NZ Trucking Magazine April 2024

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Official magazine of the

kiwi favourites The results are in and we couldn’t be happier. Scania has been voted the number one* truck brand in the country by the people whose opinion we value the most New Zealand truckies.

We’re chuffed to have rated highest on all measures, including most preferred, comfort, safety, sustainability, performance, efficiency, service and parts. Thanks New Zealand. It means a lot.

*Nationwide online 2023 survey by NZ Trucking magazine with 720 respondents.

52% were heavy truck drivers, 23% were owner/operators or employees of a heavy truck brand. Truck brands currently driven by respondents – Scania 29%, Kenworth 28%, Volvo 18%, all other brands 25%.

2

New Zealand Trucking April 2024

Ahaura Transport is a rural carrier based in the Grey Valley. The company’s Kenworth K200 Aerodyne is pictured climbing Dee Hill, east of Inangahua on SH6. Photo: Craig McCauley.

CONTENTS THE

REST

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Dave McCoid Ph: 027 492 5601 Email: dave@nztrucking.com EDITOR

Gavin Myers Ph: 027 660 6608 Email: gavin@nztrucking.com For all advertising enquiries: ADVERTISING MANAGER

Pav Warren Ph: 027 201 4001 Email: pav@nztrucking.co.nz Mike Devon Ph: 027 332 4127 Email: mike.devon@nztrucking.co.nz Maddy McCoid Ph: 027 336 6811 Email: maddy@nztrucking.co.nz

32 TRUCK OF THE YEAR 2024 New X Takes ToYA 24

SUB EDITORS

Tracey Strange, Faye Lougher

72

EDITORIAL SUPPORT

Carl Kirkbeck, Craig McCauley, Shannon Williams, Russell Walsh CONTRIBUTORS

DIGITAL IMAGING

Craig Andrews Faye Lougher Alison Verran Mike Verran Andrew Geddes Niels Jansen (Europe) Paul O’Callaghan

Willie Coyle

(UK, Europe, Australia)

Mike Williams (Australia)

Will Shiers (UK) Rod Simmonds (USA) VIDEO PRODUCTION

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DIGITAL MANAGER

Louise Stowell OFFICE ADMINISTRATION

Georgi George

Editorial Road Noise News Rig of April 2014 Wanaka Memory Wellington Truck Show Dunedin Truck Show Just Trucking Around Where’s that Road?

New Rigs New Bodies and Trailers Million Mile Club Craig’s Trucking Snapshot Aussie Angles – Quad Dog Log ITS – Middle East Magic Mini Big Rigs – Building Torque Little Truckers’ Club What’s On Cartoon

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36 BUILDING A LEGACY QDC Celebrates 30 Years

Izaak Kirkbeck Milly McCauley PRODUCTION MANAGER

Ricky Harris ART DIRECTOR

John Berkley

New Zealand Trucking magazine is published by Long Haul Publications Ltd. The contents are copyright and may not be reproduced without the consent of the editor. Unsolicited editorial material may be submitted, but should include a stamped, self-addressed envelope. While every care is taken, no responsibility is accepted for material submitted. Opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of New Zealand Trucking or Long Haul Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. This magazine is subject to the New Zealand Press Council.

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Moving Metrics Tech in Transport – Getting Mobile 98 IRTENZ Conference – Vehicles 100 Business Update – Maha 104 Carriers Corner 106 Truckers’ Health 108 Health & Safety 110 Legal Lines 112 Clear the Air 114 Employee Relations 116 NZTA 118 NRC 120 Transporting New Zealand 122 The Last Mile 92 96

80 BIG-FOOTED TRADITION Visiting the Famous Gee Cee’s

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18 HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT The Unsung Heroes of Auckland

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EDITORIAL

GOOD OPERATORS MAKE A GREAT INDUSTRY

I

n the past two months, the New Zealand Trucking Media team has attended two industry events that have reinforced all that is positive about the Kiwi trucking industry. As you may have read last month, the first of these was Southpac’s 100 Years of Kenworth event – a once-in-a-century celebration of the grandest style.

The other was the Teletrac Navman Technology Maintenance and Safety Conference and Exhibition, held in mid-March jointly by the New Zealand Trucking Association and National Road Carriers Association.

The associations made a lot of hype about the TMS Conference and Exhibition in the months leading up to the event. It was promised to be a new concept, and kudos must go to the organising teams for giving it a lash – sometimes new thinking around old ideas is just what’s needed. To paraphrase Dave McCoid’s EDM editorial, written the week of the event, it was a superb example of collaboration within the industry, a great manifestation of harmonised visions, and I look forward to seeing how TMS evolves in the years to come.

We’ll bring you a full event recap in coming issues. We’d have never been

able to do it justice in the lead-up to this issue, but I wanted to take the opportunity to single out two aspects of the two days that really stood out to me. The first was the opening two hours of the show, designed for kids from local schools who are at the stage of life where they ought to be thinking about future career directions. Some 130 Christchurch students descended upon the Te Pae Convention Centre for the Careers Transport Expo, chatting to exhibitors and learning about different paths they could follow for a future career in transport. Sure, some left with pockets of free stuff – kids will be kids – but others left with cogs turning, set in motion by the conversations they’d had with exhibitors and delegates. You can always spot kids with a genuine interest in something.

Better still, NZT will follow this up with its Careers Trucking Transport School, a five-day programme during the July school holidays that will grant students hands-on access to branches of the industry. Maybe, one day when they look back on their careers in transport, a morning at TMS 2024 will be the catalyst they remember. You just never know when you’ll inspire a young mind.

And from inquiring young minds to

wise old heads, the second aspect that stood out to me was the Operator’s View Across the Industry Sectors session.

Chaired by NRC CEO Justin TigheUmbers and featuring Newey Transport’s Ian Newey (logging), Normans’ Adam Norman (family-owned provincial carrier), ORT’s Don Wilson (livestock) and South Island Port User Group’s Grant Lowe (ports), the panel shared their journeys, experiences, learnings and wisdom gained from years at the sharp end of running successful operations and, in Grant’s case, working groups with industry, ports and associations.

Most often at conferences, those at the coalface are fed speeches and presentations by outside experts.

Yes, conversations happen within the industry all the time, but what was refreshing about this session at a conference level was the reminder there’s so much the industry still can learn from itself.

Gavin Myers Editor

The team at Long Haul Publications is excited to announce that New Zealand Trucking magazine editor Gavin Myers has bought an ownership stake in the company. Given Gavin’s commitment and enthusiasm for the business and its various media arms since he joined the company in 2019, Margaret Murphy and I are delighted to have him alongside us as Long Haul Publications enters a new chapter in its story – Dave McCoid.

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ROAD NOISE NEWS

MAERSK JOINS RUAKURA SUPERHUB RUSH Maersk has opened its integrated cold chain facility at the Ruakura Superhub, solidifying Hamilton as a key touch point within the Golden Triangle for freighting and logistics in Aotearoa.

Maersk has invested up to $150 million in the Ruakura facility, making it its biggest infrastructure investment nationwide. The new facility offers customers end-to-end supply chain management, including import, export and cross-docking services.

It enables the exchanging of goods between transport modes, creating a flexible supply chain within the Waikato and the wider country.

Hamilton sits at the heart of the Golden Triangle, between Auckland and Tauranga, which sees 65% of the country’s freight flow through the strategic corridor.

“New Zealand has long played a vital role in the global supply chain from dairy, meat to seafood and fruits, the primary industry sector to drive the development of the country’s economy,” said Vincent Clerc, CEO of Maersk.

“We have over the years made very significant investments in our ocean network and offer today a best-in-class experience from a capacity, coverage and reliability perspective.

We have operated in New Zealand for 27 years – and we are enthusiastic about fostering sustained growth and forging these longterm partnerships with our customers.”

ROAD NOISE NEWS NEW MODELS

Hyzon FCEV lands Down Under

H

yzon has launched its single-stack 200kW fuel-cell system and powertrain in a vehicle in Australia. The vehicle – Hyzon’s 200kW prime mover – was officially unveiled at the Kangan Institute’s Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE) in Melbourne, one of Australia’s largest educational providers of automotive training and accreditation.

The 200kW prime mover is designed to meet the operational demands of heavyduty road transport.

Hyzon integrated its fuel-cell technology and 200kW FCEV powertrain first into a cabover vehicle, a familiar design for fleets in Australia, New Zealand and Europe. The company expects to deploy 200kW cabovers in Europe and 200kW conventional vehicles in the United States later this year.

The single-stack 200kW fuel-cell system for the prime mover was manufactured at Hyzon’s US production facility in Bolingbrook, Illinois. This system, expected to reach the start of production in the second half of 2024, generates its 200kW of power output from a single fuel-cell stack.

Reaching 200kW fuel-cell power typically requires two smaller units, but Hyzon has engineered a single stack 200kW fuel-cell system that is 30% lower in weight and volume and estimated to be 25% lower in total fuel-cell system cost compared with two of its 110kW fuel cell systems combined.

By integrating high-power, compact fuel-cell systems into familiar vehicle builds, Hyzon plans to offer fleets a zeroemission option that can match the operational expectations of a diesel truck.

The prime mover was designed and assembled in Australia.

“We are assembling zeroemission heavy vehicles right here in Melbourne, Australia, using local skills and employing local people,” said Hyzon managing director for Australia, John Edgley.

“Hyzon established Australia’s first purpose-built assembly plant in Melbourne’s southeast in 2021 to capitalise on the wealth of homegrown industry skills left behind when several global automotive businesses shut down their regional operations,” he said.

“We have grown our team to more than 50 local employees, including engineers, fabricators, welders, and designers to put this new vehicle on the road.”

According to Edgley, the FCEV prime mover is expected to revolutionise Australia’s heavy-duty transport market and is an important step in solving a uniquely ‘Australian‘ problem: conquering heavier payloads and longer distance requirements – without emissions.

“We look forward to working with transport operators across Australia and New Zealand as we move forward with the decarbonisation of our transport sector,” he said.

Hyzon’s 200kW prime movers are expected to operate on Australian and New Zealand roads later in 2024.

According to Hyzon CEO Parker Meeks, the single-stack 200kW fuel-cell system may also allow Hyzon to bring the same technology to industrial ecosystems beyond trucking, including mining, rail, marine, stationary power generation and airport ecosystems.

Hyzon chief technology officer Dr Christian Mohrdieck shows off the Hyzon 200kW fuel-cell system at the launch event.

Pacifica Shipping deploys batteryswapping initiative

C

oastal shipping operator Pacifica Shipping, an operating division of Swire Shipping (NZ), has launched a new project to create one of New Zealand’s lowest-emission supply chains for heavy freight by linking zeroemission, battery-swap, electric trucks with coastal shipping.

Co-funded by the Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority, the initiative will see the deployment of two XCMG

E700 battery-swap electric trucks for the first- and last-mile transportation of products, with low-emission coastal shipping for ocean freight.

The project is poised to significantly reduce carbon footprint by eliminating 5100 conventional combustion engine truck movements and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by up to 250 tonnes annually.

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) has joined this initiative as

the product partner. Mainfreight and Hilton Haulage have been brought on board as inland transportation partners. The project’s first phase will see the start of Mainfreight operating battery-electric trucks between CCEP’s Mount Wellington site and the Port of Auckland.

Subsequently, operations will be expanded to Christchurch, with Hilton Haulage operating between Lyttelton Port Company and CCEP’s Woolston site.

“Pacifica Shipping has always been a strong supporter of the transition to a low-emissions future. This ground-breaking initiative, the first of its kind in New Zealand, leverages coastal shipping to create a supply chain characterised by the lowest carbon emissions for heavy freight shipments within New Zealand,” said Alistair Skingley, country manager, New Zealand, Swire Shipping.

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ROAD NOISE NEWS

Scania NZ celebrates 5th anniversary

S

cania New Zealand is celebrating the fifth anniversary of its official brand presence in New Zealand in 2024 and enjoying its fourth consecutive year at the top of the New Zealand heavy truck market.

“The achievement is proof Scania hit the ground running when it established itself here, and the leadership team’s focus on customers-first, a nationwide service network and extensive aftersales care proved a winning formula that is still delivering today,” said early team member and current pre-sales and logistics director, Rob Covich.

There are currently 2905 Scanias on New Zealand roads, with more than 1.4 billion kilometres

travelled over five years.

Scania New Zealand sold 645 trucks in 2023, compared to 239 trucks sold in its first year in 2019.

Scania New Zealand managing director, Victor Carvalho, said while the stats and achievements are impressive and well-earned, they also serve as a yardstick from which to build and improve.

“To this end, imminent investments for Scania include two additional service centres to come online this year in Invercargill and Hastings, with a further three or four more planned in the next three years, along with some major refurbishment plans for existing

Scania New Zealand managing director Victor Carvalho. sites,” Carvalho said.

“We also hope to announce a strategic property acquisition soon with an eye to futureproofing our service centre network,” he said.

“Plus, our ongoing development of technology

platforms will continue to play an important role in creating efficiencies, not just in Scania New Zealand’s business but also in our clients’ businesses.

“Here’s to another equally successful and transformative five years.”

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ROAD NOISE NEWS

NTA receives $100K grant to Develop Recovery at Work Initiative

N

ew Zealand Trucking Association has been awarded an ACC Innovation Fund grant of $100,000 in the second round of funding to develop a Recovery at Work Initiative for the transport and logistics industry.

The ACC Innovation Fund programme rewards innovation in the health sector that helps people recover from injury faster. They partner with health providers to support initiatives to improve outcomes and experiences for people recovering from injury.

The Innovation Fund is available annually and has specific themes for each round.

The Innovation Fund round two focused on ideas that helped injured individuals stay engaged with their workplace and recover

12

at work, highlighting the benefits for personal health and business efficiency. It encouraged proposals that introduced efficient care pathways, developed accessible services, enhanced processes, utilised impactful technology, or created tailored care packages.

Preferred projects were those ready for quick implementation, deliverable within 12 months, accessible to all cultures, supported by relevant entities, and had scalability potential.

“This initiative is in perfect alignment with HARMfree Transport and Logistics and will be an excellent addition to our online platform. As an industry association, we are closely connected to our members. This project is crucial for maintaining our workers’ connection to their

New Zealand Trucking April 2024

work during recovery,” said John Sansom, project manager, NTA. The Transport and Logistics – Recovery at Work Initiative by the New Zealand Trucking Association will be a comprehensive project aimed at improving recovery processes in the transport and logistics sector following workplace injuries.

The initiative will include developing a dedicated module on the HARMfree Transport and Logistics online portal, which will feature comprehensive recovery packs tailored to the challenges faced by workers in the sector.

It will encompass multilingual resources, informative videos, success stories and industryspecific management processes aimed at supporting injured workers’ effective recovery and maintaining workplace connection.

The project, which emphasises inclusivity, will integrate Te Ao Māori principles and focus on physical and mental health benefits, skills retention and positive impacts on productivity and workplace culture. The initiative will also provide various tools and resources for rehabilitation, ensuring equitable support for the diverse workforce.

“We collaborate closely with our partners, National Road Carriers (NRC), to proudly advance health, safety, and wellbeing initiatives within the transport and logistics industry,” said Sansom.

“The Recovery at Work initiative represents a further step in equipping our industry with the tools necessary for improved outcomes. This initiative will be seamlessly integrated into the HARMfree online portal, enhancing our digital resources and support for the sector.”

The HARMfree Transport and Logistics online portal and forum offers a wealth of information, tools, resources and a workplace assessment tool, all available for free. The platform is specifically designed for leaders and health and safety champions within the transport and logistics sector.

HARMfree Transport and Logistics was developed through a collaboration between NTA, NRC, AutoSense, Fit for Duty Ltd, Success Formula, and with ACC Workplace Injury Prevention Grant funding and support, enhances workplace safety and worker wellbeing.

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ROAD NOISE NEWS

Daimler goes for “Vision Zero”

F

rom July 2024, all trucks, buses and touring coaches newly registered in the EU will have to comply with the regulations of the updated General Safety Regulation (GSR), a series of driver assistance systems to further increase road safety for all parties involved.

Daimler Truck has therefore launched its latest generation of assistance systems, including Active Brake Assist 6, Active Sideguard Assist 2, Front Guard

Assist, Active Drive Assist 3 and Traffic Sign Assist.

According to figures from the EU’s CARE database, passenger car occupants, cyclists and pedestrians together accounted for an average of 70% of all traffic fatalities in accidents involving heavy goods vehicles weighing 3.5 tonnes or more – with passenger car occupants, in particular, accounting for almost 50%. Some 12% of traffic fatalities in such accidents were

passengers of the respective goods vehicles. Overall, the number of road users killed in these accidents has decreased significantly in recent years.

As of July 2024, systems such as Sideguard Assist, a movingoff warning system, Intelligent Speed Assist, Tyre Pressure Loss Warning System, Reversing Assist with camera or sensors and a warning system in the event of driver fatigue and diminished attention will be required by

law, along with a device for the installation of an alcohol-testbased immobiliser.

A highly developed warning system will be mandatory from 2026 if the driver’s concentration decreases. An event data memory will follow in 2029. In addition, an even larger direct field of vision from the driver’s workplace will then have to be ensured.

Daimler Truck has developed a new electronics platform that

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enables an even larger view to the front and side through the so-called sensor fusion for merging radar and camera data. It offers 20 times faster data processing, and a total of six installed sensors can now cover an angle of 270 degrees around the vehicle.

Active Brake Assist 6 uses the efficiency of the 270-degree fusion technology. It can now also perform automated maximum full-stop braking from speeds of 60km/h ahead of crossing, oncoming or in-lane road users. Ahead of stationary vehicles, the system can operate at speeds up to 80km/h. ABA 6 also boasts multi-lane monitoring at a distance of up to 250m for even better hazard detection.

The second-generation Active Sideguard Assist (ASGA 2) monitors traffic on the driver’s and front passenger sides. It can alert drivers to potential dangers in two stages up to a speed of 30km/h. Up to a turning speed of 20km/h,

the system can also initiate automated braking if the driver has not reacted to an audible and visual warning for the passenger side beforehand.

The third-generation Active Drive Assist (ADA) now offers drivers enhanced support in the longitudinal and lateral guidance of the truck. The emergency steering function is particularly new here; ADA 3 can actively countersteer to prevent leaving the lane and steer the vehicle back into the centre of the lane or into its own lane. If the driver comes too close to a vehicle in front, ADA 3 can brake the truck automatically to the set distance from the vehicle in front.

“However, the boundaries of physics cannot be moved with the systems – even as good as they are. The driver, therefore, remains fully responsible for driving the vehicle safely at all times, as stipulated by law,” says the company.

Simon Bridges appointed NZTA chair

S

imon Bridges is the new board chair of Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency.

The former National Party leader and transport minister has been appointed for three years.

Bridges is also the chief executive of the Auckland Business Chamber.

Transport Minister Simeon Brown said Bridges would bring extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance.

“He will have a strong focus on delivery and outcomes and ensure that NZTA is working to implement the Government Policy Statement on land transport, which will provide the infrastructure New Zealanders need,” Brown said.

“Transport is a critical part of the Government’s plan for economic growth and productivity, and I look forward to working closely with Simon

over the coming years to deliver the government’s transport objectives.”

Bridges takes over from acting chair Cassandra Crowley.

Simon Bridges has been the CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber since 2022.

Following a successful legal career, Bridges was elected to Parliament in 2008, representing the Tauranga electorate until retiring from politics in 2022.

Throughout his political career, Bridges held various ministerial portfolios including transport, economic development, and communications.

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ROAD NOISE NEWS

EECONIC GETS FIT

FOR AUSTRALIA

Mercedes-Benz Custom Tailored Trucks (CTT), the Mercedes-Benz Trucks department for customised conversions, is working on a bespoke solution for the Mercedes-Benz eEconic for a waste disposal company in Australia.

The Molsheim-based team mostly works on conversions of the A model series, namely the Actros, Arocs and Atego.

The modified eEconic is one of a total of 10 of this type for the Australian market.

The conversion is necessary due to Australia’s differing national approval regulations. With the eEconic series produced in Wörth am Rhein, Australian waste disposal companies cannot use the maximum payload due to different calculation principles.

In Australia and Europe, specific values for the maximum gross vehicle weight apply for registration, depending on the axle configuration. However, values apply in Australia that are far below the European limits.

The eEconic for the Australian market can carry three tons more payload by converting from a single to a dual trailing axle. To make the vehicles fit for Australia and its operations with waste containers, the wheelbase has also been extended from the standard 4m to 4.6m.

16

Transport sector sceptical of zeroemission mandates

L

ess than half of global fleet managers believe governments will follow through on planned zeroemissions mandates, according to the latest industry survey from Teletrac Navman. The study of more than 500 fleet operators throughout Britain, North America, Australia, New Zealand and Latin America sheds light on the industry’s latest trends and challenges, as well as the viewpoints of global operational leaders on topics including safety, AI adoption, alternative energy and 2024’s biggest obstacles for fleets.

The annual report focuses on three key areas: sustainability, safety and efficiency.

Two-thirds of global fleets are currently operating PHEV, BEV or FCEV vehicles. However, the report found that switching still presents challenges with emerging technologies, high vehicle costs, and limited public charging points.

Fleets list their top three expenses as (1) unstable fuel costs, (2) equipment/ vehicle maintenance and (3) purchasing new equipment/ vehicles. Driver wellbeing and safety technology is the No.1 investment fleets are looking to make in 2024.

Sustainability With 65% of fleets feeling environmental pressure to transition to alternative energy, many are operating a multienergy fleet or are about to begin their transition while still experiencing a lack of awareness and readily available, trustworthy guidance.

When seeking guidance on transitioning fleets to electric or alternative energy, 25% of respondents prefer advice from experts, and 15% would opt for dedicated training courses.

New Zealand Trucking April 2024

While the switch to alternative energy keeps rising on fleet operators’ agendas and a quarter of TS24 respondents name tackling rising fuel costs as a key motivation, challenges still remain. The frequency of emerging new technologies, high purchase cost of alternative energy vehicles and limited availability of public charging points have been identified as the top obstacles for businesses on their way to decarbonisation.

This is highlighted even further as 72% of respondents state that ongoing cost pressures will likely delay their transition to EV or alternative energy vehicles. In New Zealand and Australia, 69% express doubts about the government’s commitment to the planned ban on fossil fuels, outnumbering the 46% in the US who share similar doubts.

Driver safety Driver safety remains a top priority for fleets, with half of the businesses surveyed currently monitoring and measuring driver behaviour and 30% of respondents planning on investing in driver wellbeing technology this year.

Over two-thirds of respondents (73%) have seen fewer accidents on the job since adopting telematics solutions, and 73% are actively rewarding drivers for better performance.

TS24 also found 71% of respondents have seen improved driver performance through driver rewards programmes.

Of the businesses surveyed, 62% recognise the cost-ofliving crisis’s impact on their drivers’ mental health. Teletrac Navman has seen a 110% increase year-on-year in driver

appreciation activities, a 54% increase in adopting reward programmes, and a 52% increase in the promotion to senior driver.

Rising fuel costs are also considered in driver behaviour management, with a 33% increase in businesses implementing new driver behaviour programmes to navigate rising fuel costs since last year.

Efficiency and streamlining TS24 also found businesses are working towards keeping up with the latest technologies in order to achieve streamlined operations.

With the top costs for fleets listed as fuel, followed by equipment and vehicle maintenance and purchase, almost all TS24 respondents (96%) say they have made measurable savings by implementing telematics, streamlining admin time, fuel savings and overall cost savings.

According to the industrywide survey, asset visibility, meeting compliance regulations and more efficient routing and dispatching are the top three benefits operators have seen since implementing telematics solutions.

Despite the widespread adoption of telematics solutions (98%), only 43% of businesses feel they are using these tools to their full potential.

While AI technology is beginning to grow in prevalence, the market is increasingly recognising the possibilities of data-led and machine learning applications, with 47% of TS24 respondents currently leveraging AI solutions.

