers it well: “First

impression from everyone was: ‘How is this going to work? So high, so big!’ And that was even before the tractor grips went on.”

But it didn’t look quite so OTT “once the hopper went on: It started looking more like a spreader. But in comparison to other trucks on the road, you’re tall.”

And still, there was the extra axle to take into account in tight situations, as Michael points out: “Just worrying about getting an extra axle over culverts and gateways and manoeuvring it around. With 4WDs you’ve only got one axle to get past the post, whereas now you’ve got two rear axles with hoses to get around gate gudgeons and posts and stuff like that.”

On the other hand, while both Michael and Jason say that the 6x6’s height definitely took some getting used to, it is in fact really stable.

And, given the Merc’s 33,000kg GVM and 68,000kg GCM ratings, it is, for sure, more efficient – and more comfortable with a big load on board.

Says Michael: “It’s an extra wheel on the ground and it’s quite a statement in the paddock! It can do nearly twice as much as a 4x4 ‘coz you can carry that bit extra on every load and you can get around the paddock pretty good. You don’t feel as many bumps.”

Being able to transport more tonnage to a job is clearly an advantage: “When you have to travel so far to get to a paddock, you can do an extra paddock or so.”

The company built the bins itself for the truck and trailer – and converted a 1996 log trailer into an automat.

The company’s spreaders work as far afield as the east coast of lower Northland, down as far as Wellsford and north beyond Kaitaia, but today’s task is nice and handy – finishing off a big job that has involved spreading more than 16,000 tonnes of lime and fert. To get it done Jason’s Williamson Contracting tippers also carted truck and trailer loads of fert and lime to the farm.

Climbing up into the cab is no easy feat, particularly as the first Truck & Driver | 23

Clockwise, from main picture: The Arocs cuts an imposing figure on the road, as it picks up its load around Dargaville....first call is the limeworks at Arapohue....attached to the stubby gearstick for the 16-speed manual are the controls for the spinners....Merc was already the brand of choice for Spreading Northland....the Merc is a construction-spec model, with appropriate protection on vulnerable components grated step is so high off the ground. But the three steps are wide enough for the boot and there are grabhandles each side of the door.

Michael, 38, who has driven for the company for 15 years, is philosophical about the access: “The climb into the cab is something that you can’t really change. I suppose it gives you some form of fitness….but when you’ve got 120 hectares and you’ve got to open quite a few gates, it’s a lot of time getting in and out of the truck.”

Over the years he’s driven everything from an old six-wheeler Mitsubishi to, most recently, a 4x4 Mercedes-Benz 330 Arocs.

Ask him to compare the 4x4 and the 6x6 and he’s forthcoming: “The difference is that this is big in power, size and weight.” The 6x6, which tares at around 13,500kg, is three tonnes heavier.

He admits though that the comparison is clouded by the age of his last 4x4: “This truck is not quite a year old now, so everything works as it should. When they start getting old (for instance, he’d done 10 years in the last truck) the fertiliser and the job takes its toll.”

So far the 6x6 has just 35,476kms on the lock: “We don’t do huge Ks – the biggest Ks are travelling to and fro’ – but we do long days.

And a lot of the hours are taken up offroad. It’s a lot of slow time in the cab, when you’re crawling around and spreading.”

During spreading the cab height makes a positive difference: “In an open paddock it’s really good. You’ve got good visibility….I find it quite stable: If anything, you can get a bit too confident because you feel so stable.

“Down tracks where there’s trees and things that can be a bit testing.

You don’t want to scratch the truck but you also don’t want to do all the cutting of branches for them. New farms are always a challenge with things like gateways, this being that little bit longer.”

24 | Truck & Driver

The cab is basic and robust. It’s obviously built to do its job, with plenty of hard-wearing plastic and ample stowage areas.

It is, says Michael, “pretty good. The centre storage could do with a bit more (space) but it’s good to be able to tuck the paperwork away in the storage bin above the windscreen. It gets all the clutter out of the way. It gets dusty at the best of times, but I try to keep it clean. It’s got all you need really. Pushbutton start…all your Bluetooth and stuff. And all your little creature comforts.”

Well, maybe not quite all. There is no fridge, and as Michael says: “Everything could do with a refrigerator. He says it in a voice that suggests he never expected one in a spreader.

“But yeah, you’ve got to have a cool bag. I freeze the water in the summer to keep it cold for the paddocks as there’s not many shops out where I go! You need good aircon too and this one is pretty good.

They’re under a bit of stress though with all the dust so you’ve got to keep on top of the air filters.”

The visibility out of the Merc is good, with two big exterior mirrors and a large windscreen.

Says Michael: “I’m pretty comfortable with the visibility – I’m pretty used to Mercedes I suppose.” His previous Arocs “had a couple of little blindspots, but this one’s pretty good. In the paddock I can see right down to my back wheel arches or wheel guards when I’m trying to get past a gateway.”

The analogue dials on the dashboard are easy to read. There’s a small digital info screen in the

middle that Michael has set for speed.

There’s an EROAD GPS system box in the windscreen and a big tablet mounted on top of the dash for the Ravensdown HawkEye farm mapping software that taps into things like the spinner speed control, the GPS and Michael’s job instructions.

He continues the summary on the cab: “The seat’s good – it’s heated. Never had that before.” Then again, as he adds: “I hardly ever use it, to be fair – but it’s good to know it’s there.”

Michael likes the way the steering feels but reckons it could do with a better lock, given the length of the truck: “Having power steering it’s pretty light and in the paddock it’s pretty quick to turn.”

He feels that the leaf-spring suspension (the front rated at 9t., the four-leaf rear at 30t.) is quite firm – “but it’s a good firm. I don’t tend to like it too bouncy. It’s pretty rigid in the paddock in terms of going down hills and over cow ruts, and it holds its own on the road. It’s fine.

I think it’s good to have springs in this type of job.”

Before we head north to the farm, Michael needs to load the truck

with lime at the Ravensdown limeworks at Arapohue and the trailer with DAP (di-ammonium sulphate) at the Ballance depot.

The unloaded truck goes over the weighbridge at Ravensdown at 13,640kg and comes away with eight tonnes of lime onboard.

As usual, Michael makes the most of the shelter provided by the weighbridge to pull the tarp over the load, using the covers made for the company trucks by Graham Sykes Canvas in Whangarei. The rollover covers “make life easier and quicker” than how it was “in the old days, with bungee cords and pullover tarps.”

At Ballance, Michael has 11t. of DAP super fertiliser loaded onto the trailer, tarps it…and we’re off.

Fully loaded, at just shy of 39t. all up (the truck at 21.6t., the trailer at 17.3t), we head for the job. The trailer can take up to a 15t. payload, but what we’ve got will finish this job.

The extra weight that this truck operates at is, says Michael, “probably the biggest thing” that’s different about it compared to the 4x4s: It doesn’t “really have too many faults.” Yes, clearly, “it is big.

You’ve just got to really know that. But (at 2.3m) it’s a bit skinnier than the 4x4s…..that helps with gateways.

“But probably it’s the weight that’s the big thing – it’s a different technique to four-wheel-driving, especially on rougher ground and tracks. Sometimes you can skirt around by crawling the 4WD around a sideling, whereas this big truck will either go….or it’ll make a mess. So you’ve always got to be mindful about where you go because it’s a big unit to try and get back out of anywhere.”

Although he reckons his natural instinct is to want more power, he says: “I think with the loads it’s pulling it doesn’t need any more power – 480 is plenty in the paddock.”

The engine is a Euro 5 Merc OM471 12.8-litre inline-six, with 350kW/476hp and 2300Nm/1696 lb ft of peak torque. It’s married to a

Truck & Driver | 25

All pictures: The cab is functional but comfy and everything is where it should be (even providing a bit of storage space behind the seats). The dash is a neat mix of analogue instruments, plus a small digital display (here showing the current axle lock status). A key piece of the technology onboard is the monitor for the HawkEye farm mapping software (bottom left), which colours-in the parts of a paddock already covered

“You need a few more revs to get the spinner speed up....”

G260-16 16-speed manual, with a double-disc clutch.

Michael believes a manual is a must for this work: “I don’t think an auto would work in this job – I don’t know how they would run. The clutch is probably heavy but I’m just used to it.”

The gate on the Merc manual can seem a little stiff if you’re not used to it, he says, but he doesn’t mind it: “You’re either in the gear or you’re not. There’s not much play being a new truck.”

Soon we’re doing 90km/h along State Highway 12, the engine at 1400rpm in top, with the three-stage engine retarder in its second setting to help ease the unit around some 75k corners.

Michael reckons it’s all much of a muchness in this part of the job: Most of the loads are around the same weights and the highway driving to the farms is similar – “it’s just a different driveway at the end I guess”.

Most of the time Michael shifts up at around 1500rpm: “I try to keep in the green and the grey, and stay out of the yellow. It’s a bit different in the paddock: You need a few more revs to get the spinner speed up, so it’s a different driving technique…”

All three axles on the Merc are fitted with TRT TractionAir central tyre 26 | Truck & Driver

inflation and Michael is a fan: It is, he says, “really good – a bit of a learning curve to use it properly and when to use it though.”

The system is manually controlled, with the press of a button: “This is the first time I’ve had CTI, and especially all around. I’m finding it a benefit….I can let my tyre pressures down in the paddock and it gives me that bit of extra momentum.”

The Merc’s rubber, by the way, is a mix of BKT Multimax tyres on the rear and Michelins on the front: “The outside ones are tractor tyres, but at the moment we’re still using Michelin summer tyres on the front – we’re just waiting for stock to come in.

“They’ve still been doing really well on the road. Tractor grips on the road can sometimes be a bit knobbly, especially brand-new ones. I like half-worn ones myself – they travel a lot better on the road. Brand new tractor grips on the front looks awesome but feels really rubbery and means you have to change your cornering style.”

Before beginning his career in bulk spreaders, Michael was working on farms, then driving general freight trucks. The transition to bulk groundspreading was, he confirms, “a big learning curve. You’ve got to be able to read all the conditions, talk to the farmers and know where

Above: Even tall trucks can comfortably handle seemingly risky slopes

Right: Driver Michael Shelford explains the job ahead

you’re going.

“You’ve got to jump in and follow a GPS but also watch out for trees, drains and look for different colours of grass to see where it’s wet.

You’ve got to avoid the (water) troughs too – they make a big explosion if you hit them. You come up over a brow and all of a sudden you’ll go to turn and they’re right there. This is a different game, spreading.”

And you definitely need some 4x4 spreader experience before getting behind the wheel of a 6x6 out on the paddocks: “I can’t see anyone jumping in and being able to drive around a paddock.”

He credits experienced spreader driver Colin Barwell for helping him when he started in bulk spreading: “He took me under his wing to start with. I had done tractor spreading and stuff on farms, so I had an idea

on what the spreading side was. Colin would offer some advice…but a lot of it just came down to experience in the paddock, learning where you could and couldn’t go. You just got out there and did it.”

He reckons that “if you don’t have a rural background” this job “wouldn’t be that enticing: These aren’t the most glamorous trucks! This was filthy last night – covered in mud. But I like it, it’s got some good challenges.”

Unsurprisingly, after 15 years in this job, he’s been to most farms around the region: “You get to see some pretty cool views – you go right out on the coast. Plus there’s a sense of achievement when you see all these lines of fert and know that you’ve done it.” Hence, he adds, “I’m still here, still doing it.”

Truck & Driver | 27

We go through the settlement of Kaihu (about 32k north of Dargaville) and hit a climb that sees Michael initially letting the OM471 engine lug down to 1200 revs, but then makes shifts at around 1500, till he’s worked down to 6th low and 30km/h.

Finally the hill calls for 5th high, our speed down to 24k and the engine ticking over at 1200 revs, before the incline starts to ease and Michael has worked back up to 7th low by the top.

And that sees us to the gate of our destination farm. Before starting spreading, Michael has a routine – first using the CTI to drop the tyre pressures: “On the road they’re 89-90psi – we’re going down to 54psi so we’ve got some extra rubber on the ground. The biggest thing is keeping control and trying not to slide or make it too rough for yourself.”

He finds a good spot to park the trailer, rolls the covers off and lifts the trailer up – “I get that ready so I can back my truck up once I’m empty. Then I’ll do a density check for the fertiliser (it turns it from grams into litres so the computer can work out the rate of the chain), and enter that into the computer….then make sure the gate height on the hopper is right and set it all up on the computer.”

One he starts spreading, he reckons he “crawls” along at anywhere between 16-30km/h depending on the terrain – but mainly around 20km/h – and pretty much stays in 3rd low.

“In the faster paddocks you can get around in 4th low. On the flatter and not too bad rolling paddocks you’re just trying to hold your revs, because you’ve got to keep the power up for the spinner speed as well.

And you can only travel so fast because your chain will only allow you to. The computer will flash at you if your wheel speed is too fast.”

He says that it may sound difficult but it’s quite natural because the terrain will only allow you to go so fast.

“There’s quite a few flatter paddocks here and you can get moving along a bit faster. The 6x6 allows you to move a bit quicker, but more comfortably I suppose. It rides really well on a flat paddock, but even on a bumpy paddock it’s not as rough as the old 4x4 that I was driving.”

At first, he says, the 6x6 – with its high cab – was quite daunting, but now he just feels it’s really good because it gives him such great visibility.

“And having that firmer suspension you get quietly confident when you’re creeping up a hill and you realise you’ve gone past where you used to turn down. I surprised myself this summer on a couple of climbs. You always make sure you’re safe and have somewhere to run off but sometimes you get right up there.

“And I’m not just wasting the farmer’s fert – it’ll help because you haven’t got there before. I’m not trying to put myself in danger or get any trophies for climbing the highest….I’m just trying to do the job properly.”

Doing the job safely on hills is all about reading the land: “Some require you to go up sideways (along the hill). You can definitely creep up cattle ruts a lot easier going sideways because you’ve got more of a rocking motion. As long as you keep momentum up on the front – on the top end of your climb – you tend to be pretty good. Sometimes you go (straight) up and down, sometimes you go sideways. There’s one paddock today that’s got a saddle or a basin in it and that’ll be some fun.”

The setup all done, we head off across a damp, reasonably steep paddock with the retarder on its maximum setting, the gearbox in 3rd low and the engine at around 1500rpm. Michael’s keen to stay off the footbrake pedal so as not to provoke a slide.

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Truck & Driver | 29

Clockwise, from opposite page, top: Ruts are just part of the daily challenges for the Arocs...loading fert from the automat into the spreader....the OM471 engine’s 480hp is up to the task....it’s a long stretch just to get up onto the first step....TractionAir CTI is important on the paddocks

To access the spreading location he has to open a gate – eyeing the electric fence attached to it a little uneasily: He’s not keen on copping shocks but says that it doesn’t happen that often these days.

“I learnt my lesson. I now use the peak of my hat. You can hear them ticking, but sometimes you get caught out and it gives you a bit of a wakeup – better than a coffee!”

At the spreading site, Michael calls up the job on the HawkEye screen, enters the product, confirms the density required and the spread rate for the lime and sets the gate height to make sure the product spins out the back.

On the gearstick is an on/off lever for the spreader control and two buttons – to control the spinner on either side: “Say if you’re going up a track in a paddock….you don’t want to spin it all over the road, so if you can shut down one side it benefits everybody.”

He hits the switch to start the spinning and we’re off – the power divider engaged so the three axles are locked up, tyre pressures at 56psi, the gearbox in 2nd high and 1500 revs showing on the tacho… which Michael quickly builds to 1700-1800 “just to to keep my spinner speed going.”

He shifts up to 3rd high as plumes of lime dust spew out behind us: “Third is easy control and gives good ground speed – 17km/h at the moment.”

He does the outer edges of the paddock first, then goes back and forth – with and against the direction of the wind. It’s a nice, flat and easy paddock, he says as he shifts up to 4th low.

The white area on the HawkEye map of the paddock gets filled with black with each pass. As Michael says: “It’s like a colouring book. You have a map, you trace around the outline with your first run and then you fill in the middle and all the places you don’t get are the places you can’t get anyway. It’s hard to have a completely coloured-in page.”

