NZ TRUCK & DRIVER | December 2023/January 2024
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BIG TEST Super Efficiency | FLEET FOCUS Unique...but one of many | FEATURE: Japan Mobility Show 2023
The Official Magazine of
Issue 274
FLEET FOCUS
FEATURE
Unique...but one of many
Japan Mobility Show 2023
ISSN 2703-6278
TD33962
CONTENTS
Issue 274 – December 2023/January 2024 2
News The latest from the world of road transport including an update on New Zealand’s $50 million hydrogen fuel cell truck trial… Firth debuts its new electric concrete mixer truck… State Highway 25A to re-open ahead of schedule… New distributor for Astra off-road trucks… MAN trials hydrogen combustion engine technology… Daimler Truck doubles down on EVs for North America and JCB lands its first Pothole Pro in New Zealand.
FEATURES: 64 Southpac Trucks Legends Paying It Forward: As well as building Pyramid Trucking into a fleet of nearly 30 trucks, Paul Chappel has played a leading role with industry associations to make sure the road transport sector gets its views heard.
69 Japan Mobility Show After a four-year break, Japan’s biggest automotive industry show returned in 2023. We feature the new models and technology direction on show from Japan’s truck manufacturers.
24 Giti Tyres Big Test Super Efficiency: We sample Scania’s new high efficiency six-cylinder 13-litre engine as it goes to work hauling logs for McCarthy Transport. And we explain why Traton Group says it will be the last new large displacement diesel engine it will develop.
78 Party Planning In February Southpac Trucks will host a monster celebration for Kenworth’s centennial. The planning will bring together at record number of trucks at the big Mystery Creek event.
43 Transporting New Zealand Interim Chief Executive Dom Kalasih looks forward to working with the new government on policies to improve funding for roading infrastructure.
83 Forward Thinking Isuzu has big plans for its new N Series and F Series model lines. We look at what to expect and when it’s likely to launch.
44 Teletrac Navman Fleet Focus Unique… but one of many: The story of C.V. Compton Ltd and the family which has steered the Onehunga-based company through four decades of growth in the transport industry.
MANAGEMENT
89 NZ Super Truck Champs The NAPA Auto Parts NZ Super Truck Championship is underway with Dave West emerging on top from an eventful opening round at Manfeild.
97 Old Iron Transport historian Gavin Abbot traces the pioneering history of Pukekohe’s Stembridge Transport.
REGULARS: 96/ Double Coin Tyres NZ Transport 97 Imaging Awards Recognising NZ’s best-looking trucks… including a giant pull-out poster of this month’s finalist.
93 CrediFlex Recently Registered October registration figures set the scene for a very close race between Isuzu and Fuso for number one spot in the 2023 New Zealand truck market. Plus, this month’s photo gallery of new trucks on the road.
COLUMNS 93 Truck Shop New products and services for the road transport industry.
105 National Road Carriers Association James Smith brings 2023 to a close with tips for growing your business based on the experience of three successful NRC members.
ADMINISTRATION MANAGER
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CONTRIBUTORS
Wayne Munro Olivia Beauchamp Gerald Shacklock Rod Simmonds
ART DEPARTMENT Design & Production Luca Bempensante Zarko Mihic EQUIPMENT GUIDE AUCKLAND, NORTHLAND, BOP, WAIKATO, CENTRAL NORTH ISLAND Advertising Hayden Woolston 027 448 8768 hayden@trucker.co.nz
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AUCKLAND, LOWER NORTH ISLAND, SOUTH ISLAND Advertising Hayden Woolston 027 448 8768 hayden@trucker.co.nz
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NEWS
Hiringa’s hydrogen production equipment being installed at the Te Rapa Waitomo Group site.
Hydrogen trial moves closer THE FIRST OF THE WAITOMO GROUP SITES BEING upgraded to produce hydrogen for fuel cell electric truck trials is now expected to be up and running around March or April of next year. The $50 million trial which involves hydrogen producer Hiringa Energy, fuel supplier Waitomo Group and truck leasing giant TR Group as the supplier of Hyzon FCEV trucks, was announced in late-2021. It was initially scheduled to be operational by the end of 2022. Waitomo’s Te Rapa site in Hamilton will be the first of four North Island service stations that will produce and supply hydrogen for the zeroemission truck trial. “We’ve recently landed a lot of the gear and we hope to have most of it installed on site before the end of this year,” says Ryan McDonald, Head of New Business at Hiringa Energy. Key components include the electrolyser to produce hydrogen on-site as well as the compressors and storage tanks. A 4x2 version of the Hyzon FCEV tractor unit on show at the 2022 IAA Transportation show in Hanover.
2 | Truck & Driver
McDonald likens the project to a completing jigsaw and says ``now we have most the pieces we can begin putting it all together. “In the last few months we’ve had gear arriving from Vietnam, Sunderland [UK], the USA and Denmark.” Once onsite and installed, Hiringa will be moving into the systems integration and utilities connection phase. “There’s still a lot of work to do to make sure all of the components talk to each other and that it all plugs into the grid,” he says. The Waitomo Te Rapa site in Tasman Drive is the first of four locations in phase one of the hydrogen roll-out. The others in Auckland, Tauranga and Palmerston North are also expected to be operational soon after. “We are looking at March or April for an official launch at the first site,” says Ryan. In another aspect of the hydrogen transport programme, TR Group and truck manufacturer Hyzon Motors have announced a revised commercial agreement for supply of Hyzon’s FCEV trucks to be operated in the trial. The original agreement from January 2021 was for Hyzon to supply 20 FCEVs for the trial. The trucks are based on a DAF CF 6x4 with 600hp which are capable of working at 58 tonnes and offer a 600km range. Under the terms of a revised agreement Hyzon will now supply two trucks for a commercial trial of up to three months, starting in March 2024. Following the initial commercial trial, Hyzon says TR Group has the option to purchase the two trial trucks as well as to upfit another 18 trucks with Hyzon’s 200kW fuel cell systems to be assembled at Hyzon’s Melbourne, Australia facility. TR Group General Manager Brendan King says the first trucks are scheduled to arrive early next year in time for the hydrogen stations coming online. “The first two trucks will be on a test track near Melbourne by the end of November and we will have them here in the first quarter of next year,” King says.
NEWS
Firth’s new XCMG E700 electric concrete mixer truck makes its first delivery in Auckland.
Firth begins EV concrete mixer trial AUSTR ALASIA’S FIRST BATTERY ELECTRIC concrete mixer truck is on the road in Auckland, delivering its first load on November 10 after some earlier test runs. Firth Industries’ new XCMG E700 is one of the EV projects supported by the EECA Low Emission Transport Fund (LETF). Firth gained $361,000 in co-funding from the LETF to gain early experience of operating a battery electric truck in the concrete sector. The 8x4 XCMG is equipped with a Schwing Tech G06V mixer drum capable of delivering 6 cubic metres of concrete. The 282kWh battery with fast swapping capability powers both the truck and the mixer bowl and the battery can be charged in about two hours using a 120kW DC fast charger. The electric motor provides a continuous output of 240kW and a maximum output of 360kW with peak torque of up to 2800Nm. A sixspeed automated manual transmission is fitted and the E700 is equipped with airbag rear suspension, disc braking, leather seats and an advanced safety package which includes Lane Departure Warning. XCMG distributor eTrucks imported the E700 mixer with the finishing work (mainly Health and Safety features) being completed at Firth’s Hamilton workshop. “We’ve been piloting our electric truck for three months,” says Cameron Lee, Firth General Manager. “Like any new technology, this pilot phase has been a learning experience, and we’re pleased that the truck is set to deliver its first load today. We are even more pleased that the truck only needs to be charged every three days! “Technology is advancing rapidly, and we recognise that this is the way of the future. That’s why we decided to give it a try and gain valuable insights from the experience. “The truck’s carrying capacity is smaller than that of our other vehicles. This is something we will address as we shift our focus toward electrifying the rest of our fleet, and the battery sizes come down, but it’s nice to see no fumes and hear no noise coming from the vehicle.” Firth is also exploring the reduction of carbon emissions from the concrete production process.
“Improving sustainability across our business is a key driver for Firth. Incremental improvements such as electrifying our fleet is one contribution, we are making towards reducing carbon emissions in the construction industry. It also compliments our work to deliver concrete that is 10-20% lower in carbon,” says Cameron. “We were grateful to receive the funding for the truck from the low emission transport fund and hope that in time we can share our learnings to help the industry work towards a lower carbon future.” The battery electric mixer truck is not the only electrification technology being trialled by Firth. Its E-Mixer is a diesel truck retro-fitted with a battery-powered concrete bowl. Early tests point to a 20-25% reduction in diesel consumption compared to a truck with a PTO-driven mixer bowl. Firth plans further development of the E-Mixer and to retro-fit more units in the coming years. By equipping its fleet of 450 trucks with the E-Mixer technology, Firth could reduce annual diesel consumption by about 2 million litres, thereby reducing CO2 emissions by 5,400 tonnes annually. The E-Mixer trial reduces CO2 emissions by retro-fitting an electric mixer bowl to existing diesel trucks.
Truck & Driver | 3
NEWS
Awards success for Rotorua innovators The successful Mills-Tui team at the Rotorua Business Awards, (from second left to right) Chris Roberts (Purchasing Manager), Jonah Blaymires (Eastgate Branch Manager), Carey Purves (Administration/Owner), Dean Purves (Managing Director), Todd Picken (Operations Manager) and Jeff Miller (Engineering Manager). Michelle Cutelli Photography
TWO ROTORUA TRANSPORT INDUSTRY COMPANIES achieved success at the recent Tompkins Wake Rotorua Business Awards. Organised by the Rotorua Business Chamber and held Saturday November 4 at the Energy Events Centre, the awards night recognises the achievements of Rotorua businesses and innovators. The winner of the Scion – Innovation and Technology category was SI Lodec for its ongoing development of heavy transport weighing technologies. In making the Innovation and Technology award, the judges said; “SI Lodec New Zealand is on a remarkable journey and has steadily grown under the guidance of General Manager Shaun Morse and the ongoing
The SI Lodec team on awards night (left to right) Glenn Morse, Heath Lamont, Joyce Tabutol, Dougan Hart,Tonya Hart, Shaun Morse, Kent Walker and Alan Parsons with Brent Whibley (Patchell Group CEO) and Ian Patchell (Managing Director). 4 | Truck & Driver
support of the Patchell Group. “With a vision to become New Zealand’s leader in Heavy Transport Weigh solutions, the company has a strong focus on innovation, quality management and people. “Continuously seeking out cutting-edge solutions to enhance its offerings, SI Lodec’s use of 3D printing, CNC routers, and real-time technology, is redefining the industry. “Their pioneering efforts are underscored by a dedication to seamless customer experiences.” The other well-known Rotorua company celebrating success at the awards was Mills-Tui. The trailer and truck body manufacturer claimed the Pukeroa Oruawhata Holdings – Primary Manufacturing & Building award. It was the new Mills-Tui production facility and its efforts in reducing carbon emissions that resonated with the judges. They said: “Operating in Rotorua for over 50 years, Mills-Tui employ more than 30 people across two sites, including a new purpose-built workshop at East Gate. “Purchased by Dean and Carey-Lee Purves in 2018, the company has continued its legacy of servicing the timber, construction and fire and emergency sectors with specialised transport engineering. “Mills-Tui are fully focused on delivering outstanding solutions and follow-up services, and contributing to the local community. “They have uplifted developed innovations that embrace new technologies and help clients reduce their carbon footprint. Mills-Tui are an exciting example of heavy manufacturing that is successfully transitioning to a new environment.” The Rotorua Business awards have run for more than 20 years to highlight the innovation and creativity of the region’s business sector.
YOUR HAMMAR. YOUR WAY
HAMMAR 195:
+ Versatile – PrecisionLeg™ for optimal stabilising + Light – low tare + Strong – 36-tonne Safe Working Load (SWL) or 40-tonne option + Stable – legs extend for firm base and transfer + Weighing – by each crane or total + High lift – ideal for stacking option + Reach – long outreach cranes + Ease – crane/stabiliser side-by-side design + Safety+™ – computer monitored handling as std + SDS – Hammar Soft-Drive System + Flex – Trailer or Truckmounted
HAMMAR 110:
+ Fast – new SledgeLeg™ technology, 50% faster + Narrow – SledgeLeg™ use for confined spaces + Light – from 8.4-tonne tare + Safe – optimal crane geometry + Reach – long outreach cranes + Weighing – by each crane or total + Strong – 36-tonne Safe Working Load (SWL) + Stable – legs extend for firm base and transfer + High lift – ideal for stacking option + Ease – crane/stabiliser side-by-side design + Safety+™ – computer monitored handling as std + SDS – Hammar Soft-Drive System + Flex – Trailer or Truckmounted
HAMMAR 130:
+ Versatile – handles two 20’ containers or one 40’ container via 3 cranes + Unique – middle crane folds into chassis to accommodate a single 40’ + Sliding – for maximum payload with a single 20’ option + Light – only 7.5 tonne tare + Strong – 16-tonne Safe Working Load (SWL) + Stable – legs extend for firm base and transfer + Reach – long outreach cranes + Ease – crane/stabiliser side-by-side design + SDS – Hammar Soft-Drive System + Flex – Trailer or Truckmounted
Every freight delivery is different, so our three high-performance HAMMAR models are designed for your needs. Each HAMMAR is constructed from premium grade steel from Swedish and NZ components, to be stable, strong, fast and built to last. Designed for easy operation, service and maintenance in mind. You cannot buy a better sideloader. With more than 45 years experience in sideloaders and a reputation for quality of manufacturing and service, HAMMAR sets the standard.
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TD33397
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NEWS Decking is now in place on the Taparahi bridge and Waka Kotahi NZTA says it will open before December 20.
Coromandel connection open for Christmas THE STATE HIGHWAY 25A LINK ACROSS THE Coromandel Peninsula is expected to be restored and open in time for Christmas. The road between Kōpū and Hikuai was closed on January 27 due to multiple slips caused by ex-Tropical Cyclone Hale that washed away a large section of the highway. Repairs were originally estimated to take 12-14 months, but progress on the new 124- metre Taparahi bridge which spans the damaged section of highway remains ahead of schedule with the decking now complete. Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency Regional Manager of Infrastructure Delivery for Waikato/Bay of Plenty, Jo Wilton says the route will re-open by 20 December 2023. “Our team has done an amazing job, not only constructing the new bridge in record time, but at the same time we’ve invested an additional $25m to enable multiple crews to clear slips, replace the original undersized culvert, and undertake crucial road maintenance work along the rest of the length of SH25A to ensure the whole corridor is up to scratch, safe and more resilient,” she says.
How the SH25A slip looked back in March this year. “Getting this maintenance work completed now also means we can avoid 6 | Truck & Driver
further work and disruption for drivers during the busy summer period.” Ms Wilton says while there is still a lot of work to do to finish the bridge by Christmas, getting traffic across as soon as possible has always been the aim for Waka Kotahi. “We’re thrilled to be able to announce that the two sides of the Coromandel Peninsula will be reconnected once again in time for the summer holidays, with traffic able to cross the SH25A bridge by 20 December. “We know how difficult the highway closure has been on local families, businesses, schools and communities and the impact it’s had on visitors to the region. That’s why, along with our builders, McConnell Dowell and Fulton Hogan JV, we’ve pulled out all the stops to deliver the fastest and most resilient solution for the Coromandel. “With the build beginning in June, getting it open in less than seven months is a huge achievement given a bridge of this type would normally take 12 to 14 months to construct. “We’ve built the bridge in record time by accelerating our work programme, with teams working 24 hour shifts both onsite and offsite at Eastbridge in Napier, where the steel girders were manufactured. “In addition, we used a bridge design we already had and repurposed steel plates which had been purchased for the Minden bridge on Tauranga’s Takitimu North Link project, meaning we didn’t have a lengthy wait for steel to come in from overseas.” With finishing works still ongoing, the bridge will open under traffic management at a reduced speed. The project team will be completing drainage and planting, so the project won’t be fully complete for a few more months. This work won’t require the road to be closed, though traffic management will be required from time to time. The cost of the bridge, once everything is finished, is expected to be approximately $43m, under the $50m estimate. “We’d like to thank everyone who is working so hard to get this bridge open by Christmas and our special thanks to the Coromandel community for their patience and support. We know it’s been a tough year and we hope this new bridge is the gift that helps get the Peninsula back on its feet,” Ms Wilton says.
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NEWS The MAN diesel-powered PistenBully 800 snow grooming machine has also been designed for the new hydrogen combustion engine.
MAN explores hydrogen combustion MAN ENGINES HAS DEVELOPED A HYDROGEN combustion engine based on its 15-litre D3876 diesel powerplant. Initial applications are expected to include agricultural and off-road machinery with MAN working alongside Kässbohrer Off-Road Vehicles which has designed its new PistenBully 800 snow grooming machine taking into account the space and packaging required for future introduction of the MAN H4576 hydrogen combustion engine. The newly developed MAN H4576 hydrogen combustion engine is based on the proven D3876 diesel engine with an impressive output of 500hp (368kW). Engine displacement has been increased from 15.3-litres to 16.8-litres with an increase in bore from 138mm to145 mm, while the stroke remains unchanged at 176mm. The increased displacement is necessary due to the lower power density of The MAN H4576 hydrogen combustion engine debuted at the Agritechnica trade show in Hanover in November.
8 | Truck & Driver
hydrogen engines in order to achieve the target power. Significant modifications were made to the components for hydrogen supply and combustion, the engine control system and the exhaust gas control system. However the hydrogen engine shares about 80% of its basic components including crankcase, crankshaft, connecting rods as well as the cooling and oil circuits including pumps, oil pan and filter with the D3876. The almost identical dimensions of the two combustion engines make it easier for machine manufacturers to integrate them into existing vehicle concepts. “Hydrogen combustion engines are a promising approach to accelerate the decarbonisation of off-road drives. As soon as the market is ready, MAN Engines will offer tailor-made solutions,” says Mikael Lindner, Head of MAN Engines. The hydrogen supply of the MAN H4576 comprises the system of new low-pressure lines and a rail, which supply the injector with the required hydrogen. Precise pressure control is used to dose the hydrogen demand to ensure efficient combustion and optimally supply the engine with the fuel. The hydrogen injector is used for low-pressure direct injection with an injection pressure of up to 40 bar. It is mounted directly in the combustion chamber for higher performance and better engine response. The specially tuned ignition system takes these properties into account and enables reliable and controlled spark ignition of the hydrogen mixture. Among other things, the specially designed engine control unit controls the supply of hydrogen and air, regulates injection and ignition, and continuously adjusts the engine parameters to enable safe and efficient combustion. Compared to the diesel engine, the hydrogen combustion engine requires new pistons and liners, as the piston diameter has been increased to 145mm. With 500hp (368kW), the resulting higher displacement achieves a similar performance to that of the 12.4-litre MAN D2676 diesel engine. The only relevant emissions that occur as potential by-products of H2 combustion and could end up in the exhaust gas to a significant extent are nitrogen oxides (NOx). In order to reduce this to almost zero, MAN Engines relies on an advanced combustion process and an established exhaust gas aftertreatment system to meet the EU Stage V and Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) emission standards. MAN Engines has applied its extensive experience in hydrogen engine
NEWS
technology and know-how in the field of gas engines during the development of the H4576. As early as 1996, MAN presented a SL 202 city bus powered by a natural gas engine that had been modified for hydrogen operation. “We started early on to deal with environmentally friendly drives. We are still benefiting from this pioneering role in technology today,” says Werner Kübler, Head of Engineering at MAN Engines.