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COVER FEATURE

HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT Stock cartage, rural contracting, bulkies, tankers, linehaul and logging … we cover them all and more in New Zealand Trucking magazine. These are the obvious heroes of the highway, out in their masses, moving the economy, and looking good while they do it. But there’s much more to trucking, much more to keeping the economy going – and it’s at the other end of the market where the wheels of the unsung heroes of the highway turn – the trucks that hide in plain sight, but without which everything would turn to garbage.

Leafy, green, Landfill Access Road is a stark contrast to what lies beyond, and a familiar drive for Auckland’s rubbish trucks.

Story by Gavin Myers

Photos and video by Dave McCoid and Gavin Myers

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hat a fascinating couple of months it’s been at New Zealand Trucking magazine. In the March issue, we featured Metal Solution’s Iveco T-Way hook loader, an impressive, highly likable truck.

But as is so often the case with these cover features, the truck’s raison d’etre was really fascinating, the back story to the company, the insight into the world of scrap metal – an industry we don’t feature too often on these pages.

Likewise, this month. Waste and recycling … They just don’t feature often. When the T-Way and the two Mercedes-Benz Arocs you see here came onto our radar, little did we realise they’d make such intriguing stories. The fact they’ve followed on from one another

has conveniently combined two relations of the waste management industry in a neat little series.

We’re all aware of the movement of waste and recycling but rarely think about it. “Sanitation services in this country are beyond good. Nobody realises how it all happens, what’s behind the scenes of waste collection. You put your bin out in the morning and bring it in when you get home at night, and that’s all you see,” comments Ken Frazer, the charismatic and jovial national fleet manager of Northland Waste.

Home to 520 staff members, the company operates as Northland Waste from Cape Reinga to the Pūhoi tunnel, Econowaste from Pūhoi tunnel throughout Auckland, and

‘QDC’, the 630, rolls down The Concourse.

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New Zealand Trucking April 2024

Low Cost Bins from Palmerston North to Wellington. The fleet operation is managed from Econowaste’s Whenuapai offices, of which Ken is also the branch manager. As national fleet manager, he has 384 vehicles in his care, including various waste and refuse trucks, and bits of plant.

“You’ve got to really understand what ‘a rubbish truck’ is,” he says. “You’ve got your little rear loaders for smaller streets and jobs – for us, that fleet is mostly Isuzu. The next level are the trucks we all see every day, the kerbside collections, they’re Isuzus, Hinos, Ivecos, and a couple of Mercs. Next, we have hook trucks that move those big 35m3 bins, again Isuzus, Mitsis and so on. And then there are the big rigs that run between the transfer stations and the landfills

– we currently have two K200s and the three Arocs, two 3258s and one 3263.”

The four ‘big rigs’ – nineaxle, 58-tonne units – operate in a set pattern. By day they run refuse from the Waitakere Refuse and Recycling Transfer Station (WRRTS) on The Concourse in Henderson to the Redvale Landfill at Dairy Flat north of Auckland. By night, the two Arocs 3258s also shuttle recycling between the company’s Silverdale Re:Sort station and Visy Recycling in Onehunga. Every so often, one will take green waste up to Ruakākā and pick up recycling from Northland Waste in Whāngārei to bring back to Visy.

So, considering most of the fleet at the lighter end of the scale consists of Japanese gear, why the Arocs for the bulk

“We needed the ability to move more rubbish at once – the biggest legal truck we could find”

‘PTJ’, the other 3258, turns into the WRRTS. loads? That’s a story that has its origins in the dark, depressing days of Covid-19 and global supply chain issues.

“We needed the ability to move more rubbish at once – the biggest legal truck we could find that fits our requirement and does the job safely, fuel efficiently, with Euro-6 emissions, we needed that package. We looked at all the trucks in that class and the Mercs ticked pretty much all the boxes,” explains Ken. “We’d initially ordered two 580hp Arocs with MirrorCams, as well as two K200s. The closing deal was this was all during Covid, when you couldn’t just

Yang enters Landfill Access Road in ‘PZG’.

get trucks. Availability was a big thing. The 630 arrived because we needed both Kenworths for the contract, but there were delays with the second, so we turned back to Keith Andrews.

They’ve been great; Chris Barclay in Whāngārei is really good.”

It’s a rubbish job, but someone has to do it As with most things in life, timing is everything, and the Econowaste trucks run a consistent schedule to keep the levels at the transfer stations acceptable.

With the trucks parked

up at the WRRTS overnight, loader driver Peter “PJ” Johnson starts the process at 4.00am, pre-loading the trucks before the drivers turn up, ready to go. The first one heads off at about 5.30am, followed by the second one about half an hour later. There’s no real rush as Redvale only opens at 6.15am and, with all the traffic heading into the city, the drivers get to experience that phenomenon so rare in major cities – running against the morning rush. You’d almost feel smug.

As mentioned, the two 3258s switch from refuse to recycling in the evenings and complete, on average, five loads a night

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Gaurav heads down the Albany Highway from Redvale.

between the two of them, finishing by about 2.30am. That shift change takes place at the WRRTS each day from about 2pm, where the trucks wait, loaded up for their final run to Redvale with the secondshift drivers, before heading to Silverdale to begin the recycling run.

That’s when our day begins.

We meet the affable and proficient late-shift driver Yang Li and head straight for the 32 … 63.

“Change of plans; they loaded the wrong truck!” Ken says with

a laugh. There’s also another ‘smoking’ spanner in the works – the day we were to ride with Yang was the same day Green Gorilla’s Onehunga depot made the news after a fire broke out.

This meant we may not even get to Visy in the evening, the two depots on the same street.

Nonetheless, we climb the four steps up into the big 630’s cab, turn right onto The Concourse, join SH16 northbound, and make for Redvale. The 3263 is five months old, with just 25,800km on it, at our visit. The harshest part

The Econowaste Silverdale Re:Sort facility is a hive of refuse and recycling.

of the trucks’ lives, running this route in Econowaste livery, will be the fact that they exist to shift the city’s garbage. The 30-odd kilometre run between The Concourse and Landfill Access Road is barely taxing, the trucks making use of Auckland’s western and northern motorway links. Get up to speed, keep left, cruise from onramp to exit …

The toughest challenge is the climb out of Wairau Valley past Albany; the 3263’s 12-speed PowerShift 3 transmission drops down to 11th, and the OM473 dips into its 3000Nm

(2213lb/ft) torque reserve. We climb at a steady 63km/h at 1600rpm.

“I’m not sure if we’re light, or if it’s just because I’m not used to the extra power over the 580, but that seems quite fast,” Yang comments. “Normally, the 580 will climb that hill at 50-something. I can definitely feel the extra power, but I do think this load is lighter than normal.”

Arriving at Redvale, Yang flashes the WAIT card on his dashboard to indicate to the weighbridge operator that the

The trucks shuttle daily between the Waitākere Refuse and Recycling Transfer Station and Redvale landfill.

load originated in Waitākere and rolls onto the scales. The weighbridge confirms our suspicions, with a GVM reading of 50,240kg and a payload of 25,920kg. “A couple of tonnes less than I normally have in the 580 … I could feel that was an easy trip.”

Now, landfills. It’s probably fair to assume that most of us have never been to one and I’m divided as to whether that’s good or bad. On the one hand, it’s a literal pit of despair – an endless amount of used-up, discarded remnants of our daily

lives; our waste and garbage, piled up in a barren wasteland, constantly being added to by truck after truck, with a smell that hits your olfactory dead centre hanging heavy in the air … I’d wager it’s one of the most depressing places I’ve ever visited. A mirror to our modern lives hidden in the hills. Maybe, on the other hand, that’s exactly why more people should visit one.

“Landfills are depressing,” agrees Yang. “When I left my previous job at Dirtworks, I looked at a job at Redvale as a

machine operator. I was offered the job, but I turned it down.

I couldn’t do it. I had a think about it and didn’t sign the contract … They are good with health and safety, but still.”

Evidentially, landfills can be hazardous to modern trucks as well … While the trucks are serviced by Keith Andrews, as any other new Arocs sold by them would be, Econowaste performs additional inspections and greasing every 10,000km or five to six weeks. “These are not pretty Mercs that just run down the motorway; they literally

drive through rubbish,” Ken explains. “Ever seen the springs of a mattress wrapped around a driveshaft, picked up by a truck driving through a landfill? It’s horrendous; wrapped around the pinion on the diff head, it’s almost impossible to get out.

Thankfully I’ve only seen that once! And with modern-day trucks, you have all the airlines and wiring and sensors to worry about, too. That sort of damage doesn’t happen often, but we need to be on top of it and keep them clean.”

In fairness, Redvale does seem

Left: Arriving at the Redvale landfill, as one of the Econowaste K200s heads out. Right: Trucks stream into Redvale and line up continually throughout the day.

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1 & 2) Which offers the best view is still debated among drivers. 3) Tipping the truck’s bin after the trailer at Redvale. 4) Controls for the load covers. 5) Walking floor trailers are a brilliant concept. like a slickly run operation. The access roads for the trucks are good – the Arocs’ raised ride height is an advantage but barely a necessity, though Yang does engage the diff locks on the way up – the spotters on the ground keep the trucks flowing in and out smoothly, and the team of bulldozers continually shift the ‘fresh’ deposits.

With no queue to join – something of a bonus for the drivers, who can wait up to an hour and a half – Yang backs into position, jumps out to raise the Donovan Tarps mesh covers and open the doors on the Transfleet walking floor trailer, and sets it going. He watches the load being deposited in his mirrors, and keeps an eye on the SI Lodec scales. Once the movement of both slows down, he shifts the truck forward progressively until the trailer is empty. The entire process takes 10 to 15 minutes, but it’s safer than a tipping trailer in an environment with potentially uneven surfaces or prone to strong gusts of wind.

Tarps down and doors closed, Yang pulls forward to uncouple the trailer and returns to tip the truck’s load, which, as you’d expect, is a much quicker process. The trailer hooked up once more, it’s out through the two truck washes, back over the weighbridge, and open with the truck’s climate vents … (On that point, the Arocs has a particularly effective air conditioner … and cabin filtration!)

It’s a quick trip via East Coast Road to Silverdale, and arriving at the Econowaste Silverdale Re:Sort site, the evidence of the blaze at Green Gorilla is evident – the extra recycling deposits diverted to Econowaste making the pit already about twice as full as usual.

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That family feeling In the hope access to Visy will be restored, Yang positions the 3263 to load it up.

Econowaste’s Silverdale depot isn’t exactly

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New Zealand Trucking April 2024

what you’d call ‘nine-axle friendly’, with an awkward angle on the drive to negotiate while reversing 90 degrees into the recycling shed.

It looks hard on the gear. In fairness, when the yard was built, a contract requiring HPMV units wasn’t even on the horizon.

Yang’s job is made a little more difficult by the afternoon sun striking the 3263’s conventional mirrors. “I haven’t used normal mirrors for a while. The afternoon sun reflects, and you can’t easily judge how close you are to the wall, especially if there’s a bit of dust or dirt on them. MirrorCam is not affected by the sunshine. They also have a wider view, and they move with the trailer,” he says, straightening out to back in completely.

As we’ve witnessed in the past, however, conventional mirrors have one advantage in situations such as reversing – the ability to alter perspective by physically moving your body. This becomes clear when we later ride with Yang in the 3258 with MirrorCam, with him often looking out the window for a better idea of where he’s positioned.

With his truck in position, Yang flips open the covers and jumps aboard the Cat 930K wheel loader. Loading recycling is left to the drivers, as they’re the only ones on site after hours. Yang is a deft hand on the Cat, depositing bucket load after bucket load, and gently compressing it over the edge of the truck’s bin when it reaches full.

A full load of recycling is up to 15 tonnes lighter than a load of waste, but it’s also variable, with Auckland’s model being mixed at the transfer stations and then sorted at Visy for processing.

“The ‘fresh’ stuff up front is really loose and light; the stuff further back gets compacted.

Then, if it rains, the cardboard absorbs the water and gets heavier. I just fill it up to the top – it’s never overweight. The heaviest I’ve ever been with recycling was around 45 tonne,”

Yang Li.

Gaurav Bhagat.

TALENTED PEOPLE

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ne of the truisms of trucking is that you never know who is in the cab of the trucks driving the nation’s roads.

To the public, it’s often just another face behind the wheel.

To the excited kids leaning over the school fence vigorously air pumping their arms as the big rigs roll by, it could be the coolest person in the world – as they return a big smile and an enthusiastic blast on the horn.

To those closer to the industry, there may be a familiarity, even if there’s no deeper personal knowledge of one another’s lives – though more often these days, we hear the sentiment that the sense of camaraderie and friendship isn’t what it used to be.

This makes the job of jumping aboard different trucks alongside different drivers each month that much more of a privilege; we usually don’t know who we’ll meet, the path they’ve walked in life, and what stories they’ll have to share.

Arriving at Econowaste, the first driver we meet is 43-yearold Yang Li. Born in central China, Yang grew up in the capital, Beijing, before moving to New Zealand in 1999 at 18.

“I came here to finish high school in Christchurch and

then continue my studies,” he explains, adding that’s when he moved to Auckland. “I studied IT, but when I finished uni, I struggled to find a suitable job.

So, I did a lot of other stuff.”

Yang first stepped into the transport industry during this period, driving a Courier Post van for a while before opening a café in the city. “The construction of the light rail killed that,” he says. Following that, a truck-driver friend nudged Yang back into the driver seat.

“I always liked driving,” says Yang. “I’ve been driving for almost five years now. I put myself through the licence classes, starting as a class 2 driver, delivering window framing. But that involved a lot of carrying, which I also had to do at Courier Post, and I thought it wasn’t good for my back. As soon as I got my class 4, I found another job doing civil work, shifting dirt. After a year, that got boring, so I paid for my class 5 and also obtained full WTR and DG.” Yang started with Econowaste in October 2023. “A friend of mine, also from China, has been with Econowaste for eight years and introduced me into this company,” he says, adding with a laugh, “I only know of three

Chinese drivers driving class 5 combinations. There are not many Chinese drivers driving a truck and trailer. But it’s good driving trucks in New Zealand – in China, it’s not a good job. It’s much harder work with bad pay.”

Although Yang is still interested in IT, he has no desire to leave driving behind – much like the second Econowaste driver we meet, Gaurav Bhagat, or Uncle, as he’s better known.

“My nickname is actually Anku, but they call me Uncle,” he says with a laugh.

Although 31-year-old Gaurav is originally from the Punjab region of India, his story runs a remarkably similar path to Yang’s …

“I’ve been in New Zealand for six years now, always Auckland. In India, I worked for the clothing brand Lacoste.

I had a B.Com in accounting but I decided to come to New Zealand for further studies, and did an accounting diploma at Mt Albert Unitech.

“At that time, it was hard to get a job in accounting. I needed experience, but I also needed a permanent job to get a visa …” he says. This catch-22 would be the start of Gaurav’s journey into transport.

“Before I started driving, I was doing deliveries for a bakery

(where my wife still works). A friend worked for Econowaste and told me they had a vacancy, so I came for an interview.

Though I’d only started with a ute, I was interested in truck driving, and Econowaste helped me through my licence classes.”

While he’s been driving the Arocs 630 since the end of 2023, Gaurav spent the prior four years based at the Econowaste Silverdale depot. He worked his way up through various-sized waste trucks, culminating in a Roadranger-equipped Hino 700 hookloader truck and trailer combination, before being handed the keys to the big Arocs.

While Yang and Gaurav know waste trucks aren’t at the glamourous end of the industry, both are perfectly happy being a part of the important machine keeping the nation’s largest city clean. “I’ve been here for five years and I wouldn’t go back to accounting. It’s a good company to work for, and I love the job,” says Gaurav. “And I’m happy in this industry. During Covid, we weren’t affected; we had jobs.

Rubbish companies don’t stop working.”

A driver qualified in IT, and one who could do your books … you just never know who’s in the cab of a truck.

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1) Yang rolls through Dairy Flat. 2) MirrorCam combines with traditional blindspot mirrors to offer a good view around. 3 & 10) Similar, but different. 4 & 5) The MultiMedia Cockpit offers endless information and flexibility. 6) MirrorCam still divides opinion. 7) She’s a big climb in.

8) Gaurav cruises north out of Auckland. 9) ClassicSpace M-Cab offers more than enough space and storage for shift work.

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Yang comments.

The lesser weight is evident on the motorway back to WRRTS to wait out the fire. On the southbound side of Wairau Valley past Albany, the 3263 cruises along at 79km/h. Alas, the fire wouldn’t be under control for another day or two, meaning our visit to Visy would have to wait for another time, and Yang gets to head home early.

The following morning we’re back at the WRRTS to meet up with the 3263’s usual driver, Gaurav Bhagat, to get his thoughts on his truck. He’s already been to Redvale to get rid of yesterday’s load of recycling – an unfortunate knock-on consequence of Visy’s temporary inaccessibility.

Gaurav is cool, confident, and clearly a Mercedes man. “I love my truck,” he says. “I was in the Kenworth before this; it was too loud and less comfortable …

These Mercs are comfy. I have an E350, and it’s the same sort of comfort.” The Mercedes-Benz DNA shines through …

Riding on steel leaf springs up front and eight-bag air suspension in the rear, the Arocs’ are stable and surefooted on the road, too – though, again, there’s

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New Zealand Trucking April 2024

not much to challenge the trucks in this sort of local work.

While both Yang and Gaurav leave the PowerShift 3 to do its own thing in auto, Gaurav does flick between the Power, Economy and Normal modes.

“The power mode holds the gears and makes a difference when climbing; it’s noticeable,” he says. The Arocs are fitted with a three-stage Jacobs engine brake, and both Gaurav and Yang tend to only use the first two stages, agreeing the third stage is too strong in most day-to-day situations.

Back at Redvale, and today, we’re depositing at the top end of the facility. It’s a bit further on and a bit of a longer climb, but again, the Arocs isn’t fazed. While we wait, Gaurav flicks through functions in the Arocs’ Multimedia Cockpit. The 630 is fitted with the MMC Interactve system, with a 12in screen displaying driving info ahead of the driver and a 10in touchscreen on the dashboard allowing access to other vehicle functions (on the 580s both screens are 10in). We’ve covered off the MMC system in the past (see New Zealand Trucking, April 2022 and September 2022) but one convenient feature fitted

FILLING THE SHELVES AND EMPTYING THE BINS

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10 to models with air suspension is the axle-weight readout, including one for the trailer. On MirrorCams, Gaurav comments indifferently: “I’ve driven the MirrorCam trucks … It’s fine.

Good in the rain, you don’t have to constantly clean the mirrors!”

On the way back to The Concourse, Gaurav heads down the Albany highway towards SH18. As the Arocs encounters the descents into Albany, it enables its EcoRoll function, decoupling the transmission and rolling along freely to aid efficiency. A touch on the brake pedal immediately engages the engine to provide the requisite braking effect.

One week later … … and we’re back with Yang in one of the 580s for the recycling run as originally planned. The unit we’re in is about nine months and 65,000km old. Once again, we’re taking the day’s final load of refuse to Redvale, giving us the opportunity to see what a difference 50hp makes. Admittedly, our payload for this trip is 2.5 tonnes lighter than we’d carried with the 3263 – according to the Redvale weighbridge again – at 23,420kg, giving us a 47,860kg GVM. “I think we’re light again,” Yang comments as we head up the Wairau Valley climb. By the time the 3258 levels out, we’re doing

en Frazer is a busy man … In addition to his fleet and Auckland branch manager roles, he runs two of the company’s truck workshops in Auckland, is the Auckland Council contract manager, and the transport/linehaul manager.

A mechanic by trade, Ken moved into logistics “a number of years ago”, managing operations for Courier Post in his hometown of Wellington, including express and global courier freight. During his “eight or nine years” with Courier Post, he moved to Auckland’s North Shore as regional fleet manager. His journey from there is rather interesting.

“In 2010, I wandered off into supermarkets, to do something different – both green and yellow,” he says.

“I first worked for Woolworths Australia on a project to build a new DC. The day I finished that project, I was on a plane home, and Foodies rang me and asked what I was doing … They were both aware I worked for the other.”

After years of travelling back and forth to his job as Foodstuffs transport operations manager in Wiri, in 2016, Ken decided he’d had enough of the commute.

“I woke up one morning and decided I was sick of driving from the North Shore to Wiri every day. My son was 15 or so and wanted my attention, and I was so busy managing work at the ops level, so I thought, ‘No, I can’t be bothered anymore running a 24/7 operation on the other side of Auckland, away from my kids’. So I resigned for ‘lifestyle’ and needed to work on the North Shore.”

A couple of months later, a job came up with Smart Environmental. “I thought, ‘That could be me’. It was running their area-one recycle contract – smallish, with eight trucks, eight drivers, a little yard with a digger. We did a lot of good work in a short term.

“Then a job came up with the old contractor to the Auckland Council, looking for an operations manager at this branch, and that became me. They didn’t tender for the contract in 2020, but Northland Waste did, so I’ve been with Northland Waste since July 2020, first as branch manager and Auckland contract manager. Less than a year later, I got the national fleet manager role tossed in … and some people to help.”

The juxtaposition of the two very different industries – supermarkets and waste disposal – Is not lost on Ken. “Having worked in the logistics industry with supermarkets, dealing with people and perishable freight, it took me a while in the waste industry to realise we can’t damage this stuff; no one steals it, it has no value … it’s a different mindset.

“It’s been fascinating. With the supermarkets, we send it all out … with the rubbish, we bring it all back.

If there’s a supermarket truck out to your village today, there will be a rubbish truck out to follow it tomorrow.”

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62km/h in 11th at 1500rpm. “Yip, like I said [last week], normally the 580 climbs this hill in the 50s.”

Revisiting Redvale and the Silverdale station allows us to contrast the MirrorCam system with conventional mirrors and the same driver … an advantage to the wrong truck being loaded last week. Yang points out that despite the large 15.2in monitors, it’s not easy to see the spotter’s hand signals as he backs up to offload the trailer at Redvale.

“I can see his hand is up, but not which signal he’s giving.

However, these aren’t affected by the sun – as we witnessed with

“LANDFILLS ARE LIKE TRUCKS”

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orthland Waste started 15 years ago with the mission to provide an honest and affordable Kiwi solution to Waste and Recycling. Starting with a household wheelie bin service in Whāngārei, the company expanded in the North and began servicing households and business from Cape Reinga to Pūhoi.

“In an industry dominated by large multinationals, we saw an opportunity for a New Zealandowned business to provide local and affordable waste and recycling services,” explains Northland Waste marketing

the conventional mirrors – and I can also lower the sunblind without obscuring the view in the mirror.”

As he suggested the previous week when backing the 3263 into the pit at Silverdale, judging perspective and distance to the side of the truck with MirrorCam can be difficult. “I can change the camera view when reversing, but it doesn’t work for me here.

I can’t tell how close I am to the wall. But for normal driving, it doesn’t really matter. I don’t mind either.”

In addition to the MirrorCam system, one of the key

coordinator Loren Pocklington. It was much the same story when the company explored moving into the Auckland market as Econowaste – it was “a good market needing a good, local service”, Loren says.

While Auckland’s waste is currently sent to the (rapidly filling) Redvale landfill, Northland Waste operates its own landfill in Northland.

“Landfills are like trucks,” comments Ken Frazer, national fleet manager, Northland Waste.

“Way back when, they were not very good, whereas modern landfills are beyond people’s imagination.”