Michael checks the mirrors to make sure the lime is coming out evenly as we get along at 20km/h. Within a few minutes we’ve spread three tonnes of lime – going on at 3000kgs per hectare. The spinner speed is set at 800rpm both sides, giving a nice even throw.

As we return through the lime dust cloud, it’s a bit of a whiteout and it’s easy to see where we’ve been, with a white frosting on the grass.

Says Michael: “That’s the impressive thing with lime – you can’t hide where you haven’t been or where you have. The fertiliser is dusty, but 30 | Truck & Driver

not as much as this.”

The ride isn’t uncomfortable at all, even though it’s quite a rough paddock. He points out the ruts in another paddock that he’s been in, pointing out where he’s “been brave”…..and not so much: “It goes from day to day and varies on the conditions as to where you can go. One day you can go somewhere, the next you can’t.”

In five minutes, the first paddock is done – 5.8t. spread. We head back up the hill and squeeze through a gateway into another paddock that looks a little more challenging, with a downhill run to start.

Michael has the gearbox in 2nd high and says he’ll stick with that, “because it will control our descent down through the paddock.” The engine revving at 1500, the speedo shows 14km/h as he says: “The good thing about this paddock is that it’s not very bumpy or has too many cattle ruts.” So he can maintain reasonable wheel speed, with the retarder to slow us down – along with an occasional touch on the brake pedal.

Michael has already says done two spreading runs around this paddock and explains that this time we’re just doing the centre. I note that there’s a huge hill near the middle and, just quietly, I’m hoping he’s not going to attempt spreading on that. But, of course, he is!

“I’ll put my rear diff lock in just to give all those four wheels a good lock. I’ll pick my revs up to 1700 in 3rd high.”

The climb is steep and, for me, a little unnerving. For Michael it’s just the usual – and he’s comfortable and relaxed enough to point out a bluff over there – and a forest there.

At the top he turns the diff lock off – on the fly, with the turn of a dial on the dash: “It’s right in front of the gearstick so it’s quite handy.

Some of the older models you used to have to reach over a little bit more.”

One more run up and down the hill is all it takes to complete this paddock – and the second climb is completed in 3rd low, the rear diff lock engaged “to stop the scratching on the paddock of all the wheels doing individual things and making unnecessary wheel marks.”

That done, we head back to the trailer to reload the truck with the fertiliser, the automat system making it an easy task.

When the bin’s about half full, Michael checks the density – a bit of a crude method that involves weighing a one-litre container full of fert on some kitchen scales. The weight is entered into the computer system

and it calculates the spread rate.

Says Michael: “The fertiliser is lighter (than the lime) but a lot more granulated, so it will throw a lot further than lime…..30m.”

The next paddock to be fertilised is a lot steeper and, once again, has already been partly done. Michael elects to start off in 2nd low, following the HawkEye to be sure not to go over the bits already done.

With the retarder on its first stage, in 4th low, with no diff locks, we spread over some rough ground – although Michael takes care to look out for wet spots and to avoid the worst of the ruts.

“To be fair, a lot of those areas with broken ground you’re not going to grow good grass on anyway,” he reckons. It helps that the spinner is throwing the fert out quite widely, so there’s no need to venture onto the worst of the rough stuff.

Having said that, Michael adds: “We can probably give it a bit of a nudge up this bit and see what happens. Third low, rear diff lock on and then the front one too for extra bite.”

It’s a bumpy climb, which Michael reckons is comfy: “Having a solid cab means that you’re not getting thrown around too much.”

On another climb, he has the gearbox in 3rd high, with the rear diff lock in: “No front required as the front gets pushed up by the rear

tandems. As long as you’ve got forward momentum you’ll keep the front up.” Sure enough, the rear end slides a little, but Michael quickly counters it each time.

He eyes up an even steeper hill and tells me: “If this was summer we’d go up that, but being winter we’d get ourselves into a world of trouble and just make a mess.”

One more smaller hill to go – and the 6x6 Merc tackles it easily. In this case, Michael says, “you just idle off and let it work its way up.”

And that’s us for this paddock – and for my time in the passenger seat, as the rest of the fert in the trailer is going to be spread by New Zealand Truck & Driver tester Hayden Woolston.

Ask Spreading Northland owner Jason Williamson later to sum up his thoughts on the 6x6’s place in his operation and he reckons: “I’d like to get another one – and we probably will in the future. But in this business you need a mixed fleet of trucks – you wouldn’t just have one 6x6. You can’t do everything with that truck – you mix and match the jobs to suit.”

As the man who has most to do with the big Merc, Michael gets the last word: “I would go back to a 4x4…but I’m really happy with this. I’m starting to learn more about the truck: I’ve had it for a year but I’m just starting to figure it out.” T&D Truck & Driver | 31

HT

Test

AYDEN REVOR

IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I WAS LAST IN A BULK groundspreader – and that 4x4 was way different to the towering Spreading Northland Mercedes-Benz Arocs 6x6 that’s our test truck this month.

After watching regular driver Michael make it look easy as he spreads the first couple of loads on some steep paddocks on a farm at Aranga, north of Dargaville, it’s my turn to have a go.

The climb up into the cab of this construction model Merc is a steep one – the high ground clearance making it a big stretch up to the first step. Once you’re on it though, the next two steps are not so bad – aided by grabhandles on each side of a wide-opening door.

Once in the cab it’s a simpler Merc layout compared to what I’ve experienced in the make’s highway trucks. But in saying that all the standard functionalities are still there – in the same place. The main dash has the standard tacho, speedo and AdBlue and fuel gauges, with a digital screen in the centre for a variety of settings.

The seat has plenty of adjustment to help you get comfortable and the steering wheel has all the usual Mercedes function buttons – for the digital display on the dash, the radio, cruise control and handsfree phone controls.

The right-side steering column stalk is for the three-stage engine brake only – without the usual AMT controls (because this has a manual gearbox).

Electric mirror and window controls are on the door and on the main dash to the left of the driver is a pushbutton ignition, an infotainment screen, aircon controls and switches for the diff locks and ABS.

The 6x6 heads for the first paddock to be spread

32 | Truck & Driver

Hayden Woolston

Mounted on the top of the dash is a decent-sized tablet running the HawkEye software used for the spreading operation.

The gearstick for the 16-speed transmission has the splitter switch on the front and has attached to it the controls for the spreading system’s spinners.

Behind the gearstick is some storage, parking brake controls and the digital monitor and controls for the TRT TractionAir central tyre inflation system.

The mirrors on both sides are big and clear with an upper flat mirror and lower convex setup on both sides. On the left side there are overhead convex mirrors looking down on the left front corner – a great setup for tight farm gates and races.

It’s time to do some spreading. The cab’s height does give you an unnerving feeling on undulating ground, but the ride isn’t too bad considering that.

I start with two paddocks that are not too challenging

• SPECIFICATIONS • and I’m impressed with the HawkEye software showing where you’ve been as it colours-in the paddock on the tablet screen.

The 480hp engine has more than enough power for this sort of work and the 16-speed, double-H transmission is easy to get your gears, even if it feels a little stiff. The steering is superb on the uneven ground with little corrections needed: I’d go as far as saying that some highway trucks are not this good on our main roads!

As I start spreading on the third paddock, my offroad inexperience shows when it’s time to do the back corner – a steep slope running along a fence line.

As I head downhill at an angle, with a lefthand lean on the truck, when it’s time to turn right, the truck starts to slowly slide sideways.

I get a couple of cracks at reversing out before Michael pronounces us stuck – and the only way

out is to take down the electric fence.

It only happens because I was being too careful and not giving it enough throttle: It’s a problem judging how much throttle is enough…. and how much is too much (which could create an even bigger problem!).

It’s an experience that gives me so much respect for what Michael and other spreader drivers do – day in, day out.

Once we’ve freed the truck and finished spreading in that paddock, we’re out of fert and it’s time hook up the trailer again and head back to the yard in Dargaville.

After my time offroad, it’s something different to get into the high box in the 16-speed.

On the open road the noise levels are good in the Merc, comfort is good….and if it wasn’t for the atrocious roads on this stretch of SH12, I’m sure the ride would be good.

It feels at times like the road is trying to throw the truck off it. At one point to avoid a big slump in the road, I have to cross to the wrong side of the road (there’s no oncoming traffic) to avoid it.

Back in Dargaville, what has been a great test is over. The truck has performed well in the conditions – it’s only been the test driver who was at fault.

It leaves me with a huge amount of respect for what these bulk groundspreader guys do. It’s a potentially dangerous job that requires a lot of skill, knowledge and confidence. T&D

MERCEDES-BENZ AROCS 6x6 Engine: Mercedes-Benz OM471 inline six, Euro 5 Capacity: 12.8 litres Maximum power: 350kW (476hp) @ 1600rpm Maximum torque: 2300Nm (1696 lb ft) @ 1100rpm Fuel capacity: 390 litres (60 l. AdBlue) Transmission: Mercedes-Benz G260-16 16-speed manual Ratios: 1st low – 11.72

1st high – 9.75

2nd low – 7.92

2nd high – 6.58

3rd low – 5.29

3rd high – 4.40

4th low – 3.64

4th high – 3.02

5th low – 2.66

5th high – 2.22

6th low – 1.80

6th high – 1.50

7th low – 1.20

7th high – 1.00

8th low – 0.83

8th high – 0.69

Front axle: Mercedes-Benz AL7, rated at 9000kg Rear axles: Mercedes-Benz HD7, each rated at 15,000kg Auxiliary brakes: High performance engine brake Front suspension: Mercedes-Benz leaf springs Rear suspension: Mercedes-Benz leaf springs GVW: 33,000kg GCM: 68,000kg

Truck & Driver | 33

SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

Hon Michael Wood, Minister of Transport

Hon Judith Collins, Leader of National Party

Alexia Hilbertidou – Social entrepreneur and founder of GirlBoss New Zealand

Greg Murphy, V8 Supercar Driver

Dave Ffowcs Williams, Datacom, Head of supply chain

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THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

RTF supports upgrading urban passenger rail and its infrastructure

Customers drive just-in-time realities of 21st Century freight

I

by Nick Leggett Chief Executive Road Transport Forum NZ

N MAY, THE GOVERNMENT RELEASED THE New Zealand Rail Plan, with State Owned Enterprises Minister David Clark saying that the plan – “and the Government’s commitment to rail – is designed to set the right conditions to balance our transport system and create options for NZers.”

My question is: How can this balance NZ’s transport system and create options, when rail currently shifts so little of our freight task…and the opportunity to increase this share is so small?

Said Clark: “We’re making sure that KiwiRail has the trains it needs to carry more freight around the country, and that the tracks in our cities and regions are up to standard to support freight and commuter growth.”

Having enough trains does not automatically mean customers will choose rail over road, especially with timesensitive freight, or freight that needs to be delivered doorto-door.

Increasing the number of trains won’t reduce the number of trucks on the road – if anything, more trucks will be needed to move freight from the source to the railhead and from the railhead to the end customer.

The NZ Rail Plan is essentially a plan to have a plan, to make rail a contender for a greater share of the freight task and

bump trucks off the road. It totally misses the mark of what is happening in freight movement globally.

Freight is customer-driven: The customers get to choose the best way to have their goods delivered. The Government cannot direct the movement of freight just because it wants to – unless, of course, we annul all the progress made through the deregulation of the 1980s.

Currently, 93% of the freight moved in NZ is moved by road. That is projected to grow, given increased customer demands.

But the Government will now take the money road users pay into the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF) to further subsidise KiwiRail, with some fantastical notion that rail can take a considerable amount of freight off roads.

We think the user-pays model means the money collected for roads should go to fixing dangerous roads and building some new ones – which will benefit the economy and the environment.

A 2019 study found that preventative maintenance of road pavements could reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 2%, even after adopting a life-cycle perspective and taking into account pollution generated during road construction.

Wouldn’t it be great if this Government put its money where its mouth is and maintained the roads – something we Truck & Driver | 35

THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

Increasing the number of trains won’t reduce the number of trucks on the road – if anything, more trucks will be needed to move freight from the source to the railhead and from the railhead to the end customer

have long been lobbying for, and which operators pay a fortune towards through road user charges?

The Government has said it would implement track user charges (like road user charges) to add a contribution from rail to the NLTF. There were no details on how much track user charges would generate, or how they would work. My suspicion is that this will be a token charge, raising little more than a drop in the bucket when it comes to what we will spend on rail.

There is no doubt that NZ requires a well-maintained, first-world rail network and must replace old and tired assets, and we’re supportive of upgrading urban passenger rail and its infrastructure.

However, if funding to rail is justified by a promise that you will be shifting freight from road to rail, then that is, at best, extremely misleading.

We don’t support pouring billions more dollars into rail freight when it may only shift about 1% of the freight task from road. In the recent Budget, another $1.3billion was thrown rail’s way. We think that money could have been put to better use.

There are some 93,000 kilometres of roads in NZ – about 10% of which are state highways – and only about 4000kms of rail track. The split isn’t going to change significantly and freight customers will continue to make business-based choices.

Another Government report – the Transport Emissions: Pathways to Net Zero by 2050 Green Paper – confirms this, saying that online shopping and increasing demand for just-in-time delivery has influenced how freight companies operate.

The report outlines a number of ways to reduce emissions from the freight industry, including convincing consumers to accept longer delivery times, something the report says would be “challenging.”

That’s one way of putting it. I doubt many people used to ordering something today and having it delivered tomorrow will choose sustainability over speed. Even if they do, the logistics of increasing efficiency in the supply chain, along with centralised manufacturing, and switching to lower emission modes of transport, are not easily achievable 36 | Truck & Driver

in NZ due to our geography and population spread – which encourages a reliance on roads for its system.

Most of our consumption occurs in the upper North Island, whereas many exports are generated in the South Island’s rural regions, which poses challenges for freight load optimisation.

The report has a number of key actions for improving the efficiency of NZ’s overall freight supply chain, such as optimising freight routes, supply chain nodes, equipment and vehicles, and examining opportunities for the collection and better use of data to improve efficiencies in the freight system. We have no issue with these recommendations – the industry is already implementing many of them.

When it comes to key actions for decarbonising freight modes however, we do have some concerns: The industry is keen to do what it can, but the Government needs to remember NZ is a technology taker – we do not have the size to have any influence over what truck manufacturers make, and therefore there isn’t a lot we can do to speed up the transition to electric or hydrogen trucks.

Under consideration is whether the current RUC exemption for heavy electric trucks should be expanded to other low emission fuels used by heavy trucks, a move we would support.

We are concerned with some of the other options, such as the viability of introducing a penalty or financial disincentives system for high GHGemitting heavy trucks, phasing out the registration of diesel heavy vehicles beyond a certain date, and banning diesel trucks in certain cities or zones.

The Government needs to work with the transport industry to help it meet the emission targets, not penalise us for things that are beyond our control. The report contains recommendations that indicate this could be a possibility. These include investing in a domestic industry to refurbish diesel trucks with zero emissions options, expanding the scope of the existing low emissions vehicles technology funding to accelerate the uptake of proven low emissions vehicle technology, and investigating the viability of providing upfront grants or other incentives for low emissions and zero emissions trucks. T&D

THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

The time has come for mandatory e-logbooks

I

N M AY, STUFF R A N A STORY A BOU T TRUCK drivers illegally working up to 120 hours a week. The three anonymous drivers said they were being put in an impossible situation by their employers.

Road Transport Forum chief executive Nick Leggett says the industry must stand up for measures that maximise and improve safety for its workers and for all road users, and the RTF supports the introduction of electronic logbooks, over time.

“We want all drivers to return home safely at the end of their work day, and we believe the gradual introduction of electronic logbooks with GPS will eliminate opportunities for logbook discrepancies of drivers’ hours.

“The technology already exists to ensure drivers don’t exceed their legal work time. Drivers working longer than they should compromise their safety, as well as the safety of other road users.

“The RTF promotes an industry that enforces high safety standards. We do not condone nor defend truck operators and drivers who are deliberately or negligently non-compliant with transport and safety laws,” says Leggett.

“The industry must protect the work hours currently allowed by law and a big part of that is ensuring ongoing compliance with them.”

In New Zealand, work-time includes all time spent working, regardless

of whether it is time spent driving or doing other work such as loading and unloading, maintenance, or cleaning of vehicles. The rules apply to everyone tasked with managing driving hours, including both drivers and transport operators, and allows for very few exemptions.