The MAN H4576 engine also shows that hydrogen does not have to be used exclusively as the only fuel. It has been designed as a dual-fuel engine and can be used in combination with conventional diesel or alternative fuels such as HVO. MAN Engines is also developing a stationary hydrogen engine – the MAN H3268 – for combined heat and power generation.
NEWS
SuperTyre makes big Auckland move Above right: The new SuperTyre supercentre has opened in Manukau City.
Left top Managing director Dayne Drummond (left) with SuperTyre team members.
Left bottom: SuperTyre uses new-tech solutions to manage the tyre needs of commercial fleets. SUPERTYRE IS GOING LARGE IN THE AUCKLAND region, with the November opening of its new supercentre in Manukau to support the growth in demand from its commercial customers. The Kiwi-owned business has a successful network of branches around New Zealand, with Auckland’s potential driving the new custom-built supercentre. “Here at SuperTyre we’re focused on shaking up the tyre industry,” says Managing Director Dayne Drummond. “With our technology integration, we’re able to deliver commercial customers a unique market solution. Providing a state-of-the art service centre for all tyre and tech requirements in Manukau is just an extension of this service.” Alongside all the leading tyre brands, SuperTyre’s tech solutions provide its customers the ability to identify and reduce unwanted costs for their fleets. With more and more customers looking to reduce fixed costs, SuperTyre’s ServiceMax and S5i options simply make sense.
The S5i service is the SuperTyre fully integrated and data-led fleet solution to streamline response and service times through vehicle GPS data. This results in optimised servicing, resulting in minimal vehicle downtime. “The real cost of running your fleet is becoming so transparent, and we’re leading the charge in this area”, Drummond says. SuperTyre was launched in 2011 as an alternative to the global industry players, delivering direct to market tyre solutions which has evolved over the years into a technology-led operation. “The insights and savings we can now provide our customers is truly blowing them away, and it’s a great yardstick for where the whole transport industry is heading,” Dayne says. The new Auckland supercentre location is at 5 Glasgow St, Manukau and joins the other SuperTyre branches at Hornby (Christchurch), Richmond (Nelson) and Riverlands (Blenheim).
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NEWS
Daimler doubles down on EVs Above: Four Rizon electric models are set to go on sale in the United States.
Bottom: The Freightliner eM2 is a class 6 and 7 entry into the electric truck market.
TD33984
ON
DAIMLER TRUCK IS BUILDING ITS EV MODEL portfolio for North America with the introduction of new medium-duty models. Set to compete in the class 4 and 5 segments of the US market are four new models from Rizon, the ninth and newest brand of Daimler Truck AG. The Rizon models are US variants of the latest Fuso eCanter, and with full homologation now achieved in the United States, sales are set to begin nationwide. The four model variants – the e18L, e18M, e16L, and the e16M – are ideally suited to urban and last-mile deliveries and routes of up to 240km per day (for the L variant with three battery packs). They support a versatile mix of configurations that include box trucks, flatbeds, stake beds, refrigerated, and other body types. Rizon recently received both Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certification and dual CARB Executive Orders and is in full compliance with the U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. The first vehicles are being delivered through the Velocity EV dealer network in California. With the vehicle certification via CARB Executive Orders, customers in California can take advantage of a $60,000 baseline incentive per vehicle through the California Air Resource Board’s (CARB) Hybrid and Zero-emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP). Daimler’s other EV move is the start of series production for the Freightliner eM2, a battery electric class 6 and 7 medium-duty truck designed for pick-up and delivery applications. The eM2 is being manufactured at the Daimler Truck North America (DTNA) truck manufacturing plant in Portland, Oregon with the first production units destined for truck leasing partners in the USA and Canada. The eM2 is built on the well-established Freightliner M2 106 Plus platform and follows the introduction of the Class 8 battery electric Freightliner eCascadia in 2022, thereby extending CO2-neutral transportation to the medium-duty segment. “The start of production for this versatile truck marks another important milestone on our journey to a zero-emissions product line,” said Rakesh
Aneja, head of eMobility at DTNA. The eM2 features a proprietary, fully integrated, battery electric Detroit ePowertrain which places electric motors and a 2-speed transmission directly on the drive axles. The driving range varies based on the two battery capacity options for the eM2. The class 6 single-motor model provides up to 190 continuous horsepower, a 194kWh battery, and a typical range of 290km on a single charge. The class 7 dual-motor variant offers up to 255 continuous horsepower, supported by a 291kWh battery, providing a typical range of 400km on a single charge. Thanks to its proprietary battery side impact protection and the Detroit Assurance suite of safety systems, the eM2 upholds DTNA’s high safety standards. Standard safety features include Active Brake Assist 5 (ABA5), Tailgate Warning, Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) down to 0kph, Lane Departure Warning, Intelligent High-Beams, Automatic Wipers/ Headlamps, and Side Guard Assist. The eM2 is further enhanced by Detroit Connect, a state-of-the-art connected vehicle solution that facilitates real-time monitoring of battery health, charging status, and energy usage. This connectivity enables efficient route planning, energy optimization, and post-trip data analysis to improve overall energy efficiency.
Truck & Driver | 13
NEWS
Vertu takes over Sitrak distribution THE SITRAK (FORMERLY Sinotruk) brand has a new distributor and boosted warranty coverage. Vertu Transport (part of the Vertu Equipment group) becomes the New Zealand distributor for the Sitrak range of 540hp C7H Series heavy-duty and 330hp T5G Series mediumduty trucks. Vertu Equipment is the sole dealer for SANY construction equipment in New Zealand, Pacific Islands and Victoria, Australia. With branches throughout New Zealand, Vertu Transport is establishing a comprehensive after sales network across its existing Vertu branch network. The first major initiative by Vertu Transport is the introduction of a 5-year/600,000km key components factory warranty. This warranty underscores Vertu Transport’s commitment to delivering quality and durability to its customers. In China Sitrak trucks account for 20% of the country’s truck production and the current models have been developed in a joint venture with MAN. The trucks use top-tier OEM
components from suppliers including ZF transmissions, Wabco braking, Bosch electronics and Valeo clutch components. The Sinotruk brand launched in New Zealand in late-2016 with the brand achieving its best performance of 107 registrations in 2019. More recently sales have steadied with 51 units in 2020, 48 in 2021, 53 last year and dipping to 16 in the first 10 months of 2023. The 540hp C7H Series is the flagship of the Sitrak range.
Dunedin opens show year THE 2024 TRUCK SHOW CALENDAR begins with the Dunedin Truck Show on Saturday January 27. With local firm Reilly’s Towage & Salvage confirmed as the naming rights sponsor, the annual Dunedin show takes place at the Mosgiel A&P Showgrounds in Dukes Rd. “Reilly’s are looking forward to showing
the transport industry their recently built Freightliner along with other recovery vehicles,” says show organiser Stan Mason. In addition to Reilly’s, other sponsors to confirm their support include Diesel Transport, Penske, Dunedin Trucks, TWL, Southpac Trucks, Advantage Tyre Solutions, Skivington’s, CTS, Truck Stops and CVC.
The Reilly’s Towage & Salvage Dunedin Truck Show takes place on January 24.t
14 | Truck & Driver
“We are going with 28 categories this year,” Stan says. “Last year’s winner A & L Coombes will be sponsoring the `King Rig’ award this year. That’s a first for us getting last years’ winner to come up with the `King Rig’ prize and A & L Coombes tell us they’ve got something very special to enter, so we are looking forward to that. “Alex McLellan, Hugh Tait and Mark McNelly will be judging the show with Mark being the MC on the day,” Stan says. After a Covid-19 postponement in 2022, the 2023 truck show attracted a 48-strong turnout of modern and classic trucks. Prizes were awarded in more than 25 categories along with the sought after Sponsor’s Choice award. The truck show has the additional appeal of being held in conjunction with the annual Taieri A&P Show, meaning a wide range of other attractions can be viewed at the showgrounds. Trucks can enter the venue from 7am with the Show & Shine judging starting at 9am and public entry from 10am.
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NEWS
MIMICO takes on Astra trucks AN AGREEMENT FOR MIMICO TO ACQUIRE the distribution rights to AdvanceQuip’s construction equipment sales and support business in New Zealand means a change in the representation of the specialist Astra off-road truck range. Astra’s HD9 and HHD9 off-road vehicles are designed to excel in rugged conditions, providing robust solutions for industries such as mining, forestry, and construction. The acquisition of AdvanceQuip means MIMICO also takes over the distribution rights for the Case Construction heavy machinery brand and the ASV range of Positrac and Skid Steer loaders. In line with this transition, MIMICO will acquire the distribution rights, stock, and select assets from AdvanceQuip for these three brands. A significant number of AdvanceQuip staff will also be integrated into the MIMICO branches across Auckland, Matamata, Paraparaumu, and Christchurch. MIMICO will also be acquiring AdvanceQuip’s existing Gore Facility and support staff, expanding the MIMICO footprint in the Otago/Southland Region. This ensures some continuity and familiar faces for AdvanceQuip customers in this region. This strategic move not only enhances the MIMICO product portfolio but also reflects our commitment to remaining at the forefront of the industrial machinery import industry.
The Astra truck range is built for demanding off-road conditions.
Focus on fleet fitness FLEET FITNESS IS THE THEME OF a new Transport Leaders event being hosted by AutoSense in early 2024. The NZI Transport Leaders Forum takes place at the Due Drop Events Centre in Auckland on February 22. Keynote speakers at the breakfast event include life coach and BBM Founder Dave Letele, motorsport legend and road safety advocate Greg Murphy, and Coda Group CEO Deena Clarkson, to address some key issues in the transport industry. Autosense CEO Charles Dawson says the agenda will traverse some of the key challenges senior transport leaders and their management teams face today: health, safety, and innovation. “The forum will prioritise the crunchy conversations such as creating safe work environments for people in transport, combatting the sedentary nature of the job leading to health issues, and the work-life balance challenges associated with shift work transport and logistics workers face daily,” says Charles.
“We’ve got a fantastic line up of speakers who can draw on their experience in health and wellness, and driver safety. We are also very fortunate to have Deena Clarkson sharing the journey Coda Group is on to implement initiatives to safeguard their people, and supply partners, and share how this has enhanced their employee engagement.” “If transport operators are serious about investing in their people – this is an event not to be missed,” Charles says. Sponsored by NZI, the Creating NZ’s Fittest Fleet Transport Leaders Forum breakfast will be held on Thursday, 22 February, at the Due Drop Events Centre, Manukau, from 7.30am to 10am. Tickets can be purchased at www.autosense. co.nz/transportleaders. Greg Murphy and Deena Clarkson are keynote speakers at the Creating NZ’s Fittest Fleet Transport Leaders Forum in February. Truck & Driver | 17
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Starship showcases efficiency gains
NEWS
Behind the smooth aerodynamics of the Shell Starship 3.0 is a Cummins X-15N running on renewable natural gas. SHELL IS SHOWCASING HEAV Y TRUCK EFFICIENCY and carbon reduction technologies with its third generation Shell Starship research vehicle. Shell Starship 3.0 recently completed a U.S. West Coast demonstration run to once again, showcase the possibilities for efficiency and carbon reduction in commercial road transport. The third generation Starship truck is equipped with a Cummins X15N natural gas engine and powered by renewable natural gas (RNG). It ran a fully loaded trailer on a 1,350km loop through California collecting critical performance data measuring sustainable freight ton efficiency using tonmiles of goods transported per kilogram of CO2 emitted (FTE CO2e). These results were third-party monitored and verified by The North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE), as was done with the first two versions of the Starship demonstrations. Shell Starship 3.0 completed the demonstration run while operating near the maximum permissible gross vehicle weight of 80,000 pounds (36.7t) for a Class 8 truck. Shell Starship 3.0 achieved improvements over the U.S. average for diesel class 8 trucks of 2.54 times better freight ton efficiency (FTE) assessed on a ton-miles per gallon basis and 3.23 times better FTE assessed on a ton-miles per kg of CO2e emitted basis. The Cummins X15N natural gas engine powered by RNG emits less CO2 than a diesel engine and further confirms to fleets the potential for different engine and fuel options to reduce CO2 emissions. RNG is a natural gas transportation fuel that can be derived from organic waste and is interchangeable with Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) in transport vehicles. “Shell Starship 3.0 demonstrates the power of innovation by incorporating a new natural gas engine complimented by today’s available technologies to help reduce emissions in the road transport industry,” says Dr. Selda Gunsel, President of Shell Global Solutions and VP Fuels and Lubricants Technology. “Industry collaboration is critical in helping fleets achieve their sustainability goals.” Similar to its predecessors, the truck also included components and features that optimise weight and aerodynamic drag, and features low
rolling resistance tires. Shell Starship 3.0 operated using a low-viscosity Shell Rotella natural gas engine oil and Shell Spirax transmission and axle oils. Low-viscosity lubricants require less energy to move throughout the engine while still providing the protection, efficiency, and performance needed in harsh operating environments. “Each Starship generation shows our current and future customers that we are leading the effort to empower fleets with real-world data that will help guide their decisions to help reduce emissions,” says Tom Mueller, General Manager of Shell Commercial Road Transport Lubricants. “Shell Starship is a proving ground of how working together across the industry can lead the way to more sustainable solutions.” Since its start in 2018, the Starship initiative has showcased that innovation and collaboration throughout the transport industry can lead to exceptional results. Collaboration with Cummins for the driveline technology, Bridgestone for high quality tires and Trillium (part of the Love’s family of companies) for renewable natural gas, was vital to the success of the latest Starship. As Shell works to bring innovation and energy solutions across the transport industry, Shell Starship will continue to collaborate across the industry to push the boundaries of what is possible for a lower carbon future in fleets.
Truck & Driver | 19
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NEWS The first JCB Pothole Pro is now being demonstrated to potential New Zealand customers.
WITH POTHOLES CONSISTENTLY IN THE HEADLINES the answer to many road repairs could be as easy as JCB. The new machine developed by JCB Construction – which can slash the time and labour required to make pothole repairs – is now available in New Zealand. The first example of the pioneering JCB Pothole Pro machine has arrived for demonstration to potential roading contractor customers. The Pothole Pro was launched in early 2021 after successful trials with several shires and councils in the UK. The machine combines all conventional excavator tasks – digging, trenching, loading, and lifting – to cut, crop and clean potholes before adding new asphalt. It’s up to six times faster compared to repairs completed by two manual labourers (8 minutes per pothole compared to approximately 50 minutes for two workers) and delivers consistently higher quality results than manual repairs. Repairing potholes in a fraction of the time and cost of current manual labour methods should mean fewer orange road cones and fewer frustrated motorists. And it improves safety by minimising the time and number of workers being exposed to on-road repairs. JCB Construction Sales Manager, Tony Hennessy, says the Pothole Pro also delivers additional, significant benefits and efficiencies. “One of the great features of the Pothole Pro is that it doesn’t need to be transported to site on the back of another truck or carrier – it can be driven directly to the pothole locations saving even more time and freeing
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up more labour and logistics.” Tests show the Pothole Pro can complete a pothole repair in less than eight minutes – equivalent to up to 250 square metres per day and 700 potholes per month. With a 40km/h travel speed it’s able to rapidly relocate between sites without additional transport costs. The Pothole Pro allows the contractor or local authority to cut the defect, crop the edges and clean the hole with one machine – mechanising jobs traditionally done by pothole gangs and delivering up to a 50% cut in daily costs. The machine features a 600mm wide planer and integrated dust suppression system, enabling the operator to plane a full carriageway from the kerb, without repositioning. The machine also comes with a sweeper/ bucket and hydraulic cropping tool, allowing a uniform hole to be prepared by the operator from the comfort the cab. The JCB Pothole Pro is distributed through Power Farming’s nationwide network of retail branches.
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Truck & Driver | 21
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Latest generation Scania engine technology goes to work in a new G 560 logger for McCarthy Transport.
24 | Truck & Driver
BIG TEST
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Truck & Driver | 25
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Descending under the Makatote Viaduct on the run from Raetihi to National Park. CANIA’S BIG PRODUCT NEWS FOR 2023 IS THE recent launch of its latest generation `Super’ sixcylinder models. A mainstay of the Scania line-up in Europe, the Super models have tended to be overshadowed by the big horsepower of the V8 models for the New Zealand market. But that is changing gradually as an increasing number of fleets turn to the fuel efficiency of the 13-litre six-cylinder – with the trend likely to gather pace as the third generation of the DC13 family finds its place across the Scania line-up. The new Supers officially debuted here in early October but there have been a handful of trucks arrive earlier and go to work. That includes the first three G 560s from an order of seven loggers for McCarthy Transport. The 560hp engine is the fourth – and premium – tier of new DC13 performance with 420, 460 and 500 options also being available. Working in tandem with the latest G33CM transmission – which is lighter than its predecessor with reduced internal friction – the new Super range is designed primarily to deliver an 8-10% fuel consumption improvement over the previous generation and meet the latest Euro 6 emissions standard. Originally ordered as earlier generation 540 models, McCarthy’s new G 560s have a mid-range job description in the company’s log cartage operation. Previously trucks in the 500hp range have typically worked with 4-axle trailers, but the 560-horsepower output and high torque of the new six-cylinder have gone to work with a 5-axle, 54-tonne HPMV combination, something more usually covered by
McCarthy’s 600hp trucks. The Scania marque is now playing a more significant role for McCarthys. “We have had a pretty good run with the Scania product since we started putting them back in the fleet after a long gap,” says Operations Manager Matt McCarthy. He says the company ran a couple of Scanias during the 1980s but since 2012 it has purchased 49 of the Swedish trucks. “As a group we will soon be running 42 Scanias, ranging from 480hp up to a single 770,” Matt says. It’s not only the product that has prompted McCarthy’s purchasing decision. “Thinking back to late-2011 when started dealing with CablePrice, the same four guys we first dealt with are currently all in the mix with various roles at Scania NZ,” Matt says. Of the first three G 560s, two are based at Masterton while the example featured in this NZ Truck & Driver Big Test works out of Whanganui. The 8x4 works with one of McCarthy’s in-house built `step-deck’ 5-axle trailers which has recently been refurbished after seven years of service. It’s a typical McCarthy build with Brolube automated lubrication, Alucar bolsters and ROR axles on the trailer. The new truck and refurbed trailer are working on a 54-tonne HPMV permit. The modern Scania exterior design is smartly dressed in McCarthy’s familiar red with silver graphics and light blue chassis paint. The painting is completed at the factory. “Stu from Autostripes based in Whanganui does all our sign writing,” says Matt. Truck & Driver | 27
“He is pretty passionate about what he does and good to work with given the different models of truck we throw at him to do.” Our driver for the Big Test is Horima “Boy” Potaka and we are very much on his home territory when making a run north from Whanganui through to Taupo. Boy was born in Taihape but has a long association with the Whanganui region. He’s lived in Raetihi and Whanganui and in several locations along the river. During our run up the Paraparas he points out stock yards his father built and the house where his great grandmother was born.
28 | Truck & Driver
From left: The McCarthy G 560 is built to Scania’s XT specification... Modern cab layout includes 7.0-inch infotainment screen and multi-function steering wheel... TRT Traction Air system is fitted... Slim pillars help with excellent visibility.