S P E C I F I C AT I O N S

Mercedes-Benz Arocs5 3258 and 3263L 8x4 ClassicSpace M-Cab

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Tare:

13,860kg / 13,740kg (Load Certs)

GVM:

28,350kg (Load Certs)

GCM:

80,000kg

Wheelbase:

5150mm

Engine:

Mercedes-Benz OM473

Capacity:

15.6L

Power:

425kW (578hp) / 460kW (625hp)

Torque:

2800Nm (2065lb/ft) / 3000Nm (2213lb/ft)

Emissions:

Euro-6e

Transmission:

Mercedes-Benz G330-12 AMT (PowerShift 3)

Clutch:

Double-disc clutch

Chassis:

Steel 7.53mm x 71mm x 850mm, 760mm width, heavy-duty crossmembers

Front axle:

Offset front axles

Front-axle rating:

7500kg

Front suspension:

Steel leaf spring

Rear axle:

Hypoid rear axles with diff locks. 3.909:1

Rear-axle rating:

13,400kg

Rear suspension:

Eight-bag air suspension

Brakes:

Disc. ABS, ASR, EBS

Auxiliary braking:

Three-stage Jacobs engine brake, 480kW

Additional safety:

Driver airbag, Seat belt monitor, Rain sensor, Light sensor, Stability Control Assist, Front facing and kerb mirrors.

Automatic park brake engage with door open at 0km/h, Automatic park brake engage with engine switch off

On 3258:

MirrorCam, active safety including adaptive cruise control and active brake assist 5. Electronic parking brake with hold function. Independent electronic trailer brake with trailer stability assist

On 3263L:

Electronic parking brake with hold function. Independent trailer brake

Additional productivity:

Axle-load measuring device on airbag axles

Fuel:

390L / 510L

DEF tank:

60L

Wheels:

11.75in Speedline Alloys

Tyres:

275/70 R22.5

Electrical:

24V

Cab exterior:

ClassicSpace M-Cab 2.3m wide with 170mm tunnel. Bi-Xenon headlights, LED daytime running light + LED tail lights.

In addition on 3263L: Electro Hydraulic Cab-Tilt. Increased ground clearance, movable steps, front-end guard plate, stainless front-end bash plate

Cab interior:

Multimedia cockpit, truck navigation, digital radio. Driver’s suspension seat. Fold-up co-driver’s seat. 12V electrical socket.

In addition on 3263L: leather steering wheel

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4 1 & 2) It’s a tricky manoeuvre to back into the recycling shed.

3) Gingerley compressing the load. 4) Yang raises the Donovan load covers having picked off any overhanging bits. differences between the Econowaste 3258s and the 3263 is the fitment of MercedesBenz’s radar-guided adaptive cruise control and Active Brake Assist 5. Cruising up the

motorway, Yang had set the ACC. From the passenger seat, it’s imperceptible, keeping the set distance and speed as other vehicles enter, exit and change lanes ahead of us, and as the

Arocs is faced with climbs and descents. When slowing or maintaining speed downhill, the system automatically engages the engine brake, although Yang comments that an application of

the foot brake is often needed as well. ACC will also allow EcoRoll to activate and fires up the engine to engage the engine brake when it detects a slower vehicle ahead.

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“I like it; it’s easy to set. But I don’t usually use it during the day, only at night when there’s less traffic,” he comments. “But the collision warning system can be a little too sensitive at times.”

As expected, the sound levels in both units are similar. The 630 recorded an average 70db at cruise and 72db under load, and the 580, interestingly, was slightly louder at 72db and 74db.

Celebrating the unsung heroes ‘A rubbish truck is a rubbish truck is a rubbish truck’, you’ve probably thought at some point while reading this story.

In some ways, that may be true. They don’t need to be flashy – given their operational remit, keeping them polished up and spotless would almost be a fool’s errand. They don’t

need to be particularly highpowered or high-tech – though attributes such as circa 600hp and advanced safety systems are an advantage in cut-and-thrust city traffic.

But, as Ken hinted many paragraphs ago, “You’ve got to really understand what ‘a rubbish truck’ is.” And, what ‘a rubbish truck’ is, is essential. Do the basic sums: four 58-tonne truck-andtrailer units, each running four or five loads to landfill from a single transfer station, every day … and then two of them, each running two or three loads of recycling to a sorting facility, every night.

A modern-day city’s waste and recycling flows like a river. And as we witnessed, one disruption to that flow causes an immediate and fast-growing backlog.

Essential, too, are their drivers.

It’s not a pursuit at the top of

many ‘dream driving job’ lists, but it is an honourable one.

As for the trucks, both Arocs models do this niche job admirably, and both reinforce the sentiments conveyed by MC Fale Transport driver John Langlands in our September 2022 feature.

Comfortable ride, good handling,

strong engine, stronger engine brake, solid build quality, mildly oversensitive safety tech, and a MirrorCam system that some would take, and others would leave. It’s all there, as we’d expect from the Arocs.

Shining stars hiding in plain sight – trucks and drivers.

Special thanks Once again, a fantastic and insightful few days spent in a segment of the industry we don’t often get to experience.

Thanks to Ken Frazer and Loren Pocklington for allowing us into your world, being so enthusiastic about what we were there to do, and accommodating us amid an unexpected operational curveball.

Thanks to Yang Li and Gaurav Bhagat for having us along and sharing your thoughts on the trucks and the job you do so admirably.

Thanks also to Chris Barclay at Keith Andrews Whāngārei, and Sophie Song and the team at Keith Andrews Trucks for your continued support of our business.

THE

RIGS OF

2014

Every cover truck holds a special place in the history of New Zealand Trucking magazine. We love to see where their road has taken them.

APRIL

Quakes & Quons

UD Quon GW26.420 • Currently owned by: Waipounamu & Waimea Contracting, Riversdale • Current work profile: Agricultural services • Basic original spec: UD GH11 at 308kW (419hp), UD ATO2612D 12-speed, 4.33:1 • What we said in 2013: “All in all, we were impressed by the Quon.

Nissan and now UD have built up an enviable reputation for providing a good tool for the job in New Zealand for over four decades, and with this new engine and transmission sitting between the rails, a good thing just got a bit better.”

The UD now hard at work for Waipounamu & Waimea Contracting.

Flexibility and Assurance with Long and Short Term Forklift hire.

Our 100 year history proves that when you do everything with heart, nothing is too heavy.

Mitsubishi from Centra, moving New Zealand forward.

You can hire a Mitsubishi Forklift on a fixed term hire contract, maintenance included on terms from day to day right up-to 7 years • New or Used, ex fleet forklifts available • Huge range to choose from • Delivery within 24hours

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HAF551 was first put to work in the Garden City’s reconstruction.

Associate Member ITOY

STARS X FACTOR WITH THE

The level of excitement and anticipation certainly ratcheted up a notch or three on the lead-up to 2024 Truck of the Year Australasia. The second outing for the award, it was presented at the inaugural Teletrac Navman Technology Maintenance and Safety Conference held in Christchurch in March and Western Star’s bang-up-to-date and ruggedly good-looking X-Series drove off with the trophy.

From left: Tim Giles, editor PowerTorque Australia and ToYA judge; Dave McCoid, editorial director New Zealand Trucking Media and ToYA judge; Kurt Dein, Western Star brand manager Penske Australia; Dean Hoverd, national sales manager Penske New Zealand; Hamish Christie-Johnston, CEO Penske Australia and New Zealand; Owen Humphries, truck sales engineer Penske Christchurch; Chris Sansome, national retail and fleet manager Penske New Zealand.

Story by Dave McCoid

I

t’s a real thrill to accept this award on behalf of the team at Penske Australia and New Zealand,” said Hamish Christie-Johnston, CEO of Penske for both countries.

“To see such an iconic brand redesigned from the ground up, and specifically for this market is so exciting to the 1300 passionate employees who have represented the Western Star brand for just over 40 years in this part of the world.”

In a move absolutely on point, the Penske New Zealand crew came to the conference with a Western Star 48X 8x4.

For the bucket load of reasons X-Series found itself a nose ahead – literally – in the local competition bringing that iteration to the show was the perfect statement for the brand’s commitment to market.

You might well see 47X and 49X traversing the roads of the US

Photos: New Zealand Trucking and Canada, but 48X is ours.

Kurt Dein is Western Star brand manager for Penske Australia and his own family has a long-standing association with the brand. “It’s certainly a great pleasure for me to stand here and accept this award. Our first product change in 24 years and with our exclusive product in 48X we talk about segment fit from length, efficiency, safety, and driver comfort.”

To say the 48X should find many happy homes in our region is a truism for sure, more so when presented in 8x4 configuration to the odd little islands 2000km to Australia’s east.

For those who don’t find comfort in a precipitous drop immediately in front of the windscreen, or those who just can’t ‘click’ with the Euro vibe, having a genuine 458kW US bonneted 8x4 truck

bristling with state-of-the-art Daimler platform safety kit, should induce an approving nod among the likes of the giant forestry and aggregate customers for a start.

“What a way to unveil the allnew X-Way,” said Penske New Zealand national sales manager Dean Hoverd. “The award recognises the partnership between Western Star and Penske in developing a truck specifically for our markets with the legendary durability combined with a new powerful integrated driveline, advanced safety features, and driver comfort.”

The path to glory Like the parent International Truck of the Year (IToY) competition, contributing to improved safety and efficiency within its market segment are the core tenets in the judging

Our own in more ways than one. Western Star 48X 8x4 on display at the TeletracNavman Technology Maintenance and Safety Conference in Christchurch last month.

criteria for ToYA. However, within the robust framework holding the five-decade-old IToY organisation together, the three regional competitions in existence to date are allowed an amount of leeway. We therefore included ‘availability’ as a pillar within the efficiency tenet, meaning availability to daily operations within a truck’s specific market sector commensurate with what that market would reasonably expect.

Unlike IToY, it certainly won’t be 47 years before an alternatively propelled vehicle wins ToYA. However, the availability requirement will ensure any truck winning our competition is completely relevant to its wider market subset at the time of winning, and it was that criteria that dealt a crucial blow to the Volvo F Electric series in ToYA 2024.

New Zealand Trucking

April 2024

33

The Scania Super is without question an awe-inspiring vehicle, and as we’ve said previously, beggars the question, ‘Have we extracted all there was to gain from ICE in our environmental aims?’ Its real issue in the context of ToYA was the quality of the stable it comes from.

As good as Super is, overall, it represents an incremental improvement on an already outstanding truck.

That left us with X-Series.

From the moment co-judges Tim Giles (PowerTorque magazine, Australia), Charleen Clarke (Focus on Transport and Logistics and SHEQ Management magazines, South Africa), and I first met, the X-Series presented itself as a compelling case.

Our thoughts were reinforced when Randolph Covich (Deals

on Wheels magazine, New Zealand) and Bob Woodward (Australian Trucking Association technical engineer – retired) critiqued our decision as independent invited judges outside IToY membership.

With the vehicle manufacturing industry evolving at the pace it is, an independent brand allowing a model range to slip behind the eight ball might well be risking its obsolescence.

It’s at those times the big guns come into their own, and only a behemoth the size of Daimler Truck North America with its vast platform toolbox could fund a brand-new machine at the level we see in X-Series as successor to the old 4000 series Western Star.

Speaking in Sydney in 2019 at the launch the DTNA sibling

Swanky, techy, but still true to itself.

On the ToYA 24 evaluation drive in Australia last year.

Freightliner Cascadia, Daimler Truck boss Martin Daum made two things clear – that Western Star would be next to receive the platform treatment and, being a vocational model, it would ‘own’ the 8x4 bonneted option for this part of the world.

What X-Series has done is lift the industry bar for average levels of safety and efficiency, therefore improving the industry’s social licence to operate its machines freely in society.

Obviously, the Detroit driveline dominates, with Cummins popping up in 47X, ditto Allison auto transmissions.

The latest iteration of Detroit Assurance 5.0 safety underpins an exceptionally good-looking truck with vastly improved visibility from the platform,

state-of-the-art, roomy cab.

All that said, Western Star has remained true to itself, its loyal devotees, and anyone seeking the North American bonneted look and feel.

There is still a woodgrain look on a gauge-riddled dash if that’s your jam, and for the purists, you can still tick ‘manual’ in the transmission section on the order form.

Only Louis Braille could deny the truck’s look; a big chunky bonnet with an imposing Western Star logo dominating the upper bezel of the chrome grille. As bang up to date as it might be, Western Star still unashamedly states its place in the world.

All in all, a worthy ToYA 2024 winner.

BUILDING A LEGACY Story by Faye Lougher

In today’s economic climate, a business reaching its 30th anniversary is something to celebrate.

Considering the owner is still in his 40s, that’s even more of an achievement.

Q

uality Demolition and Contracting owner Shane Gray says when he joined his father in the demolition industry as a teenager, he never envisioned Quality Demolition and Contracting (QDC) would be the successful business it is today.

Its beginnings were humble: “When we started off, we were probably grateful if we got a Mazda B16 ute that didn’t have rust in it! It’s a pretty cool feeling to look at what we have now; we’ve got some of the best

QDC celebrating its 30th anniversary at this year’s Wellington Truck and Transport Show. Photo: Faye Lougher.

36

New Zealand Trucking April 2024

Photos: Gray collection gear in New Zealand. And, no, you wouldn’t have envisioned it becoming what it’s become.

You’d never have seen it being a freehold company.”

Shane’s father, Gavin Gray, established the Wellingtonbased business in 1994. Before that, Gavin had owned ACE Demolition, but Shane says the company had an unsustainable debt level and was liquidated by QDC. “It was pretty dead in the water, and that ended all the driftwood and previous shareholdings, and we moved on

from there.”

QDC initially focused on stripouts and manual demolition. It had a small crew of about six staff and six or seven diggers and trucks.

The business was originally based in Wellington, with a salvage yard in Rongotai and a yard in Ngāūranga Gorge. QDC also owned the T&T landfill.

About 20 years ago, QDC moved to its current site in Seaview, Lower Hutt, buying the land and building a workshop.

Today, the company has about 55 staff and more than 40

While the company has branched out over the years, demolition remains at the core of QDC’s business.

vehicles. Shane’s sister, Cassandra Christensen, joined the team about 18 months ago and oversees administration.

Shane began working with his father when he was 15, admitting that “school wasn’t a strong point” for him. He worked as a general labourer and ran crews of general labourers on demolition sites.

Working with his father was fine in the early days, but Shane says they had differing views on the direction the company should take. “It didn’t bother us then because we had nothing to lose and a lot to prove. We really just got on with the jobs and got it done. But then, when we moved into the future, it became a real stumbling block with him wanting to stay in the 1980s and me wanting to move into the next generation.

“We worked together until about 2009, holding our ground with a small crew of guys and a reasonably small crew of trucks.

It was at that stage that I wanted to grow the business, but the old man not wanting to move forward consistently held back the business.”

Unable to agree, Shane left and set up Demon Contracting.

“I ran that until 2011. I started from nothing, and it was quite a successful company as well. We had four staff, and were based in Wellington.”

About this time, Cassandra’s mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and Shane says Gavin understandably found this hard to deal with.

“It all seemed to be all too

much for the old man; he couldn’t comprehend the whole thing. He slowly ruined the company, and just about everybody left. I came back in 2011 to pick up the pieces and get the ball rolling again. That was when it became QDC (2011) Ltd.” Shane says his father reluctantly stepped down from managing the business, although he still had day-to-day involvement. “At that point, we probably had approximately 15 staff. Today, we’re running at about 55; last year, we had it up around 100. It’s been anywhere from 120 down to 55, which is probably our minimum.”

Gavin died in 2017, and Shane says this had a huge impact on the business. “It freed us up; it definitely pulled the handbrake off. And we bought the long reach at that stage, which was a big no-no in his eyes. He was hell-bent that we shouldn’t have one – we didn’t need one. And it was actually the making of the company. We expanded into owning the quarries, and it’s allowed us to be more efficient.

“We predominantly stick to demolition, but in the past, we did have a huge presence in the house-moving market. We’ve probably toned that down a bit in the past 12 months just mainly because of staffing.”

The pandemic didn’t affect the business much, with Shane saying it was quite good to have an enforced break. “It just freshened everybody up, and we came back with a vengeance. We didn’t lay off any staff; we looked

after them all and kept them all on board.”

He says finding good staff isn’t easy because of the nature of the job. “It’s not hard to retain those who enjoy the work, but it’s been very hard to find those people in the first place. We generally find that we train them and then they move on. Some of our younger staff members have gone away and become very successful business owners, and others have been very successful in their own lives because they’ve been taught good work ethics.

“It was quite interesting at the Wellington truck show [See page 44] how many people came up and said, ‘You know, my son’s doing this now and doing that now and we’d just like to thank you for driving into them good work ethics’. But what generally happens is we start driving them and pushing them harder and then they find an easier job elsewhere.”

Shane says the demolition industry is very hard, very handson. “And generally, I don’t like to come second. So we’re pretty much pushing forward with what we do and that’s where we lose our staff. But, hey, if it teaches them good work ethics at a young age, then good luck to them. With our 30 years coming up, we hope some of them will come back to help us celebrate.”

QDC mostly undertakes work in the North Island, although it has been involved in several large projects in the South Island.

“We did the Fryatt Street sheds in Dunedin. It was a kilometre of buildings in a row, and we

brought them down in a pretty short timespan. ATL Group headed the project, and we did all the demo work for them.

We’ve done a few other projects down south, too – Nelson Hospital years ago, and some work in Picton.”

QDC also worked in Gisborne before Cyclone Gabrielle and in Hastings with the clean-up afterwards.

“Arlington Apartments in Wellington was another big one for us. During the earthquakes, CentrePort was a big ongoing project; there were numerous projects we took on. We also worked on 85 The Esplanade, Petone – that was a big project for Maycroft.”

In its early days, the company undertook some of the demolition work at Parliament, and several jobs at Wellington Hospital over the years.

Rather than dwelling on completed projects, Shane always has an eye to the future.

“Yesterday has been and gone in my eyes. It’s good fun while it lasted.”

Shane says the industry changed immensely after the turn of the century. “In probably the early 2000s, we went through a big pricing change, which I think was detrimental to a lot of companies because they didn’t allow for the pricing of the new health and safety regulations.

Everybody slowly learnt that way, but it was the demise of a few companies around Wellington.

“And then, every year there’s something new – asbestos has been one of them. Back in our

New Zealand Trucking

April 2024

37

From left: QDC’s 30th anniversary SAR at the Seaview Marina, 2024. Colin the T-Rex, on the way to Avalon Park. The old filter from Dunlop Tires on the back of the 20th anniversay LW. early days, nobody even cared, they just smashed it, loaded it out and it was gone. And look at the asbestos market now; it’s one of the biggest in our industry.

“We’ve pretty much got one, sometimes two, crews consistently removing asbestos.

You can just about guarantee every house prior to 2000 has got asbestos of some sort in it.”

The demolition side of things has moved with the times and QDC now has a focus on recycling as much of the material as possible. “We’ve diversified into quarry management, as well as a lot more concrete recycling and asphalt recycling.

The company has taken a bit of a look on the green side, and the quarries have been great for us. It gives us the capacity to crush concrete and recycle concrete, and having yard space of our own in the Wairarapa gives us a foothold in the Wairarapa market.”

As well as QDC Aggregates in the Wairarapa, the company also has a 50% partnership in Ohau Quarries near Levin. Ohau was

owned by Shane’s close friend Carl Gibson. Following Carl’s death last year, his wife Michelle took over as shareholder.

Ohau Quarries will likely suffer reduced capacity at some point in its future because of the planned route for the Ōtaki to north of Levin expressway.

“We won’t be supplying aggregate to the motorway project; we’ll be keeping to supplying local contractors and residential. We’ve seen that [large roading projects] as the demise of most businesses.

They try and fight that fight with cost. And then it just gets to the stage where you’re doing it for nothing, and that’s a market we won’t be heading for. We’ve never bowed down; we’ve always stood our ground and held our prices where they should be in our eyes.”

QDC’s fleet today stands at about 25 trucks, including nine Kenworths for day-to-day use as well as Nissan and Isuzus. Shane says he tends to go for bonneted Kenworths and has specified some unique trucks over the

years with the help of Southpac Trucks salesman Mark O’Hara.

“We’ve been predominantly Kenworth. We basically busted our arses to buy our first new Kenworth and then we bought three of them.

“Mark has been a huge asset to Southpac; he’s been the reason we’ve stuck with them. If we need something sorting or something doing, Mark just gets it sorted, it never seems to be a problem.

“We’ve had just about every option of Kenworth, and we still have some of the first ones we bought. We tried to buy one of our original Kenworths from the ACE days and we couldn’t get it, so then we bought the one from Gary Tudor that became DEMO06, but it doesn’t really have that value because it’s not one of ours. It was just a truck that filled the gap.

“We also purchased one of those early Kenworths that we had sold back from Laing House Movers, but in a weak moment of my thoughts of house moving, I sold it again. I sort of regret that I

didn’t keep it, but life moves on.”

Shane also has a few collectibles, including the classic 1988 Kenworth K100E in L&P colours, and a 1989 Pacific P10 previously owned by Milton Durham. “The Pacific was a uniquely cool truck with a New Zealand iconic family behind it.it.

When Milton died, Dixie [his wife] made contact through Noel, one of our drivers. I’ve wanted that truck even when Milton crashed it the first time. I’ve always wanted that truck and I think Dixie understood what it meant to us, but it also meant a lot to her that it was going to stay in their colours.”

The L&P truck took out the Best of Show Award at the Wellington Truck and Transport Show in February. “The L&P truck is a unique icon that everybody’s familiar with. It’s just a Kenworth without those colours on, but in their day, those trucks were a force, and they were so well known.”

Shane says QDC has always been known for having good, top-of-the-line gear. In

Many a truck has been deployed on race truck transport duty over the years, a job which now falls to the new Legend SAR, Pukeko’s Last Ride.

addition to the trucks, it also has about 17 excavators. Komatsu is the dominant brand, then Hitachi and a few CAT excavators.

About 90% of maintenance is done in-house, with the other 10% subbed out.

The workshop has four staff – a diesel mechanic, an engineer, one apprentice and a general fill-in.

“A lot of the newer machines are still under warranty, and they cover their own maintenance period. Komatsu takes care of us and looks after our equipment.”

QDC offers a wide range of services, covering demolition, asbestos removal, siteworks, earthworks, concrete (cutting, drilling, breaking and crushing), house and building removal and relocation, plant hire and strip-outs.

“Oddly enough, I enjoy everything that we do. It doesn’t really bother me what we do, whether it’s sweeping the workshop floor or pulling down a 10- to 15-storey building. It’s all exciting, and it’s all fun. If it becomes a drag, it makes it hard for you to enjoy doing it when everybody doesn’t have the motivation that we need to do the job.”

Shane’s passion outside of work is truck racing, and he competed for the first time in 2007. “I’ve always been interested in it. And the old man had a big interest in it; he used to cart Malcolm [Little] around and sponsor Malcolm’s race truck and make things happen. Although, as soon as I bought one, it seemed to drop off and then he hated the whole idea!”

Shane’s race truck, The Punisher, is based on a Kenworth T409 SAR cab with a custombuilt chassis, CAT C15 engine, twin turbo and intercooled, built to push out 1864kW (2500hp) and 6800Nm (5000lb/ft) torque.

It has an Allison World Series automatic transmission and Meritor rear axle with disc brakes all round.

It also has EBS brakes and torsion bar suspension, plus a lot of specially built items and a few ‘secrets’ that make it stand out on the track.

Hayden Spencer spent five years

designing and building the race truck and has now been on the track for two seasons.

So far this season, Shane is top on points in his class (A class) and sitting second overall in the championship.

A family affair Cassandra Christensen, Shane’s sister, worked briefly at QDC in her teens before moving to Rotorua and spending 10 years in property management.

“I did that right through to managing my own team, and then there were management difficulties with the owners, and it just got to a point where it didn’t align with where I felt things should be.

Given my upbringing around how we look after staff, that just didn’t fit anymore and I wanted to come back home.”

Cassandra says after some long conversations with her truck driver husband, Dylan, about moving, it finally happened. His family is from Levin, and the couple moved there last October.

“I was commuting for a year from Rotorua to here. I was doing fly-in fly-out three days a week for a year before we moved. An hour’s commute is better than five and a half, and the drive’s not too bad now with the new expressways.”

Cassandra says her role in the business is to “do whatever needs doing – whatever I’m told to do! The paperwork and administration for the operation, all the safety paperwork, site docs, day works, that sort of thing.”