In any work day, a driver can work a maximum of 13 hours and then must take a continuous break of at least 10 hours, as well as the standard 30-minute breaks every 5.5 hours. A driver can work a maximum of 70 hours’ work time, known as a “cumulative work period,” before having to take a continuous break of at least 24 hours.

The RTF recognises that it will take a number of years to implement full use of the appropriate tracking technology and that dispensations would have to be considered for some rarely-used commercial vehicles.

“The time has come to begin the rollout and freight businesses who don’t already use e-logbooks should be planning to do so,” says Leggett.

“We understand the growing concern about the customer and supply chain pressures that drivers face,” he adds.

“We believe this is linked to many of the instances of non-compliance and that is why we have raised with the Minister of Transport the need for an industry accord. We need to consider all the major challenges in the industry and create a safer operating environment.” T&D

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THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

Alexia Hilbertidou, the founder of GirlBoss NZ, is helping to break down career barriers for women

Politicians headline RTF Conference speakers T

R ANSPORT MINISTER MICHAEL WOOD WILL head an exciting and diverse lineup of speakers at the Road Transport Forum’s The Road Ahead - 2021 Transporting New Zealand Conference.

The speakers will entertain, challenge and inform delegates on the significant issues facing our industry and the country as the world begins to look beyond COVID-19.

Opposition Leader Judith Collins will provide the National Party’s view on the state of the economy and the Government’s decisions in the wake of COVID. This will provide delegates with the opportunity to contrast and compare the visions of our two major parties a year into Labour’s second term in office.

Former V8 Supercars fan favourite and now commentator Greg Murphy is well-known for his advocacy on the power of driver skills training as an investment in safety. He will present his road safety message and discuss why New Zealand continues to focus on the ambulance at the bottom of the road safety cliff rather than the fence at the top.

Speaker, activist, and entrepreneur Alexia Hilbertidou will tell us about her mission to get young women around the boardroom table and into roles they’ve previously been absent from, such as truck driving.

Alexia is the founder of GirlBoss NZ. Her passion for STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) led her to create GirlBoss NZ when she was just 16. It has now become a 13,500-strong network for ambitious young NZ women.

Now 22, Hilbertidou is a great example of how Gen Zers are making their mark on the world: A Deloitte Global Scholar, National Geographic 40 | Truck & Driver

Explorer and a Facebook Leadership Fellow, she is currently studying for her Masters in Emerging and Disruptive Technology. She believes that the decisions made at a young age are crucial in paving the way for women to get into leadership.

We are also looking forward to the contribution of Nicole Rosie, chief executive of Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency. Prior to her appointment as CE in February 2020, Rosie led WorkSafe NZ for three years.

She has more than two decades of senior executive experience across the public and private sectors. This includes a range of industries and functions, such as transport and commercial firms – Toll NZ and Fonterra among them.

Rosie sees the land transport system and the critical role the NZTA plays across infrastructure, regulation and safety as being at the heart of building a successful future for NZ. There will be dinners and social events at which conference attendees will be able to mix and mingle, and there’s an interesting partners’ programme for those who don’t want to talk about transport and trucks all day! Partners can take a trip to beautiful Stewart Island, and there are visits to Te Hikoi Museum, Gemstone Beach, the Seriously Good Chocolate Company, and He Waka Tuia, as well as lunches and shopping trips.

Make your conference booking by July 31 to take advantage of the earlybird discount price of $675 for both days. Special rates are also available for accommodation at the Ascot Park Hotel and other accommodation providers in the city.

You can register and get more information about the conference on the dedicated website, https://www.rtfconference.co.nz T&D

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THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

Many commentators believe FPAs could see an increase in strike action. Credit: “Unemployed Workers’ Movement protest at Parliament Grounds, 16 September 1931 [1],” by Archives NZ, is licensed under CC BY 2.0

.

D

Unions push through Fair Pay Agreements TD31699

T

HE GOVERNMENT SAYS FAIR PAY AGREEMENTS (FPAs) will be on the legislative table this year, and will be law by 2022.

Fair Pay Agreements are basically “national awards” rebranded, says Road Transport Forum chief executive Nick Leggett – and the Forum is “strongly opposed to any form of centralised wage bargaining, such as FPAs, or any other forms of labour market regulation that pre-sets the remuneration and work conditions of professional drivers.

“We support the need for road freight businesses to have flexibility when it comes to labour costs in a changing marketplace with everchanging technologies.”

The Australian Fair Work Act, on which these FPAs are based, gives significant political power to unions, which flows through to the Australian federal and state Labor parties.

“The same idea is very much behind our Government’s intentions to push forward with what results in a turning back of the clock on labour Truck & Driver | 43

THE DRIVING FORCE OF NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING

relations in this country,” says Leggett.

“Unions are a lot less interested in the individual worker these days than they are in raising funds to back the Labour Party.

“It’s clear what this move is about – politics, and money for politics.

While not wanting to be critical of that in itself – it takes money to pay for campaigns and each side of politics takes money from respective support bases – there should be transparency and public debate about these things.”

New Zealand’s minimum wage is among the highest in the OECD, he says: “Generally, workers have good, safe working conditions, all covered by existing laws. Compulsory unionism ended in NZ in 1991 and since then, outside of a few key industries, unions have struggled to stay relevant.

“The trucking industry is not heavily unionised, with good reason: Drivers want choices about how and when they work. Trucking varies tremendously between different companies, regions, freight types and vehicles used.

“National, or even regional, awards are not going to be flexible enough to allow for that variation, or to meet driver needs. With driver shortages, good drivers have flexibility and should see continued increases in their pay as a result.

“A road transport industry FPA will not alleviate our worker shortage.

Quite the opposite will occur,” says Leggett.

“It will make the road freight industry less attractive to those who want flexibility in their working lives.”

Former Act Party leader (and previously a Labour Government Cabinet minister) Richard Prebble published a scathing opinion piece recently, saying the FPAs are compulsory unionism by stealth. He says the changes will do enormous economic damage and that no one who experienced compulsory arbitration would advocate for its return.

The Labour Party has the numbers to push this law through Parliament, and will likely ignore submissions that oppose any aspects of it. But the RTF backs BusinessNZ in suggesting that a voluntary approach to achieving the desired goals – minimum standards for all employees and employers in an industry or occupation – would be at least more consistent with NZ’s obligations under international labour law, as well as being far more effective.

Interestingly, in Australia the relationship between unions and the Labor Party seems to be crumbling, with a dispute over donations and affiliation fees threatening the vice-like grip that unions have over the party. However, with unions being the major contributor to Australian Labor’s political campaigns, perhaps our own Labour Party needs to be careful about just how beholden to them it becomes. T&D

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

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

Road Transport Forum NZ PO Box 1778, Wellington 04 472 3877 forum@rtf.nz www.rtfnz.co.nz Nick Leggett, Chief Executive 04 472 3877 021 248 2175 nick@rtf.nz National Road Carriers (NRC) PO Box 12-100, Penrose, Auckland 0800 686 777 09 622 2529 (Fax) enquiries@natroad.nz www.natroad.co.nz David Aitken, Chief Executive 09 636 2951 021 771 911 david.aitken@natroad.nz Paula Rogers, Commercial Transport Specialist 09 636 2957 021 771 951 paula.rogers@natroad.nz Jason Heather, Commercial Transport Specialist 09 636 2950 021 771 946 jason.heather@natroad.nz Richie Arber, Commercial Transport Specialist 021 193 3555 richie.arber@natroad.nz 44 | Truck & Driver

Road Transport Association of NZ (RTANZ) National Office, PO Box 7392, Christchurch 8240 03 366 9854 admin@rtanz.co.nz www.rtanz.co.nz Simon Carson, Chief Operating Officer 027 556 6099 scarson@rtanz.co.nz Northland/Auckland/Waikato/ Thames-Coromandel/Bay of Plenty/North Taupo/King Country Simon Vincent, Senior Industry Advisor 027 445 5785 svincent@rtanz.co.nz South Taupo/Turangi/Gisborne/Taranaki/ Manawatu/Horowhenua/Wellington Sandy Walker, Senior Industry Advisor 027 485 6038 swalker@rtanz.co.nz Northern West Coast/Nelson/ Marlborough/North Canterbury/West Coast John Bond, Senior Industry Advisor 027 444 8136 jbond@rtanz.co.nz

Otago Southland, South Canterbury , Mid Canterbury Lisa Shaw, Senior Industry Advisor 027 261 0953 lshaw@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

FRE10394_ NZ Truck & Driver_210x297mm_FA.indd 1

9/6/21 4:24 pm

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...moving Above: Teressa Grigg is NOT your typical trucking company boss Left: The company’s flagship MAN tractor unit and purposebuilt high-cube furniture semi-trailer were both bought overseas

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Truck & Driver | 47

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Above: Most of the Southern fleet are Isuzus, but a couple of new 4x2 Hinos were added last year Left: Southern Furniture Movers won the excellence in distribution and logistics category in last year’s Westpac Otago Business Awards

OCK UP TO THE HEAD OFFICE OF SOUTHERN Furniture Movers on a weekday morning and you find a man and woman standing outside, enjoying a takeaway coffee, vaping and having an earnest discussion.

The woman has her long dark hair liberally streaked in a vivid red. A short, black skirt showcases a tattoo on one leg. If the weather was warm you’d catch a truly spectacular display of ink on both arms.

Welcome to the executive arm of Southern Furniture Movers, a relatively young company (not yet 11 years old) that is rapidly making its mark in the specialised world of commercial furniture transport.

From just four staff and a single 4x2 box body unit delivering to Harvey Norman customers in metro Dunedin, the

company now has 16 trucks, 37 staff, and distribution centres in Christchurch and Auckland, as well as Dunedin.

Linehaul units cover the whole country on scheduled runs, while there’s a weekly service between Christchurch and Auckland…which is soon to be twice-weekly to keep pace with demand.

If you’re not tuned to the nuances of current business realities, you could assume that the long-haired, bearded guy in this casual meeting scene might be the senior manager of the pair. Let’s just say that the woman is not your typical boss of a burgeoning trucking business.

Forty-year-old Teressa Grigg, Southern’s sole owner and managing director, hoots with laughter as she relates how people (generally males) regularly turn up at the office and Truck & Driver | 49

Main picture: The 440hp MAN is a 6x2, with a lifting rear axle. Like the 118 cubic metre furniture trailer, it’s perfect for its linehaul purpose, Teressa reckons Right: Teressa’s passion for performance cars shows in her six-litre 2007 HSV Holden Far right: The Southern fleet back in 2012.

Another 10 trucks have been added since

ask receptionist Jo Harwood-Smith if they can see the boss.... with Teressa in full sight in the adjoining office!

The staff love such incidents, she says: “They get a real kick out of pointing me out with a straight face. It cracks them up bigtime.”

During the day and a bit the New Zealand Truck & Driver team spends with Southern, we see several instances of

50 | Truck & Driver

people cracking up. Also quite a bit of banter – a good proportion of it from the boss, who acts more like a slightlyoff-the-wall older sister than a cookie-cutter MD. Overall, there’s an air of rambunctious family fun, with the work of maintaining a thriving business

almost secondary to having a good time.

And the tight family image only intensifies when there’s a threat from outside, like an unfair complaint about damage to an item during transit or a delay in delivery caused by outside circumstances. Then the easygoing den mother becomes a tigress, defending her cubs.

Not blindly, she insists: “If we have made a mistake,

we will always own it, and do our best to fix it. But our guys are of ten the meat in the sandwich. The funny thing is, since COVID we’ve found that people have become a lot less patient. There was a short period of grace when business got under way again, but now in many cases attitudes are, if anything, worse than before.

“There are still ongoing issues with delays in supply of

Truck & Driver | 51

Three 4x2 trucks are based in Dunedin and two apiece at the Christchurch and Auckland branches many items. This has been well publicised in the media, as has the constant pressure the transport industry is working under, but it doesn’t seem to make much difference to some people.

“I genuinely believed that, post-lockdown, humanity would reset a little more tolerant. Especially with imported goods, it might be up to four months from when a customer places an order that we get an item, so it’s totally out of our hands... but it’s my guys that cop the earful when finally it arrives and they deliver it. I won’t stand for it, it’s so unfair!

“One of the biggest issues we face on a regular basis is retraining new sales staff at the retail stores, helping them to understand how the system works. In the heat of the moment, to clinch a sale, they of ten promise the earth, and we end up subsequently having to handle a frustrated customer.

“Social media can make things worse. We had a potential customer ring for a house removal with a days’ warning, and we told him not only are we not doing them at the moment – which is well-displayed on our website – but pretty well every company doing that work is booked-up a month ahead. He then gave us a 1-star review, saying we weren’t prepared to help him out when he needed it. And you cannot get reviews like that, unfair as they may be, taken down.”

Teressa’s companion for the morning coffee chats is logistics manager Riki Duff, who she credits with being fundamental in helping pull the company through a tumultuous and emotionally challenging few years, triggered in 2017 by a separation from her then-husband and business partner, Tony Willitts, with whom she had set the business up in 2010.

The spilt was rendered especially bitter, she says, by Tony effectively going into competition – accompanied by three of their staff: “When it came to sorting out the future of the business, I asked Tony did he want to buy me out and he said no, so I was lef t with two options – buy him out, or close the business up.

52 | Truck & Driver

“Pride wouldn’t let me take that second route, but I was terrified of the prospect, especially of being a woman in what is still seen as mainly a man’s world. So I contacted the woman who runs the company that developed our transport management sof tware and asked her advice.”

The guidance she gave “took the form of a couple of questions: If Tony wasn’t around, how much of his work could I handle myself, and how difficult would it be to find somebody to handle his specific work? To which I answered, ‘Quite a lot’….and ‘Not too difficult.’

“So she said: ‘What’s stopping you then?’

“I still had to get over my own automatic expectation that a man has to be the boss, but general workplace attitudes are changing. Where traditionally as an employee you were just expected to get on with the job, people now have more of an expectation that they’re being cared about, and I think it’s easier in general for a woman to be more caring.

“Being self-aware – of your own strengths, limitations and behaviours – is a huge thing. I make a big effort for my team. It’s not that I want them to like me, nor that I want to sit above them – we’re all here to do a job in the best way possible. And if it means I have to jump into a truck to help out, so be it. It would be unlikely, because though I have a Class 2 and can drive a truck I’m not good at lif ting furniture.

But if the situation calls for it, I do have a go.

“One of my biggest things around here is to make sure that everybody’s laughing. You don’t always have good days, but the most stressful situations can always be improved by a smile and a laugh.

“And it can take just one person to throw things out.

We had a perfect example of this some time ago in our Christchurch hub, with a driver who was disruptive and negative – putting down the other staff, derogatory of women.

“To my face he was as sweet as pie, but poison behind my back. Because of him we had two good staff leave, overall productivity dropped and breakage rates went up – all

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“We are so lucky with the four managers we have now....” because of the impact he had on morale.

“Since he’s been gone the atmosphere up there has improved out of sight, everybody’s happy and the overall performance is back up.

“We are so lucky with the four managers we have now – two in Christchurch, one in Auckland and Riki in Dunedin. You ask for something to be done and it gets done, there is no need to follow-up or bother them. The two in Christchurch are new to the job – the branch manager has been in place only three months and the linehaul manager started just a fortnight ago – but already they’ve come up with initiatives to make the work more efficient and fun.

“When it comes to things like staff relations and HR, I leave the managers to make their own calls. Of course, if they have

any issues they can call on me, but if they get the morale right there won’t be any issues...and they’re striking all the right notes there.

“Until recently we had a company general manager based here in Dunedin, Simon Holliday, who was a wonderful worker and helped me through the transition from buying Tony out.

But the job was wearing him out, and he has made a very sensible decision to have a complete lifestyle change and enjoy more time with his family. We are still good friends.”

Riki Duff explains that he first met Teressa and Tony when he was a teenager: “This was around 20 years ago, and I used to hitch a ride through to Cromwell with my uncle who worked in the same company as them. I started there myself, on loadout at the dock, and had worked through to looking af ter

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Logistics manager Riki Duff was key to helping Teressa keep the business going – and, in fact, growing – during a tumultuous couple of years

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the operations side.”