“I grew up with the old man coming up and down this road and looking forward to doing it myself,” Boy says. “My dad mostly did truck driving and a bit of farming. And he drove a bulldozer for a while when they were building the new part of State Highway 1 between Mangaweka and Utiku. “He drove a lot of stock trucks in the late `sixties and `early seventies – Commers and Bedfords, Nissan Diesels and Fiats. Later on, he drove Internationals, Mercedes and Kenworths, and most of all he loved his Macks.” Our test route is also of interest to Boy because it’s the first time
he’s driven the new Scania G 560 loaded up the full Paraparas stretch of State Highway 4. The new truck had been on the road two-and-a-half months at the time of the Big Test and so far, it’s worked mainly on carting logs to the New Plymouth and Wellington ports New Plymouth and Wellington ports and a few trips to Taupo up State Highway 1. Our destination is Tenon Clearwood at Taupo and begins with a 40-minute `trailer-up’ run north from Whanganui to Otamoa Rd, where several blocks of forestry are nearing the end of a harvest cycle.
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Loading the first packet of 5.0-metre logs onto the Scania at the Otamoa Rd skid site just off State Highway 4.
Scania’s latest six-cylinder is paired with a new 14-speed transmission. Boy says he’s a relative newcomer to driving logging trucks and joined McCarthys three-and-a-half years ago. He began his truck driving career in 2005. “I’ve done four years on log work. Before that I’ve done fertiliser spreaders, bulk trucks, milk tankers and curtain siders but I should have done it [logging] long ago. I love the back roads and the steep hills out in the bush, it’s a bit more of a challenge,” he says. “We get to go to Taupo and Rotorua and to the ports in New Plymouth and Wellington as well as work around Masterton some of the time. “There’s plenty of variety in where we go which keeps it interesting. You get to see some amazing places and some days it’s like you’re a paid tourist.” He says he also enjoys the strong sense of camaraderie he has discovered across the timber industry. “All of logging guys look after each other, the drivers from the different companies and the logging crews.” His logging work began in a Mack Trident followed by a Mack 30 | Truck & Driver
Granite and a Kenworth K108 before moving into a Scania R 620 for about 15 months and clocking up 159,000km. “This truck [the G 560] was a bit of a surprise for me, and it was like a bonus. I thought I was taking the truck I was on [the R 620] up to 900,000km.” The early morning `trailer up’ run is comfortable and puts the focus on the quietness of the new powertrain. This G560 has a 3.52:1 rear axle ratio and with an 0.8:1 overdriven top gear it’s only using 1250rpm at 90kph and Boy says it’s happy to shift into overdrive as soon as it reaches 75kph on any flat stretch of highway. When the truck was unloaded it pulled away from stationary shifting up two gears at a time with no compromise of its smoothness. Once we have turned off SH4 and onto Otamoa Rd it’s only a short 3km run into the skid site. But it’s a steep and narrow climb in places with a number of tight corners and during our steady 20kph run Boy spots a couple of deer not far from the road enjoying the early morning sunshine.
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Horima `Boy’ Potaka is loving a switch to logging work after driving fertiliser spreaders, bulk trucks and milk tankers.
It’s 6.50am on stunning springtime day but Boy says the weather had been bad the previous week and access to the site had been tricky. With no space to turn at the skid site Boy has to reverse the Scania up the final few hundred metres where the mud has been covered in fresh rock since the rain. The trailer is lifted off and the forestry crew works efficiently to load three packets of 5.0-metre timber, checking with Boy on the radio as the scales begin to read close to the 54-tonne permit. It’s in this offroad terrain that Boy has discovered one of the most useful features of the G 560. It’s the Load Transfer system that allows the load to be adjusted between the drive axles, with up to 75% being able to be directed to the first of the bogie axles from a switch on the dash. He says the combination of using Load Transfer and the TRT Traction Air tyre pressure control system provides excellent traction in the muddiest conditions. “One place I used it the Kenworth ahead of me got stuck and then another one behind me got stuck as well. I didn’t want to say anything smart until I used it a few more times,” Boy says. It’s careful progress on the return to the highway in fourth gear using about 1650rpm and on the fifth stage of the powerful R4700D retarder to hold 12-14kph. On the steepest descent it’s time for third gear and the truck slows to 11kph and the tachometer nudges 2000rpm. Boy does two chain checks exiting the forest and then raises the Traction Air pressures from 45psi to 90psi as we turn left onto Highway 4 and begin the run towards Raetihi. The scales read 53,250kg and the highway ahead is a demanding
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mix of short and steep climbs, longer gradients and tight corners plus a number of single lane road works sites controlled by traffic lights. “I really enjoy this trip, but we only come up here a few times,” Boy says. Whether it’s moving away from the traffic lights on an incline in second gear, climbing the steeper hills or following the twists and turns of the tighter sections the engine and transmission seem very well matched. And Boy says the trailer follows the truck through the tighter corners very well. The torquey 13-litre six cylinder never feels like it’s working very hard and when you study the power and torque graphs of the 560hp version it’s little surprise to discover the two lines meet at just below 1400rpm - with the rise of the power curve starting to ease and the torque curve just beginning to dip. On the climbs the new G33CM transmission finds a gear that lets it deliver that smooth 1400rpm response and the majority of the 2800Nm of torque. It feels unstressed and the refined shift quality is impressive. “The two things I really like about this truck are the comfort and the automatic. It’s also very quiet and the visibility is really good,” Boy says. Boys explains he usually shifts manually [from a right-hand steering column stalk] to hold a gear in the slower and tighter sections, but only because he knows what’s ahead around the next few corners where the auto might occasionally make an unnecessary shift. “I prefer an auto, but I don’t mind driving a manual,” Boy says. “But if I get a choice, I’ll take an auto now because they are so good these days.”
Driver’s side of the cab features an external storage locker…. Graphics on the McCarthy G 560 are done by Autostripes in Whanganui.
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Five-axle McCarthy built trailer allows the Scania to work on a 54-tonne HPMV permit.
“I do like to use cruise control on the main roads and also in the 50kph and 70kph areas.” With V8 experience in an R 620 immediately prior to driving the G 560, Boy says there is very little performance difference. He says the six-cylinder performs very well. “The 620 was also 54 tonnes with a 5-axle trailer, so it’s a fair comparison,” he says. “It’s not lacking performance. The other day I was climbing at the same speed as a K200. But then all of a sudden, a new [Scania] 770 comes along and passes both of us.” It’s not the steepest section of the Paraparas but the stretch known as Houghton’s Hill is perhaps the longest climb and the G 560 sheds a bit of momentum and then settles at between 22-24kph in seventh gear using just under 1500rpm. Later in the journey on the Hatepe Hill – between Bulli Point and Waitahanui on SH1 – most of the climb is completed in ninth gear at 35kph, again using the muscular torque available at 1400rpm. There’s a short section before the road levels off again where Boy shifts to eighth gear and the speedo dips to about 30kph. As we near the end of the trip I ask Boy about some of the other details of the G 560. The truck has a normal height/day cab configuration with a narrow bunk area which Scania calls `resting equipment’ for short breaks. It’s not fitted with a mattress, making it more of an interior storage space than a place to catch a nap. Boy says there is a little more room in the R model cab, but he likes the G driving position which is slightly lower. The cab offers the modern Euro truck design features with easy-touse controls, clear digital instruments, a 7-inch touchscreen display and steering wheel controls for the phone and audio system on the left side and to scroll through the display options on the right-hand side.
Early starts on late-winter mornings has given Boy a chance to test the Scania’s LED lights (equipped with auto high beam). “I’ve done a bit of driving at night with a few 2am starts. The headlights are awesome. “I’m not sure why, but I prefer to use the lower lights which are next to the grille rather than the top lights.” Boy does miss one feature of the R 620 which he’s left behind in the move to the G 560. The bigger truck had two exterior storage lockers while the G cab only has one on the driver’s side which Boy uses for his hard hat, wet weather boots and rain gear. “I’d like to have one on the passenger side so I could keep the toolbox in it,” he says. The main reason of course that Scania has put so much development into the third generation DC13 engine and the new transmissions is the never-ending search for better fuel economy and lower emissions. As we approach Taupo, Boy scrolls through the trip computer and gets me to note down the figures. The truck had travelled 28,828km since new and used 13,452.7 litres of fuel to deliver an average of 2.14km per litre. It’s worth mentioning alongside that figure that the truck hasn’t worked the 50% loaded, 50% unloaded ratio typical of most loggers. Once unloaded at Tenon, Boy was headed back to pick up a load of wind throw logs from north of Turangi to take through to the Karioi mill before heading home. Summing up his early experience in the new G 560, Boy says: “It’s an easy truck to drive. It’s the best truck I’ve driven so far – they just keep making them better and better.” And what would his father thought of leading-edge Euro truck technology in 2023? “He’d have thought it was just marvellous,” Boy says with a smile. Truck & Driver | 35
Traton Group, Scania’s parent company, says the new 13-litre engine is a bridge between diesel and electric powertrain technology.
S
CANIA’S NEW GENERATION 13-LITRE SIX-CYLINDER DC13 engine has taken on another name and a larger global significance since it was announced in 2021. The high-efficiency Euro 6 engine is touted as the first – and also last – jointly deployed large diesel engine for the Volkswagen-owned Traton Group. Under the designation CBE (Common Base Engine) the 13-litre is following up its role powering Scania models with an impending introduction into the Navistar model range, followed by MAN trucks from 2024. And from 2028 it will also be adopted by Traton’s VW Caminhoes e Onibus operation in Brazil. Traton has signalled the CBE will be the last new diesel engine it develops from scratch for heavy-duty trucks. By 2026 the company will have invested Euro2.6 billion in the research and development of battery electric powertrains. It says the CBE represents a “final lap of honour” for the diesel engine and will be a “bridge technology” for Traton Group heavy-duty trucks while EVs continue to be developed. “But the move away from combustion engines in the transportation industry will not happen overnight at the press of a button,” says Michael Cunningham, Head of Conventional Powertrain at Traton. “Some countries are making faster progress with the charging infrastructure for e-trucks than others.” Geographic differences will see electric mobility likely to grow quickly in some densely populated industrial areas as the infrastructure expands. But, in developing countries alternative powertrains are up against a variety of obstacles. “Our new group engine will put us in a very strong position in all these markets and applications in the years to come,” says Cunningham. “The engine is also particularly efficient and produces low levels of pollutant emissions. It is a global engine that has been developed from a collaboration across three continents. All the brands involved have contributed their expertise, their traditions and their pride, without losing sight of the industrial logic of the project. “It will be the last diesel engine platform developed completely from scratch,” says Cunningham.
“We will adapt it in the future to meet customers’ requirements. But our main focus now is on zero-emission commercial vehicles. The synergies from the use of the group engine will enable us to invest more in alternative electric powertrains.” Development of the CBE began at Scania in 2012, long before Traton brought all the brands together under one umbrella. MAN became involved in 2015 with recent contributions also being made by Navistar in the USA and VWCO in Brazil. The key technologies of the 13-litre engine include dual overhead camshafts, four-valves per cylinder and Scania’s Twin-SCR exhaust treatment. Initially, the new engine is being produced with four output levels for Euro 6 –420, 460, 500 and 560 horsepower – with all four now available in New Zealand across Scania’s G, P, R and S model ranges. Scania says the new engine and accompanying technologies represent its biggest launch since the introduction of the new truck generation in 2016. “Developing a new engine platform of this magnitude is a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity for most engine platform engineers,” says chief engineer Magnus Henrikson, who led the five-year development process. Henrikson says the team was tasked with developing an engine platform based on Scania’s low-rev philosophy, capable of exceeding all coming regulations and dealing successfully with all potential competition for the rest of this decade. “In my humble view we have accomplished that goal,” he says. “We knew from the beginning that dual overhead camshafts (DOHC) in combination with four-valve cylinder head technology and SCR-only was a requisite.” “With the DOHC solution in place, we were able to develop the optional Compression Release Brake system to the expected performance level. And precise valve control from overhead cams is also a must for the advanced Scania Twin-SCR system with dual dosing of urea.” Scania says there has been no carry-over from the earlier engine. Key features include a 23:1 compression ratio, new injectors, optimised fuel pump and new crankshaft designed for low weight and high durability. Truck & Driver | 37
L
Above: The new 13-litre DC13 engine (left) and its Twin-SCR exhaust treatment system (right).
Bottom: International will be the second Traton brand to use the new engine. Navistar market it as the S13 Integrated Powertrain and have just started production at the Huntsville, Alabama engine plant. Carefully tuned inlets and outlets combine with an optimised turbo and manifold design. Scania says peak pressure inside the cylinders at their combustion stroke is now 250-bar to achieve a highly efficient usage of the energy in the fuel. Typically, high output internal combustion engines with high combustion pressures and temperatures result in unacceptable NOx levels. “Our Scania Twin-SCR system, first introduced on the new V8 in 2020, takes care of this very effectively,” says Henrikson. “By injecting a first dose of AdBlue in the close-coupled position to the turbocharger, immediately after the Exhaust Brake Flap where the exhaust gases are still very hot, we dramatically increase the total efficiency of the aftertreatment system,” he says. “The second dose is then injected in the usual position inside the aftertreatment system. But by then the task is easier since the peak NOx level has already been reduced. The particulate filter, which is positioned between the two SCR catalysts, is regenerated without postinjecting extra fuel to the exhaust system. “All-in-all the Scania Twin-SCR system is a clever way to make the best possible use of the energy in the exhaust stream.” Scania says the new `one-box’ aftertreatment system has a compact design that can be mounted in three standard positions with different outlet positions to suit a variety of bodies. “We believe the new aftertreatment system with the Scania Twin-SCR solution is of great interest for our industry,” says Henrikson. “It brings increased efficiency to Scania’s internal combustion engines and ensures that they are compliant with – or even exceed – current and expected emission legislations around the world, for the foreseeable future.” Other features of the new engines are optimised lubrication using ultra-thin long-life oils and on-demand auxiliary systems to reduce friction and parasitic losses. “Everything is geared towards the lowest possible friction, with polished surfaces and fine-tuned fittings inside the engines,” says Henrikson. The new engine is an extension of Scania’s successful low-rev philosophy. With the new range, Scania is taking this even further by
38 | Truck & Driver
introducing a new rear axle with eight gearing options; the tallest being 1.95:1. The truck will normally try to run in 12th gear though, since that is the direct gear and offers the least transmission losses. The overdriven 13th gear is only engaged when the conditions are favourable. This also means that the truck will probably do more shifting than some drivers are used to, in order to optimise the fuel savings. “The introduction of the new Scania Opticruise last year opened up new possibilities for us,” says Henrikson. “It has a wider spread, with a direct 12th gear and a true overdrive gear on top, which means that we are able to lower the engine revs at cruising speed a bit further.” There are two variants of the new Opticruise transmission – the G33CM for heavy-duty trucks and the G25CM, designed for lighter operations. Both will be offered with the new engine depending on the power output and vehicle applications. The G33CM, is some 60kg lighter than the previous generation Opticruise due to all-aluminium housings and smaller dimensions. Another key achievement is lowered noise, a prerequisite for meeting legal demands. As well as the CBE designation and Scania’s DC13 nomenclature, the new 13-litre engine is being branded as the International S13 Integrated Powertrain — composed of the S13 Engine, T14 Transmission, and Dual Stage Aftertreatment system. Production of the new engine for Navistar models began mid-August at the Huntsville, Alabama Powertrain Manufacturing Plant where a 10,220 square metre expansion has recently been completed to support the production of the new S13 Integrated Powertrain components. With the addition, the now 38,000sqm facility has transitioned from a single assembly line to two – one for the T14 Transmission and one for the S13 Engine – along with the incorporation of three major machining lines. In tune with the Traton sentiment, the S13 Integrated Powertrain marks the final combustion product platform that Navistar will develop as the company also transitions towards zero-emissions vehicles.
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N NEW ZEALAND THE SCANIA MARQUE is best known for its 16-litre V8 engines and big horsepower ratings. But that is gradually changing. Scania’s new Super range with its new 13-litre six-cylinder engine range is another step in that direction. Last month we were hosted at the Hampton Downs race circuit by the Scania team for the official launch of this new engine platform and the new gearbox which accompanies it. It was a nice introduction and a first taste of the new Super, but you can only do so much on a racetrack with a cab chassis. Fast forward a month and we are putting this new engine through its paces with the McCarthy Transport team.
40 | Truck & Driver
This month’s Big Test sees us aboard a new G 560 (you can get any cab with this engine platform) logger running on a 54 tonne permit. We load just north of Whanganui from a skid site on the west side of SH4 and head for Taupo. I get my chance behind the wheel at Raetihi and run the truck through to Turangi. The Scania interior isn’t anything new and that’s a good thing. The Swedish brand is well known for both its driver comfort and the tidy layout of instruments and controls. The G cab comes with all those familiar comforts and conveniences and across the modern Scania cab range the functions and switchgear are largely standardised and swapping from model to model isn’t difficult.
Hayden Woolston Once I’m set up, I select Drive in the new Opticruise equipped AMT and my first impression of the 560hp engine the smooth way it pulls away from stationary and the relaxed acceleration to get almost 54 tonnes up and running to the open road speed limit with ease.
The vision from the driver’s seat is very good helped by the slim pillars and excellent mirrors and I like how the dash slopes away, giving some added forward vision. The run north on Highway 4 and then across Highway 47 towards Turangi is some of the best country driving in New Zealand with the National Park landscapes a bonus with that excellent vision from the cab. The driveability of this truck is also very nice with the steering being weighted nicely and it’s easy to position the truck on the road with the 5-axle trailer faithfully following the truck lines. The noise levels inside the cab – the engine note as well as road and wind noise – rank among the best I have experienced. The transmission has an impressive shift quality and when manual control is preferred it’s a simple nudge with the right hand steering column stalk. {CHECK] Another feature I really like on modern Scania models is the powerful engine brake.
The five-stage R4700D retarder in right on point and I barely need to use the service brake and it’s only on a couple of occasions where I need to use the fifth stage. Even on the steep descent from the Lake Rotoaira towards Turangi it confidently holds the truck – which is impressive considering our 53.25t combined weight. By the time I hand the truck back over to Boy at Turangi I’ve become very impressed with Scania’s latest six-cylinder engine generation. It may be a little understated compared to those Scania models we get really excited about – the ones with badges that begin with a `6’ or `7’ and that distinctive V8 engine note – but the 560hp Super quietly goes about its work in a very refined style. It actually leaves you with a little trace of internal conflict. While your heart might still favour V8 power your head has a lot of arguments in favour of the six-cylinder choice.
• SPECIFICATIONS • Scania G 560 B8x4NA Engine: Scania DC13 173 in-line six-cylinder (2-stage SCR Euro 6) Capacity: 12.74 litres Maximum Power: 537kW (412kW) at 1800rpm Maximum Torque: 2800Nm (2065 lb-ft) at 900-1400rpm Fuel capacity: Diesel 510 litres, AdBlue 80 litres Transmission: Scania Opticruise G33CM 14-speed automated manual Ratios: Crawl Low – 13.26 Crawl High -10.63 1st – 9.15 2nd – 7.33 3rd – 5.81 4th – 4.66 5th – 3.75 6th – 3.01 7th – 2.44 8th – 1.96 9th – 1.55 10th – 1.24 11th – 1.00 12th – 0.80 Reverse – 11.93 Final Drive ratio: 3.52:1 Front axle: 2 x 7500kg rating Rear axles: RB835 tandem drive with differential lock (21,000kg max axle loading) Brakes: Disc with ABS/EBS Auxiliary brakes: Scania R4700D 5-stage retarder. Front suspension: 3 x 29 parabolic leaf springs with stabiliser bar Rear suspension: 8 bellow electronic control air suspension GVM: 36,000kg GCM: 100,000kg
Truck & Driver | 41
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Political panel discussion was a highlight of the Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand annual conference with representatives from all the major parties.