At this stage, the third generation of Grays isn’t lining up in the wings to take over, and Shane is fine with that. “My nineyear-old son Jacob doesn’t really show a great interest, although he’s always looking and always learning, and he’s getting some theories on how you pull things down and how you do things.

“But I think I’d just prefer to see him be a kid and do his own thing instead of being dragged into it like we were. If he chooses to do something different, then so be it.”

Today, QDC has 55 staff and more than 40 vehicles.

House moving is an important part of the company’s history.

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April 2024

39

QDC owner Shane Gray. Photo: Faye Lougher.

started.”

The actual anniversary is in November, and Shane is already looking at what they will do to mark the occasion. “That’s been one strong point of our company, being able to organise a decent piss-up! Around the November mark, we will be doing something, and it’ll be a huge function.

“We’d like everyone, previous employees and anyone who helped us get to here, to come along. We’ll start planning that at some stage and let everyone know when it’ll be.”

Giving back

Cassandra Christensen, in charge of administration. Photo: Faye Lougher.

30 years and counting The fact that QDC is celebrating 30 years in business is proof that Shane and his team are doing something right. “We’re not going to change because I think what we’ve done over the years is a proven success. All these people come up with all these great ideas and great plans and great visions and, sometimes, it’s the demise of a business.

I’d like to see a few things on the management side change.

But, in general, what we do and how we do it seems to be quite successful.”

Shane says he’d like to thank all the staff, past and present, who have helped QDC get to where it is today. “And their wives and partners for putting up with the long hours and stuff to allow us to do what we do.

“We’ve had some good staff and some loyal guys who have helped us get to here, and some have gone off and done their own thing. Take Bryce O’Sullivan with (Wellington-based) Bosco – he was with us from school. And we taught him what we knew.

And to see what he’s grown into now is pretty cool, as is the fact that he still respects where he

Through the business, Shane and his wife Georgie are great supporters of community events such as the Wellington Truck and Transport Show, and Ohau Quarries sponsors Little Trucker Down Under magazine.

“Carl’s daughter Baylee (8) and my son Jacob (9) are of a similar age. So we thought it would be a pretty cool thing to get involved in. And it’s pretty cool what they do with the magazine; the kids get some value and get acknowledged for the effort they put in. Jacob has written a handful of stories in that, too.

“We sponsor a lot of the kids’ cancer events – anything to do with trucking and kids’ cancer, we’re real strong on that. You look at some of those kids, they haven’t had a chance to live and it’s sad, and in the end, you get a chance to do something and make something good for them.

Special kids’ Christmas parties – we’ve been a strong supporter for many years. It’s hard to do everything but you try and do

something for everybody.”

Following the death of Cassandra’s mother, QDC also demolished the old art and craft building at Te Omanga Hospice free of charge.

The story behind the Legend The newest truck in the QDC fleet is a 2023 W900 SAR Legend that has been put to work as Shane’s race truck transporter. It was originally the dream truck of Carl Gibson, but he died before the truck arrived.

“It was always earmarked as the race truck transporter in my eyes, but Carl had visions of moving the odd digger with it because Carl’s business was quite different from ours. It was always going to be Carl’s truck; it wasn’t really something that floated my boat, if you know what I mean.

I have more of an attachment to the old Pacific because it’s unique, and it’s cool to see that back on the road, same with the L&P truck. But it’s got a lot of meaning – more so than the truck – because it was Carl’s dream.”

Following Carl’s death in January 2023, the truck was painted as a tribute to him.

It bears the registration plate GIBSON and the bug deflector reads ‘Pukeko’s Last Ride’.

“We always called him Pūkeko.

He had a few other names, but we nicknamed him that because we made him nervous. He was quite a reserved sort of person, and you could always see that side of him when we took him out.”

Shane recalls a Southpac Trucks event in Auckland where

Left: The Legend SAR was the late Carl Gibson’s dream truck, and now honours his memory. Right: The QDC fleet has its fair share of trucks with special significance.

some of the guests were much more outgoing than Carl. “You can see Carl doing the old pūkeko walk in the background thinking, ‘I’m a bit out of my depth here and these guys are all pretty loose.’ It was an amazing night, and I was probably one of the last ones to go to bed. I got up the next morning, and I’d lost my phone charger, my wallet, my jacket.

I hadn’t slept for very long and then Carl was there with Panadol, bottles of water and a phone charger. He was the man, you know.”

The friendship had been in place for some time before the opportunity to buy Ohau Quarries came up, and this made the friendship even stronger.

“We had similar interests with the trucks, especially the old trucks. Carl’s passion for old trucks was probably where mine was 10 years ago. And then one morning, I just woke up with the shits on old trucks and gave all my stuff to Carl. I just decided that it wasn’t me anymore, and I wasn’t doing any more of them.

“Carl picked up all the pieces and he put them in the shed and dispersed them to people who needed parts for those old trucks. He was a very generous guy, but also very structured and unique in his way. He was a good mentor and teacher.”

Shane says Carl’s dream truck was the L&P K100E, and he always had an interest in truck racing.

“He said to me one weekend, ‘I wouldn’t mind taking that L&P truck.’ And I said, ‘If you take the L&P truck, you’re towing the race truck.’ And then that was it; he just fitted into the picture quite nicely.

We didn’t have to worry about anything; we were told that we needed to be there on whatever day and that truck just turned up. We don’t really know how he did it, or what he had to do. He just got it done.

We had a couple of phone calls, and that was it, it was just done.”

Generational relationships

S

outhpac Trucks’ newtruck salesman Mark O’Hara says his family’s involvement with the Gray family started in 1972 when the O’Hara family moved to Greytown, and his father and Shane’s father Gavin came to know each other.

“I started in truck sales in 2000 at Southpac Trucks looking after the lower North Island and had called into Quality Demolition’s Lower Hutt yard many times.

“Gavin was always a hardass and busted my chops every time, stating, ‘Overpriced Kenworths and Nissans are all we need in our business.’ Plus, if something broke or had gone wrong with the trucks, he would pick up the phone and give me an absolute dung-out!

“I would get in my car and drive over to see what the issue was and sort it straight away. That was all he needed – to fix it right then and there.

Then we would go into the smoko room, have a coffee and he was a happy man again.”

Mark says that over time, he and Shane became good friends, and once Gavin had buggered off to the office or the other end of the yard, they would talk over Kenworth options and models.

The T350 8x4 was a world-first.

“I’m sure he knew it but didn’t give anything away.

Finally, the ice broke and Gavin said he needed a frontline heavy haul tractor unit for their house-moving business, and Shane said the T404S with 600hp and auto transmission would do the trick.

“I spent a day or so specing up the unit as they had asked, went down to present the deal and info and they added a lot more extras. This was one of the first trucks to have disc brakes fitted. With the autoshift 18-speed with clutch pedal, it was state-of-the-art gear back in the day.

“Shane got all sentimental and bought this truck back a few years ago, but then an offer came from a house mover to take that and the house trailer, and the deal was done. I think he kicks himself now, but you can’t keep all of them!”

Mark says that over the years, QDC has purchased a fair few Kenworths from him that have come and gone, but the other world-first to be built from the Kenworth factory in Melbourne was the T350 8x4 twin-steer.

“This truck was to make use of the maximum axle rating and long body for around the Wellington district without requiring a trailer to tow. It was

called I am Different because of it being the first twin-steer bonneted Kenworth built for New Zealand. I’m not sure why but I even remember the chassis number – 430555.”

Mark says QDC has purchased a total of 12 Kenworths and Shane’s ‘do it once and do it right’ attitude means he goes into great detail to make sure that it is always fit for purpose – no short cuts.

Mark says the presentation of the QDC gear has always been high on Shane’s radar.

“When you’re on show in the worst place – the middle of Wellington – pulling buildings down or undertaking siteworks, the public perception is of dirty, smelly smoke-blowing trucks and diggers.

“QDC’s gear is far from that, making a statement in the industry that the dirtiest jobs can be done in Quality Demolition-style.”

Mark says being part of the QDC family is all about loyalty and hard work. “This means the most when the chips are down and something needs sorting right away. It has been a pleasure to work with the QDC Group and being involved in the race truck team over the past 25 of their 30 years.”

New Zealand Trucking

April 2024

41

WHEELS AT WANAKA MEMORIES

Imagine the tension, the buzz, the atmosphere this time next year with a little over a month to go until Wheels at Wanaka 2025!

The Good Show Manual says three key elements to a great show are scale of exhibit, scale of attendance and, in the case of an outdoor event, good weather. Little wonder then Wheels at Wanaka is what it is! Oceania Gold went above and beyond in terms of scale of exhibit, bringing one of its Caterpillar 789 dump trucks, a machine in the 200-tonne-payload category. The inset demonstrates all key factors of the above criteria in one image.

HELP FIND LOST NEW ZEALAND

TRUCK HISTORY Ron Wood was a prolific truck painter in the 70s and 80s when Macks, Kenworths, and Volvos were all assembled at Palmerston North. He amassed a collection of truck photographs, now long lost, which his family would love help in recovering.

0324T1

Some time after Granddad passed away, Nana loaned the entire collection of albums to a visitor looking for some pictures of his own trucks. Unfortunately – and quite possibly without ill intent, they were never returned.

We would LOVE to get these back – or even just borrow them, just so that we can scan the pictures. If anyone has seen these or know where they might be, we would be forever grateful.

The Albums were actually pretty rough (as were the photographs!) – cheap, plastic seventies ring binders in bright colours like blue and orange …and covered in over-spray from the paint shop. One surviving example can be seen above.

If you can help, please contact: Greg Wood 021765 768 or email get@gregwood.co.nz

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Wellington Truck & Transport Show Story and photos by Faye Lougher

2024

Best Fleet: PTS Logistics, looking sharp.

The People’s Choice was Yates Freight’s Volvo FH16 (left).

The Wellington Truck and Transport Show made a triumphant return at the end of February, after a four year hiatus.

44

T

his year marks the final year as organiser of the Wellington Truck and Transport Show for Greg Fouhy from Silverstream Lions Club. He has been involved with the show for over 12 years, becoming project leader before the 2020 show.

The previous show, in 2020, was a great success, attracting more than 7000 people, close to 200

New Zealand Trucking April 2024

trucks, and raising about $13,000 for The Life Flight Trust. Fouhy predicted at the time that the next show would be even bigger and better, and it was – although there have been four years between shows instead of the usual two.

This year’s event had more than 230 registered trucks and about 10,000 people attended. Some $16,000 was raised for The Life Flight Trust, with the Silverstream

Lions Club topping that up to make an even $20,000.

“The past few years have certainly been challenging,” says Fouhy. “We had to cancel the 2022 show because of the Covid lockdown, and in 2023, a cyclone hit the week before the show was scheduled. Although the day of the show itself was fine, the heavy rain in the week before meant the park grounds were too soft

to take the weight of the trucks. I drove around the park with someone from the council and their 4WD got bogged.”

This year, organisers were again worried because the long-range weather forecast predicted heavy rain and gale-force winds for the weekend of the show. Thankfully, as the week progressed, the forecast improved and morning rain was expected to ease by 10am on Sunday. The rain arrived early, falling during the night, and by morning the skies were blue and there wasn’t a cloud in sight.

Fouhy says the Lions Club would like to thank all the sponsors for helping to make this year’s show a success.

“Quality Demolition is the show’s main sponsor and has been for many years. I’d also like to thank PTS Logistics, who sponsored the main stage; Mainfreight, who provided sausages for the BBQ; LT Transport for the raffle hampers; MRL Power for the large generator we used; Kiwi Fleet Wash, who provided prizes for 20 categories; Professionals Upper Hutt for the use of their BBQ trailer; and the Upper Hutt City Council who allow us to use the park.”

Quality Demolition’s 1988 Kenworth K100E won Best of Show.

Clive Taylor Haulage driver Nathan Carter with the Best Mack winner.

Another award to Quality Demolition for Best MAN with its TGS. One of the Northchill’s XF DAFs took out Best DAF at the show.

Waikanae Haulage Kenworth T610, Best Tipper.

The Best International was a real classic: The Abbots 1949 International KB6.

The Smiths Scania 730 took out Best Scania.

JB’s Environmental Isuzu C Series took out Best Isuzu.

Quality Demolition’s 1989 Pacific P10 took out the Best Other Brand award.

Murrays Haulage 1973 Kenworth LW924 won Best Classic.

Best Freightliner belonging to Linked Earthworks, a tidy 2015 Coronado.

Best Hino in Placemakers livery.

Departing organiser Greg Fouhy with the aptly named Best MAN trophy.

Show Results Best DAF Best Freightliner Best Hino Best International Best Isuzu Best IVECO Best Kenworth Best Mack Best MAN Best Mercedes-Benz Best Mitsubishi/Fuso Best Scania Best Volvo Best Classic Best Other Brand Best Tipper Best Fleet People’s Choice Best Of The Show

46

New Zealand Trucking April 2024

2020 DAF XF 2015 Freightliner Coronado 2022 Hino 700 1949 International KB6 2022 Isuzu C Series 2011 IVECO Eurocargo 2023 Kenworth T610 2020 Mack Trident 2013 MAN TGS 2018 Mercedes-Benz Arocs 2019 Fuso HD FV2547 2022 Scania 730 2021 Volvo FH16 1973 Kenworth LW924 1989 Pacific P10 2023 Kenworth T610 PTS 2020 Volvo FH16 1988 Kenworth K100E

Foodstuffs North Chill Linked Earthworks Placemakers Abbots JB’s Environmental NZFS Kieran Oliver Contracting Clive Taylor Haulage Quality Demolition PTS BOSCO Smiths Booths Murrays Haulage Quality Demolition Waikanae Haulage Yates Freight Quality Demolition

Four-year-old Blake Sorensen from Wainuiomata.

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Dunedin2024 Truck Show Story and photos by Stan Mason

A & L Coombs Scania S770 was the well-deserved King Rig of 2024.

Adam Ledingham of McEwan Haulage won Best Hino.

Gary Cuthill’s T909 was the People’s Choice.

Best Tractor Unit went to Jake Rohan’s DAF CF.

Phil Taylor’s Cascadia took out Best Freightliner.

Haydon Lennon’s K200 took out Best Logger.

The 2024 Dunedin Truck Show once again proved a dodgy weather report can’t keep truckies away from a good show.

A

t about 6.45am on 27 January, the committee was in the preparation stages of setting up for the Dunedin Truck Show when the heavens opened.

Thunder, lighting, rain, hail, wind – you name it, we copped it for

Shane McKenzie of Scott Transport took out Best Scania.

about 20-odd minutes, leaving the show grounds soaked and us wondering if the show would go ahead.

But by 7.30am, the sun was out, birds were chirping, and the temperature had lifted, setting up the day for a blue-sky balmy 26°C. By 8.30am, the trucks started rolling in the gate, which was a sight to see. Our biggest fear was truck numbers, as the roads were still wet. After all the hard work and dedication put in by owners and drivers, there’s nothing worse than washing and polishing then to cop a wet road and road spray.

But in they came, all 59 of

Maxwell Bros International won Best Over 1 Million as well as the Sponsor’s Choice.

The Southern Bulk Transport T909 won the Committee Choice award.

them, high, wide and handsome.

We had a good mix of brands and configurations, along with many familiar faces who have supported the show from day one.

The major sponsor, Reillys Towage & Salvage, was front and centre with its Freightliner Argosy under-body-lift recovery truck. The Freightliner is a statement piece that had many a truck driver looking over its capabilities. But it was the children who were drawn to it the most – they just love its size.

A massive thank-you to everyone who put in a fantastic effort with presentation; all

trucks looked spectacular.

Congratulations to every category winner – your results are well-deserved. To the team at A & L Coombs, who took out King Rig, that Scania is clearly a force to be reckoned with.

We are immensely grateful to the three judges – the late Alex McLellan, Hugh Tait and Mark McNeilly – for the job they provided on the day. Choosing winners was tough.

We would also like to acknowledge all our sponsors, who yet again in tough times, donated prizes for the 26 categories. Without you all, the show wouldn’t be possible.

Best Volvo: Shane Dallas of Calder Stewart.

New Zealand Trucking

March 2024

49

Dunedin Truck Show 2024 Results BEST DAF BEST FRIGHTLINER BEST HINO BEST IVECO BEST KENWORTH BEST MACK BEST MERCEDES-BENZ BEST SCAINA BEST VOLVO BEST WESTERN STAR BEST FLEA BEST CHROME BEST TRACTOR UNIT BEST RIDGID BEST LOGGER BEST CLASSIC BEST 0-500,000 BEST 500,000-MILLION BEST OVER 1 MILLION BEST FLEET FURTHEST TRAVELLED COMMITTEE CHOICE SPONSOR’S CHOICE PEOPLE’S CHOICE KING RIG

50

Halls Refrigeration Halls Refrigeration McEwan Haulage Fire And Emergency Rohan Haulage Allied Bulk Fulton Hogan Scott Transport Calder Stewart Halls Refrigeration Maxwell Bros A & L Coombs Rohan Haulage A & L Coombs Lennon Haulage Maxwell Bros A & L Coombs Rohan Haulage Maxwell Bros Roahn Haulage Mainfreight Southern Bulk Transport Maxwell Bros Scott Transport A & L Coombes

New Zealand Trucking

March 2024

Jayden Turnock Phil Taylor Adam Ledingham SSO Launaze Jake Rohan Bernie Iain Mclellan Shae Mckenzie Shane Dallas Jayden Turnock Shayne “Chucky” McAndrew Aaron Walker Jake Rohan Aaron Walker Hayden Lennon Shayne (Chucky ) McAndrew Aaron Walker Vaughan Rohan Todd Maxwell Vaughn Rohan Hayden Campbell Sam Welsford Todd Maxwell Gary Cuthill Aaron Walker

This Fire and Emergency Eurocargo was the surprise winner of Best IVECO.

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ndertaking training and development not only benefits the driver but also the entire transport sector, according to Taupō-based log truck driver Raymond ‘Razor’ Bradshaw.

Raymond, who started driving at the age of 18 for a logging contractor has driving in his blood.

“I was brought up by my grandfather, who was a truck driver. So, when I left school, I went to work in the yard at the company he drove trucks for,” he says.

He now owns and operates R & K Bradshaw Logging, carting out of central North Island forests.

Raymond started doing formal training with MITO two

52

years ago and says learning new tips and tricks of the trade has solidified his experience in the transport sector.

“The training was great to learn a few different things about your driving and knowledge base that you’re probably not quite doing,” he says.

“The trainer we had was a very experienced, professional operator, so it was good to have someone like that give you a few extra tips. If you can learn anything from a guy like that, you know you are bettering yourself, and in turn, bettering the industry.”

Raymond says he learnedmany things through the New Zealand Certificate in Commercial Road Transport (Specialist Driver) – Level

New Zealand Trucking April 2024

4 – Transportation of Logs programme that perfectly relate to his job as a transport operator.

“Things like safety, treating your gear a bit better, driving practices, how you can save fuel, prevent wear on tyres … a lot of things you probably don’t even think about on a day-to-day level.”

Raymond says undergoing training while working full-time wasn’t difficult.

“MITO make things really easy, really straightforward. The training isn’t time-consuming; they try to give you as little paperwork as possible,” he says.

Raymond says training is important for the transport industry to flourish and grow.

“Some kids didn’t get to grow up around the industry

or around trucks and learn stuff from their fathers and grandfathers. “ So, training could be a bonus to what they learn on the job. And for those of us who have been in the industry for a while, having these qualifications is a bonus.

“Even if you’ve been driving for a long time, there is always something new to learn. I’ve been driving logging trucks for 27 years, and you might think you’ve got it pretty sussed by then, but then someone shows you something or you learn something, and you think, ‘Far out, why didn’t I think of that?

Why wasn’t I doing that 20 years ago?’

“Sometimes you get stuck in your ways a bit, but you’re never too old to learn something new.”

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Enrol at mito.nz/logtransport

MITO is a business division of Te Pūkenga – New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology. We support on-job learning and career development for the automotive, transport, logistics and extractive industries.

JUST TRUCKING AROUND www.trt.co.nz

Daniel Lewin, Daniel Collier and Sybil Gibbs

Sybil Gibbs

At Sulphur Point in Tauranga, Mike and Alison Verran noticed three trucks parked in a row at Marine Park. Daniel Lewin, Daniel Collier and Sybil Gibbs were having a break while waiting for their booking times at the Port of Tauranga. The Verrans found three very approachable, enthusiastic drivers, willing to

Sybil is stoked to be driving a 2021 Scania R620. “I’ve been driving for 17 years now, and I love it. I like the people … those I work with, the customers, everyone!

“Back in 2005, we were living in Australia and my hubby suggested I get my truck licence. Our family circumstances changed, and we ended up coming back to New Zealand in 2006. I decided to go through WINZ to get on a course and get my licences.

“I went for a ride with hubby one day and was at his work. I got offered a job while I was there! I started out with them on my class 2 and worked up from there.”

Sybil hasn’t looked back and it’s evident from her enthusiasm that she is an asset to the industry. She exudes confidence and passion.

Although, there are a couple of issues that dampen her spirits.

“The lack of drivers puts pressure on the current drivers in the industry,” she says.

“It makes it harder on everyone. It can affect drivers’ mental health and the pressure on everyone is a chain reaction.”

Alison lightened the mood with the vexing question, ‘smoothie or milkshake?’

“Milkshake,” says Sybil, “because smoothies have bananas in them, and I can’t eat bananas.

I’m allergic to them.”

spend their break having a great chat.

All three truckies are company drivers for Visy Global Logistics, based in Hamilton. They cart containers from Sulphur Point to Visy Board in Hamilton, usually each completing two runs a day.

Daniel Lewin Daniel drives a 2022 Scania R620. He loves driving and taking in the view through the windscreen. Over the years, he has travelled as far north as Kaitaia and south as far as Queenstown.

He finds a great sense of community within the industry. He started driving 19 years ago, and “I’ve never looked back. There was a large shortage of drivers back then. I was unemployed at the time, so WINZ put me through my licences and training to end up with a trade.”

Daniel’s main concern with the industry is the lack of education of car drivers. “I see all the unsafe passing and bahviour these days,” he says. “There should be a lot more education on sharing the road with trucks.”

Alison asked Daniel the vexing question, ‘Apple or Samsung?’ “Definitely, Samsung,” says Daniel. “I don’t like Apple.”

Daniel Collier The stunning ANZAC-themed paintwork on this 2015 Kenworth K200 makes Daniel proud to be behind the wheel. He started driving trucks six years ago but has been around them all his life.

“My Dad is a 57-year veteran of the industry. I grew up with countless weekends and school holidays in the truck, travelling all around the North Island. Dad was an amazing man to learn from.

Before driving, I had worked in many trades, but decided it was time to work in a job that I had a passion for.

“I love the family aspect of the trucking industry. I like the mutual respect of the good operators who are here because of a lifelong passion. A good example of that is the day we all got together at Hart Haulage in Hamilton last year for the ‘Convoy for Ollie’.

“I get a bit annoyed, though, with the unskilled operators who are put in positions they are not yet ready for, which in turn, causes safety issues. It’s both unfair and unsafe.”

Alison’s vexing question for Daniel was, ‘wrap or sausage roll?’

“Sausage roll, definitely … I’m a trucker!” laughs Daniel.

WHERE’S THAT ROAD? Okay, okay …. you all thought you were good, and we’re the first to admit you’ve done amazingly well at times. What about this then? This will get you scratching the old mallet.

So where was it?

Yes, put a ‘big’ road in the competition and you’re all go! “Yeah, na, that’s too easy!” But hey, we can’t give out brain-benders all the time.

Jack Aitken was bang on the money with SH73 Porters Pass – good on you, Jack.

Georgi will see what’s in the prize trunk and get something on the way.

Thank you all for enjoying the competition and entering, we get a real kick out of it.