Af ter that he’d been with another transport company for about 10 years “when Teressa and Tony invited me to join them in a management role. I was ready to leave in any event.

I had been there longer than the owner, yet the linehaul managers in Auckland didn’t even know who I was – and I was feeling somewhat under-appreciated.

“When Teressa contacted me I knew it was going to be an immense challenge, but a fantastic opportunity to make a difference. As I’ve always said to the staff here, ‘your successes are my successes – so if you’re enjoying the job and throwing yourself into it, then everything’s going well.’ ” Teressa laughs that Riki is a better diplomat than her: “Grumpy customers are not my favourite thing, but Riki is very good with them. When Simon lef t he said we didn’t need a separate operations manager, and Riki is handling things well in that area. If volume grows further we will probably need somebody in that specific role, but for the moment we’re getting by.”

Southern Furniture Movers was born in 2010 under less than propitious circumstances. Teressa and Tony both had established careers in the furniture removal business, and Tony had been Dunedin manager for a Christchurch-based furniture removal company – and had secured a local delivery contract with Harvey Norman for the company.

When the company abruptly closed the Dunedin branch and he was made redundant he was told that if he and Teressa wanted to they could buy the truck and continue to service the client independently, she says.

It was as modest a start in business as you could imagine, made somewhat more “interesting” by the fact that Teressa

had given birth to her third child just the week before. But that was merely the beginning of the brave pill situations: Only a few weeks later an acquaintance fell off a deck and was hospitalised for some time. He was running three trucks doing furniture removals, and his family asked the couple if they wanted to buy the business – giving them time to pay off the purchase price.

They agreed – and more work followed quickly, prompting the acquisition of a couple more units. Thus, a year af ter starting out with one truck and one staff member, Southern Furniture Movers had grown to six trucks and the same number of staff.

Teressa laughs at the memory: “It was an almost constant sink or swim situation, where if you stopped and thought about it you wouldn’t be able to go on...so you don’t stop and think about it!”

In these early days the company handled pretty much all the work that came its way, which included quite a number of household shif ts. But its future direction was rapidly taking shape in the form of the number of stores, furniture manufacturers and importers who, disappointed with the services they’d been receiving from other carriers, became clients.

As well as Harvey Norman, they included McKenzie & Willis, the Christchurch-based furniture and homewares retailer that has five South Island branches, plus one in Wellington. And Big Save Furniture – with an equal number of South Island outlets.

The volume of work was such that a Christchurch hub was set up in 2012. This was followed five years later by another in Auckland, which handles the locally made and imported Truck & Driver | 57

Above: Teressa’s son Blake splits his week between driving a truck and doing an automotive mechanic’s apprenticeship

Left: In Dunedin (but not in the company’s Christchurch and Auckland hubs) the business does a lot of deliveries from furniture stores to retail customers

products of Danske Mobler, along with other clients.

In addition, the company works for a significant number of boutique furniture stores and local manufacturers and also offers 3PL services, while all the hubs are MPI-approved transitional facilities for the devanning of import containers.

Teressa says that Auckland, being the primary port of entry, is the busiest in this regard.

The depots differ in their operations, she says: “Christchurch and Auckland are primarily linehaul hubs, where the long-distance loads are picked up or delivered, and the local work is to the retail stores. The majority of ex-store deliveries to retail customers happens in Dunedin where we’ve built up a good base of that work.

“It can be up to 40 or 50 deliveries a day, which means we can sometimes have three trucks working, each covering a different sector of the city. In Christchurch or Auckland, with smaller numbers of deliveries and greater areas to cover, this work isn’t as cost-effective. In this case, Dunedin wins out.”

The growth in commercial work over the decade led to the introduction of regular nationwide linehaul trips, handled mostly by truck and trailer combinations. The runs include Dunedin-Christchurch, Dunedin-Invercargill, ChristchurchNelson, and a weekly Christchurch-Mackenzie Country-Central Otago-Christchurch loop. Then there’s the weekly interisland service, which is currently handled by a 6x2 MAN hitched to a tri-axle semi built by Irish firm SDC Trailers and sold through local distributor MTC Equipment.

The unit boasts a capacity of 118 cubic metres, versus the 110cu m typical of similar trailers from local makers, Teressa says: “You wouldn’t think eight cubes would make a difference, but even when you’re carrying the same number of items it just makes getting things in a little easier.”

However, she adds, that wasn’t the primary reason for the offshore sourcing: “The demand for trailers of all types is so high that the wait times are ridiculous. We could get the SDC quicker, and at a comparable price.”

The company has ordered a second identical trailer to handle the growth in demand for interisland work, but even 58 | Truck & Driver

allowing for the quicker delivery compared with local makers it’s not expected to arrive until the end of the year, or in early 2022.

As to the choice of tractor unit, the 440 horsepower MAN too is an import, bought with around 600,000kms on the clock. Because furniture is all about volume rather than weight, the 6x2 layout, with a lif ting rear axle (rare in this country, more common in the UK and Europe) is all that’s needed – while the big sleeper cab works well for the interisland runs.

For the new combination, says Teressa, she will be looking for something similar to the MAN. Isuzu has been the favoured truck brand and makes up the bulk of the fleet, though the latest additions have been a Hino 300 and 500, bought new last year.

Of the four Isuzu 8x4s in the fleet, a couple have been set up to tow smaller trailers, while another 40-cube unit handles the Southland run. Of the smaller trucks, there are three local units in Dunedin, and two each in Christchurch and Auckland.

The Dunedin units can be driven on a Class 1 licence, those in the other centres require Class 2. Teressa is rapt to have achieved that: “Getting the Hino 300 below 6t and able to be driven with a Class 1 is great for the young guys down here.

You can see the potential in them, when they come in and want to work. Even if they start part-time af ter-school and on the weekends helping out on the town deliveries, af ter some time they might want to get involved in the driving, so we help them through their licences.

“Several drivers in both Dunedin and Christchurch have begun with Class 2 and have gone on to Class 4. We offer an ideal pathway. I find you get more loyalty with people who have started with us and learnt our culture.

“Jamie Keen, who has been with us for eight years, is a perfect example. When he started with us fulltime, he had just lef t school and didn’t even have a car licence. Af ter he got that we helped him through his truck licences up to Class 4. He was super-keen to go on to a Class 5, but at the time the only Class 5 truck we had was in Christchurch, so I told

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him he would have to move there if he wanted to drive the bigger truck.

“He said he didn’t mind – reckoned he needed a change of scenery anyway – so he shif ted there two years ago and is loving it up there. He’s mid-20s now, and has grown up with us.”

Because of the volume of the truck bodies and the sheer number of items involved, the weekly runs through Central Otago, the Dunedin-Christchurch and Christchurch-Nelson runs all call for two people.

On the other hand, the Christchurch-Auckland linehaul unit calls for only the driver. Though he will occasionally have deliveries along the way, the bulk of the load each way is depot to depot, which means help with the loading and unloading.

On the interisland run, Jamie usually sleeps in the truck, using the accommodation allowance as a bonus and taking advantage of showers on the ferry or at the Auckland depot, explains Teressa: “He has a fridge in the truck and looks af ter himself. Good linehaul drivers are very organised in this respect.

“Because the interisland run is not timed tightly, the driver has flexibility of where to stop when he’s getting close to hours. And I’m real big on the drivers not pushing this aspect.

Unfortunately, in the transport industry there is too much of an attitude of not worrying about the extra half an hour or so, but the repercussions if something does go wrong can be immense. It’s just not worth it.

“If for whatever reason – road conditions, traffic or slow unloading – a driver has come up against his 14 hours, I insist on him taking his 10-hour break. In that case, it’s up to the managers to reorganise things, and communicate with the customers. Sometimes, things just don’t go according to plan.

60 | Truck & Driver

There is nothing you can do about it.”

Looking af ter the customer, even when things have gone a little pear-shaped, is obviously a real strength with Southern Furniture Movers. This was evidenced late late year when it won the excellence in distribution and logistics category at the Westpac Otago Business Awards ...with the other two finalists in the category being Mainfreight and DHL. Teressa was blown away by the announcement, and had not thought to prepare an acceptance speech. Simon Holliday however had, and delivered a funny and witty speech, she recalls: “My major concern was how to make it to the stage from the very back of the room, in heels, without tripping and falling!”

Because of the volume of commercial work, the company currently doesn’t handle household removals, instead referring inquiries on to specialists in that field. As Teressa points out, it’s really hard work: “You might turn up for a job that you have quoted on the basis of three hours’ work, only to find that the customer hasn’t packed fully, which blows the estimate right out. And you already might have had to handle a dozen stressed-out calls from the same customer. Don’t get me wrong, handling it properly is all part of good customer service, but it’s incredibly time-consuming.

“With our commercial customers, we have set schedules.

The clients know when the truck will be picking up the items and can let their customers know when they will be delivered.

It doesn’t work perfectly all the time, but by and large it’s fairly predictable. Household shif ts are profitable, but they are a lot more work, and for the moment we are steering away from them.”

In the uncertain climate following the COVID lockdown, the company did do a few local house removals. As Teressa says, at the time the future was quite uncertain: “Consequently,

Clockwise, from top left: Patience is working part-time in admin for the company....Isuzu is one of four 8x4 trucks in the operation....Southern carries furniture almost exclusively for furniture retailers, manufacturers and importers – with little or no household removal work.....with light trucks and vans in the fleet, the company is able to start aspiring Class 4 and Class 5 drivers on car licences....Southern also offers 3PL (third-party logistics) services, with its own warehouses

we had to plan for all eventualities, including a complete slowdown in retail activity, and needed something for the staff to work on. As it turned out, things came back to normal much earlier than expected, so in quite a short time we had gone back to almost completely commercial work.

“There are some situations where household removals can work – for example if a client is shifting from Central Otago to Dunedin. In that case we can offer them a discount, because the truck would be empty or lightly loaded in any event. But it’s not our core focus, and we decline more jobs than we accept.”

A point of contention for Southern (and other furniture moving companies), she says, was the reorganisation some time ago of RUCs into broader weight bands in place of specified limits: “The change bumped the classification for our 8x4s from 16 tonnes to 24t, meaning our RUC costs virtually tripled overnight. We converted our three-axle trailer to a two-axle and we’re still well under weight limits.

“When the change was being proposed I made a submission, but it was ignored. Now we have furniture companies putting huge, 50-60cu/m bodies on 4x2s. How do you think they go in high winds?”

Teressa reckons her hands-off management style derived from her growth in self-awareness: “I’ve worked for other people and been managed by other people and I know what I didn’t enjoy, so I’ve just taken that and grown with it. I try to treat my staff the way I’d like to be treated myself. I bring Riki a coffee every morning, then have a talk with the guys in the warehouse. It’s important to keep in touch with everyone.”

Her connection to the wider staff family is a clear reflection of her commitment to her actual family. On alternate weeks, when 11-year-old daughter Taylah is staying with her, Teressa works school hours so she can drop Taylah off in the morning and pick her up in the afternoon – though seldom on time! Being prompt is, she confesses, not her strength: Witness the OKIML8 personalised plate on her Hyundai Santa Fe. Family involvement with the business runs deep. Elder daughter Patience, 21, works with Jo Harwood-Smith on admin several hours a day while she waits for the birth of her first child next month, while son Blake, 18, spends three days a week on a mechanic’s course and three helping out on the company trucks.

The three kids all share with their mother a love of performance cars, not surprising when Teressa’s pride ride is a tricked-out 2007 HSV Holden, complete with six-litre V8, six-speed manual transmission, monster wheels and HRHOT8 plates. Patience’s dream is “a Holden V8 like Mum’s...plus a WRX Sti,” while Blake’s project is to turbocharge his 1998 Toyota Celica and convert it to all-wheel-drive. For Taylah it’s a supercharged MINI Cooper S, in hot pink.

The siblings each see their future careers with Southern: Patience plans further admin training before eventually taking over that role, while Blake aims to get his heavy-vehicle technician’s licence and some wider work experience before returning to look after the fleet.

Taylah’s master plan is even simpler: One day, she says, she’s going to run the company! T&D Truck & Driver | 61

LEGENDS

e s i o n g n Maki r e l i a r T e in th Matthew y r t s u d Gillies in

W

ITH HIS FATHER DAVE HEAVILY INVOLVED IN TRAILER building since the 1960’s and growing up immersed in and around the industry, it could be said that Transfleet’s Chief Executive Officer Matthew Gillies was destined to be in trailers - but it’s his dedication to his team, his industry influence and his big voice on the TTMF that makes him a Southpac Legend.

“I’m second generation, born into the industry so to speak. My father was involved in the 60s and 70s with Domett Fruehauf and helped set up the branch in Mt Maunganui, that’s where I was born.”

Gillies says that the family relocated back to Auckland and his father became a shareholder with Gary Domett in Domett/Fruehauf trailers Auckland Ltd. In the early 80s Gary decided to get out of branch operations so his father Dave bought the balance of the business and changed the name to Transfleet.

“Dave wanted to pursue the tipping arena away from flat decks and really wanted to specialise in aluminium and at that point in time there was only really one other company doing it. So dad and mum [Margaret] saw the opportunity to be involved in the tipping industry and it all started from there.”

Matthew’s actual introduction to the industry and business began at an early age.

“My official start date with Transfleet was the end of ‘93, so that’s 28-years ago. [But before then] I was roaming around the place as a young fella, knee high to a grasshopper in the Domett days. I started off sweeping the floor, I used to come in every holiday and they’d give me something to do, tidying up, filing, working with the guys downstairs, that sort of stuff.”

When Matthew left school he took up an Engineering degree, recalling ‘I could see that I was going to be involved in the business somehow’, And in 1993 he was.

“I became more involved on the floor and then migrated into the parts side of things to gain a real understanding of that area. And then in the late 90s I was flicked the car keys and told to go and sell.”

Gillies says that in sales it was a case of sink or swim.

“I had no formal training but I knew I had a good product behind me. I knew I had support from the staff and I trusted that my father

62 | Truck & Driver

wasn’t leading me up the garden path.”

He still vividly remembers his first sale.

“I was in my mid twenties. I walked into the meeting and there were three guys at one end of the boardroom table and me at the other end, I was going ‘hell what have I got myself in for?’, especially after driving all night to get there. But I held my own, and one of the guys dragged me aside afterwards and said ‘we just did that coz you’re a newbie and we wanted to make sure you knew we were serious and knew what we wanted’.”

Matthew is a trained engineer, with NZCE and diploma in Engineering and later on went on to do an MBA at Auckland Uni, his business acumen, experience and qualifications evidently taking him to the next level as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Transfleet, a role he has thrived in since 2008.

“Dave had witnessed generational things around the industry and he had enough EQ that when I became involved he pulled me to one side and said ‘when my time comes, I’ll always be there in the background (as he still is) but I want to leave you to it. The next generation has to stamp its mark and hopefully I can be there as a mentor and guide to you and the team. I want you to keep up what we started off with’.”

Matthew is quick to point out that he is indeed upholding his father’s ‘engineering’ traditions.

“We haven’t deviated from that, we’re very much engineers and we have an engineered solution rather than doing the cheapest or the quickest. We take a moral high ground on how we approach things - best practice engineering.

We’re pretty

fortunate here as a business that we’ve got Michael Eccles a certified engineer on staff and Tim Salder has just joined myself as a manufacturing certifier.

Gillies says that they have three facets to the business, the construction market, the rural bulk customers and the high cubed business which are items involving the transport of waste.

“We’ve got around 35 refuse transfer rigs running around Auckland any given day. We’ve been pretty innovative in that area with the health and safety challenges with landfills. Landfills are pretty awesome sites for things to go wrong in. We’re also renowned as being one of the experts in walking floors which we established in New Zealand.”

But he then goes on to say that there have been some ‘realignment on the 21st century’s labour practices and rules.’

“When I started there were twenty four of us, but we’re a big machine now, fifty odd people so it’s not about me anymore, and it’s not about my family. There’s fifty families that rely on an income here so we’re all responsible for one and other and we’ve got a good team. I’m only the caretaker for the next person that wants to come along and carry on the brand, so we’re always protective over that.“ He says that what drives him is a combination of the family name association, the business, the products, the industry and the people.