Ready to get cracking to fix transport problems T
by Dom Kalasih Interim Chief Executive Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand
HERE MAY HAVE BEEN NO IMMEDIATE action from the government following the election – New Zealand’s MMP electoral system means it takes a little while for the exact make-up of the new government to be announced – however, in the meantime, Transporting New Zealand has been flat out working on issues that affect our members. We’re very much looking forward to working together with the new government to get cracking on fixing the transport problems our members have been telling us that impact them the most. In the months prior to the election, we developed the Election Platform 2023 showing our position on key transport areas. We also had one-on-one meetings with ACT’s Simon Court and National’s Simeon Brown and we held the panel discussion at our annual conference with representatives from all the major parties. Therefore, we are pretty familiar with the plans and views of the respective parties. We made it clear earlier that in principle we backed the
transport-related parts of the National Party’s 100 Day Action Plan, which was released before the election. Similarly, we were pleased to hear during our discussions with Simon Court that ACT were thinking of more innovative ways to fund roading. National says its Transport for the Future programme “will cut congestion, provide more low emission transport options in support of our climate change goals, and create a more productive and resilient transport network that drives economic growth to boost incomes and unlock land for thousands of houses.” Transport for the Future includes building more Roads of National Significance, better public transport, and rebuilding regions and improving resilience. We all know that highway infrastructure has been suffering from chronic under-investment, and every day we hear from road transport operators concerned by the poor state of New Zealand’s roads. We support the creation of a National Infrastructure Agency and the need to build a resilient road network. Long-term, we Truck & Driver | 43
Driving the economy
also support a return to building more Roads of National Significance. Transporting New Zealand is also behind taking a pragmatic, evidencebased approach to setting speed limits around the country. Instead, we have seen a one-size-fits-all approach and this has led to nonsensical speed limits on safe, open roads. Pre-election, National was adamant it would repeal the Land Transport Rule, Setting of Speed Limits 2022. This rule underpins many of the changes that are getting underway now and is creating a massive amount of work and expense for local authorities, not to mention the heavy demand it imposes on road users like us and the AA during the consultation phases. Stopping this change will be a significant relief and a good win for our sector. As has happened for years, over time the road transport industry A pioneer in the field of fatigue management, Rachel Lehen from Fit for Duty will be greatly missed.
and the market place have adjusted pay, which has led to fairer working conditions, so I don’t believe we were on the radar for direct intervention under the Fair Pay Agreements Act, however we were also supportive of National’s plans to repeal this legislation. In addition, National is pledging to remove the clean car discount and fees for higher emitting vehicles and bring in road user charges for EVs after next March. Simeon Brown says National plans to eventually fund all roads through per kilometre charges. It’s inevitable that the discount will disappear at some stage, and funding for roads and other infrastructure has to come from somewhere – and I think it would be wise to explore alternative funding sources. At the same time, the environment and climate change are major factors that will continue to have a major impact on the country, so the new government will need to take account of those. One positive factor is new technology and the benefits it is already bringing to the transport industry and the wider community. That all sounds good in theory – let’s hope the new government can follow through with real action. I can assure you we will be holding them to account on their promises. The announcement that the annual inflation rate for the September quarter fell to 5.6 per cent is welcome news for consumers and businesses, however increasing fuel costs due to international upheavals could put more upward pressures on costs for businesses and families. Unfortunately, there are still significant cost pressures affecting the transport sector, with costs increasing by 7.1 per cent in the September quarter alone. We’re going to see significant pressure on freight costs, which our members have no choice but to pass onto their customers. Fuel is the second highest cost element for our members after wages. It is essential the incoming government helps to keep a lid on sector costs, including freezing road user charges (RUC) and fuel excise duty (FED). I close on a sad note, acknowledging the passing of Rachel Lehen, from Fit for Duty. Rachel was an expert in sleep and fatigue and had been involved with many heavy transport safety initiatives. I worked with her on projects in my current role and prior to joining here. Rachel was the Project Lead in a trial we are undertaking with livestock drivers, using leading edge technology that includes a cognitive performance assessment of the driver. This was internationally leading work and Rachel and I were scheduled to present a paper at an international conference on this trial. I will make the presentation alone but it won’t be as good without her. Rachel’s levels of drive, passion, leadership, and commitment to making change and improve road safety and the wellbeing of drivers was extraordinary. On top of that she was a really neat, genuine person. Rachel has left a real legacy and may she rest in peace.
Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand’s team is available to asist our members around New Zealand Ia Ara Aotearoa – Transporting New Zealand PO Box 1778, Wellington 04 472 3877 info@transporting.nz
Dom Kalasih, Interim Chief Executive 04 471 8285 • 027 441 4309 Dom@transporting.nz Vicki Harris, Membership Adviser 027 534 3848
www.transporting.nz 44 | Truck & Driver
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A team of GIB handlers gets started on a delivery of the plasterboard to yet another high-density residential development in Auckland.
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One of the company’s bulk units get another load of GIB board, destined for a building supplies outlet or a distribution centre. ON THE FACE OF IT, IT’S JUST ANOTHER TRUCKLOAD OF building materials being delivered to just another new house….yep, in just another new Auckland residential subdivision. But what’s happening here at this two-storey future house (that’s so far just a weatherproof shell) – set in the midst of hundreds of others springing up on a steep, north-facing hillside in Massey, West Auckland – is actually pretty damn different. Maybe even unique. On the one hand, even on a frustratingly changeable Auckland spring day – raining one minute, sunny the next – this is just one of the 60 to 90 GIB board building site deliveries scheduled for the day (as usual) by Onehunga-based transport operator CV Compton. This one amounts to four pallets of the wallboard, brought to the site by one of CVC’s fleet of 26 trucks dedicated to site deliveries of GIB. Remarkably, it’s a job the family-owned company has been doing for more than four decades. But here’s the thing: On this delivery, like many of the company’s jobs for Winstone Wallboards – and distinctly UNLIKE many other building material site deliveries – the product is not simply being craned-off onto the front of the site. In fact, CVC takes great pride in the fact that its service even goes beyond door-to-door delivery: Teams of men manually unload and hand-carry the GIB to wherever the builder wants it – yes, even upstairs. And yes again: Even if that has to be up three or four flights of stairs! Here, for instance, a team of six methodically unloads these 300 or so sheets of plasterboard – two lifting them off the flat deck fourwheeler Isuzu and carrying them into a downstairs room – mostly working individually (except on the longest sheets), toting two sheets at a time…. Inside, they hand them to one of the next two handlers – responsible for carrying the sheets halfway up the stairs to the first floor….
Where the GIB is hoisted up and over a balustrade by two more men, who distribute it around the upstairs rooms – stacking it in three spots (to spread the weight). Once the upstairs supply’s in place, all hands switch to unloading the rest of the wallboard – placing it in stacks downstairs. In around an hour all-up, they’re done. Where to next for this truck and the van-load of GIB handlers provides an insight into the creativity and thoughtfulness of the people running CV Compton. The truck is heading back to CVC’s Albany satellite depot – which has its own wallboard store. It’s one of three trucks based at the site, set up around 2017, specifically so trucks servicing North Shore and the fast-growing northwestern edge of Auckland don’t have to beat their way to and from Winstone Wallboard’s DC – through the city’s notorious, time-wasting traffic congestion – to get another load. The GIB-toting labourers are off to their next delivery in their van….which is in the colours of WRKS Ltd. That’s a labour hire company set up by CVC eight years back – primarily to secure the workers it needs for its labour-intensive manual GIB deliveries. The labour demands make this a very different niche within the road transport industry. Operations manager Brent Compton comes up with figures that say it all: “We’ve got 100-odd guys doing GIB board…but we’ve only got 20 trucks on it.” The kind of clever thinking that created WRKS has helped CVC grow from a one-truck, two-man operation into a diverse transportbased business, taking-in four complementary companies with around 240 staff and 110-plus trucks – ranging from the small flat decks doing the GIB site deliveries, to heavy machinery transporters, crane trucks…even curtainsiders. Sadly, the man who got all this started, company founder Brian Compton, died suddenly in 1985 – just three years into CVC’s existence. Even so, Colleen Compton believes that its success is still very Truck & Driver | 49
Right: One of the company’s biggest site delivery units delivers a pallet of GIB to the ninth floor of a new commercial building, courtesy of its Palfinger PK53002 crane - capable of lifting 300kgs at 32 metres. Above: When company founder Brian Compton died in 1985, his wife Colleen (second from right) and children (from left to right) Tom, Brent and Jodi decided to “have a go” at keeping the company running. Left: Brian Compton had seen great potential in the trucking industry for almost three decades before he found the right opportunity.
much along the lines of what her husband envisaged, 41 years ago: “He set the foundations…he could see where we could go. We wouldn’t have been where we are without him.” Not that Brian’s vision and enthusiasm for this new venture were shared at the time by Colleen and second son Brent: They were both vitally involved in CV Compton from the outset….but only reluctantly! Their lack of enthusiasm, Brent explains between bouts of laughter, was down to Brian’s history as an ideas man…always “lots of ideas.” But not all of them good ideas! “Dad, he liked to get into different things, you know. He’d try anything once. Most things he had a challenging time with….” More laughter. Brian’s eye for an opportunity first took him from working as a qualified diesel mechanic in hometown Gisborne, to buying a truck with a mate and moving “up the Coast” to cart metal for his future father-in-law. 50 | Truck & Driver
Not long after marrying Colleen in 1959, he quit the truck and bought a dairy farm near Te Awamutu. They ran that for 10 years – Brian satisfying a love of trucks by buying an old TK Bedford to cart hay and milk. In between his farm duties, he also managed to get in a bit of truck driving in town, delivering milk. And when they sold up and moved into Te Awamutu, Brian went back to work as a mechanic….and drove part-time for a local carrier. Then, in 1979 or ‘80 – with Brent and older brother Tom already at school in Auckland and daughter Jodi due to do likewise – Brian and Colleen moved to Auckland…Brian buying an Avondale milk run. “Yep,” says Brent with a resigned laugh, “that was another thing we got dragged into!” That came and went – followed by a factory job….then a return to trucking, with a 4x2 TK Bedford, carrying general freight between Auckland and Hamilton. There was just one snag, Brent reckons – laughing again: “He had
trouble trying to get his Goods Service Licence…and he ended up talking to the law a few times.” Colleen confirms it: “A cop used to be waiting for him….. and Brian would come sailing along and he’d get stopped.” Not just once – but time and time again, with Brian repeatedly promising he’d get it sorted. Eventually, he got the licence – and “that put a big smile on the face of the cop on the hill,” Colleen reckons. That venture too soon passed – but Brian still saw potential in the trucking industry. The boys, now out of school, were not interested: Tom was happy in his job in NZ Forest Products’ laboratory…. And Brent? “No way! No way…I was going farming mate – that was me. I was out of here.” He got a job on a Waikato farm. But in 1982, in the leadup to the birth of CV Compton Ltd, he left himself vulnerable to getting dragged into Brian’s next good idea – because his farm work “kind of dried up.
“Dad saw this truck advertised – so he thought: ‘Oh this is an opportunity to get back into trucks again.’ The only problem was… you needed a driver and an offsider… “So that’s when he rung me and says: ‘Look, you’re doing nothing down there – get your arse back to Auckland.’ ” So he reluctantly headed north, to join Brian in checking out this 4x4 1974 TK Bedford and its work. The 4WD was unusual…..but essential for its fulltime work – getting in and out of building sites, delivering GIB board for Winstone Wallboards. “I got up to Auckland and Dad says: ‘What do you reckon – you want to give it a go?’ I said ‘no – not really!’ “He says ‘well, let’s go and have a look anyway.’ So what he wanted me to do was go to the transport company selling the truck and go for a ride for the day…see what it was like.” Brian, meantime, would meet with the bloke selling the business (on behalf of a trucking company being liquidated). Truck & Driver | 51
The 26-truck CVC fleet devoted to GIB site deliveries ranges up to the likes of this 2015 Isuzu F Series 8x4. A six-man support crew of GIB handlers will manually carry the GIB to wherever its required in the new building
Brent: “Well, that was the worst day of my life! Oh it was bad… it was bad. It was very physical – and there was no help and no training on how to do anything….” Without the necessary technique, carrying even just one 2.4-metre x 1.2m sheet of GIB at a time was “very awkward…very heavy. “The other guys doing the same work were looking at me thinking ‘oh, this guy ain’t gonna last long! What’d you do wrong to deserve this!’ “I came back from that day and I said to the Old Man, ‘don’t you dare buy that truck.’ ” He explodes with laughter as he recounts Brian’s response: “It’s too late – I already bought it!” (For $13,000 to $16,000, Brent thinks). That day was just as traumatic for Colleen. Brian arrived home from town and announced he’d bought a truck and a business…and started a company! He cheekily added that, “just to make sure you’re stuck with this, the company is CV Compton.” Colleen Valerie Compton was not having it! “I said: ‘You’re joking!’ I nearly had a heart attack!” She demanded he go straight back into town and change the name. “I wasn’t very happy: I don’t think I even cooked tea that night!’ ” she laughs: “I couldn’t believe it. “Well, I sat for a little while and thought about it. We were just in a normal house in Blockhouse Bay – with no office or anything.” There was nowhere to park the truck either – but Brian reckoned he’d just put it in the council reserve next door! At this point Colleen exploded: “I said: ‘Are you for real Brian? Right, you’ve got some work to do! If this is CV Compton Ltd, I want an office – so everything gets cleared.” Brian got the message, she says: “Well, the house was 52 | Truck & Driver
reshuffled” – an office was quickly created. Brent reckons that Colleen putting her foot down – insisting she was having her say in CVC – was “probably the best thing that happened to the whole business. She actually started controlling Dad!” Thus the Comptons joined three or four other contractors delivering GIB to building sites around Auckland. Brent: “So it was me and him.” Despite his misgivings, manhandling the GIB was well within the capabilities of a 21-yearold and his Dad (then 48). “Me being a lot younger, I took a lot of the weight off the old fulla. Mind you, he could do his share, you know.” It was a tough initiation all the same: “There’s a bit of an art” to carrying GIB, he explains: “It’s about getting your balance right and all the rest of it…” The problem was, as he adds, they didn’t have that knowledge – and the truck’s former owner and the other contractors weren’t offering lessons: “They kept the secrets close to their hearts, sort of thing…. So we had to learn by ourselves.” And fast! Each load comprised four to five tonnes of plasterboard (roughly 200 to 250 sheets), with a typical new house lot then running to maybe 90-100 sheets. At least the 4x4 Bedford was good – “because it got you onto the sites…fairly close to the houses. So you didn’t have to hold onto the product for too long.” That initial startup period, he confirms, “hurt the most…. You don’t know what you’re doing.” And there was more pain: “We’d only been going, I dunno, two weeks (if that), when the bloody motor blew up in the truck. “Dad, being a mechanic, knew how to fix the bloody thing. We stripped it down in the driveway at home and rebuilt it. “We had to tell Winstones ‘sorry, we can’t get to work for a week’
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sort of thing.” That was nerve-wracking for Colleen: “I was standing there thinking ‘this can’t be happening!’ ” Once back at work, they soon got into a routine: “We’d start at six in the morning and be home by two. We just got in, did the job, got the hell out of it. Everyone else was still going around at five and six o’clock…to get their loads off. So I thought ‘this is fun. I can handle this!’ ” That’s even though for the first few months, he reckons, “I never got paid for it! If I was lucky I’d get a packet of smokes when he (Brian) filled the truck up with diesel….and in the weekend he’d buy me a box of beer!” One day – six months or more into it – they were delivering GIB to a house when two other contractors’ trucks turned up in the same street. “They were sitting there watching….just seeing how we did it. I was looking at them, thinking: ‘Bastards – you could come over and give us a hand…’ “But anyway, after about 10 minutes, they got out of their trucks and they actually came over and showed us how to carry GIB board properly! “They must have thought to themselves ‘okay, you guys have lasted this long, you’re obviously gonna be here longer than a lot of other people who’ve tried and failed….so we’ll give you a few pointers.’ ” It was a matter of “tricks…little secrets these guys knew. Like just how to pick a sheet up when you’re standing on the back of a truck. “And how to carry it – how to spread the weight, the techniques of balancing it…how you can use the sheet to your advantage just
by getting the momentum going when you want to pass it up a set of stairs. “It’s like anything: Once you get to know it, you’re away. Those few pointers that those guys taught us that day, they went a long way in helping us. “And from there on in, it just went like clockwork, you know.” It was also the beginning of a tight, friendly relationship with the other GIB contractors and their crews, says Brent: “It really is kind of a family thing – that whole business of delivering plasterboard. It is a real niche…makes us a little bit different to most transport companies.” It’s why he initially felt “more of a plasterboard handler than a truck driver.” He just happened to “need a bloody truck to get my plasterboard to the job site…” CVC’s first few years went well – with “Mum in the background – booting our arses…making sure we behaved, and looking after the accounts,” says Brent. And behind Colleen and Brian, providing advice, was Auckland businessman Neil Govenlock – the receiver of the business Brian bought. Brian had asked Neil “to act for him” – and Colleen was very happy to have his advice. In fact, says Brent: “The only person she’d listen to was going to be him….not The Old Man!” In 1984, Brian unearthed another opportunity – buying a Leyland
A team of six GIB handlers, employed by CVC sister company WRKS, make quick work of another house load of GIB
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Clockwise, from top: Mitsubishi 8x4 truck and trailer unit got CVC started on bulk deliveries of GIB around 1993..... this truck launched CVC into a 20-year-plus relationship with Placemakers - which eventually saw it doing all of its Auckland cartage, with a 20-truck fleet...... GIB board delivery trucks back in 1990. Isuzu has long since become the favourite brand for this work.