TO ENTER To enter, flick us an email at editor@nztrucking.co.nz Subject line: Where’s that road? April 2024 Tell us your answer, and let us know your postal address.

Note: Please include the subject line above, or your entry might get lost in the pile.

We’ll randomly pick a winner from the correct entries and see what’s in the prize basket. The competition closes at midnight on 30 April 2024.

SH73 summit of Porters Pass looking east.

TOP TRUCK

Loading at the Birchfield Rocky Creek plant.

Crossing the Davy Creek at Rapahoe.

CONFIDENCE

IN COAL Story and photos by Craig McCauley

Coal may no longer be considered a primary source of energy for New Zealand industry in the eyes of some. But a long-standing West Coast family business defies this opinion with constant investment in mine infrastructure and new plant.

C

oal extraction on the West Coast commenced near Brunner in 1864, and the industry has operated continuously since then.

Birchfield Coal Mines (BCM) is a fully integrated energy supply business that mines, blends and supplies coal to customers throughout the South Island under the directorship of siblings Evan, Karen and Gary Birchfield.

The Birchfield name requires no introduction when it comes to moving earth on the West Coast.

Max, Evan and Karen’s late father, was an earthmoving contractor who diversified into coal mining during the late 1970s.

Birchfield’s original mine was located in hills above Dunollie and coal was transported from the pit to a nearby railhead

56

initially by International S-Lines. A pair of Pacific P600s superseded the S-Lines, fitted with highcapacity coal bodies, these trucks proved to be a great choice for an uphill-empty, downhill-loaded run.

In 1984, Birchfield began a new mine development in the Mai Mai Valley, south of Reefton. Named Giles Creek, this mine is still in operation and is responsible for a sizable amount of Birchfield’s current coal output.

International resumed being the truck of choice for the company and many who were around the industry in this era will recall Birchfield’s then flagship, a 444 Cummins-powered International T2700.

International trucks, and latterly, Iveco, have populated the

New Zealand Trucking April 2024

Gary Graham, driver of the X-Way.

West Coast in significant numbers for decades.

Much of the brand’s success on the ‘Coast’ can be attributed to the backup supplied initially by Southern International and latterly NZ Trucks in Christchurch.

Mark Wisdom, sales and transport manager for Birchfield Coal Mines, says: “BCM have a very longstanding relationship with Southern International and now NZ Trucks.

Their sales and service are second to none.”

From the turn of the millennium, the truck fleet consisted of several Iveco PowerStars configured as 6x4 tippers, towing four-axle trailers.

BCM purchased several assets of the former government-owned coal mining company, Solid Energy New Zealand, following its demise in 2017.

One of these operations was Strongman Mine, located high on a plateau in the Nine Mile Valley, north of Greymouth.

Accessing Strongman involves the traverse of a steep access road with several hairpin bends, and previous operators have encountered their share of mechanical misadventures while carting off Strongman.

A duo of Iveco 6x4 Trakkers fitted with Eurotronic automated transmissions, integrated retarders, hub-reduction rear axles, and central tyre inflection systems, were put to work following the Strongman acquisition, and have proved the right fit for the job.

With the Solid Energy asset acquisition, coal production increased across the board, and more transport resource was required.

Birchfield’s directors decided to persue the extra payload available under HPMV regulations, and in 2023, an identical pair of IVECO X-Way nine-axle units went to work.

They are spec-ed with the Iveco Cursor 13 engine producing 419kW (570hp) at 1900rpm and the Iveco Hi-Tronix 12TX2420 TD 12-speed automated transmission.

A Meritor MT23-150/D single reduction rear bogie mounted on Iveco’s ECAS Eight-Bag rear suspension puts the power to the road.

“Lusk Engineering of Ashburton were chosen to build the truck bins and trailers due to the quality of their workmanship,” explains Gary.

Gary remarked how quiet the trucks are when travelling along the road. There is not the usual amount of noise associated with empty aluminium bins, an important factor when the trucks are travelling through small communities while going about their days work.

Gary Graham is the driver of No.10; the workload is varied, involving product transfers from Birchfieldowned mines to distribution centres located at Kaiata (north of Greymouth) and at Reefton.

The finished product is also delivered by the X-Way, predominately to West Coast customers. Demand has seen Birchfield’s truck fleet more than double during the last half-decade, rejecting the assumption that coal is an energy source of the past.

The future burns bright for Birchfield Coal Mines.

A SNAPSHOT OF BIRCHFIELD COAL MINES’ TRUCKING HISTORY

International T2700, circa 1990s.

IVECO 6500 PowerStar, circa 2000s.

IVECO ADN560 PowerStar, circa 2010s.

IVECO AD260T50 Trakker, circa 2020s.

LUSK

ENGINEERING Lusk Engineering are proud to be associated with building the bulk cartage units for Birchfield Coal, in the past and future builds.

LE0424

P: 03 308 2410 E: sales@luskeng.co.nz

58

New Zealand Trucking April 2024

NE W RIGS ON THE ROAD

SWEET SWEDE OPERATOR: Hiab & Transport Solutions, Christchurch ENGINE: Volvo D13K 368kW (500hp) 2500Nm (1844lb/ft) TRANSMISSION: Volvo I-Shift 12-speed AMT REAR AXLES: Volvo RTS2370B

Volvo FM500 8x4 rigid – day cab REAR SUSPENSION: Volvo eight-bag air suspension BRAKES: Disc. ABS, EBS SAFETY: Volvo Safety Suite LCS, LKA, DAS, ACC, EBA, passenger side-view camera BODY/TRAILER: CNC Engineering built truck body and

four-axle Roadmaster trailer FEATURES/EXTRAS: Stainless-steel custom panel work, beacons, custom mudflaps, toolboxes, stoneguard PAINT: Factory SIGNAGE: Timaru Signs

FROGGER’S RIDE IVECO S-Way AS 570 6x4 tractor – high-roof sleeper OPERATOR: Cox Linehaul, Tauranga ENGINE: IVECO Cursor-13 13L Euro-6e 425kW (570hp) 2500Nm (1844lb/ft) TRANSMISSION: Hi-Tronix 12-speed AMT REAR AXLES: Meritor MT23-150D REAR SUSPENSION: ECAS four-bag air suspension BRAKES: Disc. ABS, EBS SAFETY: ACC, AEBS, LDW, ABS, ESP, ASR, GPS-DA, DAS BODY/TRAILER: Diesel Solutions, Tauranga FEATURES/EXTRAS: Roof light bar with Narva LED spotlights PAINT: Brokers United OPERATION: North Island linehaul distribution DRIVER: Frog SALES: Brent Landers

w w w. t r g r o u p. c o . n z 60

New Zealand Trucking

April 2024

Graphix, Timaru OPERATION: Crane work deliveries throughout the South Island DRIVER: John Bell SALES: Ben Gray PHOTO: Andrew Geddes

DAF XF530 Euro-6 8x4 rigid – sleeper

THE UNDER-TATER OPERATOR: Eden Haulage, Invercargill ENGINE: Paccar MX-13 13L Euro-6 390kW (530hp) 2600Nm (1920lb/ft) TRANSMISSION: ZF TraXon 16TX2620 16-speed AMT REAR AXLES: DAF SR1360T XLFR with full locks REAR SUSPENSION: Paccar eight-bag air suspension

BRAKES: Disc. ABS, EBS SAFETY: ABS, EBS BODY/TRAILER: Roadmaster Glidemaster curtainsided chiller truck body, with matching refurbished Roadmaster five-axle trailer FEATURES/EXTRAS: LED light bar, refrigerator, night heater, scales, heated driver’s seat

PAINT: Factory SIGNAGE: Caulfield Signs & Graphics, Rotorua OPERATION: New Zealand-wide fresh produce and seafood deliveries from Invercargill base DRIVER: Craig ‘Worzel’ Porter SALES: Adam McIntosh

TOUGH METAL Volvo FM540 8x4 rigid – day cab OPERATOR: Metal Solutions, Kawerau ENGINE: Volvo D13K 402kW (540hp) 2600Nm (1917lb/ft) TRANSMISSION: Volvo I-Shift 12-speed AMT with crawler gears REAR AXLES: Volvo RTS2370B REAR SUSPENSION: Volvo eight-bag air suspension BRAKES: Disc. ABS, EBS SAFETY: ABS, EBS BODY/TRAILER: Truck body and five-axle trailer by Koromiko Engineering FEATURES/EXTRAS: Palfinger PK170001SLD crane, stoneguard PAINT: Haddock Spray Painters, Whakatane SIGNAGE: Diverse Graphics, Whakatane OPERATION: Metal recycling duties in and around the North Island DRIVER: Josiah Atkinson SALES: Mark Ellerington

Free phone: 0800 50 40 50 New Zealand Trucking April 2024

61

NE W RIGS ON THE ROAD

GIRVAN GRIFFIN OPERATOR: Girvan Pastoral Company, Clarks Junction ENGINE: Scania DC16 16L Euro-6 574kW (770hp) 3700Nm (2729lb/ft) TRANSMISSION: Scania Opticruise GRSO926R 12-speed AMT with 4100D

Scania R770XT B8x4NB 8x4 rigid – sleeper cab retarder REAR AXLES: Scania RBP735 hub reduction REAR SUSPENSION: Scania air suspension rear and front BRAKES: Disc. ABS, EBS SAFETY: ABS, EBS BODY/TRAILER: Truck body

SETTLE FOR NOTHING LESS OPERATOR: Richmond Heavy Haulage, Taupo ENGINE: Cummins X-15 15L 459kW (615hp) 2779Nm (2050lb/ft) TRANSMISSION: Eaton Ultra-Shift Plus 20E318B-MXP REAR AXLES: Meritor RT46-

160GP with full cross locks REAR SUSPENSION: Kenworth Airglide 460 BRAKES: Drum. ABS, EBS SAFETY: ABS, EBS BODY/TRAILER: Transfleet bulk bin with matching fiveaxle Transfleet trailer

by Tranzworx, with Jackson Enterprises five-axle trailer and Delta stock crates on both FEATURES/EXTRAS: Full V8 interior with premium seats, stone guard, toolboxes PAINT: Factory, ‘Spicy Red’ SIGNAGE: Timaru Signs

Kenworth K200 2.3m Aerodyne 8x4 rigid – sleeper cab FEATURES/EXTRAS: Alcoa Dura-Bright alloy wheels, stainless-steel drop visor, stone guard, classic grille bars PAINT: Factory SIGNAGE: Fleet Image, Te Awamutu OPERATION: Bulk deliveries

w w w. t r g r o u p. c o . n z 62

New Zealand Trucking

April 2024

Graphix, Timaru OPERATION: Livestock cartage throughout the lower South Island SALES: Kere Menzies PHOTO: Andrew Geddes

throughout central North Island DRIVER: Wayne Pocock SALES: Adam McIntosh

Kenworth K200 2.3m Aerodyne 8x4 rigid – sleeper cab

THE VIKING OPERATOR: Burnell & Son Transport, Christchurch ENGINE: Cummins X-15 15L 459kW (615hp) 2779Nm (2050lb/ft) TRANSMISSION: Roadranger RTLO22918B 18-speed manual

REAR AXLES: Meritor RT46160GP with full cross locks REAR SUSPENSION: Kenworth Airglide 460 BRAKES: Drum. ABS, EBS SAFETY: ABS, EBS, DTC BODY/TRAILER: MD Engineering of Balclutha

refurbished body and trailer FEATURES/EXTRAS: Stainless steel-wrapped visor, step infills, classic grille bars, mesh headlight covers, microwave, offset front rims PAINT: Factory SIGNAGE: Timaru Signs

Graphix, Timaru OPERATION: Bulk commodity cartage New Zealand wide DRIVER: Brian ‘Bones’ Weller SALES: Chris Gray PHOTO: Andrew Geddes

HES EXPRESS Scania R660XT B6x4NA 6x4 rigid – sleeper cab OPERATOR: HES Earthmoving, Takapau ENGINE: Scania DC16 16L Euro-6 485kW (660hp) 3300Nm (2434lb/ft) TRANSMISSION: Scania Opticruise G33CM1 14-speed AMT with 4700D retarder REAR AXLES: Scania RB735 hub reduction REAR SUSPENSION: Scania air suspension rear, spring front BRAKES: Disc. ABS, EBS SAFETY: ABS, EBS BODY/TRAILER: Transport & General Transport Trailers Hardox tipper body and matching five-axle trailer FEATURES/EXTRAS: Stone guard, beacon, toolboxes PAINT: Cab: factory. Chassis: Caulfield Signs and Graphics, Rotorua SIGNAGE: Caulfield Signs and Graphics, Rotorua OPERATION: Aggregate delivery chores throughout Hawke’s Bay DRIVER: Hamish Jackson SALES: Callan Short

Free phone: 0800 50 40 50 New Zealand Trucking April 2024

63

NEW RIGS ON THE R OAD SAFETY KEY – ACRONYM BY ALPHA AB – Air Bag ABS – Antilock Braking System ACC – Adaptive Cruise Control ABA – Active Brake Assist AEB – Autonomous/Active Emergency Braking AEBS – Advanced Emergency Braking System ALA – Active Lane Assist ASR – Anti Slip Regulation / Auto Slip Regulation ATC – Automatic Traction Control BAS – Brake Assistant System

BB – Brake Blending CAB – Curtain Air Bag DA – Driver Alert DAS – Driver Assistant Support DM – Driver Monitoring DS – Driver Support DTC – Drag Torque Control EBA - Emergency Brake Assist EBS – Electronic Braking System EBSS – Electronic Braking Safety System ESC – Electronic Stability Control ESP – Electronically Stability

Programme FCA – Forward Collision Avoidance FCW – Forward Collision Warning FUPS – Front Under-run Protection System HH – Hill hold HSA – Hill Start Assist IROS - International Ride Optimised Suspension

LCS – Lane Change Support LDW – Lane Departure Warning LG – Lane Guard LKA – Lane Keep Assist

PCS – Pre Collision System PD – Pedestrian Detection RB – Reversing Buzzer RM – Rocking Mode RW – Reverse Warning SAB – Side Air Bag SC – Speed Control SD – Side Detection SGA – Side Guard Assist TEBS – Traffic Eye Braking System TECC – Traffic Eye Cruise Control TPM – Tyre Pressure Monitoring VSC – Vehicle Stability Control

w w w. t r g r o u p. c o . n z

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New Bodies & Trailers New Zealand has a rich heritage of body and trailer building, and we’re proud to showcase some recent examples of Kiwi craftsmanship every month. To feature on these pages, send a photo, features and the manufacturer’s name to carl@nztrucking.co.nz.

Sinclair multitasker A new Scania for Sinclair Transport of Winton required a complete fit-out with alloy bathtub body, as well as a new matching five-axle pull trailer. After a chat with the team at TES, the build was under way.

The truck is rigged as a swap-body unit, allowing conversion to stock work when required. The new trailer features an 8.45m bathtub body with a single swing-tail door, fully sealed grain door and removable alloy baffles for transporting molasses.

FEATURES: SAF Intradisc axle sets, rollover covers, custom tool lockers Transport Engineering Southland (TES), Invercargill

Versatility for ACM

FEATURES: Peterson LED lighting throughout, stainless-steel tool lockers Mills-Tui, Rotorua

Since 1953

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New Zealand Trucking April 2024

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A new T610SAR Kenworth has just been commissioned by the Mills-Tui team for ACM Metal Supply of Napier. The build needed to run across all manner of bulk commodities, including scrap metal. Hardox steel was the immediate choice for the new bins.

The Mills-Tui F135 Low Rider trailer is fitted with Hendrickson air-suspended axle sets, and both Hardox bins have two-way tail doors as well as tie-down points and body locks.

FEATURES: Hendrickson disc braked axles, two-way swing tailgate Mills-Tui, Rotorua

Simple solution When it comes to simple solutions, the Mills-Tui two-axle simple tipping trailer is hard to beat, and it was the exact solution JB Hughes Contractors of Wainuiomata was looking for.

The rugged unit with its solid drawbar has been perfectly laid out to place loading right where it needs to be, keeping things stable on the road, as well as when the bin is extended tipping off.

FEATURES: Polished alloy rims, custom toolboxes, hard-wood timber decks TMC Trailers, Christchurch

The premier name in the world of truck and trailer wheels Delivering the great professional look of a wheel in combination with significant weight saving benefits and the strength of a quality forged aluminium wheel makes ALCOA Wheels stand above the rest.

Transporting Taranaki The need for a new three-axle transporter semi-trailer had South Taranaki Earthmoving talking to the TMC Trailers team in Christchurch.

From the drawing board to reality, this crisp build ticks all the boxes.

Running FUWA 17.5in drum-brake axle sets keeps the 2.8m fixed deck as low as possible. Ramps to the goose-neck deck achieve true versatility.

DYNAMIC DUO

This month’s inductees into the Bridgestone Million Mile Club are twins in every way.

The pair started out life together, being purchased to service a contract with Goldlink Warehousing and Distribution, running linehaul. From here, they moved on together to PTS Group. And with both still working hard within the group’s ranks, we enquired as to how they had performed in the past, and how they were currently performing.

Brand-new in 2006, the pair of 9800i rigs looking sharp. A proudly Kiwi-built transport solution still paying dividends nearly 20 years on.

Photo: Hugh Green.

Christchurch based, DDS410 as it shines today. Photo: Derek Tankersley.

DDS410 – 2006 INTERNATIONAL 9800i

P

TS Group national parts manager Grant Stead quickly gives credit where it is due: “The two of them have both been solid performers. They are those trucks in the fleet that just get on and get the job done; we really haven’t had to do a great deal of work to either of them,” he says.

“DDS410 had a new turbo at the 1,000,000km mark. Then, at 1.1, a full in-frame rebuild was completed. So, yes, you can’t really complain about that performance, especially with the linehaul work that it has done.”

On that note, both trucks have never shied away from hard graft. In PTS

colours, both units in the past spent a lot of time running Palmerston NorthAuckland return, with regular trips across the Cook Strait and on to Christchurch also in the mix.

CALLING ALL TRUCKS ON OR OVER 1 MILLION MILES (1.6M KILOMETRES)

68

New Zealand Trucking April 2024

DDS411 – 2006 INTERNATIONAL 9800i

D

DS411 has been a solid truck, needing only the basics. Grant explains: “Yeah, DDS411 has had an oil cooler at 935,000km and a new turbo at 943,000km. It also had an air compressor head at about the 1,000,000km mark, and then a water pump at about 1.2. But up

to this point, the internals are all original, with the top never been taken off the ISX-475. So, yeah, again a great performer. Also, another point that is worth noting is that both trucks got a million Ks out of their clutches.”

The simplicity of the trucks’ specifications lies at

the core of the reliability that PTS has experienced with these rigs.

Cummins Gen-two ISX engines at 475hp, mated up to version one Eaton AutoShift transmissions, with 46,000lb Meritor axles and International’s own IROS suspension, has certainly been a winning combination

for many operators.

Grant sums it up: “It is all good gear that, if maintained correctly, will last. The proof of this is that both trucks have never had a major issue at COF time, maybe a universal joint or something, but they normally breeze through inspection.”

Still looking the part with a million on the clock, DDS411 is based out of Palmerston North. Photo: Derek Tankersley.

Bridgestone and New Zealand Trucking Media want to recognise trucks that have achieved this milestone in the act of carrying the nation on their backs. Each month, up to eight trucks will be selected, and will feature in the magazine, as well as on our social media.

Those selected will get a Million Mile Club cap and badge for the truck.

Terms • Only owners can submit • NZ trucks only • Supply chain may affect the timing of cap and badge arrival

TO JOIN, EMAIL: editor@nztrucking.co.nz • Quality image of the truck • Name of owner and driver • Basic spec (model, engine, trans, rear end) • Contact details

New Zealand Trucking

April 2024

69

CRAIG’S TRUCKIN’ SNAPSHOT

THE AL Craig McCauley showcases a mixture of classic and contemporary images of Kiwi trucking.

A Dunedin-based Allied Bulk Mack CLXT 8x4 Super-Liner pictured travelling north on SH1, near Milton.

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DOG-LOGGER Steering Towards Success Queensland-based Suncoast Harvesting has found improved road safety and productivity in a new steerable, folding Dog-Logger by Tasmanian trailer builder Elphinstone.

Story and photos by Howard Shanks

I

f you’re interested in a good story on something new, give Greg Watson at Suncoast Harvesting a call up in Gympie,” Graeme Elphinstone suggested.

Greg’s operation, Suncoast Harvesting, predominantly supplies high-value native plantation hardwoods for use as power poles and furniture timber.

“When I was tendering for this contract, I was searching for a trailer that could deliver higher payloads with improved safety options that were also easier on tyres, maintenance and the roads,” Greg explains.

“During my research, I noticed some unique trailers on the Elphinstone website, especially similar trailer concepts to this Dog-Logger. I approached Graeme about building a unit specifically to suit our needs,” he adds. “It’s only early days, but

72

so far, the trailer is performing better than we expected.

“One of the unique requirements in our contract is there are times when our customers require 19m-long power poles,” Greg says. “It’s not every day, but when they require those extra-long poles, we must have equipment that can transport the product from the plantation to the customer’s desired location.

“Looking ahead, we realised significant changes are coming into our industry, especially with the harvesting of native timber regulations and codes of practice,” Greg says. “One particular issue is the area we have available to load trucks is getting tighter as the push to reduce our footprint in the forest becomes more critical.

Consequently, this doesn’t leave a lot of room to turn a semitrailer around at the landing, so

New Zealand Trucking April 2024

it was essential that the trailer could fold up to allow us access to more forest areas.”

The folding Dog-Logger is an innovative trailer using Elphinstone Engineering’s EasySteer suspension system to improve vehicle handling, safety and productivity. The trailer includes a long list of features, such as telescopic pole sections that allow the operator to close or extend the distance between the bolsters best to suit the length of logs being carried.

But it also draws on traditional features, such as the self-tracking steering. Self-tracking trailers are not a new concept. Loggers have used them for decades. The DogLogger uses what’s commonly referred to as the stinger-steer principle, which gives the trailer its self-tracking action.

Stinger-steer: How it works The trailer is coupled to the rear of the truck’s chassis, and the stinger-steer makes use of the rear overhang of the truck to swing the ‘reach’, as it’s called, of the trailer around the corner.

When loaded, the logs actually pull the trailer, and the telescopic

pole extends as the truck corners.

The effect of this self-steering principle is that the trailer wheels follow reasonably closely to where the truck wheels go. How closely the trailer wheels follow the truck wheels depends on the ratio of the length of the ‘stinger’ as measured from the pivot point on the truck, typically the centre of the drive wheels, to the hitch, as compared with the distance from the centre of the trailer axle group to the hitch. If those distances are exactly equal, the trailer’s wheels will follow precisely in the truck’s wheel tracks.

But, practically speaking, most configurations have a shorter stinger length, like Greg’s DogLogger. This means that the trailer wheels closely follow the path of the truck’s wheels, but not exactly. However, the DogLogger’s swept path is radically less than a classic tri-axle trailer.

This is a significant benefit not only when on the highway, where it is possible to keep the truck and trailer in its lane even on a windy road, but is also invaluable on twisting, narrow logging tracks out in the forest.

This simple technology allows

for extra-long loads to proceed down twisting roads. The logs in these photos are close to 18.5m long, well outside the limit for a conventional semi-trailer configuration. Yet, it’s not until you compare the Dog-Logger’s self-steering characteristics when extended to carry the 18.5m-long poles to the swept path of a traditional extendable trailer that you start to realise the safety benefits for other road users – when the Dog-Logger corners, it stays in its lane. When a conventional extendable trailer takes a corner, the prime mover must swing wide into the opposite lane to get the trailer around a corner.

The EasySteer suspension offers proper load share and selfsteering capability at all vehicle speeds. Because the EasySteer suspension uses a single-point pivot to connect to the trailer, it allows it to oscillate beneath the trailer chassis freely. This means the suspension has greater freedom to follow the road profile without losing suspension travel.