“Obviously you’ve got a brand that you want to instil value in but as we grow, the family thing becomes less important. For instance, we’ve just had a pink ‘anti-bullying’ unit on Seven Sharp and that was neat to be part of.”

When not at Transfleet, Matthew is either working ‘on’ the trailer industry, spending time with the family or picking up an axe.

He’s a committee member on the TTMF (Truck Trailer Manufacturing Federation), something that although takes up valuable personal time, he strongly believes in. He says that through those groups they are influencing what the future looks like for industry, operators and truck drivers alike.

“You’ve got to take your Transfleet hat off and put the industry hat on and think for those that are not in the federation. My father was a past president and he said that’s what you’ve got to do, for the betterment of the industry. If no-one does it the industry doesn’t go anywhere. You get a lot of criticism when things aren’t going right (often from those not involved), but there’s only a limited amount of time.”

And in terms of the rest of his work/life balance…

“I’m a recent boaty, mainly to give the kids [three boys] an experience and I make noise on a guitar. They call it GAS (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome), middle

aged males tend to end up with GAS. I’ve got a mate with eleven guitars, I had four, now I’ve got three, one Gibson, I’ve built a Fender Strat and I’ve got a shredding guitar that harps back to the Pink Floyd and metal scene of my youth. It’s kinda helpful having a big workshop that you can come and get plenty of reverb. It’s not uncommon that we come and have a bit of sesh down here.”

Matthew has three young sons and they are showing interest in the business. He says that one wants to drive a forklift because it has flashing lights. He says he thinks they want to be involved, but as to whether they will is another question.

“I’m fortunate because I’m probably the last generation that could roam around ‘til his heart’s content, this day and age with health and safety, one trucking company has banned passengers in cabs and to me that’s where it all starts, getting people in cabs and saying this is a pretty fun job, look at your vista out of the window, look at the job’s you’re doing, no day is the same. Likewise here, you’re never working on the same vehicle twice.”

Matthew says that his biggest achievement is to “still be here, No one has the perpetual right to be in business”.

“You hear all those stats about the second and third generation coming in and running the business onto the rocks. We’ve got a pretty stable staff here and that’s probably an acknowledgment of what we’re doing, how we’re doing it and how it’s been run.”

He ends by saying “It’s a great industry to be involved in, just the camaraderie you get even with competitors, whilst you’re all cut and thrust at the deal end we can all sit around the table at the TTMF and chew the fat and share the same problems and try to come up with solutions, and that’s pretty admirable that our industry can do that.” T&D

Truck & Driver | 63

2021 BRISBANE TRUCK SHOW

Story Wayne Munro

All pictures: It’s showtime! In what is probably the only truck show happening anywhere in the COVID-restricted world this year, the Brisbane Truck Show carried on regardless....and 31,000 turned up

64 | Truck & Driver

FEATURE

T’S AUSTRALIA’S NO. 1 TRUCK SHOW…AND IN RECENT years the lack of a bigtime New Zealand equivalent has meant that the Brisbane Truck Show has attracted heaps of Kiwi truckies too.

But this year’s Brizzy biennial was probably missing its usual big Kiwi contingent.

I say probably, because I was among the “regulars” who didn’t make the trip this May – put off by the lingering risk of getting caught up in some random COVID-19 outbreak, and the fact that the Trans-Tasman Travel Bubble hadn’t long been in place before last month’s show, making planning problematic….

Plus there was the withdrawal from the show of truckmaker heavyweights Volvo, Mack, UD, Isuzu, Scania and Hino – all having announced (at various points in the months leading up to the show) that they were pulling out because of the likely, possible and/or actual effects of COVID. Enginemaker Cummins and Chinese light truck Foton also decided to give it a miss.

The show organisers, on the other hand, clearly felt that the COVID-depressed industry badly needed a lift and took the gamble that there’d be no community outbreak that would cruelly shut the event down.

The good old, show-must-go-on approach paid off: More manufacturers turned up than stayed away – with the Daimler group’s Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner and FUSO brands all on show, alongside PACCAR’s Kenworth and DAF and Penske’s Western Star and MAN brands.

Also in was Iveco – along with Hyundai, Chinese make JAC and homegrown electric truck suppliers SEA Electric and Janus Electric.

They were joined by more than 250 other exhibitors – trailermakers (15 or more of ‘em), tyre manufacturers, fuel and oil companies and suppliers of everything from telematics, axles,

insurance and lights….to engines, transmissions, bumpers, fridge units and brakes.

Sure, inside the usually-jam-packed main exhibition hall at the Brisbane Convention Centre for once (in recent times, at least) there was actually enough space that a fleet of classic trucks were allowed a prime posi.

After 31,000 showgoers turned up over the four days of the BTS – despite the ongoing impact of COVID-19 (or, maybe, because of it – a celebration of being freed from its restrictions), you could sense the relief felt by the organisers, the Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia (HVIA).

Chief executive Todd Hacking said proudly that the biennial show’s purpose – connecting the road transport industry with the community and the Government – was once again achieved…. thanks to “the indomitable spirit and commitment” of association members and the BTS exhibitors, stakeholders and sponsors “who were resolute in supporting the event…..who got behind the event and stuck with it through thick and thin.

“No other country is holding an event like this since COVID hit.

The HVIA couldn’t be happier with the turnout of visitors from around Australia.”

It was, he noted, the first chance for people in the industry “to catch up with mates – to be here with many of their colleagues they have known for years and haven’t seen because of COVID.” Federal Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport Scott Buchholz was all for the show as well – turning up to check it out and seeing it as not only displaying “the latest and greatest” but also recognising the contribution of workers in the industry – “Australia’s unsung heroes.

“I want to thank all the freight operators, drivers, DC workers, manufacturing and maintenance crews who have met the challenge of increased local demand, keeping our supermarkets stocked and our economy running.”

Truck & Driver | 65

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Above: Freightliner’s Cascadia, which had its Australian launch at the Brisbane show in 2019, was back.... with a few safety and technology updates Right: The show organisers reckoned that, importantly, the show gave people in the industry the chance to catch up with old mates

Far right: The show put on a laser light show above the Brisbane River as part of its community engagement

Of course, he also reckoned that industry feedback was “a positive sign” that the transport, freight and heavy vehicle sectors were benefiting from the Federal Government’s investments and initiatives and were “driving the COVID-19 recovery.

“Our initiatives are keeping money in transport and trucking businesses, giving them the confidence to take on an extra worker, offer an extra shift or buy a new piece of equipment, Buchholz said.

What Buchholz and the other showgoers got to see included a mix of a pretty good lineup of current truck models, a headturning new limited edition Kenworth Legend, a couple of more down to earth new models…

And a strong emphasis on electrification, with FUSO showing off its eCanter – now launched in Australia as well as NZ – and leading Australian etruck supplier SEA Electric taking a major stand at the show.

The zero emissions push also saw Chinese make JAC launch a light-duty electric truck and Ozzie startup Janus Electric pushed its electrified Kenworth – with a quick-change battery pack that the company reckoned can be forklifted into place in just three minutes when its 400 to 500-kilometre range is nearly done.... making it viable for long-distance applications.

But, interesting as Janus’ electrified T403 was (albeit with a real ugly flat nose where the KW grille used to be), it didn’t come close to challenging another Kenworth as arguably the truck of

the show – a 50th Anniversary Edition Legend SAR stunner that presents a modern, reasonably-high-tech truck, plus old-school, classic North American styling touches.

It was supported by a strong anniversary branding of the entire PACCAR stand – with the 11 Kenworths and DAFs all adorned with airbrushed pictures celebrating the North American truckmaker’s half-century of manufacturing in Australia.

PACCAR Australia’s sales and marketing director Brad May said that the company was “so pleased to be supporting the trucking industry with our bold presence at the show.”

May reckoned that, by fostering a culture of innovation and investing heavily in next-generation technologies, “Kenworth has risen to every challenge over the 50-year journey….

“From the removal of import tariffs, soaring fuel costs, economic downturns, global recessions, dimensional changes, emission reductions, to – most recently – a pandemic demanding changes to the production line to protect the workforce and maintain supply of trucks to the essential transport industry.”

That’s something to celebrate – and it did….by unveiling the third of its limited edition Legend models, following on from a Legend 950 in 2015 and the Legend 900 in 2017. Like them it will be on sale for just one day (in this case, July 8).

The 6x4 tractor unit is modelled on the iconic W900SAR – the very first Kenworth designed and built in Australia, for Aussie (and NZ).

Kenworth said that the Legend SAR “is in a league of its own, Truck & Driver | 67

Opposite page & top right: Kenworth’s 50th Anniversary Legend SAR had showgoers queuing to climb inside Above: FUSO launched a new 360hp Shogun model

Right: Feel the pressure! teams in the HVIA National Apprentice Challenge competed under the gaze of hundreds of spectators

combining the latest technology for safer, cleaner and more productive operation, with features that embrace Kenworth’s unique heritage.”

What showgoers queued to get close up to includes heritage styling such as a two-piece (split) windscreen with chrome trim, bullet-style cab marker lights and dual round air horns, oldschool KW and Cummins badges and round indicator lights, an anniversary edition red and gold traditional Kenworth bug and a reproduction SAR grille.

It has Legend SAR 50th Anniversary branding inside and out and flashback touches like a beige-painted Cummins X15 engine, a traditional flat dash layout and handmade chrome gauges.

For the rest, the KW lineup comprised an unchanged but impressive-looking collection, including the most recent addition to the range, the T410SAR, a T610 with an integrated 1400mm aero sleeper, the urban and regional T360 model, an iconic T909 with a 50-inch aero sleeper and a 2.8m sleeper cab K200.

The DAF presence provided equally good-looking backup to the Kenworths, the Euro cabovers headed by a flagship XF FTT with a Super Space cab, supported by the CF 530 FTT, a CF 530 FAT 6x4 tipper, and the PACCAR MX-11-engined CF 450 FTT. The move to local assembly of the CFs at the PACCAR factory in Melbourne “continues to provide customers with higher levels of customisation through local engineering input, and greater cost savings through local parts sourcing,” said May. Impressive in an altogether different way was a DAF LF260. It was impressive for the fact that it was purposebuilt by PACCAR, 68 | Truck & Driver

in a partnership with the Australian Trucking Association, as a “multi-purpose resource that will connect, educate, support and promote the trucking industry.”

The “game-changing” project will utilise the DAF, which is fitted with a custombuilt body that has a flexible work, meeting and media space, plus audio-visual capabilities for external presentations – all powered by a Cummins generator.

The flexi-use truck is available for organisations and associations to use “in support of industry initiatives…..at on-site events, industry activations, conferences, or at the roadside,” said ATA chair David Smith.

The DAF, which showcases the make’s “latest technology and safety features,” will be capable of delivering outdoor presentations, onsite health checks, hosting regional meetings, acting as a media hub or serving “as a support centre that responds to industry needs in times of crisis,” he said.

The truck immediately went to work at the show – used by notfor-profit industry foundation Healthy Heads in Trucks & Sheds and a driver wellbeing programme – to provide free driver health checkups.

Beyond the show, said a spokesperson, the truck will be “invaluable as it allows us to reach communities and businesses across the country to deliver support, resources and tools that promote better mental health and wellbeing outcomes.”

Interestingly, on the Daimler stand – just opposite the PACCAR display – Freightliner lined up a trio of Cascadias in what looked like the same royal blue paint as the Kenworths and DAFs!

Freightliner used the show to announce that it will introduce a head-protecting side airbag on the Cascadia late this year – a first among Aussie conventionals, it said…just as its steering wheelmounted airbag already is.

Daimler Truck and Bus Australia Pacific boss Daniel Whitehead reckoned: “There is no good reason why conventional truck drivers in Australia should not be able to drive a truck fitted with the latest safety features.”

Freightliner Trucks Australia Pacific director Stephen Downes said: “A conventional truck with fully integrated advanced safety technology like Detroit Assurance 5.0 and not one but two airbags is exactly what many of our customers have been asking for in this class.

“When this lifesaving technology is available for Cascadia, but none of its rivals – not even the most recent additions – the Cascadia is the only choice for customers who care about safety.

Considering the Cascadia’s fantastic fuel economy and advanced comfort, the new safety addition only makes the business case stronger.”

The Detroit Assurance 5.0 safety package, which is standard in the Cascadia, features AEBS, adaptive cruise control, tailgate warning, lane departure warning and intelligent high beam headlight control, automatic windscreen wipers and intelligent high-beam headlights.

Freightliner also showed off a new digital dashboard, using two large tablet-style screens in place of the traditional instrument cluster, that will be an option for the Cascadia later this year.

It’s another first for a conventional truck in Australia and NZ, the company said – with a 12.3-inch screen displaying a digital tacho, speedo, gauges, trip data and adaptive cruise control system info, while a 10-inch touch-screen provides access to a range of info and settings, plus a row of traditional buttons for quick access to the likes of stereo controls.

Downes reckoned that the digital dashboard is another way in which the Cascadia is “raising the bar in the conventional truck class” – as it had already with its “spacious and ergonomic” cab.

Alongside on the Daimler stand, Mercedes-Benz Trucks had a few high-tech tricks of their own to show off – announcing the launch of a validation programme in Australia and NZ for Active Drive Assist technology…capable of helping an Actros steer itself.

The system enables SAE Level 2 partially automated driving – a first for NZ – using cameras to monitor the edge of the road and lane markings, then taking that data to help steer the truck and keep it in the centre of its lane. The driver still has to hold the steering wheel (just in case, I guess!).

The system, Merc said, is “one step ahead of some current systems that can push a truck back into the lane should it wander out.” This system “actually helps to steer the truck in the first place and aims to prevent it getting out to the edge of the lane.”

The 20-truck trial will see five units running in NZ, in customer fleets – with M-B using the data from the vehicles and operator feedback to decide whether to add Active Drive Assist as an option here.

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Mercedes-Benz Trucks Australia Pacific director Andrew Assimo said Merc is “always looking for new technology to boost safety and reduce fuel consumption and emissions and we think Active Drive Assist could deliver genuine benefits to our customers.

“Level 2 automation has the potential to deliver a major safety boost and make life easier for drivers by helping to reduce fatigue, so naturally we are very keen to validate how the system operates on Australian and NZ roads.

“More and more customers are placing increased importance on advanced active safety features that can help protect truck drivers and other road users,” Assimo added.

“Mercedes-Benz has been at the forefront with fully-integrated active safety systems and we intend to continue this leadership.”

M-B also announced that its Active Brake Assist 5 system has been added to the Arocs 8x4 – so that it’s now available across the entire Australasian range of rigid highway trucks.

Application-related engineering challenges have been overcome to add the radar-based braking system to the twin-steers’ existing safety features, which include electronic stability programme, driver airbag and lane departure warning.

The system works to avoid collisions, with the ability to bring the truck to a complete halt when it detects moving pedestrians.

The M-B rigid range now also has lane keeping assist and attention assist (which raises an alert if a driver begins to drive in a fatigue-affected manner), with predictive cruise control and the MirrorCam system as options.

Next-door, on the FUSO section of the Daimler stand, alongside the much publicised eCanter, the Shogun 360 rigid got its Australian launch – the 6x4 or 6x2 developed as a 14-pallet

distribution truck “with class-leading safety, comfort and Euro 6 emissions, using a more compact engine.”

The 360, which has a tare starting at 6950kg, has Daimler’s Euro 6 OM936 7.7-litre six-cylinder, with 360hp and 1400Nm of peak torque and a 12-speed AMT with Eco Roll for fuel saving and an advanced crawler mode for low-speed manoeuvring.

Safety features include advanced emergency braking, lane departure warning, electronic stability and driver attention assist.

Fuso Truck and Bus director Alex Müller said the Shogun 360 was developed in response to many customers in the 14-pallet distribution sector “asking for a truck with the safety, quality and efficiency of Shogun…

“We have already taken extensive orders for this exciting new Shogun model and are pleased that our customers value the safety and fuel efficiency the 360 offers.”

Elsewhere in the main pavilion at BTS, Western Star Trucks was, like Kenworth, also celebrating a milestone – the 40th anniversary of the Western Star make’s launch in Australia…. appropriately enough, at the Brisbane Truck Show.