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Chieftain 4x2 tipper carting metal for Winstone’s quarry in Three Kings. Brent: “It did seem to be a sweet little number. He was as happy as a pork chop – didn’t have to do the GIB! “Unfortunately, about 12 months into it, Dad up and died on us! That was very inconsiderate of him! But anyway – he did.” Tragically, the man who’d manhandled thousands of sheets of plasterboard, died of a heart attack while out for a walk. He was just 51. Family rallied around: Tom, then 24, flew home from his OE. Colleen’s brothers (John and Tom King) “just dropped everything” and drove trucks for a few days to help out. After the funeral, says Colleen, the family decided on CVC’s future: “We all sat down and talked. And that was it – we were going to have a go.” Actually, selling the business hadn’t really been a consideration, she adds: “No, we wouldn’t. This (the company) is Brian.” Brent confesses that initially he had thought: “Oh my God! How am I ‘sposed to run the business! I don’t mind doing the job….but now, shit, we’re gonna have to become business people!” Sure, “driving around with the Old Man for three years – you learn a little bit…” But he still wasn’t up to “doing the paperwork and the money side of it...” He didn’t have to: Tom joined him at CVC, splitting his time between driving and working “on the books” with Mum. Colleen: “And then I had Neil: He’s just the most wonderful guy –
absolutely brilliant. He was behind us all the way.” Sadly, Brian’s death came just before some breakthroughs in the company’s history: He’d already ordered its first new truck – a 4x4 Isuzu FTS. And then CVC got the opportunity to put a second, then a third truck (a D Series Ford and an old Bedford) on the GIB deliveries. Brent says they’d seen the potential for expansion from early on, “but Dad always said: ‘We don’t need to rush – there’ll be plenty of time to grow the business.’ ” Now it was happening. The loss of the tipper work a few years later (when Placemakers bought the quarry business) was a setback….that turned out to be “a good thing,” Tom reckons: Ironically, it was the start of a long association with Placemakers! It began with just one truck, carting for one branch…but that quickly became two trucks, two branches. And then, with an acquisition, three branches…and more trucks. Tom also took on some Placemakers despatch duties – quitting driving to work in CVC’s office fulltime. Brent jokes that this growth happened because Tom didn’t like carrying GIB… “and he didn’t like driving trucks either! So…the only way he was gonna get out of trucks was to grow the business….!” Tom also picked up work carting timber for White Cliffs Sawmills – that adding another Bedford to the fleet. By the late 1980s, with around eight trucks dedicated to Placemakers, CVC was up to 13 trucks. Brent: “We were always looking for different opportunities. And Truck & Driver | 57
Anti-clockwise, from above: Brent Compton worked with Dad Brian from the start of CVC..... brother Tom joining him when Brian died....two FUSO Shogun 8x4s joined the heavily-Isuzu fleet in 2022, delivering GIB and building materials..... Scania 113 got CVC started on heavy haulage work....Kenworth K104 transporter unit was soon added.....Kenworth T904 is part of the current heavy haulage fleet. you know, Winstone’s (work) was continually growing….” In fact, in ’88 it brought more family into the business: Tom and Brent’s uncle, Grant Raroa, and his sons (Tua and Peehi) took over a truck from one of the other GIB contractors. Eventually, Brent says, Winstone decided to have just one contractor do all of its GIB site deliveries: “Because we’d become the biggest one by then, they offered it to us – and part of the deal was to take over the running of the despatch and all that sort of stuff… “So it kind of all went to another level. We were lucky that I knew the GIB side of it, and Tom knew the Placemakers side of it…” Brent credits CVC’s proven capabilities in the niche business of efficiently and safely GIB into buildings won it the ongoing contract. “Everybody could deliver it on a truck and land it outside on the driveway – but builders didn’t want that: They wanted it inside the house. That’s what made it unique to us….we were the only ones in the country doing it.” While the hand-carrying of the GIB continues still, much else has changed with the work over the years – the introduction of longer sheets of wallboard, for example. Brent: “The market wanted a six-metre – and our four-wheeler truck decks weren’t long enough… that’s when the 6x4s came in. “You’re forever changing: The style of houses is changing, so the sites are changing…so the trucks that you were delivering GIB in 20 years are no good today. “We used to have a fleet of 4WD trucks and now I think we’re down to just two. Now we’re running big eightwheelers… “Well, we’ve got small trucks as well. We’ve got a truck for every 58 | Truck & Driver
occasion sort of thing. You’ve got to because nobody wants to carry a sheet of GIB board any further than you have to…” CVC got into another area of Winstone’s work in the early 1990s – acquiring a company doing bulk GIB deliveries to major building supplies outlets in Auckland and Hamilton….and taking over its Mitsubishi 270 8x4 flat deck truck and trailer unit. In all of this expansion, says Brent, “we had a good guidance figure – Neil. Any major decision…we always consulted him. “If Neil said it was good to go, and if there was enough money in the bank to go for it, then just go for it. “Like, we were young enough and still had enough drive in us to push things along.” Neil, formerly a co-owner of one of NZ’s largest chemical companies, says of the Comptons: “I like their style and approach. Their complete honesty – and yep, they’re very nice people. And they work hard.” The best advice he’s given them? “Not to take undue risks. We aren’t gamblers. Always take calculated steps and get a spread amongst your customers. And check…. it pays off…because things can at times be volatile.” In 1993, CVC bought its own depot in Onehunga. It included a workshop – soon leased to Onsite Mechanics, which looked after most of the Compton trucks….and which was eventually bought by the Comptons. In 1994, Jodi joined her brothers in the running of CVC – primarily taking over the admin side, including responsibility for health and safety and compliance. Like Brian, his “kids” love a good opportunity. Brent says they’ve
never wanted “to get into something we didn’t know” – unless, he adds, “there was an opportunity that could fit with us.” Like when they were offered a Scania 113 and a low-loader, and the heavy machinery shifts the unit was doing, they decided: “Oh yeah – something different. We’ll have a bit of a play.’ ” Within three years, they’d added another two heavy transporters, their work boosted by joining Orbit Machinery – a nationwide network of heavy-haulage sub-contractors. They also added crane trucks to the fleet mix, in place of some of their flat deck GIB delivery trucks, “to get the board up into higher levels.” Jodi embraced the move into heavy-haulage by getting her piloting licence – adding another bit of diversity to CVC: “You know, if we’re snowed-under, we just put our books to the side and go out there and support the boys – get the job done…then back to the grind.” In terms of trucks, by then CVC was only buying new – with Isuzu favoured for the GIB delivery trucks and Kenworth or Scania for the heavier-duty applications (along with the odd FUSO or Hino). While the company was originally co-owned by Colleen and Brian, since his death their children have joined her as major shareholders. And in 2004 they created a board of directors, headed by Neil. Brent explains why: “Well you know, we were getting big. And we were responsible for a lot of people’s livelihoods. You know, you’ve gotta take that seriously. That’s some responsibility there.” By the early 2000s, Tom says, CVC’s growth “was really not about going out and finding new customers….just doing more with the ones we had.”
The Placemakers work, for instance, grew to 13 or 14 trucks – plus he was managing a DC for one branch. The heavy-haulage work for Orbit also increased. And the Winstone work too had expanded, partly due to a new transport need – shifting 400 tonnes of bulk GIB daily from the factory in Onehunga to a new DC, three kilometres away. Brent: “Our biggest problem was it was a very repetitive run. How the hell are we gonna keep a driver in there? How are we gonna keep the load secure?” Wairarapa trailer builder Trevor Jackson embraced the challenge – and did “a bloody good job,” Brent says. His solution? Two 2.7m wide quad semi-trailers, behind 8x4 Kenworth T350 tractor units. Brent: “So these trailers, they had big curtains on them – you just push a button and up rolled the curtain. You put the GIB in and they had a centre wall that created a boundary for the GIB to balance up against. And being 2.7 wide, there was plenty of room for the pallets, even if they were crooked – enough room for the curtains to still come down, no problem.” With overweight permits, “we managed to get a 36t payload in these things, so we were running at 54t or 56t. “They were great trailers. They moved a shitload of GIB mate….for 10 years. And then the bloody H permits come along….so we had to take these things off the road.” Since then, CVC has moved to eight or nine HPMV truck and trailer units, carting bulk GIB from the plant to DCs at Manukau, Albany and Hamilton. In 2008, Placemakers decided to go to tender for the transport Truck & Driver | 59
Clockwise, from top left: A monthly drivers’ meeting in progress....CVC achieved ACC Fleet Saver Gold accreditation. Pictured (from left) are: Lesley Bromwich, Jodi Compton, Raewyn Head, an ACC rep, Tom Compton, Colleen Compton and Neil Govenlock.....1992 Hino was one of the company’s first GIB delivery crane trucks....the addition of Placemakers Cook Street’s cartage was a step up for CVC....Kenworth T350 was one of two pioneering high-productivity units on a shuttle run, delivering bulk GIB from the plant to a DC – just 3kms away!...... needs of all 10 of its Auckland branches – and CVC joined forces with Christchurch’s MOVE Logistics in a bid to win the work. Their JV, Unite Logistics, won the contract and, despite “issues” that Tom says dogged the JV itself, it did the Placemakers work for six or seven years – devoting 20 trucks to the job. Then Placemakers decided to create its own transport operation – bringing an end to the Unite relationship. MOVE had by then been bought out by Transport Investments, which thus became CVC’s partner in Unite. Together, says Tom, they filled the gap left by the end of the Placemakers contract with new deals carting steel for three companies and the acquisition of NZL Lumber’s Hamilton operation. About two years ago, CVC bought MOVE out of Unite – and Tom says the 45-truck operation has “ended up a much better business…..so Placemakers did us a big favour. It forced us to diversify….” In 2014, when CVC expanded into a new office over the road from its depot, the extra space allowed another expansion – into creating WRKS, its own labour company. Tom explains: “We decided we weren’t particularly good at hiring and managing labour.” Nor were the labour hire companies 60 | Truck & Driver
they’d been using! Now, of the 115 or so staff currently working on GIB deliveries, 75 are WRKS employees – many recruited from Tonga. As well as training, the company offers its workers a career path to improve their skills – through car and truck driver licences, crane operator tickets and so on. Brent: “We’re great believers in promoting internally. If we can see anybody that’s got a talent…we’ll latch onto that and we’ll take it to the next level…” He reckons that “our labour supply’s great at the moment” – his proof being that he hasn’t been called on to carry a single sheet of GIB or drive a truck all year! “And I tell ya mate, this time last year I was driving a truck for three bloody months!” He believes it’s because “we have created a fairly enjoyable bloody environment for everybody: There’s a lot of teamwork goes on around here. If you don’t like working with a team of guys, this ain’t the place for you….” The team concept is borne out in trucks too. The crane trucks have sleeper cabs, with seats and seatbelts in place of bunks – able to carry two or three GIB handlers: “So the Hiab puts it up through
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Clockwise, from top: GIB, GIB and more GIB – three company site delivery trucks load up.....three of the heavy haul units – a Kenworth 2002 T904, a 2018 Scania R620 and a 1999 W900B, loaded and ready to roll from the Auckland waterfront. a window and the labourers pull it off and stack it on the floor. That service is what the customers want – so that’s what we’re here to provide!” In the quest to “do this bloody thing smarter,” CVC uses HPMV truck and trailer units wherever possible to cart GIB to multiple work sites in booming satellite suburbs: “We can get three to four house lots on these things at once…and save having all these little trucks driving up and down the motorway.” Currently there is another challenge to be dealt with in CVC’s heavy-haulage division, which takes in all the larger bulk GIB units, the heavy transporters, crane trucks and “odd bits and pieces” (totalling about 30 trucks). Brent explains: “We’re going through a big change at the moment, with the Winstone GIB plant in Auckland closing down and production coming out of its new Tauranga plant instead. So GIB will be coming up to Auckland from there. “So of our nine trucks that we had doing that (bulk GIB from the Auckland factory to the DCs), we’ve got work for three or four of them. So at the moment we’re looking for stuff for the other five. “We’re a pretty cautious sort of bunch. We like to be able to do it right, you know. We don’t want to be getting out there and saying you can do something…and you can’t do it. There’s nothing worse than that.” Neil says CVC is well positioned to meet the challenge – “the group is well-funded, the people are well regarded and, you know, it
has a good reputation.” Jodi’s bullish: “It’s exciting times….another opportunity. Okay, what else can we do? We’ve done it once already – when the Placemakers work went away. That was tough – very tough.” A couple of Gen3 Comptons are now working in the business. Brent’s sons BJ and Scott driving trucks (a Kenworth heavy-haulage unit and an 8x4 crane truck respectively), while daughter Lisa runs the Waikato office. But Brent, Tom and Jodi shrug off the need for a succession plan right now. Brent: “I’ve got no intention of getting out!” Tom: “We’re at a size now where we can continue to go forward and not be too affected by what our opposition’s doing. “We’re excited about the growth opportunities that we see – maybe even more so for Unite. It’s growing faster than CVC at the moment.” Jodi feels responsible for their 220-plus employees: “You know, they need to take home a pay packet every week….. But hey, that’s a challenge we feel up to. We’re hungry for it. There’s so much out there to do – so much to achieve. It’s great.” A proud Colleen believes that all of Brian’s ideas and business ventures were just a prelude to the real deal: “His earlier businesses? They were okay – nothing like this. His big thing in the end was the GIB. “To me it was like Brian was getting ready for this.” Truck & Driver | 63
LEGENDS
Paying it forward Pyramid Trucking - Paul Chappel
W
ITH OVER THREE DECADES OF EXPERIENCE, PAUL Chappel from Pyramid Trucking certainly knows a lot about the road transport industry. Not only does his company have a keen eye on social responsibility but Paul himself is committed to paying it forward to future generations of truckers via the industry associations – that’s why he’s this month’s Southpac Legend. Although he spent a short OE stint in Australia after leaving school, Paul’s parents owned a transport company, Chappel Carriers, and so it seemed inevitable that he would venture into the industry. “My family was in it first and so I wanted to be a driver from a young age,” says Paul. “And as soon as I was old enough to get a HT, I was into it.” He says that his parents’ business actually started out as hide and skin buyers but couldn’t get anyone to take the hides to the tanneries, so they bought a truck and started from there. Paul joined the family
64 | Truck & Driver
business immediately upon his return from Australia, starting off with the smaller trucks before moving up to drive their Fodens. He recalls; “Those 4000 series Fodens worked great for us and in those days, we ran about six full units of hides and skins a night into Napier, they had about the right amount of horsepower and comfort.” Paul says that he worked in his parent’s business for around three years before it was sold. It was then that Paul set up a business with his brother Glen, who stayed in it for a few years before Glen selling out and going into another line of business. “So, I didn’t go with the original business when it was sold,” Paul says, “And ended up buying the business back off the people they sold it to a few years later.” Paul says that Pyramid Trucking (a name that stemmed from the belief of having a solid base and being lean up top) started in 1995.
“The first owned truck came in `96 but we actually started in August 1995, they gave us a loan for the first six months,” recalls Paul. “We started off with just one truck, a 1996 FLD Freightliner. It was a refrigerated curtainsider as was carting sheep intestines (casings).” It may sound a bit gruesome to some, but according to Paul nearly everybody eats them because they get made into sausage skins.’ From there the business began to grow. “We pretty much stayed on our [first customer] for about 12 months or so and then some of the other older customers that had dealt with me in the previous company weren’t happy, so when they got new work, they asked me to price it,” says Paul. From there, the company that his parents had sold to, asked Paul if he’d be interested in buying it back. “It was because by-products just don’t blend so well with general freight, so it wasn’t working out,” says Paul. While busily building and running the Pyramid business, Paul also got heavily involved with National Road Carriers (NRC). “I was on the board there for about 13 years, spent one year as Vice President, three as President and three as Chairman of Owner Carriers Association of NZ, which is NRC and New Zealand Trucking Association,” says Paul. He is clear about his motivation too, saying that being a member and seeing the benefits that you get from being a member, he just wanted to give back.
“I mean the people that do this [go on the NRC and other association boards] donate their time and I think everybody should at least have a go if and when their circumstances allow. If they’re working off the efforts of people before them to make it easier for us on the way through, I think everybody should play their part somewhere,” he says. Paul recalls numerous ‘memorable moments’ during his tenure. Of note though, he says that amalgamating what was the former Region 1 from the RTA, into the NRC, was one of the highlights. “I was very proud of the way both boards interacted. There were some very mature conversations and realisations. There was no ego at the table. It was actually quite good to be involved with,” Paul says. “It was a collective board, there were groups on both sides and some of those from the former Region 1 went on to become presidents and life members of NRC, so it just shows the ability to work together for a common goal.” He adds that before that happened, he was involved in the truck protest era against the previous Labour government. “That was certainly an interesting time. That must have been 2008, at the end of Helen Clark’s reign,” says Paul. “The country was getting agitated; customers were getting beaten and there was just nobody happy. The economy wasn’t going great. I guess something snapped and the road user charges were put up overnight without warning after repeated promises that it wouldn’t. So, the industry worked fantastically together all across the country and it was a very successful protest.” Paul says he hopes he’s never involved in one [a protest] again because he expects the government to listen should the situation be serious enough. However, he also believes that the industry is not having an easy ride right now. “It’s a tough time for the industry right now and I think we’re in for a very tough 12 months ahead, so keeping our head down and concentrating on the job in front of us is needed,” Paul says. “There’s a lot of head wind. Every aspect of our industry in the supply chain has struggled in the past to get labour. That is certainly easing but with easing comes a loss of turnover as well. It’s pretty plain, we’re an export driven country and unless our exporters are winning... we can’t win if they’re losing.”
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Despite things being tough, Paul still enjoys the industry, the people, and the fact that he gets to move around the country and deal with various types of industries. Adding that there are plenty of people that have helped him along the way. “I couldn’t name them all. And that’s the good thing about it, this industry helps each other wherever possible, and that’s why I recommend those who can afford the time to get involved in the industry, even if it’s one of the committee’s, go along and contribute your time, you’ll get the benefit back in spades,” he says. “And that goes right across this industry, from having our great staff, we’ve got a lot of long-term staff which is really good, to long term suppliers. I’m still dealing with the same suppliers that we dealt with when we started and even before that with my parents’ company.” Pyramid Trucking’s fleet has grown to around 25-30 trucks, with most of them being Paccar products, a flow on from the Chappel Carriers days. “I’ve had a couple of trucks painted in those [Chappel Carrier] colours. They were buying Paccar – Fodens and the like – and I’m still dealing with the same company, Southpac. Our fleet is predominantly Paccar products, Kenworth, and DAF with some Western Stars and an International for specific jobs.” He says that Southpac and Fruehauf have been good service providers to them, including great back up “and when things are tough, they look after us the best they can, and we appreciate it.” Paul believes that there is a good sense of loyalty in the trucking industry and is involved with a good network of carriers that help each other through the peaks and troughs. Another interesting time was COVID. “COVID was horrible. You think about the poor drivers crossing over getting swab tests done every time they crossed the boundary lines. It’s not good for people’s mental health and well-being and I hope we never have to see anything like that again.” On the matter of drivers, Paul says Pyramid does its part in bringing new drivers to the industry. “We try to take on apprentices for truck driving when we can. We’ve got class 2’s, 4’s and 5s, everybody’s got to do their part to bring them through. Some move about the place [after] for different life circumstances and some of them have gone on to be just amazing drivers and managers for us and other companies. They keep in touch all the time.” Paul feels that there are areas where the industry as a whole is improving, or maybe needs too.
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“Compliance is taking up a huge amount of time and effort, and it’s pleasing to see the possibility of things like permits becoming a lot easier to manage. The guys are heavily under the gun, they get a little thing wrong, and the guy could lose 28 days,” says Paul. “Twenty-five years ago, a guy came to work, hopped in a truck, and delivered the stuff. Now he’s got all these things that he’s got to worry about, before the truck moves.” He goes on to add, “Right now we’ve got a high R&M because the roads are in such disarray. There’s just cost after cost mounted on it.” As for the future, both his and the business, Paul says that things are pretty flexible. His daughter is still coming through the schooling system, and he hasn’t really asked her what she wants to do with regards to any particular part of the business (if any). “We’re just reviewing the operation and we’re looking at opportunities to expand at the moment,” he says. “We’ve been fortunate to have good loyal customers and suppliers, which has helped us get through, and we take the good and the bad times with them.” When not working, Paul manages to do a bit of boating and travelling, plus he says he’s got a lot of mates in the transport industry, so spends time with them. “I am also refurbishing the first new Kenworth I ever bought new at Pyramid – a 2003 K104. It’s 20-years old now. I’ve been told by a few of the old boys in the industry, it’s time to follow them around in those classic trucks.” Paul says that he’s looking forward to it being finished, hopefully in time for the Southpac Kenworth 100 show in February. Paul ends by reiterating his sentiments about being involved in the associations. “People might say that they don’t have time to do it, but you have to make the time. Everybody that’s doing it has been busy or has thought they’ve been too busy to do it but you’re not only helping your own industry, but you’re also helping your own business and your own personal development. “You might not even agree with everybody on the respective boards but you’re learning the whole time, and you can make a difference. So, as long as you feel you are contributing and learning at the same time it’s a win for the industry and it’s a win for yourself,” he says.