A ballrace turntable on top of the EasySteer suspension enables the suspension to follow the prime mover’s wheel track closely, thanks to the stingersteer pole coupling. For a more detailed description of how the EasySteer suspension operates, read the Evolution of EasySteer (New Zealand Trucking magazine, September 2022).

Stinger-steer concept makes use of the rear overhang of the truck to swing the ‘reach’ of the trailer around the corner, keeping it closely in the path of the truck’s wheels.

Navigating tough forest tracks is no problem.

Loadcells: How it works The cost of overloading today is significant, not only in fines from the NHVR but also in loss of earnings and penalties placed on operators by sawmills under their COR requirements.

Conversely, the cost of ‘underloading’ to maintain a safety window is costly for operators, too, in terms of lost earnings. It’s also expensive for sawmillers because additional truckloads are required to transport their log quota into the sawmill.

The theory behind a loadcell is it’s a transducer that converts a mechanical force into an electrical signal.

It operates on the principle of strain gauge technology, where the deformation of a material results in a change in its electrical resistance. This change in resistance can be measured and translated into an accurate weight or force reading displayed on a reader located in the dash or hand-held device.

A pair of loadcells are mounted under the front bolster, and another pair is mounted under the rear bolsters to allow accurate on-vehicle weighing. Typically, operators set their loadcells to measure in 50kg increments in road transport applications like logging.

When the loadcell is set at

Even with 18.5m poles, the Dog-Logger stays in its lane.

50kg increments, it weighs to an accuracy of less than 1% of the payload. Interestingly, Elphinstone loadcells do not require full air pressure to operate, meaning there is no need to keep the engine running during the loading process, thereby reducing engine hours and saving valuable fuel. Furthermore, loadcell accuracy is unaffected if a wheel has dropped into a pothole at the loading area, all factors that cause inaccuracy with air-transducer scales.

“Those loadcells are very, very accurate, Greg explains. “I can get the payload within 100kg of our GCM every load. I don’t have to worry about airbags and tyres

sitting in holes. The loadcells are consistent all the way through, and we’ve got very undulating dump sites and not the best TRANSPO of roads, so that’s testament to how good they are in my book,” he adds.

“It’s just absolutely unbelievable where this DogLogger will go, even stretched out to longer lengths,” Greg enthuses. “You don’t require any extra bit of road to turn out into areas because we haven’t got the room in many of our tracks, anyway. They are just very narrow, very tight and very winding. Even with minimal room, this Dog-Logger follows you all day. You’re not cutting into corners or swinging very wide like you would with a conventional tri-axle skele trailer.”

Greg continues: “This thing doesn’t cut corners at all, particularly as the trailer is coupled to the back of the chassis on the prime mover. As the back of the prime mover moves out, the trailer goes with it and follows it around in its own arc basically. When you first look at the Dog-Logger, it looks like quite a complex trailer, but it is also quite simple in its own right. It’s just a matter getting your head around it. So far, I haven’t had any issues with it.

“But importantly, we now have a low-maintenance trailer that meets all the compliance requirements, is economical to operate, delivers high productivity, and offers greater safety to other road users,” Greg concludes.

The fact the trailer folds up was a crucial requirement for Greg.

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INTERNATIONAL TRUCK STOP

An old Volvo F12 from Kuwait, awaiting its next load in a parking area in Doha.

This is a typical Middle Eastern spec drop-side trailer, similar in principle to what we have in New Zealand, just without the bulk tipping function. Note the 24in wheels on the Volvo and the driver sleeping on a rack next to the landing legs – quite a different scene.

Volvo is the most popular truck in many Arab countries. Of the old shape FH Volvos in the background are one from Kuwait (on the left) and four from Oman.

The more modern one in front is from Saudi Arabia.

There aren’t as many of these old Mercedes-Benz trucks still at work in this part of the world as you might hope – probably a good thing if you’re the one driving!

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New Zealand Trucking April 2024

This fairly tidy Dubairegistered FH Volvo was fixing a flat tyre next to the QatarSaudi border crossing at Abu Samra. The orange Saudi Transit sign means the truck can exit Qatar and be checked by border control, then exit Saudi Arabia into Kuwait or one of the other Arab member countries without a second check, signifying the truck is only transiting through Saudi.

MIDDLE EASTERN MAGIC Grant Schofield is back with another gallery from his global travels. This month, a rare glimpse into Middle Eastern trucking.

Photos by Grant Schofield

As with many parts of the world, there are many nationalities driving trucks in the Middle East, especially people from India, Pakistan and the Philippines. This driver was from Afghanistan and was working for an Omani company, seen here passing time by his kitchen toolbox while waiting for his Monday unload in Doha.

MAN is not a popular brand in these parts, but this TGX features the common Middle Eastern heavy-duty tow hitch used for towing through sandy desert areas, especially across Yemen.

Mercedes-Benz makes up 90% of the local fleet within Qatar, including this MP1 Actros Megaspace cab.

Despite being only 5am, it was already 39°C. Many drivers who don’t have functioning air conditioning choose to sleep outside, like this driver from Saudi Arabia making the most of his toolbox lid.

As with the big advances in infrastructure in the Middle East, the trucks are quickly updating, too. Most are European imports like this, complete with a fridge trailer that had a previous life in Belgium.

78

New Zealand Trucking April 2024

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AMERICAN CONNECTION

A fine pair of flat-roofers from the Gina Marie fleet out of Olympia WA stop for a break while the drivers fuel up; note the cool old-skool 359 breathers on the W900L K-dub.

BIG-FOOTED TRADITION Story and photos by Carl Kirkbeck

Running up Interstate 5 (I-5), alongside exit 57 you will see subtle signage and billboards for Gee Cee’s Truck Stop glowing 24/7. Beacons, they’re there to entice truckers and travellers alike to drop in and visit. If you are in the area, take our advice and definitely stop in.

O

ur recent travels to the Pacific Northwest region on the west coast of North America had us travelling the upper reaches of I-5, between the bustling cities of Portland Oregon and Seattle Washington. On the bucket list for our trip in this dramatic corner of the country were key locales we were told are ‘must-see attractions’, and Gee Cee’s Truck Stop was one of these.

Gee Cee’s is located near

80

the Cowlitz River, between the towns of Vader and Toledo Washington State. Gee Cee’s was opened by Gail Calvin (G.C) Wallace in 1986 and is today owned and operated by the Wallace family. The site that Gee Cee’s occupies was completely covered in thick forest at that time. Gail set about clearing it with a bulldozer, as well as levelling the site by hauling in river shingle and sand from the nearby Toutle River.

Once operational – with just

New Zealand Trucking April 2024

one diesel pump island and a single petrol pump – Gail was found running between cooking chicken fried steaks and changing a flat tyre as well as serving customers at the till, with 30-hour shifts not uncommon. Gail also made his own cinnamon rolls at the time, damn good ones by all accounts … a man with many talents.

Gail had quite the sense of humour as well. When pumping fuel at the bowsers, you will find a couple of

Bigfoot footprints cast into the concrete. It is here where the story of Gail’s uncle Ray Wallace, a logging contractor, comes to light. A genuine prankster of his time, Ray was renowned for his antics among his work colleagues.

A favourite was to sneak up on to the roof of the camp hut, then quietly drop a wet newspaper containing a large and powerful M80 firecracker down the chimney. The wet paper would allow enough time for Ray to make it inside

A clean W900L of Bert Matter Inc. out of Nooksack WA, seen here with a good load of lumber. Founded in 1927, the company is shortly to celebrate its centenary.

Roy Horst’s 2020 W900L Kenworth parked up, while waiting news on an east-bound load.

A Funtastic Rides Freightliner from Portland OR, popping in for a break before heading on to Centralia for the Southwest Washington Fair.

Driving between Seattle and Portland? You’ll definitely want to stop off at Gee Cee’s.

the hut, looking inconspicuous and innocent. The paper would eventually dry and ignite the M80, resulting in startled workmates, and hot plates being blown out of the stovetop in a cloud of soot and smoke.

A quick search of Google for Ray reveals history of his master prank. It was 1958, and Ray made the news thanks to mysterious large, humanlike footprints appearing in the dead of night around the logging camp and equipment of a fellow logger. Apparently the chap was completely freaked out, and the next thing the story was bursting on to the front pages of the newspapers in the area, snowballing from there. Ever the prankster, Ray seized the opportunity to spin the yarn to those who latched on to the story, teasing whoever would believe. With this family history, the Bigfoot theme has been preserved and carried throughout the facility, including all manner of comical merchandise available in the gift shop.

Gee Cee’s is truly a family affair, with multiple generations continuing the business that Gail started. Serving the transport industry and travelling public with good wholesome home-away-fromhome hospitality is what it is all about. Gee Cee’s is one of the few true family-owned truck stops left that is not affiliated with a large organisation. The Wallace family prides itself on providing a safe haven for the weary traveller, packaged up with a dash of good humour.

Whether heading north or south, or about to turn east and head into the interior of the country, a stop at Gee Cee’s at exit 57 on I-5 is a must.

82

Mixing it up, classic 1970s Seminole lines paint scheme on a near-new slippery 579 Peterbilt.

A low-slung 389 Peterbilt car-hauler fuelled and ready to hit I-5 again.

New Zealand Trucking April 2024

A tidy Da-Ran Freightliner Cascadia 125 is a long way from home, with more than 1700 miles (2800km) back to base in Zimmerman MN.

A Northern Refrigerated Transportation Peterbilt 386 heading back to home base in Turlock CA, and yes, we did a double-take when these colours wheeled up to the pumps.

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MINI BIG RIGS

40th Anniversary Project

TORQUING BULLDOG

By Carl Kirkbeck

STAGE 1 – THE ENGINE

A

s I mentioned last month, the Torquing Bulldog build is going to require some modification and scratchbuilding to get an accurate representation. Here we are, with the box opened, looking at the instruction sheet, and straight off, we’re faced with exactly that.

We are using a kitset based on the early American R685ST powered by a 237hp

This month, we are straight into construction with the assembly, detailing and painting of the engine and gearbox for our 40th-anniversary Torquing Bulldog build.

turbocharged six-cylinder engine. Torquing Bulldog, on the other hand, was the later R688RST model with the more powerful 350hp intercooled version of the Mack six-cylinder engine. So, yes, modifications are needed.

As detailed in the images here, with some minor plumbing changes and a bit of creative bending of old waste plastic sprue, we can easily reconfigure

the power plant to resemble the later 350hp version.

We will also fit a few extra details to add a little more realism, starting with the use of some fine wire to create compression hose clamps for the intercooler plumbing, as well as injector plumbing. These minor additions take little time to complete but add depth to the build that will take it up a notch.

Part 23

Part 24

The required parts are laid out and we are underway, with the engine block and gearbox halves seen here glued together.

Before fitting turbo charger inlet housing (part 24), use gentle heat from a burning matchstick to soften the plastic of the outlet pipe from the part 24. Using the reference photo as a guide, hold the softened plastic in place until it has reset. With the reference photo as our guide again, cut the pipework to length, then glue part 24 into place. Now place the oil feed pipe to the turbo charger housing (part 23) and glue as needed.

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Part 21

Single strands of picture frame hanging wire can be easily cut to length to form the injector lines. Once again look to your reference photos for guidance of shape and connecting locations. Use a dab of superglue to attach.

Wrap a single strand around the intercooler plumbing and gently twist together the ends. This will form the look of compression hose clamps. Once in place, trim the excess wire and again use a dab of superglue to hold the straps in place.

Find an old waste plastic sprue with a bend in it. Cut it off of the sprue, and shape it to an overall length of 12mm. Apply glue and fit to the centre of the inlet manifold (part 21) where part 24 would have connected.

We were unable to find the correct colour off the shelf, so we mixed Tamiya X-3 Royal Blue and XF-53 Natural Grey to give us the blueish grey that resembles Mack power plants of this era.

With a build like this, reference photos are a must have. These two were supplied by our good mate, Marty Crooks

The completed 350hp Mack power plant and matching 12-speed MaxiTorque gearbox set for installation into the chassis.

New Zealand Trucking

April 2024

85

LITTLE TRUCKERS’ CLUB The Little Truckers’ Club logo is hidden somewhere in this issue.

Find it, and you may win a prize.

Email rochelle@ nztrucking.co.nz with your name, age and where you found the logo.

HI, LITTLE TRUCKERS! Happy Easter! I hope you all had a fantastic Easter, ate lots of chocolate and fed carrots to the Easter Bunny. I know I ate way too much.

School holidays are upon us again, so it’s time to go trucking if possible or truck spotting. Give the trucks a wave and see how many toot. Pump your arm, and make the driver’s day!

It’s colouring-in competition time. Grab your pens, felts, crayons or even paints and colour in the Volvo on the opposite page. Take a photo or scan it and email your artwork to rochelle@nztrucking.co.nz, along with your name and age, to be in to win a fantastic prize. We look forward to seeing all your amazing pictures.

Remember, if you would like to see yourself here in Little Truckers’ Club all you need to do is email your stories, jokes, photos, and/or drawings to me at rochelle@nztrucking.co.nz with a wee paragraph telling us about them along with your name and age.

I can’t wait to see them all.

Congratulations to four-year-old Jack Verryt, who found the logo on page 46 of the March 2024 issue. Keep an eye on your mailbox, Jack; something awesome is heading your way.

Great job. Jack Verryt (4).

Harry Short (5).

Kyran Smith.

Kees Halliday (8).

Noah White (6).

WHAT ONLY STARTS TO WORK AFTER ITS FIRED?

JOKE OF THE MONTH

ANSWER BELOW

FIND-A-WORD

There are lots of different truck-related jobs in the transport industry. I’ve listed some I can think of below. You will find them in the grid. Once found, circle or cross them out. ONE word from the list is missing. When you know which one it is, email your answer to rochelle@nztrucking.co.nz to go in the draw to win a prize.

BONUS ENTRY for anyone who can also tell me any other jobs that I may have missed!

Milk tank Fuel tank House movers Bulk haulage Refrigeration Livestock Heavy machinery Equipment Freight Courier Flat deck Curtainsider Transportation Forestry

S I D X M O N O V V G L P Z E B

W O H C I I B G B B F I O X R N

Q P O Z L U V J N N D V I C T M

E B U L K H A U L A G E U V Y Y

R A S G T Y C H M M H S Y B U R

R S E F A T X G F N Y T T N I E

E D M D N R D F L B T O R M O N

D D O S K E F D A Z R C E J P I

I F V A F U E L T A N K S H L H

S R E Y I Q G U D K H S W R K C

N G R E F R I G E R A T I F N A

I A T R U H G V M N S S J K L Q U I P M K J H G F G H J K L G T H G I R E W W Q C K M D F H G K L M H G U I A N D F G H Q M N B V O R E S T J H G F D M Y V A E

C Y L E D L E V G N K J C R S H

T L N N S M R C J B H K X Y A H

Y U B T S N F X Q V H L Z O X B

U N O I T A T R O P S R A R T F

ANSWER: A ROCKET!

N A ME :

AGE:

WHAT’S ON Show organisers Please send your event details, at least eight weeks in advance, to: editor@nztrucking.co.nz for a free listing on this page.

All scheduled events may be subject to change, depending on weather conditions etc. Please check websites for updates before setting out.

NZ Super Truck Racing

McDonough Contracting Gore Truck Show

Wood Transport and Logistics 2024

2024 South Island Long Lap

Round 5 5-7 April 2024 Manfield Raceway Contact: Facebook – NZ Super Truck Racing 22-23 May 2024 Distinction Hotel, Rotorua Contact: woodtransport.events/event/wood-transportlogistics-2024/

1 June 2024 Transport Repairs yard, Falconer Road Contact: goretruckshow@gmail.com, Facebook – Gore Truck Show 14-26 October 2024 Redwood Hotel, Christchurch Contact: Donna Hardie, 0274518585, siclassictrucks@gmail.com

WHAT’S BEEN Wellington Truck and Transport Show, 25 February.

Events Gallery Visit the New Zealand Trucking website to view galleries of the latest truck shows from New Zealand and abroad.

Go to nztrucking.co.nz/events or scan the QR code to view on your mobile.

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96 Moving Metrics 100 Incoming Cargo – Isuzu’s Future, pt.2 102 Tech in Transport – Bloody Computers 104 IRTENZ Conference – PBS 106 Vipal’s Knowing Your Tyres 108 Person of Interest – Ryan Marra 110 Product Update – Zepro 112 Product Profile – Napa 114 Industry Comment – Lindsay Wood 116 Carriers Corner 118 Truckers’ Health 120 Health & Safety 122 Legal Lines 124 Business, Together 126 NZTA/NRC 128 Transporting New Zealand 130 The Last Mile BROUG HT TO YOU BY

MOVING METRICS

THE SALES

NUMBERS

(heavy trailer)

First registration of NC class vehicles year to date 2018 – 2023, First of NB, NC and TD byregistration major manufacturer class vehicles year on year, to date

140 120

First registration of TD class heavy trailers for February, year on year by major manufacturer

100 80 6018 4016 2014 012 10 8 6 4 2 0

17

New Zealand Trucking April 2024

2019 Domett

2020

2021

6

2022

2023

Fruehauf

M.T.E.

Patchell

Roadmaster

Feb-19

Feb-20

Feb-21

Feb-22

6

3

4 44

8

9

rs

vo

9 9

Vo l

8

12

Ot he

Ke n

4 2

13

Tr uc ks

12 1111 1010 9

UD

10 9 8

Sc an ia

Ive co

Isu

zu

o

77

55

3

6

4

7

55

5

Feb-23

TES

TMC Feb-24

35 registration of TD class heavy trailers for February, year on First 30 year by major manufacturer 25 20 15 10

0 700

Domett

First registration of NB, NC and TD class vehicles year on year, to date

Fruehauf

M.T.E. 666

600

2019

500

462

2020

487

Patchell Roadmaster

2021 530

450

TES

TMC

606 2023 2024 552

2022

Transport Trailers

452

Other suppliers 378of class TD heavy trailers not included in above 400 354 337 of class TD heavy trailers not included in above Other suppliers 331 200 100 0

Feb-20 33

Feb-21 83

Feb-22 73

7

Transport Trailers

40

5

6

10 8

2024

Feb-19 Feb-20of TD class Feb-21 Feb-22year toFeb-23 First registration heavy trailers date 2018 –Feb-24 40 33 2023, by major 42 33 31 49 manufacturer

300 Feb-19 77

92

12 11

Hi n

8

1212 11 9

o

15

Other suppliers of class TD heavy trailers not included in above Other suppliers of class TD heavy trailers not included in above

Number of units

A table of all vehicle classes is in Table A of the Land Transport Rule Vehicle Dimensions and Mass 2016 Rule 41001/2016 https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/ resources/rules/docs/vehicledimensions-and-mass-2016-asat-1-October-2019.pdf

A trailer that has a gross vehicle mass exceeding 10 tonnes.

TD

Number of units

A goods vehicle is a motor vehicle that: (a) is constructed primarily for the carriage of goods; and (b) either: (i) has at least four wheels; or (ii) has three wheels and a gross vehicle mass exceeding one tonne.

Note: Vehicle classes are not the same as RUC vehicle types or driver licence classes.

(heavy-goods vehicle)

Fu s

This summary includes data from two heavy-truck classes and one heavy-trailer class.

A goods vehicle that has a gross vehicle mass exceeding 12 tonnes.

NC

DA F

Vehicle type

A goods vehicle that has a gross vehicle mass exceeding 3.5 tonnes but not exceeding 12 tonnes.

(medium- goods vehicle)

Number of units

The data used in this information reflects any amendments to the data previously reported.

NB

Number of units

This information is compiled by Russell Walsh from information provided by the NZ Transport Agency statistical analysis team and through the Open Data Portal.

Description

M M AN er ce de sB en z

Summary of heavy trucks and trailers first registered in February 2024

Vehicle class

w or th

New Zealand Trucking reveals how the economy is travelling via key metrics from the road transport industry.

Feb-23 73

268 Feb-24 107 177 187

214 212 198

First registration of NB and NC class vehicles for February, by major manufacturer

First registration of NB, NC and TD class vehicles for February, year on year

First registration of NC class vehicles year to date 2018 – 2023, by major manufacturer

First registration of TD class heavy trailers year to date 2018 – 2023, by major manufacturer

New Zealand Trucking

April 2024

93

ROAD USER CHARGES

This information is put together compiled by Russell Walsh from metrics provided by the NZ Transport Agency. New Zealand Trucking acknowledges the assistance of the media team at NZTA in providing the data.

Total value and distance of road user charges purchased per year and year to date Summary of RUC transactions for February 2024 Number of individual RUC licences issued for month

290,267

Total kilometre RUC distance purchased (All types)

1,264,739,632

Total value of all RUC purchases (All types)

$181,626,285

Purchase period

Distance purchased (km)

Value of purchases

1 Jan 2019 – 31 Dec 2019

16,166,434,103

$2,041,939,272

1 Jan 2020 – 31 Dec 2020

15,421,400,378

$2,069,615,049

1 Jan 2021 – 31 Dec 2021

16,204,803,262

$2,249,341,814

1 Jan 2022 – 31 Dec 2022

17,683,361,155

$1,710,831,998

1 Jan 2023 – 31 Dec 2023

16,687,053,002

$1,655,078,736

1 Jan 2024 – 29 Feb 2024

2,530,825,855

$356,099,447

RUC distance purchased for RUC type 1 vehicles

Purchase period

Distance purchased (km)

Average monthly distance (km)

1 Jan 2019 – 31 Dec 2019

11,502,905,782

958,575,482

1 Jan 2020 – 31 Dec 2020

10,952,303,565

912,691,964

1 Jan 2021 – 31 Dec 2021

11,427,917,860

952,326,488

1 Jan 2022 – 31 Dec 2022

13,375,038,937

1,114,586,578

1 Jan 2023 – 31 Dec 2023

12,029,164,087

1,002,430,341

1 Jan 2024 – 29 Feb 2024

1,776,195,843

888,097,922

RUC type 1 vehicles are powered vehicles with two axles (except type 2 or type 299 vehicles. Type 299 are mobile cranes). Cars, vans and light trucks that use fuel not taxed at source (i.e. diesel fuel) are generally in this RUC type.

The top eight RUC type purchases, other than type 1, in descending order RUC Type

Description

2

Powered vehicles with one single-tyred spaced axle and one twin-tyred spaced axle

6

Powered vehicles with three axles, (except type 308, 309, 311, 399 or 413 vehicles)

43

Unpowered vehicles with four axles

14

Powered vehicles with four axles (except type 408, 414 or type 499 vehicles)

951

Unpowered vehicles with five or more axles

H94

Towing vehicle that is part of an overweight combination vehicle consisting of a type 14 RUC vehicle towing a type 951 RUC vehicle with a permit weight of not more than 50,000kg

33

Unpowered vehicles with three twin-tyred, or single large-tyred, close axles (except vehicle type 939)

408

Towing vehicles with four axles that are part of a combination vehicle with a total of at least eight axles

A description of RUC vehicle types is available at https://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicles/licensing-rego/road-user-charges/ruc-rates-and-transaction-fees/ Please note data October differ slightly from that reported for the same period previously due to adjustments being made to the base data.

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New Zealand Trucking April 2024

RUC purchases (All RUC types)

Average monthly RUC purchases by year (All RUC types)

RUC purchases during February for selected types

Total number RUC Licences issued for month (All RUC types)

New Zealand Trucking

April 2024

95

TECH IN TRANSPORT

MOVING TO MOBILE

Having explored the early years of computer systems in transport, we now look at the impact of mobile computing.

By Trevor Ammundsen

O

A modern in-cab device has many functions that can assist the driver’s productivity.

The driver has full address and contact details of collection and delivery addresses and can select a navigation option to tell them how to get there.

ne of the effects of the pandemic was to open people’s eyes to the possibility of working offsite. All sorts of businesses could get by because they had staff who could work when not at their office desk. This might seem rather ironic for readers of this magazine as the logistics industries have been aware of this for decades.