In a homage to that historic first, there was a 4800 34-inch Starlight lowline roof sleeper in a spectacular “heritage” colour scheme – bright blue with pearl white stripes and stars and a red chassis.

The 500hp Detroit DD15-engined 4800 6x4 FXC tractor unit, has a GCM up to 113.5 tonnes on application (or available on order with components to push that up to 140t).

The 4800, said Western Star, is designed for maximum versatility – even switching roles seasonally, with an ability to optimise payload “on anything from a truck and dog to roadtrains

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Truck & Driver | 71

up to 140 tonnes, with engine ratings up to 600hp.

“This Star can handle the big loads – and look good while it’s at it. Its cab is spacious and air-suspended, it’s easy to enter and exit and….it’s wider than most.”

The 4800 shared the stand with a 4900 FXC 6x4 boasting a huge (as in 82-inch huge) sleeper – and what Penske Australia’s Western Star national sales manager Dale Christensen reckoned is “what we believe to be the largest bunk on the market….”

With a 600hp Cummins X15, an 18-speed Roadranger manual and 52,000 lb Neway air suspension, it was ready for work ranging from single-trailer applications to heavy-duty roadtrain duties (with a fuel capacity just shy of 2000 litres and a 160t maximum GCM to suit the latter purpose).

While Christensen reckoned that Western Star and its customers are “passionate about our history,” he was also looking ahead…. to “the all-new Western Star platform reaching our shores in late 2022 or early 2023.”

Until then, he said, the company will “continue to roll out updates to our current range, giving customers further options” – including, for instance, the addition of FleetSafe’s Mobileye collision avoidance system and its Spotto blindspot radar.

Penske Australia’s MAN Trucks national sales manager Sergio Carboni said that the company’s display reflected the make’s “diverse truck product offering – from the medium duty TGM to the heavy hitting 640hp PerformanceLine prime mover…”

MAN, he added, “continues to be at the forefront of engineering excellence. With an eye on both the immediate future and the long term, MAN’s truck portfolio continues to evolve in partnership with Penske Australia.

“As the product offering matures, it continues to be refined to Australian customer demands.”

MAN had on display a TGX 640hp 6x4 PerformanceLine model with an XXL cab, a 13-litre TGX 540hp 6x4 with an XLX cab and a 72 | Truck & Driver

medium duty 320hp 6x4.

Penske also showed its Detroit engine lineup, with the wellestablished DD15 and the latest offering, the DD16, on display – demonstrating “the strength of the Detroit brand in the Australian market,” said Penske’s Detroit business manager Bob Gowans.

“With Detroit, there’s no compromise – our customers can have it all: From the outstanding efficiency and reliability of the DD15, to the impressive power and torque performance of the DD16, Detroit has a solution for everyone.

“And with the DD15 able to be remanufactured, further extending the life and performance of customers’ investments, there’s no better testament to the variety of the Detroit offering.”

Gowans added that customers now experiencing the new DD16 engine “are giving great feedback on the performance as well as the total cost of ownership figures they are achieving.”

If there was a Weirdest Truck of the Show prize, IVECO would surely have won it – with an ACCO 6x4 with two cabs…so it can be driven from the front or the rear.

The Q-FE Road Ant, which was displayed at BTS’ well-supported truck fest, staged in the heart of Southbank’s restaurant precinct, is an Aussie-built dual-control aggregate spreader for road sealing duties.

Shown off by IVECO in partnership with Q-FE and Trout River, it was developed and built to meet looming new rules in Australia that will require all agg. spreaders working in sprayed sealing applications to be forward-moving.

The truck, fitted with a Trout River asphalt-compatible body and 10-gate chip spreader, has safety features that are engaged when driving the vehicle from either end. The rear cab has dual controls so the operator can sit on either side, directly over the spread line – allowing uninterrupted vision of the work site and surrounding area.

The Road Ant is powered by a 360hp 8.7-litre Cursor 9 engine,

Above: MAN’s display included a 640hp TGX PerformanceLine and a 540hp TGX

Left: Aussie startup Janus Electric showed an electrified Kenworth T403 and revealed a cunning plan to avoid electric linehaul trucks needing to make lengthy stops to recharge their batteries Below: The absence of a handful of major truckmakers meant there was space for a classic trucks display in the main exhibition hall Opposite page: Mercedes-Benz revealed a 20-truck trial in Australia and NZ of its partially autonomous Active Drive Assist technology

Truck & Driver | 73

Left: Hyundai focused on its light and medium-duty models – the latter this new Pavise

Above: As part of the offsite truck festival activities in Southbank streets, strongman Troy Conley-Magnusson raised $40,000 for charity – by pushing and pulling trucks (including pushing an 11.7t Freightliner for 39.64 metres!)

Opposite page, main picture: Australia’s SEA Electric was a major player in this year’s show Opposite page, inset: Teletrac Navman and the Australian Trucking Association revealed its diversity “champions” at the show. This is ATA director Geoff Crouch

with an Allison six-speed automatic transmission.

IVECO said that its “extensive in-house engineering and manufacturing capabilities” mean that it is the “ideal truck manufacturer for local bodybuilders to partner with on complex builds such as the Q-FE Road Ant.” Inside the main show pavilion, IVECO’s all Euro 6 lineup ranged upwards from a 180hp 4.5t Daily with a 3.1m tray…to a Highway 6x4 tractor unit with a 550hp Cursor 13 engine and a 70t maximum GCM. In between them…a medium-duty Eurocargo ML160 4x2 with a 16t GVM/28t GCM, a 280hp Tector 7 engine and ZF nine-speed gearbox. There was also a 28.5t-rated 8x4 ACCO front-loading compactor garbage truck with a 360hp Cursor 9 engine, an Allison six-speed automatic and Meritor axles with IVECO ECAS suspension.

Across the range, said IVECO, is a “huge array” of safety equipment, including electronic stability control, advanced emergency braking and adaptive cruise control, with optional lane departure warning, hydraulic retarder, tyre pressure monitoring and driver attention support.

IVECO Trucks Australia MD Michael May said that the show presence was “a small taste of the vast IVECO on-highway product offering.”

The show trucks also highlighted “the benefits that IVECO enjoys as a European manufacturer with a local research and development and manufacturing capacity, that ensures all vehicles are tailored to Australia’s unique operating conditions.

“The ACCO and our heavy duty Highway range are great examples of what this global collaboration can deliver: A hightech, European platform that has undergone extensive validation and local adaptation to suit the unique demands of our Australian geographic conditions and applications.”

Australian electric truck manufacturer SEA Electric claimed a global first at the show, with the launch of a complete range of electric trucks – from 4.5-tonne models that can be driven on a car licence, to a 22.5t 6x2.

The company, which has for years retrofitted diesel-engined trucks with its SEA-Drive electric power system, has now begun volume assembly of SEA Electric-badged trucks in Melbourne, using semi-knock down kits.

Oceania regional director Glen Walker said that the new production process delivers “multiple efficiencies – including from a waste perspective, as many components were previously discarded in the retrofitting process.

74 | Truck & Driver

“The consistency of assembly also results in a commonality of the parts required and the sort benefits that come from volume manufacture.”

SEA founder and president Tony Fairweather said that the SKD collaboration is “the first of its kind, and has set the benchmark for similar programmes in other SEA Electric markets around the world.”

To celebrate that and the addition of two new models, at Brisbane the company took a big stepup from a one-truck stand two years ago….to a five-truck display that put it on a par with some of the major makes.

Added Walker: “It’s fantastic that the Brisbane Truck Show is back – and we are excited to be able to present our range to the public, now as an OE manufacturer.

“No other company has a lineup of all-electric models with a GVM range of 4.5 through to 22.5 tonnes, especially with the level of performance and reliability which SEA has proven in the field, with millions of kilometres of real-world use.”

The new 4.5t-rated SEA 300-45 EV is, he said, “a true gamechanger in the marketplace, especially following the growth in the past 12 months of last-mile deliveries.”

The challenge, said Walker, had been to package the power system so as to keep tare weight as low as possible, giving the truck a practical load-carrying capacity.

The result: “In cab-chassis form, with strong performance and a range of approximately 250km, we have a tare weight of 2.5t, which results in 2t for the truck’s body and freight, which is an incredibly attractive proposition.”

Also brand-new was the SEA 300-85, rated to 8.5t, with a 138kWh battery and a 1500Nm motor – suiting it to applications including dry or temperature-controlled freight, elevated working platforms or tippers.

The company said that 46 of the SEA 300 and 500 models – built from Hino 300 and Hino 500 Series SKD kits respectively – had been pre-ordered by “some of Australia’s biggest companies and councils.”

The technology in them, it said, “continues to make waves in both North America and Asia.”

JAC – after a failed attempt to successfully launch in NZ and Australia a few years ago – tried again at Brisbane…this time with an electric light-duty model.

Australian importer/distributor BLK Auto was at pains to say that it had “an eye to the future and not the past.”

The focus now, it said, was “on providing an efficient, cost-

effective electric truck alternative in the light-duty sector.”

BLK Auto MD Jason Pecotic (who led the last JAC launch) added that “the future of road transport is electric and rather than dwell in the past, JAC is very much thinking to the future needs and demands of a transport industry that is already starting to demand electric vehicles for city operations.”

To that end it put on show a JAC N55 EV light-duty truck with a 96.7kw/h battery, fully rechargeable in two hours. It is one of two in Australia on trial.

He said that the 4x2, with a 200km range and a 2.5t payload capability, taps into a “deep well of knowledge and expertise” within JAC, which had been building 100% electric trucks (ranging up to 12t models) for seven years – with the current range now four years old.

Said Pecotic: “JAC is throwing everything it can at electrification and is very focused on refining and improving its electric truck offerings and that is why we are focusing purely on battery EV models.”

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Western Star Trucks celebrated the 40th anniversary of the launch of the make in Australia....appropriately, at the 1981 Brisbane Truck Show

Hyundai, which has been making plenty of headlines globally in the past year or so with its Xcient hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks now starting to go to work in Europe, had a relatively lowkey presence at Brisbane.

Hyundai Brisbane dealer East Coast Trucks took a stand and showed three models – headlined not by an Xcient heavy-duty model, but by a new medium-duty Pavise.

A D115 model has a GVM rating of 12-15.5t and a 21-25t GCM, running a 5.9-litre 246hp Euro 5 engine.

A D217 variant has a 17.6t GVM and 27t GCM, using a 276hp rating of the 5.9 litre engine. Both models have a choice of ZF nine-speed manual gearboxes or 12-speed AMTs. The Pavise models come standard with driver and passenger airbags, lane departure warning, forward collision avoidance, autonomous emergency braking, electronic braking, cruise control and hill start assistance.

Hyundai Trucks Australia’s GM Daryl Thornton spoke of a growing independent distributorship – aiming to expand both its truck range and its dealer network.

“Our numbers and our network are relatively small, but it’s clear this year we are heading in the right direction and are on target to achieve our objectives in 2021.”

The Pavise had a lowkey introduction in Australia late last year, with just four imported, but Thornton said 12 were currently on order.

As for the Xcient prime mover – launched in Australia in 2018, but rated only for single-trailer applications – Thornton said a Euro 6 540hp Xcient Pro model suitable for B-double work is expected before the end of the year.

Australian etruck startup Janus Electric presented its concept to make the conversion of diesel-engined long-haul highway trucks to electric power an attractive proposition for operators.

Its Kenworth T403 show truck is the prototype for an ambitious plan to overcome the range limitations of battery electric heavy-

duty trucks, simply by using a uniform battery pack that can be quickly swapped at transfer and charging stations along major freight routes.

Janus said that the 2m x 1.2m lithium-ion battery pack, designed to fit into what was the engine bay, will power the tractor unit’s electric drive 400 to 500kms in a typically-loaded B-double unit. Single trailer units might get 600kms.

When the battery runs low, it can be replaced at a charge station with a fully-charged pack in three or four minutes, using a forklift. The truck will then be able to continue its trip, while the station will charge the battery in 12 hours – either using renewable sources such as solar, wind or hydro power….or, at worst, utilising offpeak power from the grid.

The company said its innovative technology is “a gamechanger for the transport industry globally.

GM Lex Forysth said Janus “has solved the scale, price-point and battery technology challenge for conversion to electric.

While the company said the diesel to electric conversion cost is around $AUS85,000 (up to $20,000 of that recoverable from the sale of the engine), it also claimed that its system would cut the cost of running a diesel-engined B-double combination between Sydney and Brisbane from just under $1000 to around $525 to $550.

Although a battery pack costs approximately $AUS120,000, the Janus business model would see the batteries owned by the company and rented to operators on a per-use or per day basis.

At that rate, said Forsyth, the capital cost of electrification will be recouped within a year in a typical Sydney-Brisbane freight operation.

Janus aims to have four electric trucks undergoing further trials before year’s end, with four battery charge and transfer stations established between Brisbane and Sydney. Ultimately, Forsyth added, there will be a national network of them.

Fleet management tech specialist Teletrac Navman had a Truck & Driver | 77

Top left: Iveco’s two-cab gravel spreader - the most unusual truck at the show Top right: Chinese make JAC relaunched in Australia with this new electric light-duty model

Right: PACCAR Australia MD Andrew Hadjikakou hands over the multi-purpose DAF LF to Naomi Frauenfelder, CEO of Healthy Heads in Trucks and Sheds

different presence at BTS – as a partner with the Australian Trucking Association in the 2021 Driving Change Diversity Programme, which it described as “a groundbreaking initiative to improve industry image, build a stronger workforce and showcase opportunity.”

At the show they announced the programme’s 13 “champions” – 10 women and three men from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences, from driving trucks to ownership of transport companies, roles in driver training and in management.

ATA chair David Smith said that the trucking industry “plays a crucial role in the lives of all Australians, but it has its challenges. There is a strong need for more drivers and skilled workers in all areas.

“Diversity plays a big role in creating positive workplaces and is proven to develop more inclusive environments, increase productivity and give employers access to a greater range of talent.

“This programme is our way of addressing this issue and broadening the industry talent pool. We are driving change to ensure our industry has the tools to foster inclusive and welcoming environments for people from all backgrounds and expertise,” he said.

The programme’s champions include a wife and mother who is a transport company co-owner, a solo Mum heavy truck driver, 78 | Truck & Driver

an Iranian refugee who now has his own truck as an OD and a driver training supervisor who won Volvo’s Australian fuelefficient driving contest – and became the only woman in the global final.

They also include a cross-section of women in leading admin and management roles and a production manager who was diagnosed with a rare neuro-muscular disease at 17…and said “people have always had difficulty understanding why he is different.”

They will all be showcased through social media to highlight the diverse opportunities on offer in the trucking industry. They will also be hosted at the ATA’s Trucking Australia conference – “for an intensive workshop where they will learn how to create change and facilitate diversity in their workplace and community, share personal insights, and develop clear action items on how to drive change within industry.”

Teletrac Navman director of marketing Australasia, Megan Duncan, said: “While they may not realise it, these champions are already making a big difference in their workplace and communities – shining a light on the amazing opportunities the industry has to offer.

“The programme is about coming together to share our connections and challenges, start a conversation and learn how we can drive change,” she said. T&D

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FEATURE

Carter’s Pull-Point Technology collates critical tyre data, including tyre tread measuring carried out at its depots nationwide

Predicting when tyres will wear out Story Dave McLeod & Wayne Munro KIWI TYRE SPECIALIST HAS DEVELOPED A TYRE LIFE management/monitoring system it believes is a world-first – able to accurately predict when a tyre will wear out.

Carter’s Tyre Service says that data from its “groundbreaking” Pull-Point Technology (PPT) has shown that many (if not most) of its clients were replacing tyres way before they needed to….

In fact, up to 30% early….and sometimes, when the tyre was only half-worn!

The system it has developed, which it believes is the world’s first predictive PPT software, thus “not only guarantees cost savings, but also keeps fleets safer.”

Carter’s says that PPT uses rich data sets to provide accurate realtime information on every tyre in a fleet. It collates comprehensive information including truck configuration, transport application, tyre positioning, geographic terrain, the brand and pattern of the tyre…plus tyre tread details.