WOW WHAT A YEAR!
The team at Kraft would like to thank all our customers and suppliers for your support this year. We really appreciate it!
All the best for 2024 and have a fantastic Christmas and New Year. Kraft Engineering Limited 5 Wikaraka Street, Ngongotaha, Rotorua | Phone: +64 77 357 4597
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FEATURE
By: Colin Smith SINCE 1954 WHEN JAPAN’S MOTOR INDUSTRY WAS JUST beginning to build its momentum, the Tokyo Motor Show was – either annually or biennially – ranked among the world’s largest and most important automotive industry events. That all stopped when Covid-19 cancelled the 2021 event. Like many events since the pandemic, the show has re-invented itself. The new name `Japan Mobility Show’ brings a wider focus to all things transportation and also underscores that `motor’ is no longer an all-encompassing description for the varied and rapidly evolving powertrain technologies.
But this remains first and foremost a car show with plenty of exciting concepts, future models and fresh products to wow the crowds which flocked to the event after a four-year hiatus. Crowded is an appropriate description as New Zealand Truck & Driver attended the show on the first public day. A typically orderly and patient Japanese queue waited on the steps of the venue and then moved as a wave when the doors opened at 10am. JMS organisers say that from the time the press day opened on October 26 to the closing day on November 5, that 1,112,000 visitors attended the show.
The Japan Mobility Show crowds totalled 1.1 million over the 11 days of the event.
Truck & Driver | 69
Above: Queues everywhere – show goers line for a chance to check out the cab of the new Fuso Super Great and the crowd waiting for the doors to open on the first public day of the show. Below: Isuzu had a strong EV focus with its new ELF (N Series) EV on show.
The truck stands were always busy but not quite with the shoulderto-shoulder crush that was required to catch a glimpse of star cars such as the Mazda Iconic SP concept. The `big four’ Japanese truck brands – interestingly presenting on three stands for the first time in 2023 – occupied one end of the main pavilion at the Tokyo Big Sight centre. In common with the elaborate stands of the car makers, the truck displays weren’t jammed with current products. Manufacturers now seem to take a `less is more’ approach to show stands with the emphasis on presenting their latest ideas rather than a full line-up of that can be viewed in most showrooms – and without the crowds of a motor show. The first item of note among the truck displays was that Isuzu and UD Trucks shared floorspace under the Isuzu Group banner. It was
70 | Truck & Driver
the first public display of how the wider Volvo Group is re-positioning the UD brand under the Isuzu umbrella and a preview of greater commonality between models in the years to come. In Tokyo the Isuzu focus was on hydrogen fuel cell and EV technologies while UD had the bigger diesels and an autonomous concept on display. The biggest showpiece was the prototype Isuzu Giga Fuel Cell which is a joint development project calling on Honda’s hydrogen fuel cell expertise which dates back to the late `90s. The Giga Fuel Cell is an 8x4 low deck rigid designed to work at 25t GVM. Honda supplies the solid polymer fuel cell stacks and the 56kg of hydrogen on board – stored at 70MPa pressure – generates the power to drive the 320kW electric motor for an estimated range of 800km with zero emissions.
Driving the Next 100 Years
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Isuzu and Honda began working on the FC joint venture in 2020 and plan to start demonstration testing of a prototype model on public roads in the first quarter of next year. Introduction of a production version to the market is currently forecast for 2027. On the electric side of the Isuzu display was the ELF EV (N Series). This truck was on show as a cab-chassis at the Brisbane Truck Show earlier this year but at JMS it was shown with a box body configuration. As an extension of the ELF EV presentation Isuzu also debuted its EVision Cycle Concept, a battery-swapping solution to extend the utilisation of the ELF EV (and other future EV models). It’s a fully automated drive in-drive out battery swapping station that removes depleted battery packs from the truck and replaces them with freshly charged units. Isuzu has packaged the ELF EV with either two of three of the modular 20kWh battery modules, depending on specification. Charging of batteries separately from the vehicle can reduce wait times and it is possible to reduce both costs and the load on the electric power grid by charging the battery during off-peak periods when electricity rates are lower or when the power load at business sites is low. It also allows for battery sharing among multiple trucks and Isuzu has developed the batteries so they can be used independently of the truck for power supply in times of civil emergency. Isuzu also displayed its new ERGA EV flat floor electric city bus and the sole diesel-powered Isuzu on display was the Japan domestic ELF Mio, a new entry-level ELF variant aimed at the lightest end of the truck market that can be driven with a car license. Since 2017 in Japan that means trucks below 3.5t GVM, rather than 5.0t GVM previously. The ELF Mio has a 1.9-litre four-cylinder diesel developing 88kW and 320Nm of torque matched to an Allison 6-speed automatic transmission. From Top: UD Trucks re-enters the heavy-duty 6x4 tractor segment with the Quon GW 530... Fuso showcased the wider applications for the eCanter and its e-PTO system with a small garbage truck... The sole diesel-powered Isuzu on show was the ELF Mio designed for drivers on a car license... Hino is already testing its Profia Z fuel cell truck developed alongside Toyota.
Truck & Driver | 73
Above: Isuzu EVision Cycle is an automated battery swap solution for the ELF EV.
Right: Front-wheel-drive e-axle is the key component for the Hino Dutro Z model range.
Below: Hino’s electric push is focused on the Dutro Z van and light truck range.
It represents one of the ways that Isuzu is working to broaden the potential pool of drivers in response to chronic driver shortages in Japan brought on by an aging workforce. In contrast big diesels provided the centrepiece of the UD Trucks exhibit. The new Quon GW 530 sees UD Trucks returning to the heavyduty 6x4 tractor segment. The GH13TC 12.8-litre engine develops 530hp and 2600Nm of torque and has the ESCOT-VII 12-speed AMT. UD also put the Thailand-built Quester on show. This 470hp 6x4 Euro 5 truck is popular in emerging markets. Another UD Quon fitted out as a 400hp 6x4 tipper also provided the basis for the Fujin Level 4 autonomous truck which is being trialled in a joint venture between Kobe Steel and UD Trucks. Japan’s construction and manufacturing industries are showing
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particular interest in autonomous technologies as it’s seen as a counter to the nations’ ageing population and serious labour shortages. Across at Fuso the centrepiece was diesel-powered with the premiere of the new generation Super Great (or Shogun for our market). At times the queue for a chance to sit in the cab was estimated at 70 minutes. Painted in a striking deep red and showing off the latest iteration of Fuso’s `Black Belt’ frontal design theme, the new Super Great was shown as a typical Japanese domestic spec 8x4 rigid with side-opening `wing’ body, super high roof cab and extended rear overhang. The new Super Great is the first major redesign of Fuso’s heavy
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Top: Toyota is developing an EV version of the HiAce van (right) while Daihatsu does small with its own special style, introducing the Uniform mini truck (left). Above: Fuso had the major new model truck announcement of the show with its next generation Super Great. truck model since 2017 and will deliver significant improvements in fuel economy, safety, and comfort. Advanced safety technologies include Active Brake Assist 6(ABA 6), the updated frontal collision mitigation system and Active Side Guard Assist2.0, which detects hazards on both sides of the vehicle for turns and lane changes. Power comes from a 12.8-litre twin turbo diesel designated as the6R30. Specs on the show vehicle indicated 290kW (390hp) and 2000Nm output figures along with a 24.9t GVW. A ShiftPilot 12-speed AMT was fitted. The Japan Mobility Show was also a chance to demonstrate the much wider range of applications which the new generation Fuso eCanter can be used for, in particular when its electric PTO is put to work. Fuso showed off eCanter tipper and refuse truck units and was also active in battery swap technology. Fuso has partnered with California’s Ample on a pilot project for battery-swapping electric trucks, using the newest eCanter model equipped with modular batteries that can be automatically exchanged at Ample battery swapping stations. The process that is eventually targeted to take 5 minutes and Fuso says test vehicles will be trialled on public roads this winter in Japan. Fuso has the modular batteries underneath the eCanter while Isuzu has side-mounted batteries for its EVision Cycle initiative. At Hino the focus was again on the idea that future small trucks will be battery electric powered while hydrogen fuel cell technology holds favour as the larger truck solution. 76 | Truck & Driver
The Hino Profia (700 Series) Z FCV is another example of truck and car makers joining forces on fuel cell technology. Hino has called on Toyota’s fuel cell expertise for its Z FCV fuel cell prototype which is a 6x4 rigid designed to work as a 25t unit. Hino’s FCEV is a little further into development than the Isuzu Giga with three units already in field trials with Japanese logistics companies. Hino’s electric focus was on the new Dutro Z EV van and light truck range designed for urban roles with a 150km range. The key design element of the Dutro Z is a front-wheel-drive e-axle (combined electric motor and transmission) which allows for a very space efficient design. Multiple Dutro Z exhibits displayed the new e-axle as well as aluminium box body version with side door and walk-through van configurations. One Dutro Z was fitted with a transparent floor to reveal the packaging of the 40kWh battery and how the powertrain layout makes possible an ultra-low floor height of 400mm. There are always curiosities and surprises at a Japanese motor show. A battery electric Toyota HiAce was on display which suggests Toyota is exploring the idea of a future rival for the growing selection of European and Chinese EV vans. And for those who like smaller-sized treats, Daihatsu launched a new electric mini-truck concept called the Uniform. There was Uniform Cargo small van and a Uniform Truck which was creating considerable interest set-up as a mobile fruit and vege stall.
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FEATURE
The Mystery Creek venue – home of the NZ Agricultural Fieldays – will be packed with Kenworth enthusiasts in the first week of February.
Party planning for Kenworth monster celebration ASK SOUTHPAC TRUCKS CEO MAARTEN DURENT ABOUT THE upcoming Kenworth 100 show and his face lights up. His passion and energy for the event sizzles as he talks about what it means to him to pull together the largest ever single brand truck show. “Kenworth, as a brand, is in the fabric of New Zealand’s trucking industry. Everyone we speak to has a great story, or a memory to share about the big rigs that have ruled our roads for the past 60 years,” Maarten says. “We wanted to find a way to honour that passion and we only had to look at our own Southpac story to find the answer.” The answer Maarten refers to, of course, is the epic Kenworth Gathering of 2014 held at Mt Maunganui. An event hosted by Southpac to celebrate 50 years of Kenworth in New Zealand, it was a record-breaking event that showcased the legendary Southpac hospitality. “No doubt about it,” Maarten says, “it’s been a tough couple of years for the country. What better way to bring some joy to our loyal Kenworth drivers, owners and enthusiasts than to give them an opportunity to celebrate the industry and their favourite gear? “We started to think: if we could put 300 trucks on the ground in Mt Maunganui ten years ago, what might be possible now that people have experienced a single-brand truck show on such a massive scale?” Chatter around the industry has been that those who missed KW50 list it as one of their top regrets. And if registration numbers are anything to go by, people are determined not to miss the 2024 celebration of 100 years of Kenworth worldwide. Set to take place at Mystery Creek Event Centre near Hamilton,
the KW100 show has seen a massive swell of support with over 600 trucks registered so far. This is already a Southern Hemisphere record and if registrations track as predicted, it could very well be a worldwide record for the number of trucks of one brand. General Sales Manager Richard Smart expects the final number of trucks to be as high as 800. “In the three months since registrations opened, we have seen a real rush for people to get their truck on the gate list,” Richard says. The registration list features a number of highlights. Perhaps the most impressive is that there is a truck registered for almost every year of the 60 that Kenworth trucks have been sold in New Zealand. “Starting with the 1964 originals: an 848 and a W924, through to a brand new, not yet registered 2024 Legend W900 – the only years we don’t have a truck for are 1967 through to 1970. We know how much the punters would love to see a truck from each year at the show, The Kenworth 50 event at Mt Maunganui in 2014 saw 300 trucks in attendance. and at the moment there are just four years missing,” Richard says. Registrations are split fairly evenly between conventionals and cabovers. “Kenworth enthusiasts are known to keep a close watch on models and numbers sold. We are thrilled to know that this enthusiasm will be well rewarded at the KW100 show, with almost every model represented. The only two models yet to feature on the registration list are the T359 and the T350.” Truck & Driver | 79
Shannon McEwan of Ryal Bush Transport in Southland, drove his first Kenworth to the North Island for the KW50 celebration in 2014. He is bringing the same truck back for the 2024 event.
Drivers who bring their trucks are in for a fantastic few days. While the event is open to the public on Saturday February 3 from 10:30am to 4:30pm, the schedule has been built to make sure drivers bringing a truck can get the full experience of up to three days. “We want to reward those who bring a truck with a once-in-alifetime unforgettable experience,” says Maarten. “We appreciate the brand loyalty that has built up over the years, and we have put significant resource into achieving this.” Parking opens at 10am on Thursday February 1 and the entire Mystery Creek Event Centre will be given the top-notch Kenworth branding treatment that Southpac Trucks are internationally known for. “We’ve pulled together our tried-and-true team to stand this event up, and I know my people have thought of every detail to really create the magic,” Maarten says. Starting with the driver bag on entry, trucks will be directed to parking in order of arrival. “The Sales Team will be making sure that the spacing is perfect and the layout allows photographers to create great shots. Drivers can expect lots of banter and some good laughs in the The Southpac Trucks organising team checking out the Mystery Creek venue.
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process,” Richard says. Each truck will allow up to two people to enter the venue. “Because of the type of event – numbers, value of trucks, safety – we need to be able to control how many people are coming and going from the site. Driver and passenger will be given special wristbands that will allow them access. “Once inside, they will find a fully equipped bar, food trucks, merchandise and gathering areas. We will provide facilities for those staying in sleeper cab trucks. Security will be tight and the way to be part of these special two days, Thursday and Friday, is to be in a registered truck.” The logistics behind an event of this scope mean that each driver will receive a full set of terms and conditions, and entering the site signifies that these are agreed to. “While we would love to have things so open that it suits every possible person, the reality is that we have to work within set times and safety limits. For example, parking will be Thursday 10am to 9pm, Friday 10am to mid-night. No trucks are permitted to leave the site before 7pm on Saturday,” Richard says. A full set of frequently asked questions can be found at www.spt. co.nz/kw100 Registrations have come in from all around New Zealand, with 50 trucks crossing the Strait from the South Island. For Shannon McEwan of Ryal Bush Transport in Southland, driving his first Kenworth all the way to the North Island for the celebration is an easy choice to make. “Southpac have been fantastic to deal with, and I value the relationship we’ve built over the ten years we’ve been buying Kenworth trucks for our fleet,” Shannon says. “I’m pleased to bring a truck up to support the team. This is a great thing they are doing for the industry and I want to get behind it.” Shannon’s K200 was one of the first to be parked up at the 2014 celebration and he has great memories of the whole event.
General Sales Manager Richard Smart explains preparations to the KW100 celebration.
The northern-most registration so far, is that of Kerikeri Water Supplies’ James Kiff who is bringing his 1974 W925 from Waipapa. “I’m looking forward to the trip down, and as an ex-logger from Taupo, it will be great to re-connect with those Central North Island drivers. I’m meeting my brother down there and we’re making a full weekend of it,” says James. Some large fleet registrations are coming thick and fast, with one owner registering 17 trucks. “There are also lots of 11, ten, eight truck sets coming from different fleets around the country,” according to Richard. Countless hours have gone into preparations so far, and Richard brought his entire sales team together at the venue in November. A full day’s briefing and site tour was designed to ensure that the team is ready for the biggest event of their careers. Southpac Trucks salesman Mark O’Hara has
a number of customers bringing their trucks from Hawke’s Bay and the lower North Island. O’Hara has been selling Kenworth trucks for 24 years, but his love for the brand started as a young apprentice mechanic back in the 1980s. “There are so many highlights to an event like this,” Mark says. “It’s a lot of work but all worth it. My customers are planning their trip up to Mystery Creek, some of them in convoy, and everyone is looking forward to it.” Anyone interested in bringing a Kenworth to the 100 year celebration is encouraged to register promptly. “The Mystery Creek venue can accommodate upwards of 1000 trucks but the reality is, there is so much planning required that we will close registrations in early January so that we can make sure we have all arrangements in place by the time parking opens on February 1,” Richard says.
Team Quality Racing is bringing its impressive transporter and Shane Gray’s Kenworth race truck to the 100 Years event. Truck & Driver | 81
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FEATURE
FORWARD THINKING FROM ISUZU By: Colin Smith
AT A MEDIA BRIEFING HELD AT THE COMPANY HEADQUARTERS with a commanding view across Yokohama City, Isuzu officials recently provided details and a timeline for the introduction of next generation light- and medium-duty truck lines. With an overview of how Isuzu sees the industry moving through the decarbonisation process through till 2050, a background to new regulations and current market trends, we learned of the Australasian plans for future Isuzu N and F Series models. To date much of the news around the seventh generation N Series (revealed in Japan back in March) has centred on the debut of the EV version. It was an early arrival and headline grabber at the 2023 Brisbane Truck Show and also played a lead role in Isuzu’s recent Japan Mobility Show display. The Gen-7 N Series is built on the I-MACS (Isuzu Modular Architecture and Component Standard) light truck platform. It allows the same base vehicle to share advanced safety and driver assist systems and be manufactured on one production line whether it is diesel, battery electric or hydrogen fuel-cell powered. At present Isuzu Australia is more advanced with its EV planning than Isuzu New Zealand. The Australian importer has already targeted two important specifications for the electric N Series – a 4.5t eNLR model with three battery packs totalling 60kWh storage and a 7.5t eNPR equipped with five batteries and 100kWh capacity. Isuzu Australia has customer trials using a small number of Japanese domestic market ELF EV models planned from next year and introduction of the first AU-spec versions to selected customers from mid-2025. For the diesel models the launch timing for the new N Series suggests 4x2 models will go on sale from early 2025 with 4x4 versions almost a full year later. In part the timing reflects the introduction of new ADR standards around mandatory. Dave Ballantyne, Isuzu New Zealand General Manager confirms that New Zealand launch timing largely follows the Australian plans outlined at the briefing, with the exception of the ELF EV. He says New Zealand’s EV introduction will follow about a year behind Australia.
The current N Series received a major boost to its safety roster for MY21 models and that will be further enhanced on MY25 versions. The new N Series is set to feature Intersection Warning and Intersection Emergency Braking functions, Mis-acceleration Mitigation, Bi-LED headlights, LED daytime running lights and the automatic models will get full speed adaptive cruise control and a new traffic sign recognition system. It has a camera that reads roadside speed limit signs (including temporary limits) and displays the current limit on the dash. Features of the new N Series will include increased GVMs on many models and a more powerful 4JZ1 engine boasting 175kW output and 430Nm of torque. This engine can be matched to Isuzu’s own newly developed 9-speed dual clutch transmission which provides closer ratios, improved fuel efficiency and includes a torque converter for smoother launch. Isuzu also outlined plans around its future medium- and heavy-duty truck models. New generation F Series models were recently revealed in Japan and will roll-out over an 18-month stretch beginning in the second half of 2024, again with New Zealand plans being very close to the Australian timing. Above and below: The first versions of next generation Isuzu F Series (Forward in Japan) are expected to reach the New Zealand market during the second half of 2024.
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The seventh generation Isuzu N Series line-up includes the first-ever EV version (far right).