The measure of productivity is basically a ratio between revenue and head count. This applies equally to our nation as it does to our respective companies. Basically, if you earn more revenue than your neighbour, both with identical head counts, your company is more productive. The transport industry has always appeared to understand this, even if the words used were slightly different; hence, they were early adopters of mobile technologies, initially with in-cab devices for couriers and also transport management software.

The concept of sign-on-glass for proof of delivery (POD) started to spread in the 1990s, although slowly, as the business case was often hard to establish. For the younger readers, an explanation: The obtaining and management of POD was a cumbersome and person-intensive process, based on filing systems. I recall one client at that time ringing me to demand a better POD system, because he had hired a new staff member to handle the filing and retrieval of PODs. Training was given, pointing out that he/she should file the POD based on who was paying for the freight.

Three months after they started, the whole POD system had broken down, POD copies could not be provided to demanding customers, and invoices were not being paid. My client investigated and found the new staff member had filed every POD under C. After all, every consignment was charged to either the consignor or consignee. That’s a filing system for you.

The in-cab devices that were used for POD collection have become more common and have offered expanded facilities over the subsequent years. Possibly, this is an unconscious realisation that you cannot get rid of drivers to increase productivity, so you might as well give them more work but simplify it. Over the past 20 years or so, the driver’s mobile device has helped with navigation, recording changes to jobs, capturing details of new jobs, recording pallet details, recording timesheet details and so on. Customers are automatically notified about events surrounding

the progress of their jobs; PODs are sent automatically. The connection between driver and customer is now direct, with very little administrative staff interference.

Productivity benefits are realised.

The spread of mobile applications in logistics has spread to other areas, such as warehouses, with some very sophisticated automation available. Transport also has more work areas benefiting from mobility; store people can record items loaded on and off trucks, which the system can process automatically. Forklift operators can react to instructions to release or stack containers.

In-cab technologies can combine to improve productivity. For example, crossing a geofence a kilometre or so from your depot can result in a forklift operator being alerted that a container of a certain size will arrive shortly and is to be stacked at a certain location. The forklift operator has no need to get out of his cab for paperwork or instructions, and the truck can be tended to immediately to minimise downtime.

It is obvious that we now can have some very sophisticated and productive transport operations, but where do we go from here with mobility applications? The answer to this lies with the element of the logistics company we haven’t yet mentioned:

management.

The various managers in a company basically need to know what is happening that will need their attention and how the company is performing. No matter where the manager is or what he or she is doing, they need to know of problems requiring their attention as soon as possible, even if it is their turn to putt. They also benefit from immediate up-to-date information about various aspects of company performance.

Are customer payments on target? Are we on budget with our freight revenues? Have all

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linehaul trucks been loaded to an acceptable level? Questions such as these, which may make up your company’s health check, should be answered by an application on your device at any time.

From this point, we will have improved productivity significantly. Beyond this, the productivity ratio will demand technology advancement in another area – robotics.

Next month: Why computers don’t cure sloppy business practices…

Conference 2023 Clean, green and electric future Last November, the 2023 IRTENZ 18th international conference, themed Future Highways – Future Vehicles – brought together speakers from New Zealand and the world to present the latest developments in transport matters. In this last report instalment, we look at what’s ahead for some key players in terms of decarbonisation.

Nemanja Miletic, SAF Holland, Australia, says the future of heavy traffic will be green, quiet and electric. While there will not be one solution for everything, electrification will likely cover the last mile of urban deliveries.

Miletic says the use of electrified trailer axles is becoming increasingly important, especially for refrigerated trailers and innercity applications. “CO2 reduction, noise reduction and legislation to protect inner cities are the main drivers for electrified CVs,” he says.

SAF-Holland began developing its trailer electric axles in 2015. The ideal application for the TRAKr e-axle is refrigerated transport fleets in which trailer refrigeration units (TRU) can run fully electric. Purely electric operation reduces noise and will help fleets

Scania NZ’s senior product engineer e-mobility, Alfons Reitsma, touched on the latest developments in Scania’s decarbonisation journey.

“Our purpose is to drive the shift towards a more sustainable society and in our transport systems,” Reitsma says.

“We work on trying to do the right thing.

How can we improve the energy efficiency of our products for our customers? How do we deal with renewable fuels in the electrification journey? All while focusing on smart and safe transport.

“Every day, we get calls from our clients who ask us to give more sustainable products.”

Reitsma says good policy is essential for truck manufacturers when planning the future, regardless of who is in government.

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New Zealand Trucking April 2024

meet the new proposed zero-emissions standards.

The SAF TRAKr uses a high-voltage generator module for electric power regeneration, lowering the vehicle’s emissions and fuel consumption. SAF-Holland e-axles have been rigorously tested in real-world operation in Europe and South Africa.

SAF TRAKr for electrical recuperation The main design principle is the centrally located high-voltage generator unit (max 20kW), which converts trailer kinetic energy to electrical energy to be used to operate electric consumers of the trailer.

The generated power is stored in a lithium battery. The main applications are coolers, tanks and silos.

“I thought the government [transport announcement] was a little bit light on its ambition frankly,” he says.

“Of course, we’d like an ambitious government to have good policy to underpin set targets. It’s so much easier for us when we know there are set targets from a governmental policy, because we only make vehicles that comply with the legislation.

“It’s a huge challenge now globally. How many diesel engines should we make?

How many gas engines should we make?

How many electric trucks should we make?

How many hydrogen trucks will we have to make, et cetera.

“That planning comes from good policy because good policy will indicate to us what we should create.

Nemanja Miletic.

The SAF TRAKe for electrical recuperation and traction support In principle, the SAF TRAKe is the same design as TRAKe but with a more powerful voltage e-machine with a higher output (max 120kW, max 320 Nm). Depending on the operation mode, the generated power can be used to operate devices or equipment within the trailer that use electricity or can be used for the drive mode to support the main engine of the truck.

The generated energy is stored in a lithium battery. The main applications are the car carrier, cooler, tipper, tanker and silos.

“But, regardless of governments and policies that are perhaps not driving the shift as quickly as we would like, we are committed to driving this change.”

Reitsma says Scania NZ Is dedicated to instigating the change towards decarbonisation by following science-based targets. “This includes targets that are in line with what is necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Accord,” he says.

“We are committed to a 50% CO₂ reduction from our operations by 2025, and a 20% CO2 reduction from our products by 2025. By 2030, we have to have a 50% reduction of our CO2 footprint from our products, and we have to have a 50% reduction every decade thereafter.

“The question is, how we do that? There’s a lot of investment going on behind the

Reliance Transport general manager Mark Darrah updated delegates on the company’s Project Switch, a comprehensive, five-stage initiative to achieve carbon neutrality and unparalleled efficiency.

“We’re heading into a world where we’re going to have 450 to 500 parts per million of CO2 in our atmosphere. While no one knows for sure, the last time we had this much CO2 in the world, there were mass extinctions. So, we have to ask, is that where we’re heading?”

Darrah says.

The core of Project Switch lies in five strategic stages: 1. Convert the diesel fleet to Euro-6 and transition the light vehicle fleet to Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV), completed in 2022.

2. Commit to net carbon zero, reduction, and offsets, resulting in Reliance’s certification in December 2022.

3. Commission heavy-duty BEV trucks and BEV Reachstackers, completed in December 2022.

4. Build a scalable MCD-capable Microgrid with Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) from 2023 to 2029.

Christopher de Saxe, head of sustainability at London-based freight management start-up, Zeus, says an electric road system (ERS) is an economically attractive solution to decarbonise heavy goods vehicles.

“An electric road system is essentially a dynamic charging solution for any vehicle, but we’re mainly talking about heavy trucks,” he says.

According to de Saxe, an ERS reduces the

scenes, a tremendous amount. And that is also to ensure that we can hit that target under the Paris Accord.

“Everybody who contributes to this change is a positive step in the right direction. We are definitely not here to polarise the industry between one solution or the other,” Reitsma says.

“Many transitional steps to decarbonisation have unfortunately been taken out of the loop because of New Zealand market conditions. And that’s a shame, because all those products were developed – gas engines, ethanol engines, ethanol engines based on the ignition. They could have all contributed today to the society we live in here in New Zealand.”

Mark Darrah.

5. Complete the full-scale rollout of the HD BEV Fleet from 2024 to 2029.

“As a service industry, Reliance Transport recognises the necessity for a plan, driven not only by customer demand but also by legal mandates, such as COP 28 and the Climate Change Response Act. New Zealand is committed to internationally legally binding conventions to reduce its emissions,” Darrah says.

“New Zealand’s got a great opportunity because of all the renewable energy we

battery capacity needed for many journeys compared with big battery trucks. This reduces vehicle cost, weight, and embodied emissions, as well as peak loading on the electricity grid. “A big drawcard for these kinds of systems is the impact that they have on reducing the battery capacity needed on vehicles,” he says.

“This has a number of implications regarding vehicle cost, weight, and efficiency, as well as the embodied emissions in those batteries, which can be significant.

“If you look across the ERS for light, medium and heavy vehicles, the impact that they have on reducing battery sizes is fairly consistent. For any of these, if you consider the price of BEVs, especially your kind of 40-, 44-tonne units, whichever way you slice it, the batteries are a huge part of the cost. A 40% or 60% reduction is going to have a big impact on the cost of that vehicle.”

A slight indirect impact is peak loading on the grid, de Saxe says.

“If you imagine an entire country’s HGB fleet transitioning to either big battery trucks with high-capacity static chargers versus smaller battery trucks with dynamic charging, the impact on the grid could be significantly more favourable,” he says.

ERS can involve in-road conductive systems, in-road inductive systems, or an overhead-cable type of conductive system.

“This is the solution we were most

produce. There’s enough renewable energy to replace the fossil fuel energy that we burn,” he says.

Reliance aims to transition its fleet to zero emissions, aligning with the evolving expectations of transport service buyers, who increasingly require emission reduction plans.

“We need government support to achieve this … from the Ministry of Transport/Waka Kotahi, EECA… We have had two lots of funding from EECA and we are applying for a third block. This enables us to try this technology and validate it for operation.” says Darrah.

“New Zealand is a technology follower.

With commitments from Europe, the United States and China towards zero-emission heavy vehicles, we have to make moves.

“It’s going to be a hell of a ride between now and 2030. And we are really going to have to hustle if we want to change the regulatory environment and take advantage of some of the stuff that’s happening overseas and get it down here.”

Chis de Saxe. interested in early on,” de Saxe says. “The work that we’ve done could be applicable to any type of dynamic charging. Essentially it looks to be economically attractive based on a number of studies that have been done throughout Europe and the UK, particularly for the higher-end heavy vehicles, which in Europe is up to 44 tonnes,” he says.

“We’ve done a lot of work on electric road systems for the UK. Compared to the competing options of big battery trucks or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, it does look to be like one of the lowest-cost economically feasible solutions.”

However, de Saxe says that doesn’t mean it’s politically attractive. “This requires centralised, big decisions from government and it’s very likely many governments wouldn’t go down this route. But that doesn’t mean it’s not potentially the best economic solution.”

New Zealand Trucking April 2024

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BUSINESS UPDATE

Eastern Truck’s new inspection facility enhances efficiency Napier-based Eastern Truck is a dedicated hub for truck repairs in Hawke’s Bay, offering routine maintenance, repairs and specialised services for Kenworth, DAF and Cummins-powered trucks.

S

eeing a gap in the market for a vehicle testing station, Eastern Truck expanded the business by providing a comprehensive, onestop-shop experience.

After carefully evaluating a range of brands for workshop equipment, the Eastern Truck team landed on MAHA. “We ultimately choose MAHA due to its lifting beds, which significantly improve speed and efficiency in conducting brake rolling tests,” says Kieran Murphy, workshop general manager at Eastern Truck.

“Being well-received ‘on the street’ played a crucial role in our decisionmaking process. The insights gathered from discussions with industry peers and experts were invaluable, and that helped make our decision to go with MAHA easy,” he says.

The installation of MAHA brake rollers at Eastern Truck’s two-lane inspections facility took place in October last year, and so far, everything has been running smoothly.

“We haven’t encountered any issues, and we’re very pleased with the performance of MAHA’s brake rollers,” says Kieran.

He says the efficiency gains from MAHA’s lifting beds are notable, significantly reducing the time spent securing trucks and streamlining the entire testing process compared with other models.

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Eastern Truck selected MAHA for its brake roller testing equipment.

The MAHA legacy

The lifting beds improve speed and efficiency in brake testing.

“It’s all about efficiency, and MAHA’s equipment has proven to be a gamechanger in that regard,” he says.

Ease of use was another crucial factor for Eastern Truck.

“One of our inspectors had prior experience with similar brake rollers, so adapting to MAHA’s equipment was seamless,” Kieran says. “We provided brief training to other staff members, and overall, it’s quite user-friendly.

“Working with MAHA has been straightforward and easy. The installation process and operational support were excellent. We haven’t needed any postsales support so far.”

MAHA’s presence in New Zealand spans 30 years, during which the company has played a pivotal role in introducing roller brake and suspension testing technology to various sectors, including government testing authorities, OEMs, educational institutes and the general transport industry.

MAHA New Zealand has a nationwide sales network, with its main office in Auckland and a sales presence and service staff supporting the entire country.

Additionally, due to the extensive range of spare parts and standard MAHA products in stock, MAHA New Zealand has shorter reaction times and can supply urgent spare parts for maintenance and installations of MAHA products. MAHA in New Zealand handles the complete supply chain from manufacture in Germany to delivery installation across the entire product service life.

Get in touch with the team at MAHA New Zealand at maha.co.nz/contact

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CARRIERS’ CORNER

The opportunity to (re)build…

Transcon’s Blake Noble looks at building more skill and capability into our businesses and celebrates the return of the Government’s Roads of National Significance initiative.

I

n previous columns, I’ve mused about the need to constantly refine how we do things, particularly in current economic conditions. That revision may take the form of trimming, restructuring, selling down or divesting aspects of what we do. But I wonder whether an alternative approach, given the current lull, is to use this as an opportunity to prepare for the return of economic momentum, developing our skills and resources and using the time to ‘sharpen the axe’. Or perhaps re-tool that axe entirely into the shape of another implement?

There is an underlying (and admirable) focus across our sector to retain talent in these challenging times, particularly given how difficult recruitment conditions have been in recent years. Why would I let talent that has taken so long to acquire and develop leave my business? I suspect many believe the tap will be turned back on soon enough and are determined not to be caught short when more buoyant volumes return. Hence, they want to retain that capacity to make that hay as soon as the sun shines again! I’d like to think that retaining such talent presents another golden opportunity: utilising existing ‘capacity’ and harnessing it for training and skill development, the result of which the entire industry benefits, as we ultimately use this downtime to collectively ‘tool up’.

While there are obvious training elements that come to mind, e.g. the progression of license classes and the gaining of endorsements, thanks to the wonders of the internet, there also exists a raft of other opportunities for our teams to learn remotely, potentially developing other areas of skills that might otherwise prove challenging to master. It might be going down the path of some ‘soft’ skills related to EQ, customer service, or basic

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communication skills. It might be the development of greater internal knowledge regarding technology and its application.

Or perhaps it’s engaging in something industry-specific, such as a MITO commercial road transport programme. For those who haven’t engaged with MITO (mito.org.nz), I’d strongly encourage you to do so; its network presents a raft of online and in-person learning opportunities, covering everything from simple modules related to a discreet skill or competency to multi-year unitstandards-based certificates in commercial road transport.

What excites and interests me so much about this approach is that not only are we focusing on the preservation of our most important assets (that’s our team members, on the off chance that point wasn’t obvious!), but we’re also building more skill and capability into our organisations, and at the same time growing the knowledge of our teams. Better yet, could this also be a way for us to (re)capture workforce from other sectors that are freeing up their own capacity?

On the same topic of building and developing, how good has it been to see

a return of the ‘RONs’, or Roads of National Significance? Again, political allegiances aside, some gaping holes exist within our roading infrastructure network, so it’s brilliant to see the proposed being built, re-built, or simply completed and joined up.

What pleases me is that there’s at least an acknowledgement from the outset that a funding gap exists and that some level of innovation or creativity will be required to fill the hole if we’re to see the wish list of infrastructure come to fruition … in an acceptable timeframe.

I’m also of the view that for us to get these assets, some sort of ‘user pays’ system is unavoidable, most likely via some form of tolling. While it’s easy to view tolls simply as another cost, another lens to look at them is as a relatively inexpensive tool to buy efficiency and reliability. I’d far rather see an improvement-specific toll charge being applied than a carte blanche increase in road user charges (or fuel tax) to cover the shortfall that proves very difficult to identify and ringfence when it comes to spending.

The question remains over how to insulate any of these RONs, or other major infrastructure projects, from political interference and diversion in the coming years. But thanks to the constant dialogue from our own industry bodies and friend-ofindustry Nick Leggett at Infrastructure New Zealand, I suspect we may well see some concrete plans (sorry, bad pun!) to alleviate such fears.

Do you agree with Blake or want to engage with his comment? He’d love to hear from you.

Contact Blake at: blake@transcon.co.nz.

Blake Noble is managing director of Transcon, a 16-truck general-freight operation based in Warkworth, north of Auckland. He is also the founder of specialist transport growth and advisory provider Delivery.

Head to getdelivery.nz to connect with Blake.

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TRUCKERS’ HEALTH

There’s no time like

the present Our health guru, Laura Hulley, looks at why we always seem to be waiting for the perfect moment to get our health back on track.

D

o you ever make yourself a promise that you will get your health back on track once you’re in that magical position where all of the stars align and you’re in the perfect headspace? “Diet starts Monday.” “I’ll start once my life isn’t as busy.”

Unfortunately, life is not linear; it throws us all sorts of spanners, obstacles and challenges. If we waited until we were not busy, had fewer events on, when it’s warmer, when it’s cooler – it would never happen.

That is why our health is often put on the backburner for so long – waiting for that perfect moment and opportunity.

So, I’m here today to tell you the hard truth – you need to start today. As cliché as it sounds, there is never a better time to start than now.

I must admit, I need to take my own advice on this one. Over the years, there have been plenty of reasons and seasons why I supposedly haven’t been able to focus on my health. Right now, I have a fivemonth-old baby who wakes me every two hours. I said to myself, “I will focus on my health once I’m getting more sleep.” Yes, I am extremely tired, every day. But if I wait for Otis to magically start sleeping through the night, I may not prioritise my health for weeks, months or even years.

Let’s decide that we are going to control the narrative and take action now. I’ve often seen on new mum pages, “You can’t pour from an empty cup”, which is unbelievably true regarding our health. You may think that not getting your exercise in and eating a bit of junk isn’t the end of the world, but it has

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a widespread effect and influence on every aspect of your life.

You may not be someone who relies on exercise endorphins to inject positivity and power you through your day – but you will feel better if you take the time to spend even 30 minutes moving your body in any way you choose.

So how do we remove these so-called barriers and decide to act? Sometimes, this can be a penny drop, epiphany or inspiring moment brought on by something completely random, or you can make the decision to look past your current situation (busy at work, too hot, too cold, too many things on, etc) and prioritise the things that are important to you.

Not having time is an excuse I often come across with clients. It can be a genuine reason people can’t exercise – especially for truckers who often spend such long hours on the road.

I completely understand that you are far more time-poor than a typical nine-to-five, Monday to Friday worker. But in saying that, it only takes half an hour, which is roughly 2% of your day, to exercise and reap the physical and mental benefits.

Say to yourself, for 2% of my day I will focus on exercise, in the other 98%, I can balance work, relaxing and doing things I enjoy. I don’t know about you, but thinking about it that way makes me think that it’s not a big deal and it’s completely doable even though all of the stars aren’t currently aligned for me to be a health goddess.

Okay, so we are in the mindset of ‘it’s not a big deal, I will carve out this time because it is important to me’. Now what? We need to be practical and realistic and put this into action. You need to ask yourself, when will this 2% of my day happen? What time works for me to exercise? If you’re a morning person, perhaps getting your 30 minutes of exercise before work will be the best option.

If you struggle to wake up in the morning and feel more energetic in the afternoon/ evening, perhaps after work is a better

time for you to squeeze in your 2% exercise session. I understand that your schedule can be all over the place and things come up and may get in the way. But for the bulk of the time, if you can stick to your intended exercise slot, it is easier to build a routine, create a habit and increase your overall fitness and physical wellbeing in the long term.

So I challenge you to challenge yourself.

Are these barriers important enough to hinder your mission to be a healthier and happier person? Is spending one hour on your phone or watching TV more important than your physical health?

As I write this, a lot of this is directed at myself and my current situation. Having a baby and being a first-time mum is really hard! You don’t get much sleep, and your old life and routine fall by the wayside. This can happen when you take on any new job or commitment in your life – whatever it may be. If it’s something unexpected and timeconsuming, it can be enough to throw you off your desired path.

Today is a better time to start than next Monday, next week, next winter or next summer. Take action now, and you will thank yourself in six months.

You can have six months of excuses or six months of progress – you decide.

Laura Hulley Personal trainer

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HEALTH AND SAFETY

Audits and reviews

– what are they exactly, and why do you do them?

Safewise consultant Kaye Byrne explains audits and reviews, and why they are important for your business.

A

s a health and safety professional, I have done my fair share of assessments and audits of health and safety systems. For the majority, I was the main auditor, but I also assisted several of our clients who were being audited by another company.

What makes a difference?

A review is a more casual overview of the organisation’s health and safety system.

Internal reviews are often conducted to reassure upper management about the organisation’s performance. The criteria will change depending on what the auditor is looking for. A few examples would be the number of safety meetings held, the number of people in attendance, the number of site inspections completed, the number of nonconformances brought to attention, and the number of accidents, incidents and near misses that were recorded.

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A review is organised to a particular standard. It is, by and large, conducted by an experienced and trained auditor, which provides a higher level of assurance.

The auditor will only assess the processes relevant to that audit or standard. This may be a full framework or reflections of it. The auditor will ordinarily evaluate the work in progress and have a conversation with workers about having a much wider understanding of the organisation. Both can give critical information about what has happened and how the organisation has reacted or responded. They should be utilised as a learning tool, encouraging the organisation to progress and develop its health and safety culture.

Regular reviews or audits should commence to support and guide management’s insight into health and safety.

Audits are completed for many reasons.

They: • provide information to management • evaluate compliance standards • allow organisations to benchmark themselves against other similar organisations • assure clients the organisation is up to standard regarding health and safety.

Regardless, all health and safety management systems or frameworks should be audited consistently and regularly throughout the year. Knowing how well your system works and functions can only benefit the wider organisation.

Kaye Byrne is a health and safety consultant who works for Safewise, a health and safety consultancy organisation.

Kaye has been in the health and safety field in one way or another for the past 10 years, most recently as a consultant. Kaye has experience working with many different industries and people. She holds a New Zealand Diploma in Workplace Health and Safety Management (level 6) and is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Safety Management.

3:12:58 PM

Danielle L. Beston Barrister At Law Log Book & Driving Hours Transport Specialist Work Licences Nationwide Road User Charges Contributor to New Zealand Trucking ‘Legal Lines’ Column Telephone: (09) 985 5609 mobile: 021 326 642 danielle.beston@trafficlawyerauckland.co.nz Referral Through Solicitor Required and Arranged

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New Zealand Trucking April 2024

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LEGAL LINES

SAFE DRIVING POLICIES in an employment context Legal exert Danielle Beston explains why having a safe driving policy in place is vital for any transport operator.

E

mployers have a duty of care to provide a safe working environment for their employees that extends to when employees are required to drive as part of their job. That is why it is important for transport operators to have a robust, effective and efficient safe driving policy in place that will keep workers safe while also saving businesses a lot of stress and money. But what happens when there is a breach of the terms of a company’s safe driving policy? Is this a ground for dismissal? In QDA v EKD [2021] NZEmpC 139, the Employment Court was asked to determine this very question and you might be surprised to learn the answer.