The latter is, it says, the result of manually measuring tread, Truck & Driver | 81

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A Carter’s mobile tyre technician at work using the latest Bluetooth technology at depots nationwide, with all measurements taken at the point of greatest wear on a tyre.

Using all this data and combining it with active GPS data from the kilometres travelled by fleets operating nationwide, Carter’s PPT is able to forecast in realtime when a tyre should be pulled from use (its pull point).

It offers accurate information in realtime and up to three months in advance on how many days – and how much tread a tyre has remaining – before it will reach the all-important pull point. Fleet managers using the Carter’s system are able to access this information remotely, wherever a truck is.

Carter’s Tyres CEO Matt Carter explains that “the law says that if tread depth at any point on a tyre dips below 1.5mm, it’s illegal.”

But using its PPT data, Carter’s has been able to show Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency that customers were having tyres ruled illegal when, in fact, they still had legal tread depth.

And, just as importantly, that these tyres were being properly managed and monitored by its pull-point technology.

The presentation to NZTA came after Carter’s repeatedly challenged instances of tyres being ruled illegal because, says Matt Carter, “the law’s the law, you know – and we were taking that 1.5mills as gospel.”

But, in discussion with NZTA over “the challenges that we were putting in front of them, they enlightened me by saying that

it’s not actually the 1.5mm – it’s (a matter of ) ‘what if no-one changes that tyre at 2mm or 3mm…and it becomes the cause of death or injury.’

“And I completely understand that, because that’s probably the biggest part of the reason why we have developed PPT – as we’ve grown and expanded and become a national business.”

PPT addresses the concerns by proving that tyres are being properly monitored and managed – so won’t become a safety issue on the roads.

Carter says that NZTA was “impressed” with the level of tyre management Carter’s PPT software provides to its customers – in particular the ability “to know 24/7, via live data, when a commercial tyre will reach its pull-point (3mm).”

Carter’s is now acting on a suggestion by the Agency, he says, that it create a sticker to identify its customers using PPT – thus providing visual confirmation to officials that a commercial vehicle’s tyres are being managed 24/7 by the company.

The QR code on the sticker will be unique to each vehicle and when scanned will access a web landing page with the vehicle’s tyre pull-point details.

“That sticker is going to go a long way because the CoF or Commercial Vehicle Safety Team (CVST) won’t have that input.

That sticker proves that there is someone looking at that tyre before it gets to the point where we need to come and change it.”

Truck & Driver | 83

Matt Carter believes the technology is world-leading

“We didn’t really know how big the problem was....”

Carter explains how the predictive PPT system evolved – starting nine years ago with the launch of tablet and Cloud-based software “originally designed as a live invoicing type of system.

“But over the years our software developers have added bits and pieces to it, so we’ve got a whole service module.

“With all that historical data, we found that we could start predicting when a tyre will wear out through details such as specific geographical wear rates, the configuration of the truck, the position and type of tyre...”

Although the customer cost savings were obvious, the development also created “an internal dilemma” for the company.

The system would dramatically reduce customers’ spend on new tyres and, as Carter says, given the loss of up to 30% in turnover overnight, “how were we going to survive that?”

It would call for an internal restructure – not possible in the short-term, given for instance, the fact that its fleet of trucks are leased.

Adding to the potential risk it posed to Carter’s own business was the fact that the consideration of the full benefits and implications of its PPT occurred during last year’s COVID-19 84 | Truck & Driver

lockdown period – “when everyone’s future was unstable,” Carter adds.

“We didn’t know what was going to happen, but said: ‘Even if it’s going to get messy, let’s give it a go.’ We thought ‘if anyone needs a hand, they need a hand now. Let’s do it.’ ” Another concern, says Carter, was that customers might think that they’d been ripping them off: “We didn’t really know how big the problem was, but once we started getting into it, there’s a whole sort of flow-down effect (which was working to see operators setting an ever-higher pull point).”

Carter explains: “If an owner sends a truck for a CoF and it fails, or if a truck gets pulled up on a weighbridge and the owner’s told to change their tyres, that customer is not happy – he doesn’t want to be dealing with that.

“So, as soon as that happens, the customer adds a millimetre (to the pull point). Then the workshop adds a millimetre and, by the time we get it, the tyre’s pull point may be up to 6mm.”

He says that Carter’s has had instances where customers have told them they want a tyre with 7mm of tread depth changed because they “don’t want to go to the CoF station and fail.”

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The PPT data collected and analysed takes into account truck configuration, applications, tyre positioning on vehicles, geographic terrain, the brand and tyre pattern of the tyre…plus tyre tread details

Carter says that PPT can manage that to guarantee better tread utilisation.

But, he adds, changing habits and culture “has been a big job” – with the likes of NZTA, the CVST, mechanics doing CoF and preCoF checks and, within customer companies, workshop staff.

“So we’ve had to go and educate them. It’s been a massive battle and we still haven’t finished yet.”

The bottom line, says Carter, is that if a tyre is failed at say 4mm during an official check and it doesn’t have the transparency that PPT provides… “well, that’s an illegal tyre.”

“It could be on that weighbridge and the CVST has taken it off the road because it’s at 3 or 4mm and they don’t know if anyone’s got that scheduled to be changed. But the tyre provider might have it scheduled to be changed that night.

“But the minute that gets taken off the road and needs to get those tyres done, the transport operator has put a big black spot beside the tyre provider….because that’s an illegal tyre, in their eyes.”

Carter says that PPT hasn’t just resulted in savings from extended tyre life, it’s also changing the way fleet managers look at all their trucks’ tyres.

“I think that it’s in just the difference of going from hand and eyes in managing a fleet to then using software that totally 86 | Truck & Driver

replaces it, changes the mindset, It’s such a new concept.”

And, despite the potential to slash Carter’s Tyre Services’ turnover, PPT is proving to be “good for business, in terms of the new business that we took on. But in the worst-case scenario if we hadn’t taken any new business on and we took all of that out of our customers’ spend, without an internal restructure to match the loss in turnover, we couldn’t have survived.

“It is proving to be a business success – but it takes education…and we’re still going through that process. So it’s not an easy win, you know.”

Even after presenting its PPT technology to NZTA, it has continued to improve the system, Carter says: While “they were happy with the monitoring process, internally we weren’t that comfortable with just rolling with what we had.”

In order “to guarantee that there wasn’t an illegal tyre out there (in Carter’s monitored system) we’ve gone to what is like a telephone account manager – so someone who’s behind that screen monitoring an account all the time – to make sure that if a tyre does get into that danger zone, we can jump on it straight away.”

Once that was put in place, the company was comfortable with setting the pull point to “get as close to 1.5mm as you can.”

There is, he adds, “still work to be done” and Carter’s is looking

to expand its data gathering network of central tyre inflation and GPS providers, to further enhance the accuracy of its realtime data.

But Matt Carter is confident that the PPT software “will go a long way to ensure that the headache of tyre tread management is one less thing for fleet managers and drivers to worry about.

“Tyre wear is indicative of many things in operation, amongst them such things as driver behaviour and road conditions.

“But the data we now have on hand takes the conversation much further than that: It highlights common traits by wheel and axle position – allowing informed conversation with the design engineer to enhance both the new builds and existing fleet.” T&D Truck & Driver | 87

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New Zealand Heavy Haulage Association

Road works contractors and oversize transport operators need to communicate with each other to avoid difficulties for both parties at road works sites

Oversize loads and road works – what needs to happen

By Jonathan Bhana-Thomson – chief executive, New Zealand Heavy Haulage Associationsociation

R

OAD WORKS SITES ARE A NECESSITY ON OUR ROADS IF WE want the roads to be better-quality and safer.

However there are certain aspects of road works projects that can make it difficult for both oversize load transporters and the roading contractors to carry out their roles.

Planning for oversize loads A road works project should expect that there will be oversize loads of all sizes needing to come through the sites. How this impacts on the transport operator very much depends on the scale of the project, the duration and the nature of the restriction.

It used to be that larger oversize loads had the roads available at night for travel with offpeak traffic volumes. However more and more often the most restrictive roading jobs also now take place at night – for the same reason.

Road works sites need to plan their traffic management to expect and allow oversize loads through the worksite. On the other hand, oversize transporters need to be proactive and keep an eye open – and keep their ears open – and keep checking their emails and other communications to identify where road works are taking place on the routes that they intend to use.

Transport operators need to also use their networks to identify those sites for potential issues – these can be weekly updates from the likes of the NZ Heavy Haulage Association, info from other transport operators or drivers, and from the load pilots who are piloting them on their next job.

Designing for oversize One of the biggest issues on road works jobs is that often the lanes provided for traffic to use through a work area are too narrow for oversize transporters, with lane widths that are often three metres

at the most. In addition, contraflow operations often have chicanes that are too tight, or in detour situations the routes have not been scoped to see that they are suitable for overdimension or overweight loads.

Works that are being undertaken on identified oversize routes need to provide for oversize loads – including wider lanes, or allowing oversize traffic through in both directions if a detour is not suitable.

At the same time, oversize transporters should be proactive and contact road works contractors in advance (if the works are known about) to provide notice that an oversize load is coming through. Or, if an operator is travelling through a site to pick up an oversize load and will be returning, it would be wise to stop and advise the traffic management crew of that.

Communication The lack of communication is one of the bigger issues that causes problems. Transport operators often tell us that road work sites “pop up overnight,” yet the work must have been planned for some time.

In addition, some sites are complicated and change the restriction on oversize over the duration of the works.

At present, oversize operators have a major task getting through the Dome Valley – between Auckland and Whangarei – and while the NZHHA knew about the planned works, the schedule by which they were to be carried out appears to have changed....and the work has morphed into multiple worksites.

The lines of communication are open, but the impact of the works on oversize transport (and vice versa) only become clear through discussion and ongoing two-way communication.

We hope that both roading contractors and oversize operators can do their bit to ensure that we keep the roads open and oversize loads moving. T&D Truck & Driver | 89

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Road Transport Association NZ

Single united voice required for road transport

By Simon Carson, RTANZ chief operating officer

I

T WAS A TERRIBLE START TO WINTER: MASSIVE FLOODING – described as a once-in-a-century rainfall event – devastated Canterbury, cutting off roads and bridges and forcing some small towns and farms to be evacuated. The cleanup operation will also be massive.

For road transport operators, one of the biggest impacts was the closure of State Highway 1 in several places, including the Ashburton River/Hakatere Bridge, after slumping of one of the bridge piers was discovered.

At one stage, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s journey planner site showed that the only way to get from Christchurch to Timaru was via the Lewis Pass and Haast Pass and the West Coast – a 13-hour journey of over 1000kms, compared with just two hours normally.

The NZ Herald commented that you could fly to Los Angeles in less time. Fortunately only a handful of vehicles carrying essential items chose to take this route, with most carriers communicating well with their customers and temporarily delaying movements until it was safe to move once a more suitable detour had been established by Waka Kotahi.

From the start, the Road Transport Association worked with Waka Kotahi to try to get an alternative route opened as soon as possible and to keep members informed via email and our website and Facebook page. One post reached over 214,000 people and generated 3700 comments, underpinning just how urgent the situation was and how vital this transport link is for the South Island.

The bridge soon reopened, with restricted access for heavy vehicles and night-time closures – and there was an inland detour via SH72. Longterm, it’s clear that a replacement bridge is needed as soon as possible (the old one is 80 years old!).

All of this shows that we all need to keep fighting for better roads. And we need to work together. “Blanket speed reductions” continue to be rolled out across the country by Waka Kotahi, with a number of district councils following suit.

What happened to the Government’s 2020 announcement that $5billion would be allocated to roading? It’s far easier to identify the work that the Government hasn’t done, as opposed to what it has done for better transport infrastructure. Instead, ongoing reductions for speed limits on roads that are already unsafe seem to be the Labour Government’s approach to increasing road safety.

A bitter taste from this year’s budget is still in the mouths of

At one stage during the recent Canterbury flooding, the NZTA showed the only way to get between Christchurch and Timaru was a 1000km-plus journey!

many due to the decision by Government to allocate $1.3billion of spending to enhance the rail network and build more trains. We can only hope this investment is used wisely, with the aim of addressing environmental concerns created from an ageing fleet and easing congestion in our already crowded main cities. RTANZ will meet with Waka Kotahi portfolio managers and other key stakeholders to address the major issues experienced by the heavy freight industry in NZ. Conversations relating to concerns that road transport operators have, need to be raised from the grassroots of industry. This usually means operators communicating in the first instance with the RTA branches – the matter then taken to the regions, where an executive committee works for the members.

Each of the four RTANZ regions form individual incorporated societies, with each incorporated society being a member of the Road Transport Forum.

Much of what originates inside a branch or a region often ends up either at the Forum office, or becoming an agenda item for discussion at one of the RTF national lobby groups. Examples of these specialist groups are the National Livestock and Transport Safety Group (NL&TSG) and the Log Transport Safety Council (LTSC).

These groups then plan and work toward a sector outcome, often together with representatives from the authorities, such as MPI, CVST, Waka Kotahi NZTA and Worksafe.

Those who sit on a branch, a regional or national committee, a specialist lobby group, or the board of RTANZ and RTF are all elected volunteers who unselfishly give their time to work towards a more efficient, safer, and more productive industry for all members. Many of these people fund their own way, or are generously supported by their employers for the greater good.

Over the years there has been a sentiment from members who demand a strong and well supported “single voice,” which makes perfect sense, and has been a goal of RTANZ and RTF for many years. Put simply, an amalgamation of associations is the only way for this to happen and requires 100% buy-in from everyone involved.

In each instance where an amalgamation discussion has been brought to the table by RTANZ, it is either rebuffed, or has obstacles raised by others that halt the efforts – and the progress of the RTANZ board. Having various industry voices around the country is absolutely counterproductive. Right now, in an age of regulatory and compliance scrutiny, a single UNITED voice is the only way for us to be heard. T&D Truck & Driver | 91

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By David Aitken, CEO of National Road Carriers Association

A

FTER 13 YEARS AS NATIONAL ROAD CARRIERS’ CHIEF executive it’s time for me to move on and give someone fresh the opportunity to keep NRC moving forward, and for me to seek new challenges.

The association is in a very good space, both financially and in membership numbers and satisfaction. I am proud of the professionalism my team has shown over the years. We are also very lucky with the partnerships we have with product and service suppliers, which both NRC and our partners benefit from.

Over the years we’ve had groups of members from around the country join us because they could see the value we offer in terms of industry know-how, competitively-priced partner products and services, and advocacy with transport authorities and local and central government.

HIGHLIGHTS When I was appointed, the association was not in a strong position. In fact, we had to borrow money from board members to keep going and set up a loan facility with the bank. Paul Chappel was the chairman at the time and gave me exceptional support.

My arrival was made more intense as I was almost immediately embroiled in a huge protest action, with about 2000 trucks driving into Auckland city centre and more into other city centres around the country, to oppose a road user charge increase. The whole industry got behind it and the support we got from the public was phenomenal. It helped change the Labour Government at the time.

Along the way we have introduced numerous initiatives including the driver workforce strategy that became the SWEP programme and is now the Road Transport Forum’s Te Ara ki tua Road to success programme….

And we have advocated for new and better-quality roads, and informing members on their options to reduce carbon emissions.

Last year it was action stations again during the COVID-19 lockdowns. I don’t think people realise how hard the NRC team worked keeping the industry informed, advocating with the authorities and responding to questions at all hours of the day and night.

CHALLENGES Most NRC members appreciate what we do, but some members and companies that are not members of an association do not. In some ways it is understandable because there is so much work we do behind the scenes.

Road freight companies are in a far better space having industry organisations to advise and represent them. Getting that message across is our biggest challenge.

NRC does not see other associations as competitors. We are all trying to make the industry a better place, with the Road Transport Forum in Wellington representing the industry with a strong single voice at the national level.

David Aitken

RECOGNITION There are so many people who have contributed to the NRC’s success while I have been “in the driving seat,” including the current team of Jason Heather, Paula Rogers, Steve Chapple, Veronica Marsh, Louise Gardner and Shakthi Jeyashankar, plus recently retired, long-serving members Tom Cloke and Grant Turner, chairman Don Wilson and current and past board members.

I would like to give special thanks to three people who have contributed so much to the association and the industry at their own time and cost.

