FEATURE
To help streamline its operation, Regal aims to buy just one make of truck...and only one model. A year ago it began to transition from Volvo FM500s, to FH700s, like this
Regal’s DIY TD31774
design & build EGAL HAULAGE DESIGNS, BUILDS AND MANUFACTURES all of its own trailers, does its own setup on all of the trucks it buys…and only buys just the one make of truck. And only one model of that make. It’s all about optimising its operation – an innovative and extremely thoughtful approach to running trucks that arguably makes the Hamilton-based company one of New Zealand’s most efficient transport operators. Regal’s inhouse team of design engineers, welder/fabricators and mechanics work together to build one truck and trailer every month – each unit designed to carry maximum payloads, build flexibility into trip planning, and keep drivers safe and comfortable. Regal’s 95-truck fleet is made up exclusively of Volvo trucks and the partnership between Volvo NZ distributor MTD and Regal Haulage is longstanding….and strong.
Even so, when Regal was formed in 1988 – with the amalgamation of Tauwhare Contractors and Sherson Construction and the purchase of Cronin Transport – the fleet, unsurprisingly, looked quite different, as current joint managing director Brett McHardie explains. “We had a lot of older gear in the fleet, of all makes and models. My father (Rob McHardie) was used to having engineering capability in the business, at Tauwhare Contractors, so we continued in that tradition – doing our own repairs and maintenance.” Around 2012, the Regal directors decided on a different business model – selecting one brand and model….with a single range of parts. Thus enabling the engineering and mechanical teams to develop specialist expertise. It was, in effect, streamling its business. When first sizing up the different truck brands, Regal’s Truck & Driver | 75