The facts EKD (‘Mr D’) was a waste collection vehicle driver for QDA (‘the company’). Mr D had a history of minor driving incidents and faced complaints from colleagues about his ‘unconventional’ communication style. After receiving a final warning for a driving issue, Mr D caused minor damage while parking a truck when he had reversed his vehicle into a sign secured to a barrier wall.

Under QDA’s Safe Driving Policy each driver was to: • “Immediately report any accident or incident that they are involved in to their direct manager, regardless of the perceived/actual damage costs (if any) or severity of the incident, which • Resulted in any [QDA] vehicle and/or plant and equipment under their control being damaged;

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•

Resulted in any other property damage, altercation or injury; or • Resulted in a near miss.”

Mr D attempted to notify the company straight away but was unable to do so and instead, he reported the incident the next day.

The dispute Following a brief investigation, Mr D was dismissed on notice for the driving incident and for failing to report it promptly. Mr D alleged that it was an unjustifiable dismissal.

The Employment Relations Authority held that Mr D was unjustifiably dismissed by QDA and awarded $10,000 of compensatory damages. The company appealed against this decision to the Employment Court.

Was dismissal justified?

The Court is required to examine the issue of justification objectively. Section 103A of the Employment Relations Act 2000 sets out the test for determining whether the decision to terminate a person’s employment was a justified response. The two factors that must be considered are whether the employer acted fairly and reasonably in the circumstances, and if there were any defects in the procedure followed, whether these were minor and did not result in the employee being treated unfairly.

In applying this test the Court must consider— (a) whether, having regard to the resources available to the employer, the employer sufficiently investigated the allegations against the employee before dismissing or taking action against the employee;

and (b) whether the employer raised the concerns that the employer had with the employee before dismissing or taking action against the employee; and (c) whether the employer gave the employee a reasonable opportunity to respond to the employer’s concerns before dismissing or taking action against the employee; and (d) whether the employer genuinely considered the employee’s explanation (if any) in relation to the allegations against the employee before dismissing or taking action against the employee.

In addition to this, the court may consider any other factors it thinks are appropriate.

The judge’s reasoning The Court held that a full and proper investigation should have been conducted, including interviewing all relevant witnesses.

That did not occur in this case. The incident itself was deemed minor and a fault in the mirror contributed to the incident. In addition to this, Mr D’s explanations for the delay in reporting the incident were not considered adequately. A range of procedural failures were also identified in the steps which QDA took when dismissing Mr D. In conclusion, the court found that the dismissal was substantively unjustified. Compensation of $10,000 was awarded but this was reduced by 10% for Mr D’s contributory conduct. The final compensatory damages awarded to Mr D was $9071.56.

Please note that this article is not a substitute for legal advice, and if you have a particular matter to be addressed, you should consult with a lawyer. Danielle Beston is a barrister who specialises in transport law, and she can be contacted on (09) 985 5609 or 021 326 642.

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CLEAR THE AIR

ENERGY IS EVERYTHING We know energy is essential – it propels trucks, warms homes and powers industry. But it goes far beyond that, and it’s the ‘far beyond’ we must get right even though it’s hardly on the radar.

F

or starters, the climate crisis is itself an energy crisis. Mother Earth still receives much the same energy from the sun, but thanks to everything we’ve dumped into the atmosphere, she’s now unable to radiate enough back into space to keep cool and is slowly heating up – at least, slowly in human terms, but at lightning speed compared with the past 2000 years.

However, the stuff we’ve dumped into the atmosphere is an energy issue, too.

The arch-villain is CO2 from burning fossil fuels over the past 200 years, propelling the spectacular temperature rise that starts at the red arrow. We must slash fossil fuel use.

This brings us to the elephant in the energy room: the economy and ‘net energy gain’.

Contrary to the common perception, we run an energy economy, not a monetary one.

“The economy functions,” writes economics researcher Tim Morgan, “by using energy to access raw materials and convert them into products and services.”

There’s extensive evidence showing that a flourishing economy needs not only abundant energy, but abundant surplus energy, or ‘net energy gain’, i.e. lots left after deducting the energy needed to get it in the first place.

Bingo! The economy is driven by ‘net energy gain’.

This is important. Energy-hungry societies like ours need a net energy gain of about 15:1 to 20:1. Sometimes called “energy return on energy invested” (ERoEI), it means we consume 15 to 20 times the energy needed to get the energy.

Really good hydro and gusher oil wells had an amazing ERoEI – about 100 (yielding 100 energy units to use for one to get them), but those days are gone. The ‘good’ hydro is largely developed, and global values for oil are, according to the Journal of Petroleum Technology, “plummeting” towards 6.7:1. “It is essential,” said its March 2023 paper, “that global stakeholders act swiftly to transition

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to more sustainable and renewable sources of energy …”

This has little to do with price or emissions and everything to do with how much energy we need to obtain the energy.

So, given that renewables seem to be the silver bullet, how much energy do we need to access them? Well, to be glib, far too much. In simple terms, renewables can’t sustain society as we know it.

And for those shouting “hydrogen!”, it’s not an energy source but a storage medium like a battery, but dramatically less efficient, wasting over 70% of its energy, which in an energychallenged society, makes it a nonsense for everything but specialist applications.

So why all the rhetoric about the future being just like the present only powered by renewables? There are many reasons, price obsession being one, vested interests another.

But a big factor is political: no MP wants to tell their electorate they can’t have their cake and eat it like they’re used to, that they can’t be climate-safe plus have an energy-abundant future, and should plan for lower-energy lifestyles. “And,” the MPs might add, “we don’t know how to deliver those …” Goneburger!

Happily, there are some silver linings on this cloud.

There’s clean-burning, underground ‘geological hydrogen’. Like coal, and unlike manufactured hydrogen, it is a source of stored energy. But the reserves are still being quantified, the jury is out on its potential contribution and downsides, and there’s no mention of prudent conservation.

Then there’s the electrification of just about everything. The 15-20 ERoEI for society is framed around the glorious inefficiency of the combustion engine. With EVs about three times as efficient, we should get more bang from our surplus energy. But even if, optimistically, society’s needs halve to an ERoEI of 8-10, renewables still fall short.

Plus, factor in that any use of manufactured

hydrogen pushes us the wrong way.

Finally, there’s a silver lining we should take seriously: we’re such an energy-profligate society that, like binge eaters, there’s a lot we can let go of with little likely downside.

A classic is our nonsensically wasteful car commuting. “There’s nothing less efficient than having roads filled with cars bumper to bumper,” says world data guru Hannah Ritchie. It’s inefficient to the nth degree and offers a galaxy of potential benefits if we address it well. For example, Transpower has just foreshadowed looming power outages, and NZ Inc is grumbling about serious balance of payment deficits. Both would improve under lower commuting energy, fossil fuel and electricity alike, along with attendant reductions in congestion, emissions, travel costs and more.

Whichever way we look at it, we’re heading for a society using substantially less energy. That doesn’t mean living like paupers; it means treating energy like the taonga it is and rapidly learning to use it wisely so we can target a flourishing future, while also combatting the climate crisis.

Lindsay Wood, MNZM, is founding director of climate strategy company Resilienz Ltd, and in 2024 was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to climate awareness and environmental sustainability.

Lindsay is active in policy arenas, develops tools to support decarbonisation, and speaks, writes and broadcasts widely on climate issues.

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EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

Process, process, process Dealing with employment relationship problems is all about process, process, process, writes Mike Kyne from Kyne Management Services.

M

onitoring and documenting an employee’s working journey can be difficult. We tend to rely on earned trust and a commitment from employees to work diligently, learn and progress to become a reliable asset to our companies.

Unfortunately, some employees can’t, or don’t, want to meet your expectations and can create a dysfunctional working environment. This usually causes a sense of frustration for you, and it is important you don’t react emotionally and say or do the wrong thing.

To avoid being exposed to a grievance this way, stand back from the situation and pause, analyse the issues, decide on the process you want to follow and then apply that process.

DO NOT: • predetermine or be prejudicial • make assumptions based on emotion rather than the facts • preempt responses or explanations based on your thoughts and feelings • let emotions override common sense, logic, and your responsibilities.

DO: • be fair and reasonable • ask for and fully consider all explanations provided in a neutral way • be open and transparent in your dealings with the miscreant.

Before making any decision, ensure it is made on the balance of probabilities.

CONSIDER: • Have I been fair, reasonable, and impartial in my decision making?

• Did I gather all the facts available to me to consider?

• In determining any outcome, did I properly weigh up the evidence available in an

•

impartial way?

Did the miscreant have a full opportunity to explain and be heard?

Having a good working knowledge of Section 4 of the Employment Relations Act is important.

Parties to an employment relationship must deal with each other in good faith.

(1) The parties to an employment relationship specified in subsection (2) — (a) must deal with each other in good faith; and (b) without limiting paragraph (a), must not, whether directly or indirectly, do anything — (i) to mislead or deceive each other; or (ii) that is likely to mislead or deceive each other.

(1A) The duty of good faith in subsection (1) — (a) is wider in scope than the implied mutual obligations of trust and confidence, and (b) requires the parties to an employment relationship to be active and constructive in establishing and maintaining a productive employment relationship in which the parties are, among other things, responsive and communicative, and (c) without limiting paragraph (b), requires an employer who is proposing to make a decision that will, or is likely to, have an adverse effect on the continuation of employment of 1 or more of his or her employees to provide to the employees affected — (i) access to information relevant to the continuation of the employees’ employment about the decision, and (ii) an opportunity to comment on the information to their employer before the decision is made.

Section 103A is the test of justification which is the standard the law looks at to compare if your process was fair.

It says: For the purposes of section 103(1)(a) and (b), the question of whether a dismissal or an action was justifiable must be determined, on an objective basis, by considering whether the employer’s actions, and how the employer acted, were what a fair and reasonable employer would have done in all the circumstances at the time the dismissal or action occurred.

In summary, if you notice a problem, see a potential problem or are confronted by a problem, handle it now. Don’t ignore it in the hope it goes away, because it won’t. It will only escalate with aggressive human emotion.

To assist your process, seek advice to ensure you comply with the legal process requirements. Two heads are better than one in obtaining a pragmatic outcome.

Mike Kyne is the director of Kyne Management Services, which offers advice and expertise in employment matters, compliance issues, analysis, auditing and review. Mike has considerable experience coaching managers and business owners in the application of procedural and practical requirements under current business legislation. He also represents employers in mediation and in the Employment Relations Authority. Mike has established a strong reputation for providing practical advice and on-site assistance to transport firms.

Note: This opinion piece is written as an advisory of ideas when dealing with people. It is not intended as specific advice for any circumstances. Mike can be contacted at kyne@kyne.co.nz or on (03) 365 3414.

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David Boyce CEO

TMS Teletrac Navman show declared a success by industry

T

he much-anticipated TMS Teletrac Navman Technology | Maintenance | Safety Conference and Exhibition, joinetly organised by the New Zealand Trucking Association and National Road Carriers, kicked off on Wednesday, 13 March, at the Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre with over 600 attendees coming through the door across two days, including 130 students attending the Careers Transport Expo and with front-row seats to the unveiling of the Truck of the Year Australasia.

Students and adults interested in a transport career had the opportunity to find out more about all aspects of the industry including driving, engineering, health and safety, technology and logistics.

“It was great seeing so many young people engaged in a potential career in transport,” says David Boyce, CEO, New Zealand Trucking Association.

“Opening their eyes to the range of opportunities the industry provides and helping them understand the industry is about more than being a truck driver.

We need marketers, administration, HR, communications, engineers and supply chain experts – to name just a few. The Careers Expo is about being proactive in terms of attracting talent.”

The long-awaited unveiling of 2024 Truck of the Year Australasia was met with enthusiasm from everyone, with the Western Star X-Series declared the 2024 winner and the trophy presented to Penske Australia and New Zealand managing director Hamish Christie-Johnston. (Read more on page 32.)

Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey officially opened the event with Simeon Brown, Minister of Transport, beaming in remotely.

“Roading infrastructure and the need to invest in the network is a critical conversation topic, with good roading crucial to the transport industry’s ability to function both sustainability and profitably. Hearing

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directly from government paves the way for greater understanding of what they hope to achieve and the challenges that need to be overcome to benefit the transport industry and public,” says Justin Tighe-Umbers, CEO, National Road Carriers.

With the exhibition space sold out, there were over 50 exhibitors, including leading industry names such as Volvo, Penske, Isuzu, UD Trucks, Hino Trucks, Z Energy, Levanta Superior Workshop Solutions, NAPA, Transpecs, Alemlube, Milwaukee and Waimea Engineering, to name just a few.

All were showcasing the very best of the trucking industry including new technology, maintenance and safety innovations and never seen before trucks.

One such truck included is the Sany Full Electric E-Mixer. Sany is the third-largest construction equipment manufacturer in the world, and this is the first time the Sany truck brand has been seen within Australasia.

TERRAMOTIVE is a new entrant to the New Zealand market for the supply of zeroemission heavy commercial vehicles and we feel very excited and privileged to have showcased this product with the support of Putzmeister for the first time.

NTA and NRC took on board the desire from industry to have one nationwide transport industry event that bought together representatives from all areas.

“It was fantastic to have transport operators and firms attending alongside service suppliers, manufacturers, telematics, agencies, regulators, finance, insurance and technology providers,” says Boyce.

“And for the first time, we had the key transport associations coming together to share best practice under one roof.

We’ve really enjoyed welcoming the Crane Association, Ground Spreaders Association, and the Heavy Haulage Association, along with our Australian partners the Australian Trucking Association, NatRoad, and TruckSafe Australia.”

The event attracted a high calibre of

speakers addressing a range of topics, including how to enhance fleet productivity through performance-based designs, telematics, AI, and how transformational technology can be for the industry.

Attendees were also challenged to think more deeply about the future of transportation fuels, especially how diesel, hydrogen and electric can all play their part.

“Industry safety was central to the conference and delegates appreciated the opportunity to hear how industry-led initiatives such as HARMfree Transport and Logistics and TruckSafe NZ can enhance safety outcomes and contribute to operator wellbeing,” says Tighe-Umbers.

“The session on how to get a grip of your business costs via NRC’s Customisable Cost Index was particularly well received as operators struggle with increasing costs across the board, and attendees were given strong insights into what a powerful tool their people are and how business success is intrinsically linked to how you develop and invest in your workforce.”

Celebrating industry success was a highlight at the award and networking event on the Wednesday night, with organisers using the opportunity to celebrate industry leaders across the technology, maintenance and safety sectors.

The awards winners were: TDRI Solutions, PartsTrader Technology Award. Awarded to the company or entrepreneur who has a technological solution or product that enhances the future of our industry.

Josh Verity, Owner, TRUCKworks Mechanical & Engineering, bp Maintenance Award. Awarded to the most outstanding technician who is dedicated to continuous improvement.

Fit for Duty, Rachel Lehen, ACC Safety Award. Awarded to the company or individual with an initiative promoting safety or health and wellbeing.

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Justin Tighe-Umbers CEO

NRC focuses on team, services, advocacy to better serve members

O

ne year ago, the NRC team was in crisis mode, responding to members caught in Cyclone Gabrielle’s aftermath and flooding. This year, I see a more upbeat mood among members. No doubt the beautiful weather and new government have helped.

The quieter January gave the team at NRC time to reflect and plan for the year ahead – to ask ourselves how we can serve our members better. We looked at three things: • Our team – are we well set up to serve our members?

• Our services – are they providing what our members need?

• Our advocacy – are we pushing for the right priorities with the government?

Our team Our strategy focuses on rebuilding and refreshing our services, systems and processes. We are aligning our roles to cover our large member base, developing our culture and values and ensuring the team has the right systems and resources to deliver. Everyone is energised and embraces our rebuild.

Our services We provide NRC members with a high-value discounts across essentials such as fuel, insurance, communications and IT gear.

But we’re looking at our support services surrounding these.

One of our most used services is the NRC cost model, where we show members what they need to be charging so a contract doesn’t lose money. We are making the

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cost model easier to use and refreshing the underlying data.

This goes hand in hand with our new NRC Customisable Transport Cost Index, launched with Infometrics last year.

Members who access this free service get a quarterly refreshed view of how much transport costs have shifted by tailoring them to their own cost weightings.

We’ll further enhance both services this year, so watch this space.

Along with our partners at New Zealand Trucking Association, we are also developing new services. HARMFree, our safety and wellbeing portal for transport and logistics operators, is a one-stop shop for good work design, wellbeing and training. It provides a meeting place to connect with other operators to ask questions and share advice.

We are also bringing the Australian industry accreditation programme TruckSafe to New Zealand. TruckSafe provides strong, credible recognition for the hard work operators do to run a professional, safe and compliant operation.

and well-funded roading network. We’ll continue our call for a 50-year roading infrastructure plan and be actively involved in designing how our roading network will be funded.

The just-released draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport is geared towards restoring the damaged road network so it is fit for purpose, continuing to look after it, and investing in the roads we need to support a growing economy.

The $500 million pothole-prevention fund strongly signals that getting the basics right is critical. It’s pleasing to see our advocacy has been heard.

We are also working to refresh performance-based standards and other rules and regulations that, in some cases, have not been reviewed in 30 years.

Relatively minor tweaks to rules can yield real efficiency wins, which will be gamechangers for permitting and compliance.

I’m excited about all we have planned for members this year. The team has real momentum, and we are cracking on with getting it done for you.

Our advocacy Our No.1 priority is reinstating the fundamentals to achieve a well-maintained

Our no.1 priority is reinstating the fundamentals to achieve a well-miantained and well-funded roading network.

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Government Policy Statement a win for industry Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand interim chief executive Dom Kalasih discusses the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport released last month and what it means for the transport sector.

I

n our briefing to incoming Transport Minister Simeon Brown, we sought eight priority actions.

The first was to rewrite GPS24 to prioritise road maintenance, network resilience and strategic roading investments.

The second was to confirm the commencement date and funding sources for the government’s 13 new Roads of National Significance and four major public transport upgrades.

So, we were pleased when the redrafted GPS, which has major implications for transport, was released earlier this week.

As I drove from Wellington to Palmerston North the morning after, I watched the southbound traffic making its way down Transmission Gully. There were some trucks but mostly commuters driving into the capital for work.

Many years ago, I used to do a similar commute from the Kāpiti Coast, and even then, the congestion was bad. The time wasted sitting in traffic or crawling was a pain, but what I didn’t appreciate much at that time was the direct and opportunity costs to me personally and the economy.

Nowadays, I’m much more mindful of that, and as I watched the commuters travelling at free-flowing speeds on TG, I marvelled at

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the benefits this new road has brought – not only by being safer but, equally, by reducing so much wasted time. While it won’t impact trucks, I also thought that that road would be even better when the speed was raised to 110km/h, which it was designed for.

Media interest was high. We were asked about the proposal to generate revenue via vehicle registration increases – $25 in January 2025 and a further $25 in January 2026.

I shared my view that those increases would hit many people hard. I also explained another way of looking at things: In essence, the proposal to raise revenue equates to about 50 cents per week over 2025 and about $1 per week over 2026 per vehicle owner.

The numbers we ran for the impact of the Brynderwyns closure showed that the additional time spent on the detour routes would cost an extra $80,000 daily. If all trucks had to take the longer detour, it would add $250,000 a day, based on about 1100 truck trips a day.

Transmission Gully is typically used by close to 30,000 motorists daily, and all those people benefit hugely from not wasting time sitting in traffic. At one stage, a toll was considered to fund TG and I know I

would pay more than $1 a day to escape the congestion we used to have, not to mention the additional resilience that the new route has brought.

We simply could not continue with a degrading and less reliable road network and tough calls are having to be made so it’s good to see that happening. We also agree with a significant amount being invested in public transport. Strategically giving more travel choices to private commuters should help free up the network for goods and freight to get where they need to the only way they can.

The proposed allocation of some $7 billion to fix potholes on state highways and local roads indicates the sad, rundown state of the network. Its scale is not dissimilar to the $6 billion estimates I’ve heard it will cost to repair the network damage caused by Cyclone Gabrielle. We will review the GPS figures carefully to ensure enough funding has been allocated to address the long-term maintenance deficit.

The draft GPS signals several system reforms, including a shift to a 10-year National Land Transport Programme, which will bring considerably more certainty about investment in the infrastructure. None of the reforms is a surprise and our view is that it’s refreshing to see serious consideration of new ways to fix the current problems.

Continuing without major change is never going to make effective improvements.

We will provide a formal submission on the draft GPS, on which our members will be consulted later.

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THE LAST MILE

Creative and lateral thinkers required

B

y the time this is published, the coalition government will have passed its first 100-day period. Yes, we have seen some changes as promised, but these were the easy part.

Few, if any, governments are judged by what they achieve in their early days; it’s what they do and how they do it between now and the next election that they will be judged on. If they fail to deliver, they will be back in opposition. I have read that sometimes a country needs a one-term government to correct wild swings to the left or right; this government could be just that if it is not careful.

In its briefing to the Minister of Transport, NZTA warned of an increasing shortfall in income to meet its expected requirements, including road building and maintenance. The briefing expects an income of $5 billion to $6 billion, whereas the forecast spend is closer to $12 billion. This was not unexpected and will require some tough decisions to even get close to the projected income required.

Only time will tell if NZTA is up to this. However, we can expect to see increases in the cost of most services, such as RUC and annual licensing. Perhaps they need to look at some of the things they have ‘invested’ in in recent years and ask themselves if they are giving the taxpayer value for money by continuing down this track.

Take, for example, the dropping of resit fees for practical licence

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tests for those who fail their first attempt. Somebody pays for this; if it is not the person doing the resit test, then it must be us. Whether this programme has achieved what was intended – removal of the barrier of not having a driver licence to get into employment – is not clear, but from the lack of publicity around this, one could guess that it is not achieving.

Then, of course, there is the bottomless pit for building cycleways – for example, the reported $69 million to build 3km alongside SH2 in Wellington, Melling to Petone. I recently travelled this stretch of highway midweek in both directions. Going south towards Petone at about 11am, nobody was on the cycleway for its entire length, but I saw one cyclist on their bike on the highway. Coming in the other direction at about 6pm, the only person I saw using it was somebody on an e-scooter. I am still looking for the person who can quantify its value in real economic terms and convince me this is fair value for money. We should, however, acknowledge the lobbying ability of those that set the government down this track; they succeeded and now look to consolidate their influence. There are lessons to be learnt in this by our industry associations as to how successful lobbying should be conducted.

Recently, the government has announced initiatives as to how we, the consumer, will pay for roads. These include moving away from an excise tax on fuel to a RUC-based system. Personally, I am not sure if this is the way to go as having to pay fuel tax should surely lead to more efficient use of the fuel, which in turn, will result in less emissions, something I thought we were trying to achieve. However, if a RUC-based system is adopted, such a system must be equitable across all road users. Hopefully, somebody in the bureaucracy who advises the minister is looking at a pay-as-you-go system using technology already in widespread use. Such a system could include electronic on-board scales that would measure the weight of the load at the time and charge the appropriate RUC rate. This would not be hard to do if there were a willingness to make meaningful change.

A couple of things caught my eye in the 9 February edition of Transporting New Zealand’s Dispatch. First, the title “Let’s celebrate trucks pounding our roads”. Given the rhetoric from the anti-truck lobby that there are far too many trucks on the road, and it is trucks that are making our roads unsafe, I am not sure if “pounding” was the correct word to use. Second, there was the suggestion that our trucks should be bigger and heavier for the many benefits these could bring, such as reduced emissions, reduction congestion and safety risk, and bigger trucks means fewer trucks. If I recall correctly, this was the claim made to introduce lower-bound HPMV 50MAX units in 2012. There is no doubt that 50MAX has been a winner for many, but has it resulted in less emissions, reduced congestion and safety risk and fewer trucks? I have my doubts.

The government and the industry are on notice – both need more lateral and creative thinking to solve the many issues we encounter daily; simply rehashing what we have will not do it.

The Accidental Trucker

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New Zealand Trucking

March 2024

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