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Four-cylinder models will go on sale first with 5.2-litre FR and FS being launched as MY24 versions around Q3 of next year. The N-4HK1 engine has been updated to achieve lower emissions and now has an SCR and DPD aftertreatment system with reduced reliance on EGR. It will now develop 177kW and 765Nm of torque. The FSR, FTS and FV models with a new Euro VI compliant 6.7-litre six-cylinder designated DB6A (replacing the 7.8-litre 6HK1 unit) and 9.8-litre FX models will go on sale in Australia as MY25 models at the beginning of 2025. Isuzu Australia has committed to Allison automatic transmissions on all F Series models powered by the new 6.7-litre engine. And at present scheduled for late in 2025 (as a MY26 model) will be 9.8-litre twin steer FY models. The staggered introduction will see some Gen-6 models such as F Series 4x4 continue to be sold alongside the new F Series. When the first four-cylinder models debut next year drivers will benefit from a completely new cab design and interior fitted with an ISRI NTS2 6860 driver’s seat and new 7-inch digital multi-info display. New features include adaptive high beam lighting, adaptive cruise control and the traffic sign recognition function. Other features include auto climate control, keyless entry and start, bi-LED lighting and daytime running lights and the FRR and FRD models will have full air braking systems with EBS similar to current FSR models. Six-cylinder F Series models will have a new chassis frame and benefit from the introduction of Meritor full air disc brakes and higher capacity steering axles. An interesting part of the discussion centred on Isuzu’s future heavytruck plans. The updated Giga range introduced to New Zealand in late-2022 isn’t sold in Australia, and its future this side of the Tasman is settled after November 2024 as the 16-litre 6GW1 engine won’t meet the Euro VI (Step C) requirement being introduced from that date. An obvious answer with a common cab and platform being shared by the Giga and the UD Quon GW is the 12.7-litre engine used by UD Trucks – available in both 470 and 530hp versions. But that likely creates some inter-brand tension within the wider Volvo Group in Australia. It will be interesting issue to follow as the potential volume increase Isuzu could gain in Australia with a modern 500hp-plus Giga C and E Series is likely to threaten Volvo’s market leadership. The other Isuzu facility New Zealand Truck & Driver visited in Japan was the Fujisawa manufacturing plant. Originally built in 1961 and expanded several times since then – so it is effectively four plants on one site – the complex of buildings covers
Top: Fully redesigned driver’s environment will debut in the new Isuzu F Series. Above: Isuzu will introduce new driver assist and safety features including Traffic Sign Recognition and Blind Spot detection modes.
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Above: The Fujisawa plant is on target to produce a record 314,000 trucks this year.
Below: Isuzu history at the Plaza. Wolseley CP truck from 1924, first generation ELF from 1963 and race-winning 1969 Bellett 1600 GT-X. just over 1 million square metres. The site includes a stamping plant, aluminium casting for transmissions along with welding, axle assembly, sub assembly and paint facilities and the final inspection process. Isuzu also locates an engineering centre along with service training and logistics facilities at Fujisawa. The only major component not built at Fujisawa are the engines. They are cast and manufactured at Tochigi, about three hours away from Fujisawa. Isuzu has manufacturing or assembly plants in 16 countries, but Fujisawa is considered to be the company’s `mother’ plant. It has typically built about 300,000 trucks a year and is on target for a record 314,000 units this year. About 15,000 units of that production is exported to Australia and New Zealand. All Isuzu trucks sold in New Zealand are built at Fujisawa. The smaller Isuzu models such as the D-Max ute are built in Thailand. The Fujisawa plant has 8719 employees and builds light-, mediumand heavy-duty models. Amazingly, the flexibility (and complexity) of production means 2500 different models can be built at Fujisawa, including some specialist variants which have production runs of just one unit per year. It’s unfortunate that photography wasn’t permitted inside the plant during our tour. Operating under Isuzu’s Monozukuri production quality regime, it was fascinating to watch the integration of humans and robots from the stage when the frame enters the production line. We toured the line
watching suspension and drivetrain components attached, the fitment of cab and interior sub-assemblies and a water tightness test that simulates double the rain force of the worst expected typhoon. The extent to which the production line is fine-tuned so that employees can adjust the height they work at to minimise physical strain is an important part of the process. Isuzu’s manufacturing process offers the flexibility to build both the latest and previous generation models alongside each other on the same line and the sub-assembly process will allow battery electric and fuel cell powertrain components to be installed on the same line as diesel models. Across the road from the massive Fujisawa plant is the Isuzu Plaza. The Plaza opened in 2017 as part of the company’s 80th birthday celebrations and it showcases Isuzu’s history in a multi-story complex. Exhibits range from a 1924 Wolseley CP truck (the oldest domestically produced vehicle in existence in Japan) to a display of current trucks including the latest N Series, F Series and Giga models. Photography is permitted in the Plaza and alongside the trucks ranging from vintage to first generation ELF and through to modern there also is a reminder of some of the stylish cars which Isuzu once produced. Prime examples are the Giugiaro styled 117 Coupe from 1968 and Isuzu’s racing history is featured with a Bellett 1600 GT-X which won the 1969 Suzuka 12-Hour race. And I had long forgotten that Isuzu once developed a 3.5-litre V12 Formula 1 engine. The 75-degree unit was tested once by the Lotus team in 1991 but was never raced.
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FEATURE
WEST ON TOP AT MANFEILD AN EVENTFUL LABOUR WEEKEND SEASON OPENER HAS produced a tightly bunched leader board as the NAPA Auto Parts New Zealand Super Truck Championship contenders prepare for more racing in the New Year. Racing at Manfeild’s OctoberFAST meeting over the holiday weekend produced three different championship race winners and leaves defending champ Alex Little (Freightliner) back in third place after a diff failure halted his run while comfortably leading the second race. The weekend also saw speeding penalties for front-runners Brent Collins (Freightliner) and Shane Gray (Kenworth) which affected their points scoring. Out in front in the title race is Auckland’s Dave West in his Freightliner Argosy with 48 points, just two ahead of former champ Ron Salter who showed a winter of development work has improved the pace and reliability of his Scania. Little is third with 41 points ahead of Gray with 38 and Marc King (International) on 36. Saturday’s qualifying session was headed by Little with a 1m 25.719s best lap to take the initial series lead. Collins was second fastest but had his times erased for a speeding penalty – caused he accidently upshifted into fifth gear – which moved Gray and West up the order and put Collins on the back of the grid. The opening 6-lapper on Saturday afternoon was a clear win for Little ahead of Collins, who quickly moved up to third and then worked his way past Gray. West was fourth with Troy Etting (Kenworth) moving up the order ahead of Salter and Marc King to finish in fifth. Sunday’s reverse grid race began with a crowded first corner that left Shane Gray facing the wrong way briefly and well behind the pack as he regained his pace. Little was clear leader until two laps from the finish when the Freightliner slowed and he headed for pit lane at slow speed with loss of drive. The problem was damaged teeth on the crown wheel.
By: Colin Smith
Collins crossed the line ahead of the pack but suffered his second disqualification, this time for allegedly being below the minimum weight. The reading perplexed the team as the truck weighed-in correctly on other occasions during the weekend and Motorsport NZ is reviewing the decision and also checking the accuracy of the scales. Collins’ disqualification promoted West to the race win ahead of Gray who recovered well from his early delay. Salter and Connor Etting (Volvo) were next. In the split-reverse grid finale it was by Salter who was 0.5secs ahead of a fast-closing Collins at the flag with King taking third after leading the opening laps. Little was able to borrow a spare diff from Dave West but explains there was an axle problem which left his truck in one-wheel-drive. He was forced to run at a pace 10secs slower than he had qualified. “It was just a case of circulating to collecting as many points as I could. I finished seventh and got some points that could be very valuable at the end of the series,” says Little. Top: The Central House Movers Pace Truck dives to the pit lane as Connor Etting and Marc King lead the field to the start.
Below: Ron Salter applies the pressure to Troy Etting. Photos Geoff Ridder.
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There was further success for the West family with Ricky taking the wheel of his father’s Freightliner for the new-for-2023 Flying Farewell points series. West took maximum points from the weekend and leads with 27 points ahead of former champ Malcolm Little who returned to the driver’s seat of the truck he campaigned before Collins joined the team. Little has 22 points while Garry Price took the wheel of Salter’s Scania and performed well to sit third on 21 points. Ash Hey piloted Marc King’s International, Jason Lincoln drove Troy Etting’s Kenworth. Round two of the championship begins the South Island portion of the calendar on the January 26-28 weekend at Timaru’s Levels International Raceway.
Above: Dave West leads the NAPA Auto Parts NZ Super Truck Championship after the Manfeild opening round. Below: Shane Gray had to recover from this spin to finish second in race two.
Bottom: Marc King’s International leads Troy Etting (Kenworth) through the Manfeild esses. Photos Geoff Ridder.
2023-24 NAPA Auto Parts NZ Super Truck championship (standings after round 1) 1 Dave West (Freightliner) 48 points 2 Ron Salter (Scania) 46 pts 3 Alex Little (Freightliner) 41 pts 4 Shane Gray (Kenworth) 38 pts 5 Marc King (International) 36 pts 6 Connor Etting (Volvo) 33 pts 7= Brent Collins (Freightliner) 27 pts 7= Troy Etting (Kenworth) 27 pts Flying Farewell Series 1 Ricky West (Freightliner) 27 points 2 Malcolm Little (Freightliner) 22 pts 3 Garry Price (Scania) 21 pts 4 Ash Hey (International) 19 pts 5 Jason Lincoln (Kenworth) 18 pts 6 Shane Gray (Kenworth) 16 pts 7 Keith Wilson (Volvo) 14 pts TD33969
8 Peter Bartlett (Freightliner) 10 pts Truck & Driver | 91
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RT IS CONTINUING THE DEVELOPMENT OF ITS CENTRAL TYRE Inflation System (CTI) with the introduction of the new Traction Air CTI-EM Series. First deployed in 1997 and fitted to more than 4,000 vehicles primarily across New Zealand and Australia, the technology behind TRT Traction Air has seen continuing evolution in the past 25 years. “As with all our TRT manufactured products, Traction Air has made significant strides in terms of design, capability, and functionality,” says TRT’s Managing Director, Bruce Carden. “The new Traction Air EM Series is yet another example demonstrating our commitment to delivering the best possible solutions for our valued customers.” The EM Series builds on the tyre pressure monitoring and control features of the Traction Air E-Series introduced in Australia and New Zealand in September 2019. Most notably this new system seamlessly integrates CAN-BUS protocols that interface with telematics systems. “The new upgrades deliver a better all-round experience in transforming fleet management, with three key areas of improvement,” says TRT’s General Manager of Sales, Gavin Halley. The new EM Series features a simplified and improved manifold design that optimises airflow and improves pressure distribution. This enables the system to perform more efficiently, delivering improved responsiveness for traction. This innovative design enhances the efficiency of the system, resulting in improved tyre performance. The new EM Series consists of the new versatile, high flow compact valves enabling increased air flow. The new series also comes with a userfriendly plug connection for convenience. The innovative pressure cell’s design is 50% more compact than the existing model, allowing for enhanced installation flexibility in tight spaces. This simplicity ensures the system can be seamlessly integrated into a vehicle, regardless of its size or configuration. The new pressure cell is housed in a robust yet lightweight composite
cover, providing the necessary protection against environmental elements without adding unnecessary weight. It is also self-purging to eliminate moisture and dust contaminants. TRT remains committed to providing comprehensive support to customers throughout the lifespan of their Traction Air System, including parts and service support Australia and New Zealand-wide. Each EM Series pressure cell undergoes complete assembly and testing at TRT’s head office and manufacturing facility, ensuring manufacturing excellence and product quality. The option of installation and training is provided on-site by TRT service technicians and can be tailored to the unique needs and specifications of technicians, drivers, and operators. “Our 24/7 parts on-call service ensures rapid component exchange, guaranteeing uninterrupted operations and significant cost savings,” says Gavin Halley. “This product represents our commitment to delivering the most advanced and user-friendly fleet management solutions. We are excited to offer a product that not only meets but surpasses the expectations of fleet owners, ensuring their operations run smoothly and efficiently.”
The new EM Series seamlessly integrates CAN-BUS protocols that interface with telematics systems. Truck & Driver | 93
TRUCK SHOP
Bringing style to Euro trucks T
HE LATEST EUROPEAN TRUCK STYLING ACCESSORIES, PARTS and truck care products are now available online in New Zealand from a newly launched webshop. www.go-in-style.nz is an initiative from Drury-based Broshmik Trucks in partnership with Dutch manufacturer Go-In-Style, a leader in the European truck accessory market. With a wide range of Go-In-Style sun visors and stone guards already on some the best-looking Scania trucks on the road in New Zealand, the creation of go-in-style.nz aims to widen the offering to all other European truck brands. “We started with a focus on accessories for the Scania range,” says Josh Rudsit from Go In Style New Zealand. “The massive drive in Scania’s market share in New Zealand has boosted the demand for accessories which allow operators to customise and personalise their trucks.” The webshop offers a range of sun visors, stone guards, lighting, air
The Go-In-Style range of accessories offers the scope to customise Scania trucks and now other European truck models. Chris Dillon Photography
horns, contour lights, exhaust parts and switchgear as well as truck polishes and cleaning products. “Go In Style New Zealand was born due to a shared passion for stout looking vehicles and for helping New Zealand’s truckers build the rigs of their dreams. The collaboration between Holland and New Zealand means we can bring Europe’s best to New Zealand,” says Brock Rudsit. “Seeing the pride created within the Scania truckers after an accessory fit-out is pretty special and something that hasn’t really be available in the past. That feeling has been a big drive for us to make these products available across the board. “And things like a lot of the lighting and horns are suitable for all brands, not just Euros.” go-in-style.nz Truck Styling Parts New Zealand is a separate division of Broshmik Trucks which was established in 2015 and is an authorised Scania service dealer located at Great South Rd, Runciman.
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OLD IRON
Above: A line-up of Stembridge units loaded with Pukekohe’s produce.
Below: The fleet and staff with Mrs Mary Stembridge and sons in 1955.
The Stembridge Story
Story & Photos: Gavin Abbot
Transport historian Gavin Abbot traces the history of a well-known Pukekohe name that was a trucking pioneer 100 years ago. N 1917 FREDERICK WALTER STEMBRIDGE AND HIS FAMILY moved to Pukekohe from Mamaku, where he had worked as a ploughing contractor. The following year 1918 Fred’s wife Emma died, leaving him with a family of four – Mick, Fred Jnr, Ruth and Max. After two years of milking cows, he decided it wasn’t for him and so in 1919 Fred started a carrying business with a horse and cart. As his services grew, he added another horse and cart which was driven by Mick when he was old enough. In 1920 Fred married Mary Costello and together they had five children – Edwin (Ned), Kathleen, Noeline, Walter and Maureen. Not only did Mary raise the family of nine, but she also took the orders and did the business accounts. Also, in 1920 the family and the carrying business shifted to Edinburgh St with stables behind the house.
The business joined the motorised era in 1922 when the first Republic truck arrived at a cost of $712. Fred drove it home loaded with four gallon tins of benzine packed in cases for the British Imperial Co., later to become the Shell Oil NZ Ltd. From that time on Stembridge’s became Shell users and would later become the Shell agents for the area. By 1924 the horses were gone with the arrival of a second Republic, this one fitted with a hand operated hoist. A notable part of the Stembridge’s work was carting metal for the Franklin County Council from a quarry at Buckland. Turnover in 1926 was $446, wages $202 and profit $61 and the fleet grew again with a new Morris truck which carried passengers as well as goods. One of Fred’s jobs at this time was a contract to collect the cream from farms in the Waiau Pa area and put it on the rail to go
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to the Taupiri Dairy Co. He was also encouraged by the local businesspeople to commence an Auckland-Pukekohe freight service. He started this in 1927, when the road to Auckland was metal as far as Papakura, then concrete via the Great South Rd. A second-hand four ton International started this service. When business picked up after the depression a new 1933 REO was purchased, which was to become Max’s pride and joy. In the early 1930s, due to economic conditions work, had declined. Mick found another job driving a Leyland for Shell Oil and remained there for 18 years before re-joining the family firm. The government introduced the transport licensing system in 1933. The first licenses were granted as a matter of form; however, it subsequently became more difficult to obtain Vehicle Authorities, particularly if a rail exemption was required. Pukekohe operators needed this exemption to operate to Auckland.
From top left: The 1924 Morris which also carried passengers as well as goods... The last Republic which had pneumatic tyres... The 4-ton International which opened up the run to Auckland... The first Stembridge Transport REO loaded for Auckland. Below: Heavy duty model REO outside the Pukekohe depot.
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The company’s depot in The Strand, Parnell was purchased in 1936 and space was rented to outside country carriers including Taylor from Tauranga (later Heaton’s Transport), Pengelly (Helensville), Shaw (Paeroa), Trapski (Thames) and Phillips (Warkworth). In 1939 the depot name was changed to Country Freights. When America joined WW II in 1942 a large dehydration factory was built by the Internal Marketing Division in Pukekohe, as it became necessary to increase the volume of vegetables needed for the American troops in the South Pacific. Because Stembridge’s was involved in vegetable cartage, they
were declared an essential industry. One of the four trucks operated at this time was converted with an insulated body for the carriage of quick frozen vegetables for the United States Joint Purchasing Board. This was possibly the first truck in New Zealand to carry quick frozen vegetables. Stembridge’s transported them to the Auckland wharfs for shipment to the Islands. During the war the business was formed into a company with Fred and Mary Stembridge and their four sons Mick, Max, Ned and Walter being the shareholders. Subsequently the company was separated into three separate companies – Stembridge Transport
Above: Smartly presented REO Speedwagon.
Below: The Stembridge fleet would have been one of the most impressive on the roads in those days.
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Top: Stembridge’s Country Freight depot at The Strand, Parnell.
Above: The good-looking REO model 19 (left) was the first articulated truck and impressive K model International (right). Opposite page: KT 900 Dodge loaded with a cargo of gates.
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Ltd, Stembridge Properties Ltd and Country Freights Ltd. In 1950 the first artic was purchased, a 10 ton REO model 19. In 1956 at age 76, Fred W Stembridge died. He was a prominent man in civic affairs in Pukekohe. His son Max took over as managing director of the then 10 truck fleet. The next move was to a new depot on 3.5 acres of land on Harris St, Pukekohe. About this time the Shell company closed its Pukekohe depot and appointed Stembridge’s as agents. They carried a full range of Shell products, had underground tanks
installed and had two tanker trucks fitted up to do the farm deliveries and domestic heating. Ned Stembridge managed the operation. In 1965 Ian Stembridge pioneered the cartage of bulk stock and poultry food and had a special body built on one of the trucks by Verissimo Bros. As this part of the business grew it was sold to Ian who re-named it Farmer’s Bulk Freights Ltd. About this time Stembridge’s took over Franklin Transport, increasing the fleet to 25 units.
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Top: Leyland Comet heralded the arrival of diesel engines.
Above: Pair of Ford tankers worked at Stembridge’s Shell agency.
Below: This F86 Volvo was one of Stembridge’s later model trucks in the 1970s.
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In 1973 Mick Stembridge retired and Lester Fitzpatrick – a fully qualified accountant – was employed and Terry Cronin, a son of long-time employee Lionel Cronin, became transport manager. Eventually as the brothers wished to retire and no Stembridge family member was keen to follow on, the business was sold to Terry Cronin and Lester Fitzpatrick. The business was then named Stembridge’s Transport (1976) Ltd. The company continued for another eight years and was eventually sold on a piecemeal basis. Over its lifetime Stembridge’s were fortunate in having many long-serving and loyal staff which made the success of the company. It was the end of an era when the Stembridge name no longer appeared on trucks working in the area.
