The RH in its first stage of development – the Mk.1 as Comer put it – features the new single-arm RH mirrors, the new single-window door trims, and some other small RH features. While there have been few major mechanical changes, Comer says, drivers report a different experience to the ProStar. “They sit on the road better, ride better.” For now, the Euro-5 Cummins remains the powertrain of choice, but there are plans to move to Euro-6c. “Euro-5 will remain for a bit longer. We’ve had conversations with Cummins, and we’ll do Euro-6 as a local installation as we did with Euro-4 and Euro-5. A vehicle is earmarked for build next year, and it will be about a sixmonth project,” Comer says. As with the ProStar, the Bendix Wingman Fusion suite of electronic driver assistance and collision mitigation systems remains on offer. It’s approved for the 6x4 and short-wheelbase 8x4 tractor unit and bulk tipper. Hugh sums up: “It’s the same as our cabover product… constant refinement of the truck over time to keep pace with the market and give the customers what they’re asking for.”
A Kiwi OEM
T
he move has been something we’ve been aiming for for a long time,” says Intertruck New Zealand managing director Comer Board. We’re talking about the company’s new all-in-one head office and assembly plant on Kaweroa Drive, Tauriko, in the rapidly expanding southwestern outskirts of Tauranga. As you read this, the company will be celebrating its first anniversary at the site, after starting operation in August 2022. In 2021, Intertruck invested $20 million into the 1.4ha site. The head office includes a truck dealership, parts distribution centre, new and used vehicle sales, a new truck compliance centre and an independently operated VTNZ inspection lane.
The service facility is fully equipped, with a rest area for drivers and customers. The assembly plant includes engineering, two paint booths and a righthand drive production division. “We analysed the old Mt Maunganui plant and where we could improve,” explains Comer. “We moved from dedicated cabover and conventional lines to a stallbuild setup, similar to how a trailer manufacturer builds their units. So, we have four stalls and alongside the chassis are bins from which the operator can simply grab their components and assemble the vehicle. It’s more time efficient. “This month, we’re up to where we want to be with volume. Our aim was for
five to six trucks per month, which is where we’re at now. It’s taken a lot of hard work. We’ve employed a new plant engineer who has had a good vision and has set the plant on to a point where we can’t get much more efficient.” A sign of the times, Comer comments that advertising for assembly operators earlier this year resulted in 75 applications! “Communications, closer working between teams and staff – it’s all benefitted. Intertruck is in its 29th year now. We want to prove to our customers that we are long-term. We invested a lot of time and money into this operation, and we’re going to continue on,” he says.
New Zealand Trucking
August 2023 31