Paul Chappel was chair when I started. It would have been very difficult for me, just starting out, without Paul’s support. He has the ability to take a helicopter view of the situation – always looking at the bigger picture. The association owes Paul a lot, given the work he put into it at the time to get it back on track.

Chris Carr puts in an extraordinary amount of time representing NRC and the industry in meetings with the NZ Transport Agency, Auckland Transport, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Team, the Auckland Business Forum and Ports of Auckland….to name a few. He’s always available as a sounding board or to offer advice.

Calven Bonney is a legend in the road transport industry and in motorsport and it was great to see him receive the Member of the NZ Order of Merit (MNZM) in 2018. Calven has selflessly helped NRC to provide all members – whether they have one truck or a fleet of hundreds – with support to run their businesses successfully.

FINAL WORD We are 100% governed by the members who are represented by the board. Not all members agree with the decisions made, but we must do what the majority decide. So if you have something to say, tell us….or stand for the board.

This is an amazing industry, full of good, hard-working people providing an essential service. It has been a privilege to serve it. And now I look forward to being part – if I’m allowed – of the Golden Oldies, that informal group of industry retirees run by Elva and Les Murphy. If the Golden Oldies group is not a sign of the spirit that exists in this industry, I don’t know what is. T&D Truck & Driver | 93

Diesel and Turbo Wellington

Tom Bracken, Sales Manager

Established in 1988 Diesel and Turbo Wellington has evolved into a vibrant well respected business. We are proud to be the Caltex Lubricant Distributor for Wellington, Taranaki and Manawatu (Lower North Island). We understand that equipment reliability is critical to your business. Our professional team, and our Oil Shop Network can assist you with implementing efficient Lubrication service solution for your fleet, saving on down time and reducing operating costs. Call the Team at Diesel and Turbo 0800 568 9218 or your local Caltex Oil shop.

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We would appreciate the opportunity to quote on the supply of Products and Services.

TD31067

Taihape:

Rural Transport has put this new DAF Euro 6 sleeper cab 8x4 livestock unit to work out of Kurow, servicing the Waitaki area. Aaron Tait drives the newcomer, which has a 530hp engine.

It’s tight at the top N

EW ZEALAND’S HEAVY TRUCK SALES HAD another solid month in May – although still well below alltime record level…as the effects of COVID-19 continued.

With 403 May registrations, the overall truck market (4.5 tonnes to maximum GVM), was 22.2% down on 2019’s record-breaking 518 sales for the same month.

The May performance pushed the year-to-date registration total out to 1905 registrations – compared to 2218 at the same point in 2019. That’s a 14.1% drop.

The contest to be No. 1 make for the year in the overall market (above 4.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass) tightened up in May – with FUSO outselling longtime market leader Isuzu for the month...and closing to within five regos YTD. Thus Isuzu (362/72) remained in the lead, but only just ahead of FUSO (357/79).

Hino (273/57) also had a strong month, retaining third YTD – well ahead of a five-way fight for the next few spots.

Scania (127/43) jumped from eighth to fourth, ahead of Iveco (123/31).

Volvo (113/17) dropped two spots, to sixth, Mercedes-Benz (106/22) held seventh ahead of Kenworth (105/14) – down two places. Behind them, UD (71/16) remained in ninth while DAF (61/16) came back into the top 10, displacing Foton (53/5).

Trailer registrations totalled 128 in May – 25.6% down on the alltime record 172 registered in the same month in 2018. The 583 YTD total was 16.9% down on 2018’s best-ever 702.

In the crossover 3.5-4.5t GVM segment the Fiat (184/46) steamroller continued to crush the opposition, registering 184 YTD and 46 for May. Volkswagen (61/14) and Mercedes-Benz (25/8) held second and third

respectively, ahead of Peugeot (12/0) in fourth.

In the 4.5-7.5t GVM category, FUSO (183/29) continued to hold a handy YTD lead over Isuzu (141/33), despite Isuzu beating it for the month.

Mercedes-Benz (63/11) was third YTD, ahead of Hino (59/14), Iveco (54/17) and Hyundai (30/6).

In the 7.5-15t GVM division Isuzu (142/25) continued to extend its huge lead on Hino (95/16) and FUSO (74/21). Foton (24/3) and Iveco (18/5) were a long way back – well clear of UD (6/0), Hyundai (5/1), Mercedes-Benz (5/1) and DAF (1/0). Scania (1/1) was a newcomer in May. In the small 15-20.5t GVM class, Hino (35/9) retained the YTD lead and FUSO (25/6) held second place, ahead of UD (12/3). Scania (8/2) was fourth and Iveco (7/2) fifth.

Hino (8/2) continued to lead the tiny 20.5-23t segment – but Isuzu dramatically entered the category, going immediately into second place with six registrations, ahead of FUSO (5/1).

In the premium 23t to maximum GVM market, Scania (117/39) had a big month – jumping from third to first place YTD at the expense of former leader Volvo (113/17) and former runner-up Kenworth (105/14).

Hino (76/16) held fourth position while FUSO (70/22) moved ahead of Isuzu (67/8). DAF (58/15), UD (53/13), Iveco (44/7) and Mercedes-Benz (32/9) all held their positions.

Patchell (82/20) continued to extend its lead in the trailer market in May – as it has every month this year.

Fruehauf (57/12) retained second, while Domett (42/11) went ahead of MTE (40/9) for third. The order of the rest of the top 10 was unchanged, with Roadmaster (37/8) fifth, ahead of TMC (34/9), Transport Trailers (29/6), Freighter (23/4), Transfleet (23/5 and TES (17/2). T&D Truck & Driver | 95

Mark Kara has put this new Sinotruk C7H 8x4 and its Evans four-axle flatdeck semi-trailer to work for his Kara Haulage operation in Napier – working for NZL.

23,001kg-max GVM

4501kg-max GVM

Brand ISUZU FUSO HINO SCANIA IVECO VOLVO MERCEDES-BENZ KENWORTH UD DAF FOTON HYUNDAI MAN SINOTRUK FREIGHTLINER FIAT INTERNATIONAL MACK VOLKSWAGEN WESTERN STAR SHACMAN Total

2021 Vol 362 357 273 127 123 113 106 105 71 61 53 35 29 18 18 16 12 8 8 7 3 1905

% 19.0 18.7 14.3 6.7 6.5 5.9 5.6 5.5 3.7 3.2 2.8 1.8 1.5 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.2 100.0

May Vol 72 79 57 43 31 17 22 14 16 16 5 7 12 1 1 2 5 1 1 1 0 403

% 17.9 19.6 14.1 10.7 7.7 4.2 5.5 3.5 4.0 4.0 1.2 1.7 3.0 0.2 0.2 0.5 1.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.0 100.0

May Vol 46 14 8 0 1 1 0 0 1 71

% 64.8 19.7 11.3 0.0 1.4 1.4 0.0 0.0 1.4 100.0

May Vol 29 33 11 14 17 6 2 2 1 115

% 25.2 28.7 9.6 12.2 14.8 5.2 1.7 1.7 0.9 100.0

3501-4500kg GVM

Brand FIAT VOLKSWAGEN MERCEDES-BENZ PEUGEOT FORD RENAULT LDV ISUZU IVECO Total

2021 Vol 184 61 25 12 11 8 3 1 1 306

% 60.1 19.9 8.2 3.9 3.6 2.6 1.0 0.3 0.3 100.0

4501-7500kg GVM

Brand FUSO ISUZU MERCEDES-BENZ HINO IVECO HYUNDAI FOTON FIAT VOLKSWAGEN Total 96 | Truck & Driver

2021 Vol 183 141 63 59 54 30 29 16 8 583

% 31.4 24.2 10.8 10.1 9.3 5.1 5.0 2.7 1.4 100.0

Thus Isuzu remained in the lead, but only just ahead of FUSO....

7501-15,000kg GVM

Brand ISUZU HINO FUSO FOTON IVECO UD HYUNDAI MERCEDES-BENZ DAF SCANIA Total

2021 Vol 142 95 74 24 18 6 5 5 1 1 371

% 38.3 25.6 19.9 6.5 4.9 1.6 1.3 1.3 0.3 0.3 100.0

2021 Vol 35 25 12 8 7 6 6 2 2 2 105

% 33.3 23.8 11.4 7.6 6.7 5.7 5.7 1.9 1.9 1.9 100.0

% 34.2 21.9 28.8 4.1 6.8 0.0 1.4 1.4 0.0 1.4 100.0

May Vol 9 6 3 2 2 0 1 0 0 1 24

% 37.5 25.0 12.5 8.3 8.3 0.0 4.2 0.0 0.0 4.2 100.0

20,501-23,000kg GVM

Brand HINO ISUZU FUSO FREIGHTLINER SCANIA Total

2021 Vol 8 6 5 1 1 21

% 38.1 28.6 23.8 4.8 4.8 100.0

2021 Vol 117 113 105 76 68 67 58 53 44 32 27 18 15 12 8 7 3 823

% 14.2 13.7 12.8 9.2 8.3 8.1 7.0 6.4 5.3 3.9 3.3 2.2 1.8 1.5 1.0 0.9 0.4 100.0

May Vol % 39 21.7 17 9.4 14 7.8 16 8.9 21 11.7 8 4.4 15 8.3 13 7.2 7 3.9 9 5.0 12 6.7 1 0.6 1 0.6 5 2.8 1 0.6 1 0.6 0 0.0 180 100.0

Trailers May Vol 25 16 21 3 5 0 1 1 0 1 73

15,001-20,500kg GVM

Brand HINO FUSO UD SCANIA IVECO ISUZU MERCEDES-BENZ MAN FREIGHTLINER DAF Total

Brand SCANIA VOLVO KENWORTH HINO FUSO ISUZU DAF UD IVECO MERCEDES-BENZ MAN SINOTRUK FREIGHTLINER INTERNATIONAL MACK WESTERN STAR SHACMAN Total

May Vol 2 6 1 0 1 10

% 20.0 60.0 10.0 0.0 10.0 100.0

2021 Vol % Brand PATCHELL 82 14.1 FRUEHAUF 57 9.8 42 7.2 DOMETT MTE 40 6.9 ROADMASTER 37 6.3 TMC 34 5.8 TRANSPORT TRAILERS 29 5.0 FREIGHTER 23 3.9 23 3.9 TRANSFLEET TES 17 2.9 CWS 17 2.9 16 2.7 JACKSON MILLS-TUI 11 1.9 EVANS 9 1.5 TIDD 9 1.5 MTC 8 1.4 HAMMAR 8 1.4 7 1.2 LUSK FAIRFAX 6 1.0 KRAFT 6 1.0 LILLEY 5 0.9 MAXICUBE 5 0.9 MAKARANUI 5 0.9 SEC 5 0.9 COWAN 3 0.5 SDC 3 0.5 MD 3 0.5 WAIMEA 3 0.5 LOWES 3 0.5 ADAMS & CURRIE 3 0.5 PTE 3 0.5 HTS 3 0.5 WARREN 4 0.7 TANKER ENG. 4 0.7 OTHER 50 8.6 Total 583 100.0

May Vol % 20 15.6 12 9.4 11 8.6 9 7.0 8 6.3 9 7.0 6 4.7 4 3.1 5 3.9 2 1.6 5 3.9 4 3.1 4 3.1 1 0.8 4 3.1 1 0.8 2 1.6 1 0.8 1 0.8 1 0.8 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 0.8 3 2.3 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 0.8 0 0.0 1 0.8 2 1.6 10 7.8 128 100.0

Hamilton’s Vision Complete Earthworks (VCE) has put this new Mercedes-Benz Arocs 2646 to work on its operations. It has a 460hp OM470 engine, a 12-speed G230 transmission and a CWS tipper body, plus a safety package that includes MirrorCam

Patchell has built this Kenworth K200 bin truck and a matching three-axle trailer for Napier’s Lake Self-Loading.

The 8x4 truck has a Palfinger Epsilon Q150L crane and a Bigfoot CTI system. The Patchell 3BT trailer has Hendrickson Intraax air suspension

Truck & Driver | 97

The second of three new FH700 Volvos going on the road for Stock Lines, this sleeper cab 8x4 is now working nationwide out of Amberley. The D16G engine is mated to an I-Shift AMT, with a Volvo rear end, with diff and cross locks. It has a full safety package including adaptive cruise, collision warning and emergency braking. It has a new Domett deck and Nationwide stock crates, with a matching five-axle trailer

PanPac contractor C&A Torr Log Transport has put this new Kenworth K200 2.3 sleeper cab 8x4 to work. It has a 600hp Cummins engine, an 18-speed Roadranger manual gearbox and RT46160 diffs. It has Kraft logging gear and a matching trailer

98 | Truck & Driver

This new DAF CF530 6x4 sleeper cab tipper unit is one of two recently put to work by Silverdale’s Hurricane Haulage, contracted to Rock & Rubble. It has a 530hp MX13 engine, TraXon AMT and a Transfleet Big Smoothy alloy bin, plus a matching five-axle trailer.

The second unit has a Transfleet Roctuff steel tipper and matching trailer

Patchell has built this tri-axle HC4020-35 Swinglift for the Alexander Group. It has a Yanmar APU, extended outreach lift modules and ROR CS9 axles and suspension

Regan and Toyah Beale celebrated 10 years in business for their Pahiatuabased Beale Trucking by adding their first new Kenworth to a 14-truck fleet. The 8x4 sleeper cab K200 logger has a 618hp Cummins X15 engine, an 18-speed Roadranger manual transmission and RT46-160 diffs on Primaax air suspension. It has Patchell logging gear and has a matching fiveaxle multi trailer

This new FUSO Fighter FU1828U, derated from 23 tonnes down to 18t, is now running between Auckland and Hamilton for Horticultural Transport, carrying salad ingredients and asparagus in its Carriercooled curtainsider body. The Hamilton-based truck has a reversing camera and rides on air suspension

Truck & Driver | 99

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CLASSIFIED TRUCK & DRIVER

RON SMITH LTD & DIRECT TRANSPORT

E S

After Ron Smith shifted to Rotorua, the Opotiki operation was run by Des Lysaght and Gavin Abbot.

Des retired in 1968 and I carried on as manager till I retired in 1985. This story mainly deals with Opotiki Depot and trucks until it closed when Dawes took over Direct.

LIMITED EDITION TD31544

This is the story of a gentlemen who purchased a small carrier’s business in Opotiki in 1940. With his leadership he built this up to be one of the major transport companies in New Zealand. His foresight and sincerity in dealing with people encouraged others to join him. Once Opotiki was established he shifted to Rotorua. With his very able accountant he formed Direct Transport (Holdings) Ltd. This was achieved by joining with Lightning Nelson Interests in 1966. He retired and continued his social work with church and service clubs. Ron Smith died in 1992.

For your copy contact: Postage: Gavin Abbot, 34 Elliott Street, Opotiki 3122 Or email: clamyhen@xtra.co.nz 1960’s

IN THE EARLY 1960’S, NEW ZEALAND 1970’s

1980’s

RS

TD31744

1990’s

Forest Products Ltd in Tokoroa were looking for suitable replacements for their iconic fleet of International logging trucks. In 1964, two 848 model off-highway Kenworth’s were finally put to work hauling logs in to the Kinleith mill, and so started New Zealand’s love affair with the legendary Kenworth brand.

Over the next 31 years, nearly 1000 various model Kenworth trucks arrived to ply the nation’s highways & byways.

Edwin Mansell, Grant Gadsby and Paul Livsey have embarked on their next literary endeavour to encapsulate the photographic history of the ownership of these trucks over that 31 year period.

This edition, follows on from the successful sell-out of the Mack 1000 books.

With an approximate price of $195+ postage, it is envisaged that the Kenworth book will be published Mid 2024 to coincide with Kenworth’s 60th anniversary of the first Kenworth to go NZ roads. Now is the time to place your order for this set of two books approximately 500 pages each coffee table styled books. It will be the perfect partner for the Mack books in your collection Email Ed, Grant or Paul to advise your interest in this once in a lifetime Kenworth pictorial history.

mansell@orcon.net.nz grant.gadsby3@xtra.co.nz Paul.Livsey@trgroup.co.nz

Truck & Driver | 103

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104 | Truck & Driver

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