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NRC member top tips to grow your business
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HE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY PERIOD IS A TIME FOR REFLECTION and resolution. If you’re wondering how to grow your businesses we’ve picked the brains of NRC members who have been there, done that. SBS Tranz Managing Director Mandeep Padda says SBS started with one unit in 2010 carrying chilled and frozen store deliveries. Today the company has 90 units with over 100 drivers and four locations. “We grew with great service and explored any opportunity including general freight and containers. Our operation is customer-centric. “Safety of drivers and vehicles is key. We put people before profit. We invest in new tech. Our vehicles and drivers are visible reminders of our commitment to providing an excellent, dependable transport service. How did SBS Tranz grow? • Never cutting corners and great service. • Always providing a solution to the problem not just a price • Keeping drivers at the top of the food chain. • Building a great team of like-minded people. • Full trust in the team – no micro-managing. • Investing in the business for growth. • Building good relationships with customers, not the contracts. • Providing a safe work environment. • Adapting quickly to new challenges. • Never being afraid of failures – mistakes are part of the journey. Mandeep Padda’s top tips • Pay people on time with respect. • Team is important so learn to delegate. • Technology is your friend. • Appreciate the people who do the hard yards. • Quick adaptability to new changes. • Focus on tomorrow not today. Sims Transport Director Phillip Sims started in 1985 as a courier. After 14 years he moved to larger trucks starting with one six-wheeler curtainsider. The freight company he was contracting to then allowed him to put extra trucks on. “The business grew as the freight volumes grew and I got a couple of major clients. Between my company and my wife’s company we now operate 16 truck and trailer units doing Auckland metro work.”
James Smith, GM Policy and Advocacy, National Road Carriers Association Phillip Sim’s top tips • Always answer your phone as there will always be someone else out there to do the work. • Make the right decisions … but if you don’t, don’t make the same mistake again. • Choose the right partners /suppliers and building good relationships with them: o Like NRC – they’re a great team, and will point you in the right direction o Mechanics and other service providers that make time to meet your needs so your trucks are not down for long o A good accountant who knows your business NRC board member Ian Newey says Newey Transport was created in 2002 as a one truck operator carting logs. “I went into the forest industry when I left school. Then I took up driving logging trucks and bought a second-hand truck we owned for three years. It became clear we needed a new truck. This was the best thing we ever did. How did Newey Transport grow? “Our goal is for 50 per cent of our fleet to be owned outright. As the business has grown, and we have gone through downturns this has served us well. “Never over-capitalise – just buy the truck needed for the job. Separate your dream truck from the correct truck. Standardising your truck brands makes everything easier. “Understand your costs and margin. Make sure you have financing option so when things out of your control happen you can adapt.” Ian Newey’s top tips • Make the time to shop around for best prices. • Build a network of like-minded people • Plan for the medium to long-term. • Have a good understanding of the sector you serve • Be ready for unexpected opportunities Being successful in business is challenging. If you are aspiring to grow, engage with the team at National Road Carriers so we can connect you to whatever support you need to make the journey easier. Truck & Driver | 105
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Sheldrake Haulage were early adopters of the Kenworth T659 back in 2013 and have now taken delivery of its eighth unit. Driven by Liam Adie, the new T659 has a 550.578hp Cummins X15, Eaton RTLO 20918b manual 18-speed Roadranger and Meritor 46-160 axles with full X-locks riding on non-load share front suspension and Airglide 460 rear suspension. Disc brakes are now part of the T659 specification, and the Sheldrake unit features a Red Dot roof mount A/C condenser, twin pipes, twin stainless 15-inch air cleaners with raised intakes, stainless guard extenders, lower grill panel and mirror marker trims, a painted drop visor and Malcolm Cab Solutions extras.
Sales race tightens up IT REMAINS A TIGHTLY CONTESTED RACE AT THE top of the New Zealand new truck market with the NZTA registration figures for the first 10 months of 2023 now available. October registration data shows a slight drop month-on-month (26 down on October 2022) but year-to-date registrations of 5,209 units remain 236 ahead of the previous record of 4,973 YTD registrations achieved in the first 10 months of last year. The trailer market YTD total now stands at 1,320 – well ahead of last year’s October YTD result of 1,180 registrations but still behind the alltime best of 1,458 units achieved in 2018. In the overall truck market (4.5t-maximum GVM), Isuzu (1033/98) maintains its YTD leadership, just four registrations ahead of secondplaced Fuso (1029/105). Fuso leads the October figures with 105 registrations to claw back some of the lead held by Isuzu. Hino (660/64) retains third place ahead of Scania (552/60), while fifth, sixth, and seventh is tight with UD (275/27), Iveco (274/30), Volvo (273/28) each separated by one registration. With a strong October result, Mercedes-Benz (248/54) overtakes DAF (207/12) while Kenworth (169/23) rounds out the top-10. In the 3.5-4.5t GVM crossover segment, clear leader Fiat (247/46) again extended its leadership ahead of Mercedes-Benz (228/23). The race is a lot tighter than last year when Fiat were ahead by 276 registrations and held a 48.9% market share. Fiat’s share this year sits at just 27.6%. Registrations in the 4.5-7.5t category saw Fuso (539/59) increasing its lead over Isuzu (330/39), with Iveco (146/12) moving into third ahead of Hino (131/20). Fuso currently holds a decent 36.8% share in this segment. In the 7.5-15t class, Isuzu (443/32) extends its lead over Fuso (181/22),
while Hino (173/15) remains third. Foton (68/2) and Iveco (34/7) are well behind the top three. Isuzu’s share in this class currently sits at 46.0%. In the 15-20.5t GVM category, Hino (91/10) continues to lead, well ahead of UD (49/7) and Fuso (45/7), in second and third. Isuzu (27/2) is fourth ahead of Scania (25/3). The tiny 20.5-23t GVM division shows only five registrations for October. Hino (18/2) retains the top spot, ahead of Fuso (6/0) and Scania (6/3). Hino currently have a 51.4% share. In the premium 23t-maximum GVM category, Scania (521/54) continues to build its commanding lead, registering 54 trucks for the month to take its YTD total to 521. Scania continues to increase its market share - from 8.2% in 2019 to 15.1% in 2020, 20.2% in 2021, 18.7% in 2022 and now up to 20.9% in 2023. Volvo (267/28) moves into second YTD ahead of Fuso (258/17) also showing an increase in market share year-on-year from 6.7% in 2022 to 10.7% in 2023. Hino (247/17) is fourth ahead of Isuzu (230/25). The rest of the market top 10 is also unchanged month on month Isuzu (230/25) retaining fifth ahead of UD (217/20), DAF (196/12), Kenworth (169/23) and Mercedes-Benz (122/8). Market leader Fruehauf remains comfortably ahead in YTD trailer sales with 164 registrations YTD and 20 regos in October to lead the market. Patchell (136/15) retains second position ahead of Domett (104/11), Transport Trailers (92/9) and Roadmaster (92/11) (now tied in fourth), TMC (86/11) and MTE (53/7). Freighter (42/5) were the only mover in the top 10 month on month as they edged ahead of Transfleet (41/4) while Fairfax (32/3) and TES (32/3) are tied in tenth position. Truck & Driver | 107
Kaiwaka-based Tulip Contractors has a new Fuso Shogun 510 6x4 tipper for carting bulk aggregate in the Auckland region. The 510hp OM471 engine with 2500Nm of torque drives to a 12-speed AMT and the rear end features diff lock and limited slip diff plus air suspension. Sold by Mike Orr from Keith Andrews Trucks, the Shogun 510 works with a Transport Trailers alloy tipper bin and 5-axle trailer.
4501kg-max GVM Brand ISUZU FUSO HINO SCANIA UD IVECO VOLVO MERCEDES-BENZ DAF KENWORTH FOTON MAN HYUNDAI VOLKSWAGEN MACK INTERNATIONAL SINOTRUK WESTERN STAR FREIGHTLINER FIAT SHACMAN OTHER Total
Vol 1033 1029 660 552 275 274 273 248 207 169 129 95 89 47 40 21 16 15 11 11 5 10 5209
2023
% 19.8 19.8 12.7 10.6 5.3 5.3 5.2 4.8 4.0 3.2 2.5 1.8 1.7 0.9 0.8 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2 100
Vol 98 105 64 60 27 30 28 54 12 23 13 6 10 13 1 4 1 1 3 5 1 2 561
3501-4500kg GVM Brand FIAT MERCEDES-BENZ IVECO FORD VOLKSWAGEN RAM LDV CHEVROLET RENAULT PEUGEOT TOYOTA Total
Vol 247 228 159 122 41 40 20 18 17 1 1 894
2023
% 27.6 25.5 17.8 13.6 4.6 4.5 2.2 2.0 1.9 0.1 0.1 100
Vol 46 23 20 17 1 2 11 0 5 0 0 125
4501-7500kg GVM Brand FUSO ISUZU IVECO HINO MERCEDES-BENZ FOTON HYUNDAI VOLSWAGEN CHEVROLET FIAT OTHER Total 108 | Truck & Driver
Vol 539 330 146 131 107 61 55 47 30 11 9 1466
2023
% 36.8 22.5 10.0 8.9 7.3 4.2 3.8 3.2 2.0 0.8 0.6 100.0
Vol 59 39 12 20 46 11 6 13 1 5 2 214
Oct
Oct
Oct
% 17.5 18.7 11.4 10.7 4.8 5.3 5.0 9.6 2.1 4.1 2.3 1.1 1.8 2.3 0.2 0.7 0.2 0.2 0.5 0.9 0.2 0.4 100
% 36.8 18.4 16.0 13.6 0.8 1.6 8.8 0.0 4.0 0.0 0.0 100
% 27.6 18.2 5.6 9.3 21.5 5.1 2.8 6.1 0.5 2.3 0.9 100
Isuzu and Fuso neck-and-neck in sales battle
23,001kg-max GVM Brand SCANIA VOLVO FUSO HINO ISUZU UD DAF KENWORTH MERCEDES-BENZ IVECO MAN MACK INTERNATIONAL SINOTRUK WESTERN STAR FREIGHTLINER SHACMAN HYUNDAI Total
Vol 521 267 258 247 230 217 196 169 122 82 79 40 21 16 15 11 2 1 2494
2023
% 20.9 10.7 10.3 9.9 9.2 8.7 7.9 6.8 4.9 3.3 3.2 1.6 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.1 0.0 100.0
Vol 54 28 17 17 25 20 12 23 8 9 6 1 4 1 1 3 1 0 230
Trailers 7501-15,000kg GVM Brand ISUZU FUSO HINO FOTON IVECO HYUNDAI MAN UD TRUCKS MERCEDES-BENZ VOLVO DAF OTHER Total
Vol 443 181 173 68 34 33 9 9 6 5 2 1 964
2023
% 46.0 18.8 17.9 7.1 3.5 3.4 0.9 0.9 0.6 0.5 0.2 0.1 100
Vol 32 22 15 2 7 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 82
15,001-20,500kg GVM Brand HINO UD FUSO ISUZU SCANIA MERCEDES-BENZ IVECO DAF MAN Total
Vol 91 49 45 27 25 13 12 8 7 277
2023
% 32.9 17.7 16.2 9.7 9.0 4.7 4.3 2.9 2.5 100
Vol 10 7 7 2 3 0 2 0 0 31
20,501-23,000kg GVM Brand HINO FUSO SCANIA ISUZU VOLVO DAF Total
Vol 18 6 6 3 1 1 35
2023
% 51.4 17.1 17.1 8.6 2.9 2.9 100
Vol 2 0 3 0 0 0 5
Oct
Oct
Oct
% 39.0 26.8 18.3 2.4 8.5 4.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100
% 32.3 22.6 22.6 6.5 9.7 0.0 6.5 0.0 0.0 100
% 40.0 0.0 60.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100
Vol Brand FRUEHAUF 164 PATCHELL 136 104 DOMETT TRANSPORT TRAILERS 92 ROADMASTER 92 86 TMC M.T.E. 53 FREIGHTER 42 TRANSFLEET 41 32 FAIRFAX TES 32 JACKSON 29 26 CWS HAMMAR 23 TIDD 21 MTC EQUIPMENT 20 KRAFT 17 TANKER 17 16 JAKO MILLS-TUI 14 13 STEELBRO LUSK 12 MJ CUSTOMS 11 PTE 11 KOROMIKO 9 LOWES 9 SEC 8 ADAMS & CURRIE 8 EVANS 8 MAKARANUI 8 7 WARREN LOHR 7 MD ENGINEERING 7 FELDBINDER 7 MAXICUBE 5 TEO 5 5 LANGENDORF 3 LILLEY OTHER 120 Total 1320
2023
% 12.4 10.3 7.9 7.0 7.0 6.5 4.0 3.2 3.1 2.4 2.4 2.2 2.0 1.7 1.6 1.5 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.1 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.2 9.1 100
Vol 20 15 11 9 11 11 7 5 4 3 3 3 3 6 1 2 1 2 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 0 1 1 2 1 1 2 2 0 1 1 0 10 145
Oct
Oct
% 23.5 12.2 7.4 7.4 10.9 8.7 5.2 10.0 3.5 3.9 2.6 0.4 1.7 0.4 0.4 1.3 0.4 0.0 100.0
% 13.8 10.3 7.6 6.2 7.6 7.6 4.8 3.4 2.8 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.1 4.1 0.7 1.4 0.7 1.4 0.0 0.7 0.7 0.0 0.0 1.4 0.0 1.4 0.0 0.7 0.7 1.4 0.7 0.7 1.4 1.4 0.0 0.7 0.7 0.0 6.9 100
Robertson Isuzu recently delivered this new Isuzu FVY350 curtain sider to Greg Hoggard of Waikanae’s G & P Haulage. The 18-tonne GVM unit is equipped with an auto transmission and is working in DX Mail livery with a 16-pallet body by Elite Truck Specialist. The sale and build were looked after by Robertson’s sales engineer Grant Smith.
Daniel Bangs from Edgecumbe has added the first new Kenworth to his East Coast Trucking fleet. The K200 2.3m Flat Roof works for IXOM at Mt Maunganui with a 600.615hp Cummins X15 and Eaton Fuller RTLO22918B manual transmission. The K200 has a Meritor MFS 73 front axle and Meritor MT 21-165GP rear axles (3.91:1 ratio) with Airglide 460 rear suspension. Truck Works Engineering (Mt Maunganui) completed the tractor rigging and fifth wheel set up. Features include KW embroidered leather seats, Alcoa Dura-Bright polished outer wheels, Pearl Craft steering wheel, painted alloy sun visor and black mesh grill with 10 grill bars.
Kings Log Transport in Invercargill is home to a new Kiwi-built International RH-R8HD logger working around the Southland forests. The 8x4 has Cummins X15 power with 550hp and 1850 lb-ft of torque paired up with an Eaton Ultrashift transmission and Meritor 46-160 axles. The log gear comprises MTT multi bolsters and a 5-axle trailer and the RH is fitted with a log-spec alloy bumper, twin vertical pipes, 9-inch offset front rims and ECAS suspension. Sold by Shaun Jury at Intertruck Distributors in Christchurch.
Truck & Driver | 109
Waikato Demolition have just put this new Hino 700 Series on the road. The FS 2848 6x4 is Te Rapa-based and will be doing demo work around the Waikato and some jobs further afield as well as carting sand and aggregate to building sites around Hamilton. The E13C 13-litre develops 480hp and drives to a 16-speed AMT. Steve Carter likes his new truck which is fitted with a Cambridge Welding tipper body featuring Kiwi auto tarps. The Hino will mainly be working with an ETL 4-axle trailer and at times with a 3-axle low transport trailer.
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Jono Hirst is driving a new International RH-R6 for Auckland’s G. Seay Cartage. The 6x4 bulk aggregate hauler has a 615hp Cummins X15, Eaton RTLO 20918B transmission and Meritor RT 46-160GP axles with extras including a drop visor, alloy bumper and premium trim. Transport & General supplied the alloy tipper and 5-axle trailer. The RH-R6 was sold by Rob Byers from Prestige International at Wiri.
John and Michelle Binnie of Binnie Haulage have put a new Scania R 650 B8x4HZ on the road. Sold by Callan Short, the self-loader logging truck is working in the central North Island equipped with a new Patchell crane truck set up and Palfinger crane with cab. The Euro 6 650hp DC16 V8 drives to an Opticruise GRSO926R 12-speed with 4100D retarder and RB735 hub reduction rear end. The R 650 rides on Scania High Spring suspension front and rear and is equipped with ABS/EBS disc brakes. Features include sleeper cab, scales, CTI, fridge, LED light bar, Dura-Bright alloys and drop visor. The cab and chassis has factory paint with sign writing by Caulfield Signs.
112 | Truck & Driver
McCallum Bros. in Auckland has introduced a new International RH-R6 to its fleet for carting bulk aggregate around Auckland and the Waikato. A 615hp Cummins X15 powers the 6x4 which is specced with an Eaton Ultrashift MXP and Meritor RT 46-160GP axles. An alloy bumper and premium trim are fitted to the International which works with a TransFleet alloy bin trailer.
BHL Feeds at Bell Block, New Plymouth has a second Kenworth T610 SAR with 760mm mid-roof sleeper, joining an identical truck delivered last year. While the first T610 is fitted with an alloy tip bin, the new unit carts molasses in the North Island with an occasional trip to the South Island. A 600.615hp Cummins X15 partners with an Eaton Ultrashift 18-speed automated transmission and Meritor 46-160 rear axles with full X-locks. The SAR has a 7.5t front axle running on Super Singles, full disc brakes and Dura-bright alloys. LED head lights are fitted and the stainless work includes drop visor, lower grill panel with marker light, air cleaner light bar with marker lights, head light defenders, fuel tank trim with marker lights and twin 6-inch pipes with illuminated shields.
Riverton-based Steven Shearing Contracting has a new International RH-R6 on silage and general bulk duties in Southland. Steven is driving the 6x4 fitted with a lift-out side tipper and powered by a Cummins X15 with 550hp and producing 1850 lb-ft of torque. An Eaton MXP Ultrashift transmission drives to Meritor 46-160 axles. The International was sold by Shaun Jury at Intertruck Distributors in Christchurch. It works with a 4-axle trailer and is fitted with a log-spec alloy bumper and twin vertical pipes.
New to Yorston Transport Ltd is a Mercedes-Benz Actros 2663 with MegaSpace cab. James and Tracy operate three trucks with Move Logistics based out of Dunedin and purchased the new Actros from Tristan Duffell at CablePrice Invercargill. This 6x4 unit will be hauling a 36-pallet, 6-axle B-Train on a daily Christchurch to Invercargill return run with plenty of power from the 15.6-litre OM471 engine developing 630hp and 3000Nm of torque.
Truck & Driver | 113
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WAIKATO
This eleventh book in the “Truck and Truckers” series centres on the Waikato region. A large number of these companies have long gone, but the impressive fleets they operated will long be remembered.
My thanks to the families, Marty Greaves and Ben Uncles for the help with photos and information.
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Interesing to note the early electric trucks operated by the NZ Dairy Co at Waitoa and now 100 years later the elctric trucks are again making an appearance. As this prime farm and agricultural land was developed it was the trucking industry that helped with this and then took the product to market. The manufacturing industries also made the plant and transport products to keep it local.
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